Councillors to review East Sussex Greenway funding decision
A decision by Wealden council leaders to part fund the construction of a bridge has been called-in for scrutiny.
On September 21, Wealden District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee is due to consider a decision taken by its cabinet.
On September 2 cabinet members approved the use of up to £558,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts to pay part of the construction costs of a new bridge over the River Ouse near Lewes.
The bridge and its associated infrastructure would form part of the Lewes to Uckfield Greenway — a project, which aims to deliver a traffic-free route between the two towns for the use of walkers and cyclists.
A report to the scrutiny committee says a call-in request was signed by Conservative councillors Michael Lunn, Ann Newton and Andrew Wilson, and Independent councillors Ben Reed and David White.
This call-in request, the report says, questioned “whether cabinet had sufficient information before it to make a properly informed decision”.
The report reads: “There is also concern as to whether the decision adequately demonstrated value for money and appropriate prioritisation of CIL resources, particularly given the stated intention to commence with the bridge as the first and most difficult element of a wider project whose subsequent delivery and funding are not presently secured.”
The scrutiny committee will have three options available to it after discussing the cabinet decision: to take no further action, allowing the cabinet decision to progress; to refer the decision back to cabinet with comments and observations; or to refer the matter to full council.
A referral to full council, the report notes, would only typically occur if the decision were considered to be contrary to the authority’s budget or policy framework. The report notes how the call-in request does not argue this to be the case.
In a report to cabinet, officers had said the bridge, which would be expected to replace a demolished railway aqueduct, is considered to be a necessary element of the wider Greenway route.
Construction of the bridge would only go ahead if funding is also provided by Wealden District Council’s partners in the project — the South Downs National Park Authority and Lewes District Council.
The provision of the bridge had been recommended as part of a wider feasibility study, which maps a potential route for the Greenway.
In the cabinet report, officers had noted how much of this route repurposes historic railway infrastructure.
Despite this officers also say the proposed route can be accommodated without prejudicing potential future railway reinstatement, something which is protected by local planning policy.