Issue - meetings

This report provides an update on the current position of the Epsom Cemetery extension and seeks approval for the Council to exercise its compulsory purchase making powers (‘CPO’) to acquire land to extend Epsom cemetery.

The Committee:

(1)          Noted the progress to date;

(2)          Agreed the submission of a planning application for the proposed extension of Epsom Cemetery prior to the completion of the purchase of the land;

(3)          Approved the appointment of a specialist consultant to:

a)            Undertake the necessary works to enable a planning application to be submitted;

b)            Complete the tender process for the build contractor and oversee the completion of the works;

(4)          Agreed that the costs of the planning consultant are met from the current capital allocation for this project;

(5)          Delegated to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Chief Legal Officer authority to take all necessary steps to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the Compulsory Purchase Order (“the Order”) including but not limited to, the following steps:

a)            the publication and service of all relevant notices and to support the presentation of the Council’s case at any public inquiry;

b)            service of a new requisition for information (in accordance with section 16 of the Local Government Act 1972) on the reputed owner and other parties that may have an interest in the land as part of the preparatory steps associated with the making and promotion of a CPO;

c)            approving terms of the acquisition of legal interests by agreement, including for the purposes of resolving any objections to the CPO;

d)            all necessary steps to resolve any compulsory purchase compensation claims, including, if necessary, by way of making (or responding to) a reference to the Upper Tribunal (Land Chamber);

e)            to retain an/or appoint external professional advisers and consultants to assist in facilitating the promotion, confirmation and implementation of the Order, the settlement of compensation and any other claims or disputes.

The Committee received and considered a comprehensive report that provided an update on the current position of the Epsom Cemetery extension and that sought approval for the Council to exercise its compulsory purchase making powers (CPO) to aquire land to extend the cemetery.

Officers would continue to seek a negotiated outcome for the purchase of the land but the Council was prepared to make use of compulsory purchase powers to secure the land to meet the need for burial space in the Borough for a further twenty-five years or so, if necessary.

The Committee:

(1)          Noted the progress to date;

(2)          Agreed the submission of a planning application for the proposed extension of Epsom Cemetery prior to the completion of the purchase of the land;

(3)          Approved the appointment of a specialist consultant to:

a)            Undertake the necessary works to enable a planning application to be submitted;

b)            Complete the tender process for the build contractor and oversee the completion of the works;

(4)          Agreed that the costs of the planning consultant are met from the current capital allocation for this project;

(5)          Authorised, if necessary, the use of compulsory purchase making powers pursuant to section 121 of the Local Government Act 1972 to aquire land shown edged on the plan attached at Annexe 1 of the report (“Order Land”) for the purposes of extending Epsom Cemetery for burials (“the scheme”);

(6)          Delegated to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Chief Legal Officer authority to take all necessary steps to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the Compulsory Purchase Order (“the Order”) including but not limited to, the following steps:

a)            the publication and service of all relevant notices and to support the presentation of the Council’s case at any public inquiry;

b)            service of a new requisition for information (in accordance with section 16 of the Local Government Act 1972) on the reputed owner and other parties that may have an interest in the land as part of the preparatory steps associated with the making and promotion of a CPO;

c)            approving terms of the acquisition of legal interests by agreement, including for the purposes of resolving any objections to the CPO;

d)            all necessary steps to resolve any compulsory purchase compensation claims, including, if necessary, by way of making (or responding to) a reference to the Upper Tribunal (Land Chamber);

e)            to retain an/or appoint external professional advisers and consultants to assist in facilitating the promotion, confirmation and implementation of the Order, the settlement of compensation and any other claims or disputes.