To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities in Buckinghamshire are able to manage the planning process for the development of High Speed 2 Oxford and Cambridge arc during the transition of those authorities to a single unitary council.
Answered on
21 November 2018
The existing councils will continue to fulfil their role until the new council is in place. Subject to Parliamentary approval, implementing secondary legislation will provide that planning for and implementing the transition to the new unitary council is to be the responsibility of the shadow authority and shadow executive. This will include members of the five existing councils. This ensures that expertise will be available from across the area for such key issues such as HS2 and the Oxford-Cambridge arc.