LATEST INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS
April 2021
A roundup of recent infrastructure news including the latest on the HS2 compulsory purchase and new offshore wind in Yorkshire, and approval for the Virgin Media and O2 merger.
CONGLETON LINK ROAD OPENS
Described by Cheshire East Council as the borough’s largest infrastructure project to date, the new Congleton link road finally opened to traffic earlier this month, almost ten years after planning initially commenced.
Costing £90m, the highway project was completed by contractor Graham. The bypass measures 5.5km and joins the A534 Sandbach Road to the west and the A536 Macclesfield Road to the north. In addition to alleviating historical traffic congestion within the town, the scheme is set to unlock 50 acres of employment land, potentially creating 3,000 jobs by 2035.
The road has officially been named Wolstenholme Elmy Way after pioneering educationalist and suffragette Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy. The project has been delivered on budget, with only a minor delay from its late 2020 target, largely caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
NEW REDEVELOPMENT FOR BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE
A 2.6-acre vacant site in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has been purchase by developers HBD, with plans to create a residential-led mixed-use scheme.
This is the second site to be purchased by the developer in the area, who already has plans to redevelop Cornwall House, also in the Jewellery Quarter, into 101 apartments plus commercial space.
HORNSEA FOUR DCO DELAYED
Developer Ørsted has opted to extend the Development Consent Order (DCO) application submission to Q3 2021 for the offshore wind farm, Hornsea Four. Ørsted had intended to submit its application last year but has repeatedly deferred the schedule owing to ongoing derogation discussions associated with potential impacts to wildlife.
The scheme is Ørsted’s fourth project in the former Hornsea Zone and is to be located 65km (at its closest point) off the Yorkshire Coast; it could incorporate up to 180 wind turbines and potentially generate power for more than 1 million UK homes.
Hornsea Four will be the first UK offshore wind farm project to submit a Derogation Case alongside the DCO application. The Derogation Case will investigate the potential impacts on three bird species off the Flamborough and Filey Cost (FFC) Special Protection Area (SPA): Kittiwake, Razorbill and Guillemot. The Planning Inspectorate now expect to receive the application in September 2021.
£2.7M RAILWAY BRIDGE PROJECT COMPLETED IN GRANTHAM
Network Rail has confirmed that two railway bridges in Grantham, Lincolnshire, are fit to resume carrying trains following the completion of vital maintenance and repair works. The two bridges carry the East Coast Mainline over Barrowby Road and Springfield Road.
Costing £2.7m, the works were phased over a seven month period to minimise disruption and included repairs to the brickwork and steelwork, re-waterproofing and re-painting. The improvements to the railway bridge at Barrowby Road were completed in early December 2020, before work commenced at Springfield Road in January 2021.
The bridge on Springfield Road has subsequently been closed 24 hours a day. Whilst harsh winter weather has caused delays, as of Friday 16th April, all of the works were completed.
COMPETITION WATCHDOG CLEARS VIRGIN MEDIA AND O2 MERGER
Provisional clearance has been granted for the £31bn merger of Virgin Media and O2, facilitating the creation of a “national champion” to challenge BT. In May 2020, Liberty Global, which owns the UK’s largest cable company, Virgin, and Telefónica, which owns O2, announced a deal to merge their UK operations in a 50-50 joint venture. The deal values Virgin Media at £18.7bn and O2 at £12.7bn.
Following the announcement, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an inquiry into the deal over fears that it could potentially lead to a lessening of competition in the UK telecoms market and result in higher price rises or a drop in service quality. Virgin Media has 5.3 million broadband, pay-TV and mobile users, while O2 has 34 million mobile customers.
However, the CMA has concluded there is enough competition for wholesale deals from rivals, such as from BT and its Openreach subsidiary as well as smaller players, to require Virgin and O2 to keep offering fair deals.
HS2: CPO-POWERS EXTENSION RULED OUT
According to Construction News (CN,) the Department for Transport (DfT) has ruled out extending HS2’s land-buying powers beyond its current limit, granted via the Phase One legislation. This being the case, HS2 has until 23rd February 2022 to instigate compulsory purchase order (CPO) proceedings before the Phase One powers expire.
It is reported that the DfT has dismissed an extension, believing that there is sufficient time remaining to complete the acquisitions for this phase. Figures supplied to CN by HS2 indicate that 54sq km of land has been acquired under permanent and temporary possession so far, with around 10sq km still to be acquired, along with 2sq km of subsoil.
A review of HS2’s processes for acquiring land was published in November 2020; this revealed that across all three phases of the scheme, HS2 has spent £3.6bn on circa 1,250 properties. For Phase One alone, 12,000 individual notices have been served by HS2 to people and businesses, in addition to 64,000 notices to facilitate survey work.
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Mark Hall-Digweed heads the Infrastructures department, where he has developed the team to deliver project management, land agency and property consultancy services to utility, public sector bodies and civil engineering organisations. The team is very successful and has grown to attract large clients such as Network Rail. Mark was also appointed in 2010 to lead Carter Jonas’s cross divisional Public Sector Group, where he is responsible for developing clients with complex multi-faceted requirements.
Marks primary skills include multiple site management, high level negotiation and dispute resolution, programme management and the implementation of new systems, estate management, as well as compulsory purchase and compensation work. He has high levels of experience in all of the above.
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