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ITEM EX8

COGGES LINK ROAD, WITNEY

1. The purpose of this report is to:

• set out the findings and conclusions of the recently-completed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Cogges Link, which included an assessment of the scheme against a range of alternatives (and combinations of alternatives);
• identify the way forward for Cogges Link, in the context of the conclusions of the Environmental Statement that is being prepared to support a further planning application for the scheme;
• update the Project Appraisal for Cogges Link, to take account of the scheme cost and funding changes in recent years.

Background

2. Cogges Link is a proposed town distributor road for Witney, linking Witan Way (via an existing roundabout) to Oxford Hill around the south of the Cogges Estate. A plan showing the scheme in relation to the town is shown at Annex 1 (download as .doc file), whilst Annex 2 (download as .doc file) provides a more detailed scheme plan.
3. Cogges Link has been planned for many years. It has been in the County Council’s Capital Programme since 1985 and the West Oxfordshire District Local Plan since 1987. The principle of the scheme is included in both the Adopted Structure Plan (to 2011) and the Local Transport Plan 2001-2006. It forms a critical part of the Oxfordshire Development Plan highway network for Witney, in conjunction with other schemes, with the aim of relieving the congested town centre road network, especially Bridge Street, the existing (sole) town centre river crossing, (which currently carries on average some 30,000 vehicles per day ). Cogges Link has been planned along with other transport infrastructure to meet the needs of the town arising from development. Specifically, the North East Witney development (presently under construction and comprising some 1,200 dwellings) and its associated Distributor Road (now known as Jubilee Way) have both been planned in conjunction with Cogges Link. Indeed, as Annex 2 (download as .doc file) shows, the northern end of Cogges Link would emerge opposite the distributor road at a new signal-controlled crossroads. Together with Jubilee Way, the scheme would thus fulfil a "town distributor road" function, taking traffic away from Bridge Street and the town centre / conservation area.
4. A full list of the relevant Structure Plan, Local Plan and Local Transport Plan policies for Cogges Link is on deposit in the Members’ Resource Centre. It is important to note that Cogges Link forms part of both the Adopted West Oxfordshire Local Plan (to 2001), and the revised deposit draft Local Plan (to 2011), the latter due to be the subject of a Local Plan Inquiry, which commences on 6 July 2004.
5. Delivery of the Cogges Link scheme has proved problematic for a variety of reasons and Annex 3 (download as .doc file) summarises the scheme’s history. Initially, owing to funding shortages, the scheme was developed in two stages, which met at the Stanton Harcourt overbridge. As part of work towards submitting the previous planning application, the two were combined as a single scheme and planning permission was granted on this basis in January 1997. However, a funding shortfall remained and the bulk of this shortfall was not secured until contributions towards the scheme had been agreed with the North East Witney development consortium in June 2000. It was not feasible to complete all the surveys/design work, land negotiations and go through a tendering process in time to start on site before planning permission expired in January 2002. An application for renewal of planning consent was therefore made in December 2001, and at this stage the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) issued a Screening Direction requiring an Environmental Statement to be submitted with the Planning Application, which in turn required the EIA work to be undertaken.

Environmental Impact Assessment Process

6. The EIA work on Cogges Link has been undertaken by the County Council’s consultants Babtie Group and has comprised five key stages:
   
   

1. An objective assessment of the benefits of potential variations to the Cogges Link to identify a revised scheme incorporating beneficial variations, the revised scheme to be used in the review of potential alternatives to Cogges Link required by the EIA process;
2. An Initial Screening comprising an analysis of the revised scheme for Cogges Link and potential alternatives to Cogges Link, which met basic design requirements. All schemes were assessed on their performance in reducing traffic on Bridge Street and in the town centre. This resulted in a short list of six schemes, or combinations of schemes, to be taken forward for further analysis;
3. A Full Assessment of Alternatives, providing a more detailed comparison of the shortlisted schemes, identifying those to be taken forward for full Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) assessment;
4. A Full TAG Analysis of Cogges Link and the best-performing alternative(s);
5. Production of an Environmental Statement for Cogges Link to support a future planning application – this is currently at an advanced draft stage.
   
