Agenda item

To submit a report by the Head of Highways, Waste and Property.

The report of the Head of Service (Highways, Waste and Property) setting out a request by the Anglesey Agricultural Society to vary elements of a lease agreement with the Isle of Anglesey County Council for the use of land at Mona Industrial Estate was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property introduced the report by explaining that the Anglesey Agricultural Society has successfully used the Council’s land at Mona Industrial Estate as a park and ride facility for the annual Anglesey Show. This provision has been enabled through various licence and short term lease agreements since 2012. In the context of the preparation for a no-deal Brexit the site has been identified by North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency (NMWTRA) and the Welsh Government as a suitable location for the short term emergency processing Of HGVs for the checking/processing of import and export paperwork without causing disruption to the road network and port facilities in Holyhead. Some enabling works were carried out in October 2019 by NMWTRA but no further contact took place until the Welsh Government contacted the Council in early April 2020 to resurrect the discussion.

In June, 2020 separate correspondence was received by the Council from the Property Department of HMRC expressing an interest in the land at Mona Industrial Estate for the provision of a facility for 100 HGVs as well as temporary ancillary buildings in readiness for the final departure from the EU specifically for customs use. Use of the Mona site would be required for a period of 5 years.  A response was sent outlining the Council’s position with regard to the land and suggesting that alternative options be considered. It has since come to the Council’s attention that discussions have reached an advanced stage between HMRC and the Anglesey Agricultural Society for the Society to sub-let its interest in the Mona site. The Legal Services Manager on the Portfolio Member’s invitation outlined the relevant terms of the existing agreement between the Council and the Anglesey Agricultural Society (as summarised within the report) with specific reference to the prohibition of sub-letting and sharing occupation.

The Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property concluded that not only is the Council not legally obliged to consent to any of the requests made by the Society, it is not in the Council’s power to allow HMRC’s proposed development owing to the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Defence (from which the land at Mona was originally purchased by the Council) on the Council’s freehold title. Additionally it is considered that the use of Mona for this purpose will have significant impact on the communities of Gwalchmai and Rhostrehwfa and possibly other villages as well, and the increased volume of traffic will potentially increase the risk of further accidents on the B4422 and A5.Following a separate appraisal of alternative sites along the A55 corridor, more suitable locations than Mona have been identified.

Executive Members supported the Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property’s view regarding the unsuitability of the Mona site for the facility proposed by HMRC and were dissatisfied with the lack of preparedness for Brexit specifically in relation to the port of Holyhead believing that this matter should have been broached much sooner in order to allow considered discussions to take place and appropriate plans made having regard to the best interests of the Island. The Executive emphasised that any final scheme should not impact negatively on the Island’s residents and should be capable of being managed in a sensible way.

The Deputy Chief Executive clarified that there had been sporadic engagement with Government Officials over the past year and this had become more frequent since August and he confirmed that the Council is collaborating with the Welsh and UK Governments to identify a suitable site that will not only meet post Brexit entry/departure requirements but also the expectations of the Island in terms of health and safety and managing resulting impacts. The discussions are ongoing with the aim of identifying a site sooner rather than later so that efforts can then be focused on ensuring it is ready in time. In response to questions about whether any site visits had been carried out, the Deputy Chief Executive explained that Officials are working in a different way because of the pandemic meaning that only essential journeys are being undertaken; however a great deal of effort has been concentrated over the past few months on reflecting local knowledge and understanding not only of specific sites but of communities and their infrastructure which are equally important as regards the final decision being mindful of the fact that the location of the facility has to work for the Island.

It was resolved to reject the application to amend the existing lease agreement with the Anglesey Agricultural Society for the reasons described within the report (Councillor R.G.Parry, OBE, FRAgS did not vote on the matter).