Newham Council has decided to proceed with the compulsory purchase of 105-107 Romford Road to allow the construction of a new road. The decision was made in line with the authority's policy of regenerating the area, despite a recent public consultation revealing low levels of support for the scheme.

Compulsory Purchase Order for 105-107 Romford Road

The meeting began with a discussion about whether the council should use its statutory powers to compel the sale of 105-107 Romford Road to them. This is part of the council's Romford Road Regeneration project. This power, known as a Compulsory Purchase Order, is granted to local authorities under the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.

The Acquisition of Land Act 1981 allows certain bodies to acquire land compulsorily. These bodies, generally known as acquiring authorities, can only acquire land if they have powers to do so and the acquisition is for a purpose for which those powers were conferred. The council believes the purchase is necessary to allow the construction of a new road in the area. The report considered by the meeting noted that The existing highways alignment... is substandard in width and fails to meet current highway standards The officer presenting the report argued that not proceeding with the CPO would severely delay... the delivery of the road. She explained that this would impact the Council’s ability to meet its strategic objectives in respect of the wider regeneration of the area The report noted the outcome of a recent public consultation on the scheme, which showed that only 22% of respondents supported the proposals, but argued that it is not unusual for infrastructure projects in particular, to not receive high levels of support during consultation. The decision to proceed with the compulsory purchase order was made.

Appointment of a planning consultant

The council decided to appoint Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design to help them develop plans to improve the Romford Road area. Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design are a town planning consultancy based in London. The meeting heard that the company had been chosen because they had

previous experience of working on complex and challenging projects and had a strong track record of delivering high-quality results.

Other business

The meeting also discussed a number of other issues, including the progress of the construction of a new school and the development of a new park. The meeting agreed to receive a further report on these matters at a later date.