   
7. All stages have progressed on the basis that Cogges Link has performed sufficiently against the criteria to be taken forward. The draft Environmental Statement (Volume 1), plus other supporting reports mentioned in this report have been deposited in the Members’ Resource Centre.

Potential Variations to the Cogges Link and Initial Screening

8. Ten potential variations to the approved Cogges Link scheme (as granted planning permission in 1997) were considered. A report by Babtie Group (entitled Review of Potential Variations to Cogges Link) on these variations has been placed on deposit in the Members’ Resource Centre as part of the Environmental Statement. The recommendation is that the design of Cogges Link is varied to exclude the connection to Stanton Harcourt Road (and therefore the associated roundabout junction on Cogges Link itself). All further analysis of Cogges Link has therefore been based on this revised design known as Variation 3. The list of alternative schemes including Cogges Link Variation 3 considered through the initial screening process is contained in the report "Assessment of Alternatives" on deposit in the Resource Centre.
9. To inform the initial screening (and subsequent stages), detailed traffic analysis was undertaken on the options. To ensure this work was as robust as possible, the SATURN traffic model for Witney, which covers the am and pm peak periods, was updated and revalidated by Babtie Group (a copy of the Model Forecasting Report has been placed on in the Members’ Resource Centre). The traffic effects of the various schemes were assessed by considering their impacts on the following:

• Traffic flows on Bridge Street.
• Traffic flows through the Staple Hall junction at the north end of Bridge Street.
• Traffic movements in the ‘core’ central area of Witney, which includes High Street, Church Green, Corn Street and Langdale Gate.
• Traffic movements in the Witney Conservation Area, as defined by the Local Plan.

10. The initial screening rejected a number of alternatives as individual schemes, including West End Link (Stage 2), Newland Link (a link connecting the northern end of Witan Way with Newland at the Western End of Oxford Hill), improvement to Shores Green Interchange (by providing west facing slips in addition to the existing east-facing ones) and the Witney CPRE variant of the Cogges Link alignment. Further details on this are provided in the Assessment of Alternatives report by Babtie referred to earlier. However, the first three of these schemes were taken forward for further analysis in combination with other schemes.
11. As identified in Annex 4 (download as .doc file), the six schemes or combinations recommended to be considered at this next stage were:

1. Shores Green Improvement + West End Link Stage 2
2. Shores Green Improvement + Newland Link
3. Cogges Link + Shores Green Improvement
4. Cogges Link
5. Newland Link + West End Link Stage 2
6. Cogges Link + West End Link Stage 2
   
   
12. It is important to be mindful of the planning context of these alternative combinations, and the schemes they comprise, with specific regard to the following points:

• Like Cogges Link, West End Link Stage 2 (and indeed Stage 1, which is due to be constructed this summer) forms part of the future transport infrastructure for Witney identified in the Development Plan. That is to say, it is included in the County Structure Plan, West Oxfordshire Local Plan (both Adopted and revised Deposit Plans) and the Local Transport Plan (where it is identified as a developer funded scheme in the capital programme). West End Link Stage 2 is therefore essentially a complementary scheme to Cogges Link, rather than a substitute for it and as shown in Annex 7 (download as .doc file) the two schemes together perform best overall in traffic terms. Indeed, the two roads would cater for different types of traffic movements around the town, as demonstrated below. However, West End Link Stage 2 has also been included in this process as a potential alternative to Cogges Link to meet EIA requirements to consider all possible alternatives not involving Cogges Link and ensure the most robust analysis is undertaken.
• Newland Link, whilst at face value providing a potential alternative to Cogges Link (in combination with either West End Link or the Shores Green improvement) nevertheless has a contrasting status in planning terms. Not only does it not feature in the Development Plan or any of its constituent documents, it has also been considered, and rejected, by the Inspector at the previous West Oxfordshire Local Plan Inquiry in 1995.
• Likewise, an improvement to Shores Green interchange also does not feature in the Development Plan and has only emerged more recently as a potential scheme following the detrunking of the A40 last year.

