Decision details

The Committee was informed that was a key objective of the Council to work to secure the benefits of economic growth from the HS2 project for areas in the North of Broxtowe including Kimberley and Eastwood and the A610 corridor.

Stakeholder meetings had taken place with various partners including: Nottingham City Council, East Midlands Councils, Amber Valley District Council, the D2N2 local enterprise partnership, the Light rail transport association, and British Land in order to discuss how to advance the objective and build cross-party consensus about the desirability of the project, which would require public funding to implement. Members considered the report and the following comments were amongst those made:

·         The benefits of HS2 were eagerly awaited but the report did not contain enough detail. The tram was losing money and other transport priorities were taking precedence. There should be a wider, more integrated, system to the north of the Borough.

·         The tram should be part of a fully integrated transport system and there should be public consultation on the matter.

·         Regeneration was necessary regardless of the outcome of HS2.

·         This was the wrong time to spend money on carrying out a consultation. It should be deferred until the outcome of HS2 was known.

·         The feasibility study will begin the preparative work for the future.

·         Broader aspects of the system should be considered.

·         The report was not specific about the amount of finance needed for the cost of the projects.

A recorded vote was proposed by Councillor S J Carr and seconded by Councillor R I Jackson. The voting was as follows:

RECOMMENDED to the Finance and Resources Committee that the following projects be funded using ITPS funding for the North of Broxtowe:

a)     The commissioning of an engineering study demonstrating how a tram extension from the Toton HS2 hub station to Langley Mill and Kimberley could be reliably delivered.

b)     The commissioning of a report to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental benefits of such a proposal, in order to produce a compelling case to justify the investment required.