Policy GESP42: Strategic Infrastructure
The Greater Exeter councils will secure the delivery of a series of strategic infrastructure proposals for the Greater Exeter area in order to achieve the GESP vision, its priorities and/ or multiple GESP allocations. The strategic infrastructure proposals are timetabled to be delivered in the period up to 2040. They are:
[Projects to be determined after this consultation and identified here in the next version of the GESP]
These proposals are included on the key diagram, the policies map, where applicable in GESP allocation policies, and in the GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan [all to be published within/ alongside the next version GESP]. The GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan includes an infrastructure investment strategy to provide more detail on the mechanisms for delivering the strategic infrastructure proposals [to be published with the next version of the GESP].
The list of strategic infrastructure proposals may be amended as part of any future GESP review process, by a GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan update or by agreement by the joint board referred to in draft GESP41 and below.
Funding for these proposals will be provided by:
- A joint board for the Greater Exeter area
- Where applicable, a locally-led New Town Development Corporation
- Planning obligations and/or CIL
- Government/Local Enterprise Partnership
- Local authorities
- Infrastructure providers
Decisions over the prioritisation, funding and delivery of the strategic infrastructure proposals will be made by the joint board which will:
- Define the strategic infrastructure proposals
- Manage a joint strategic infrastructure budget including a joint, recyclable Strategic Infrastructure Fund and
- Maintain the GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan
10.15 Significant, varied and costly infrastructure will be needed in the Greater Exeter area up to 2040. This is currently being identified through a collaborative infrastructure planning process which is ongoing and will culminate in a GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan, reflecting the distribution and level of development proposed in the GESP. Some of the infrastructure projects need to be delivered using funding and agreement from more than one authority because of their scale or their wide impact, and these will be defined as strategic in draft policy GESP42. The GESP Infrastructure Delivery Plan will provide more detailed information on these strategic infrastructure proposals and will include an infrastructure delivery strategy to explain how these projects will come forward. A first version of this document will be published alongside the draft GESP.
10.16 Funding for the strategic infrastructure proposals identified within draft policy GESP42 should be secured from a range of sources. These include planning obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy, infrastructure providers and a range of external sources including the Local Enterprise Partnership and government. However, these proposals could be so significant that the Greater Exeter councils should commit to establish a new, joint mechanism for ensuring their delivery.
10.17 The structure and governance for this joint mechanism is still emerging but will include a joint board comprising Member representation from all of the Greater Exeter councils. This should make the decisions necessary to deliver the strategic priority infrastructure proposals required to support the GESP vision and development strategy. It should be responsible for setting infrastructure priorities and collaboratively securing and managing funding as defined in draft policy GESP42. In this role, the board would oversee a joint budget for strategic infrastructure and the management of a recyclable Strategic Infrastructure Fund. This would see funding invested in strategic infrastructure on a medium term basis to unlock challenging development sites. The investment would be paid back by developers over the medium term and then reinvested in future strategic infrastructure projects.
10.18 In addition to the strategic infrastructure proposals, there are a number of key infrastructure projects which will be identified to support specific GESP sites. This GESP site infrastructure will be fundamental to delivering the strategy for the area and will be identified in the GESP allocation policies and/or the masterplans. The projects identified will ensure that high quality development can commence in a timely manner.
10.19 Funding for the GESP site infrastructure should be secured from a range of sources. These could include planning obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy, infrastructure providers, the Greater Exeter councils and a range of external sources including the Local Enterprise Partnership and government. Because these infrastructure projects are site specific they will not be funded by the proposed joint board unless their importance is reviewed in future and they are added to the list of strategic infrastructure proposals.
10.20 The existing local plan and infrastructure planning mechanism is already in place to deliver local plan infrastructure. This mechanism includes the local plan process and associated infrastructure delivery plans. Infrastructure provided on this more local basis is required to deliver local plan visions, local plan site allocations and community priorities. As takes place already, funding for this infrastructure will be drawn from planning obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy, councils and a range of external sources. The arrangement proposed by draft policy GESP41 provides context for this existing arrangement and shows how it fits within wider thinking on infrastructure delivery across the whole of the Greater Exeter area.
10.21 This categorisation and funding arrangement does not undermine the importance of site and local infrastructure, but in general local infrastructure projects are not considered to need the formal involvement of the joint board. Instead, they can be managed by each individual planning authority in less formal partnership with other Greater Exeter councils and bodies.