13. The six schemes identified above were assessed against the following broad criteria in line with central government requirements: Environment, Safety, Economy, Accessibility and Integration. The key conclusions relating to each alternative are summarised in Annex 5 (download as .doc file), which also includes the summary table.
14. The two schemes which scored best overall were Cogges Link and the West End Link Stage 2 / Shores Green improvement combination. Also scoring well was the Cogges Link / West End Link Stage 2 combination, which performed the best in traffic terms. However, the report recognised that this combination of schemes is being pursued as a longer-term objective through the Development Plan process, as referred to in paragraph 12 above. It was not therefore taken forward for further analysis.

Full Transport Analysis Guidance

15. Cogges Link and the West End Link / Shores Green improvement were taken forward for the final stage of comparative analysis. A copy of Babtie Group's Appraisal Report for this stage entitled TAG Appraisal Report has been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre. Each alternative was assessed on its performance in traffic terms together with an assessment of performance against the five TAG objectives set out by central government identified in paragraph 13 above, but in greater detail, taking into account (amongst other factors) – Noise; Local Air Quality; Greenhouse Gases; Landscape; Townscape; Biodiversity; Predicted Changes in Accident levels; Economic Efficiency and Integration with Land Use Policies. Scheme costs were also identified.
16. The comparison of these schemes also included a more comprehensive traffic analysis using the updated traffic model, and comparison of both schemes with a "do minimum" scenario. One of the key conclusions of this work was that the Cogges Link and the West End Link schemes would fulfil noticeably different functions and redistribute traffic around the town in different ways. This is demonstrated, for example, by the fact that, even with West End Link Stage 2 in place, traffic heading for the commercial centre of the town would still tend to use Bridge Street (without of course Cogges Link being in place to cater for these movements). In turn, Cogges Link better caters for demand to and from town centre zones because so much of the Witney’s travel demand is to/from the north/eastern side of the town (partly as a consequence of recent development). Cogges Link would also allow development of future options for traffic management in the town centre that are being pursued through the Witney Integrated Transport Strategy, which the Shores Green / West End Link alternative would not do.
17. A copy of the Appraisal Summary Table for each scheme is appended as Annex 6 (download as .doc file). These show that both Cogges Link and the Shores Green/West End Link Stage 2 alternatives have negative environmental impacts, the most significant being associated with highway construction across the floodplain (which can be mitigated but obviously not avoided) and potential impact on the habitat of the dormouse, a protected species under European Law, that again can be mitigated. The combination of Shores Green and West End Link Stage 2 fares slightly better in some other environmental categories (for example in terms of greenhouse gas emissions) but in most the impacts are comparable. The TAG methodology assesses alternatives against an economy objective relating to costs to government and benefits to users, the latter being related to traffic benefits. The alternatives score similarly on user benefits with Cogges Link slightly better, whereas in terms of costs to government Cogges Link is significantly ahead due to the availability of developer contributions. The comparison also recognised that the Shores Green component of the Shores Green/West End Link Stage 2 alternative does not form part of the Development Plan, as referred to in paragraph 12 above.
18. The cost of Cogges Link is estimated at £14.2 million and the cost of Shores Green/West End Link at around £10.5 million (all figures at January 2004 prices). However, in funding terms, Cogges Link has a significant advantage in that a significant proportion of the scheme costs, in the region of £10.4 million, can be funded from existing developer contributions (primarily from the North East housing development in recognition of its clear links to the proposed scheme). The developer contributions available towards West End Link Stage 2, are much lower at around £2.1 million. The deliverability of the West End Link scheme is also identified as a disadvantage, given these funding issues and the fact that the scheme has not been designed nor is construction currently programmed. In addition to the contributions held there may be, as development proposals come forward, opportunities to secure further developer contributions.
19. The TAG report concludes that on balance the slightly greater environmental disbenefits of Cogges Link as compared with the alternative are outweighed by the benefits Cogges Link would bring in delivering policy aims and wider economic objectives. In particular, the relatively short timescale for completion, enabling an early solution to town centre traffic problems and the relationship with the North East Distributor Road (Jubilee Way) allowing traffic to move freely around the eastern side of the town and to access the commercial area south of the town centre. As a key component of the local plan, Cogges Link will also contribute to the benefits derived from development of Witney.

