M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme

Specialist compulsory purchase order solicitor, Melanie Francis, takes a look at how the M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme may affect land owners.

Gloucestershire County Council’s proposals to significantly improve the Junction 10 of the M5 have been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State. The application for the development consent order was accepted on 16th January 2024.

The proposals include improvements directly to the Junction 10, a new link road linking Junction 10 to West Cheltenham and widening of the A4019 Tewkesbury Road. A new housing and employment site are proposed close to Junction 10.

The council considers that the objectives of the scheme are to support economic growth in jobs and housing by improving transport network connections.

The scheme will now enter the third stage of the national planning process known as pre-examination. During this stage the public can share their views of the planning application in writing with the Planning Inspectorate and preliminary meetings will be held, inviting all interested parties. Although there is no statutory timescale for pre-examination stage it usually takes around three months.

Mr Tim Pearce has been appointed the lead member of the Examining Authority and on the 9th February 2024 he announced that after reviewing the submitted application documents he made a procedural decision to request further information. The request is in respect of a Transport Assessment and Flood Risk Assessment. Further information should be provided to Mr Pearce by 22nd March 2024.

Once the pre-examination stage has been completed the Examining Authority will ask questions of Gloucester County Council and anyone who has registered as an interested person will also be able to get involved and have their say. The Examining Authority will then make their recommendations by way of report to the Secretary of State. If the scheme is approved by the government, then a Development Consent Order will be issued which will authorise National Highways to implement the Scheme, giving National Highways the power of compulsory purchase acquisition.

Owners and occupiers of the land affected by the M5 Junction 10 Scheme cannot resist the compulsory acquisition of their interests. National Highways will have the right to acquire their property and the landowner will instead have a financial claim for compensation. The quantum of this claim will be governed by a set of rules and principles known as’ The Compensation Code’, the aim of which is to put landowners into a position of equivalence, ie they should be no better or worse off than if the M5 Junction 10 with its compulsory purchase powers had not been confirmed.

To register as an interested party and have your say, visit the planning inspectorate website.

Holmes and Hills LLP has a team of dedicated solicitors with extensive experience in compulsory purchase orders and compensation matters. Please contact Mike Harman, Mel Francis or Catherine Hibbert if you have land affected by the A12 Scheme and need advice on your entitlement to compensation, the scope of your claim and your next steps.