West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (Area and Constitution) (Amendment) Order 2011

Baroness Hanham Excerpts

Wednesday 9th November 2011 Grand Committee

Moved By

[Baroness Hanham]

That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (Area and Constitution) (Amendment) Order 2011.

Relevant documents: 29th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham)]

My Lords, the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government and was established in 2004. Its purpose is to secure the regeneration of West Northamptonshire, an area identified for regeneration and economic growth, where population is growing at twice the national average.

Over time, the corporation has done a lot of good work, and I recognise all those who have been involved, but this Government’s approach is to promote more locally-led arrangements in a way that does not put at risk key delivery projects. Our priority is the economic growth and potential of West Northamptonshire’s priority sectors, including high-performance engineering. We want to encourage the area’s unique opportunities, including Silverstone, the logistics “golden triangle” and Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone. The corporation has been very successful in delivering a range of projects to date, resulting in £70 million of infrastructure improvements, levering in a further £200 million of private sector investment, getting approval for up to 10,000 new homes and creating of 2,500 jobs.

For long-term success, this growth needs to be locally led, partly through the local enterprise partnership and partly through the local authorities. This order is a step towards that goal. The purpose of the order is to reduce the size of the board of the corporation from 11 members in addition to the chairman and deputy chairman to seven members in addition to the chairman and deputy chairman. Of the seven remaining board members, six will continue to be reserved for nominated representatives of the four local authorities, maintaining the commitment given to the Lords Select Committee during the passage of the 2004 order. The remaining board member, chair and deputy chair will continue to be appointed through open competition if the need arises, although we do not expect there to be a need for a further round of appointments.

The amendment will bring local authority members into a majority on the board and is another step on the path of the reform of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation that will see its transition from a statutory body to a local authority delivery vehicle by the end of 2013-14—that is, on 1 April 2014 —in line with the announcement made on the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation as part of the public bodies review in October 2010.

I recognise that there are always arguments for and against a particular date. There are those who would want to see an earlier date and others who want the corporation to continue for longer. I believe that this approach strikes the right balance in supporting regeneration investment at its most critical stage and that the corporation should plan to this timetable. The process for change has already begun with the return of the first phase of statutory planning powers from the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation to the local authorities in April 2011. The full return of planning powers will be completed in April 2012, subject to the completion of negotiations with the local authorities and parliamentary approval.

After the full return of planning powers, the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation will focus on using its statutory powers to take forward five key projects in Northampton. By the end of 2013-14, we expect these projects will transfer to the local authority vehicle for completion. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation for its continuing co-operation in addressing these issues and in working towards new arrangements for the future. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark]

My Lords, as noble Lords will be aware, this is one of only three urban development corporations in the UK and the only one outside London. West Northamptonshire Development Corporation has a number of wide-ranging powers. These come under three clear headings: investment, planning and development. The corporation has brought considerable sums of money into the local community, in excess of £70 million. It determines strategic planning applications and has wide-ranging powers, including the ability to acquire, manage and sell land and property.

As I have advised noble Lords before, in my previous occupation I spent many happy years in the East Midlands. It is an area I know reasonably well, but obviously not as well as the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, although I do of course agree with the remarks he just made to the Grand Committee. The purpose of the order is to reduce the size of the board from 11 to seven members in addition to the chair and deputy chair. I am content with that, but I would like to confirm one thing, although I am sure the answer will be yes. Have the local authorities been consulted and are they happy with this? Obviously, if they are, I am content with the order.

Finally, I thank the officials at the department. A couple of days ago I asked them some questions about this and a previous order. I got the information back very quickly and I was very happy with that.

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I am extremely grateful for the general support for these orders and I understand very well about the close interest of the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, in this area. Regarding the flooding, I cannot do anything about his bales of hay, I am afraid. The corporation will need to talk to the relevant bodies, including the Environment Agency and any local people who are affected, so I hope he will be reassured about that. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, for his response. Yes, the local authorities have been consulted. They are now going to be the major presence on the corporation, so they will be content with that. I thank the noble Lord for his comments about the department; we are always very happy to help.

Motion agreed.