Environmental Statement

20. An Environmental Statement and revised scheme drawings will be required to support a fresh planning application for Cogges Link. An Environmental Statement is being prepared for the Cogges Link and a draft has been placed on deposit in the Members Resource Centre. Volume 1 of the Statement provides an absolute assessment of its predicted environmental impacts and identifies the proposed mitigation measures and alternative schemes considered. Volume 2 will contain the reports of surveys and assessments undertaken for the scheme; it will also contain the key outputs from the EIA work undertaken by Babtie Group, including assessment of alternatives, as detailed in the various output reports and summarised through this report and accompanying Volume 1 in the Resource Centre.
21. It is envisaged that a supporting statement emphasising the policy advantages of the proposal will be prepared for submission with the planning application and Environmental Statement.

Project Appraisal

22. A Project Appraisal was last undertaken and approved for the scheme in 1996. Given the significant changes in scheme costs and funding (plus some alterations to the design) that have taken place since then, it was considered that a revised Project Appraisal was required. This is attached as Annex 7 (download as .doc file).
23. The Appraisal is based on scheme opening in 2007/08 and identifies a scheme cost of £14.2million, with some £10.4million of developer contributions earmarked for the project. The balance of funding (£3.8 million) would be sought from central government through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process, specifically through the 2006-2011 LTP, to be submitted in July 2005.

Project Progression

24. Confirmation of the Cogges Link as the preferred highway scheme for Witney would lead to the scheme being progressed to the indicative timetable set out in Annex 8 (download as .doc file). There may be a need for a Public Inquiry into the scheme to take place. This has been allowed for in the programme (a joint Inquiry into the planning application and the formal Orders required by the scheme would be the most effective way of dealing with this should it be required).
25. Previously, the (much) lower funding shortfall on the scheme meant that the balance of funding could have been made up from LTP funds without the requirement for a separate funding submission for Cogges Link as a "Major Scheme". These submissions are currently required where the LTP funding element of the scheme has been larger than £5 million. However, the situation now is somewhat different in that the funding shortfall is much greater, at around £3.8 million (with a total scheme cost much greater than £5 million). Advice has been sought from GOSE as to how Cogges Link should be considered in LTP terms. The opinion received is that a major scheme submission should be made for the scheme, but this need not be at the same level of detail as a "Major Scheme". The precise requirements would be the subject of further discussion with GOSE and the Department for Transport.
26. In any event, this suggests that any LTP funding bid for Cogges Link will be the subject of close scrutiny by central government and will need to satisfy national and local transport objectives. This also suggests that a funding bid for Cogges Link will need to be made in the context of the overall transport strategy for the town and complementary traffic management and restraint measures, many of which are being pursued through the Witney Integrated Transport Strategy (approved by the Executive in December 2003). It will also need to be clearly demonstrated that there are not alternatives to road building for this scheme. Forthcoming guidance on the next LTP, due this summer, should provide greater certainty on what is likely to be required.
27. The adoption of Variation 3 for Cogges Link has resulted in design changes near Stanton Harcourt Road. The omission of the link between Cogges Link and Stanton Harcourt Road means that there will be no roundabouts in that area. Further consideration of the drainage design and environmental issues has also resulted in the proposed location of the drainage lagoon being moved to a position between the Cogges Link and the A40. Designers and Oxfordshire County Council Officers feel this is a more environmentally friendly, safe and efficient design. In order to ensure the County Council’s ability to provide this design the land in question would need to be acquired. (This area is shown in hatching on the plan shown in Annex 9 (download as .doc file). This in addition to land already authorised to be acquired, In addition, sites that have been identified as "off-site" planting areas are also included in Annex 9 for authorisation to acquire. As environmental issues grow in importance, it is important that the County Council is able to fulfil its obligations in providing mitigation measures, rather that depending on the agreement of landowners.
28. As a result of the relocation of the proposed lagoon, the land shown cross-hatched on the plan in Annex 9 would no longer be required and can be excluded from the Compulsory Purchase Order plans provided that the Environmental Agency give consent to the drainage design.

Summary and Conclusions

29. As part of the process to secure planning permission for the Cogges Link scheme, an Environmental Impact Assessment of the scheme has been undertaken to meet the requirements of the Screening Direction issued by GOSE. This EIA work has comprehensively and robustly analysed the best-performing version of Cogges
30. Link (which no longer includes the link road to Stanton Harcourt or associated roundabout on Cogges Link itself) in comparison with a range of alternative schemes and combinations thereof. This has been a five-stage process, subjecting Cogges Link and potential alternatives to an increasing degree of scrutiny and detailed analysis to progressively filter out alternatives. The penultimate stage was a comprehensive comparison of Cogges Link against a combination of an improvement to the existing Shores Green Interchange and the (already proposed) West End Link Stage 2, resulting in Cogges Link being identified as the preferred scheme, with a full Environmental Statement being produced in the final stage, to support a fresh Planning application.
31. It is important to bear in mind that the future transport infrastructure planned for Witney, as enshrined in both the Structure Plan and Local Plan, does include West End Link Stage 2 and indeed the combination of Cogges Link with this scheme performed the best overall in traffic terms, and that any comparison of Cogges Link with a combination of schemes that include West End Link needs to keep this in mind.
32. The updated project appraisal shows that the scheme cost of Cogges Link has risen to an estimated £14.2 million, approximately three quarters of which would be funded from developer contributions. The balance of funding would be sought through the Local Transport Plan, for which a detailed and robust funding submission would be required as part of the submission of the 2006-2011 Plan in July 2005.

Environmental Implications

33. These are set out in the Environmental Statement and its component documents, which form the background papers to this report.

Financial and Staff Implications

34. As mentioned in paragraph 18, the scheme is substantially funded by developer contributions. £6.9 million of contributions are held at the moment that could be used for Cogges Link. This includes £2.1 million from the re-negotiated West Witney Agreement which includes flexibility to use these funds on other transport infrastructure projects, not just Cogges Link, should this be considered necessary. The North East Witney Agreement is the other main contributor to funds held.
35. In addition to the money held, the North East Witney Agreement secures money that the Council can call for towards the cost of land for the scheme up to a maximum of £3.5 million (this in two separate amounts of £1 million and £2.5 million relating to different parcels of land).
36. There are some provisions in the Agreements and other uncertainties relating to contributions and estimates costs that should be mentioned:
    
    

1. Future development proposals may provide opportunities to secure further developer contributions, but as these are uncertain it is not safe to rely on them and no allowance has been made in the figures in the project appraisal.
2. Assumptions built into the estimated land costs which depend on the progress of possible future development alongside the route of the road might not be realised, leading to an increase in land costs.
3. The North East Witney Agreements contains provisions for the return of money should the cost of statutory undertakers’ diversions be less that £0.5 million and/or the cost of justified contingencies not reach £0.5 million. The returned money would not then be available as a contribution to the other construction costs. Based on the current estimates for this scheme costs there is not a high risk of return payments being triggered.
4. Longstops apply to both main agreements, for North East Witney it is October 2013 and for West Witney it is January 2013.
   
   
37. As mentioned before the balance of the scheme costs will need to be met from Local Transport Plan Funding, This will require a specific scheme bid.

RECOMMENDATIONS

38. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. note the findings and conclusions of the Environmental Impact Assessment;
2. approve the proposed variant of the Cogges Link Scheme, without the link road to Stanton Harcourt Road or its associated roundabout, to be pursued through the planning process for construction as part of the County Council’s Capital Programme;
3. approve the revised Project Appraisal for Cogges Link as set out in Annex 7 (download as .doc file) to the report;
4. confirm the intention to construct West End Link Stage 2, as identified in the Development Plan, as part of the future transport programme for Witney, as a complementary scheme to Cogges Link.
5. approve the addition of the hatched areas shown on Annex 9 (download as .doc file) to the plots 9, 10, 11, for acquisition by Compulsory Purchase Order or by agreement.

DAVID MCKIBBIN
Head of Transport

Background papers: Witney Cogges Link – Draft Environmental Statement (Babtie Group, June 2004)

Contact Officers:
John Disley Tel: Oxford 810460
Richard Dix Tel: Oxford 815663

June 2004

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