Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the minutes from the meeting of Cabinet on 11 October, 2022

(b)  Matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 October, 2022 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

To consider whether to exclude the press and public for the items of private business for the reasons shown in the reports.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet agrees to exclude the press and public under Sections 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the private report in Minute 56 below headed ‘City Centre South Funding and Delivery”’ on the grounds that the report involves the likely disclosure of information contained in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as it contains information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways which that indicated that the City Council has developed a new Coventry Transport Strategy which sets out a long-term (15 year) vision for the way that people and goods will travel to, from and around the city in the future. The Strategy, which was appended to the report,  aims to bring about a fundamental change by creating a city where it is easy, convenient and safe to walk, cycle and travel on public transport and where most people do not need to use a car to access the services that they need for day-to-day life.

This change will directly support many of the Council’s wider objectives, as set out in the emerging One Coventry Plan. These include increasing economic prosperity, improving outcomes and tackling inequalities, reducing adverse impacts upon the environment, health and wellbeing and tackling the causes and consequences of climate change.

The Strategy has also been developed alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Local Transport Plan (LTP) for the region, which is expected to be adopted in early 2023. The Coventry Transport Strategy therefore aims to deliver Coventry’s local priorities, while also meeting the ambitions of the wider region, for example in relation to economic growth and tackling climate change.

Cabinet has previously (October 2021) considered this Strategy in draft form (Minute 34/21 refers). Since then, the Council has carried out a public consultation and has engaged further with key stakeholders (including WMCA). The results of the consultation were largely positive, with stakeholders and the majority of residents supporting both the Strategy’s overall vision and most of the individual measures included in it. However, while most of the Strategy is unchanged from the previous draft, some amendments have been made in response to residents and stakeholders feedback. Further details of the responses received were appended to the report.  

The Strategy is supported by an accompanying Implementation Plan, also appended to the report, which provides details of the specific transport improvements that we, and our partners, will deliver to implement the Strategy. The Implementation Plan is focused primarily on the first five years of the Strategy (2022/23 – 2026/27). This is the period covered by the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), through which £80 million has been allocated to transport schemes in Coventry.

Cabinet previously received a more detailed report on the CRSTS programme in August 2022 (Minute 20/22 refers). The Implementation Plan incorporates these schemes alongside others that are expected to be funded via other sources.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet recommends that Council:-

1.  Approves the Coventry Transport Strategy, as appended to this report, and the adoption of the Strategy as part of the Council’s formal Policy Framework.

2.  Delegates authority to the Director of Transportation and Highways, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, and the Cabinet Member for City Services (and in respect of the implementation and scope of individual projects, the relevant Ward Councillors), to take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services which indicated that the Coventry Local Plan was adopted in 2017. The Council is obliged to consider whether the Plan needs reviewing every five years. This consideration is based on whether the Plan has been effective in meeting the policy objectives it set out, whether there have been substantive policy changes at a local or national level, or whether there has been a significant change in the housing need.

Given that the Government’s “Standard Method” for calculating Housing Need was introduced after the adoption of the current Plan it is considered that a significant change has occurred. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of the policies in the Plan will give an opportunity to ensure greater consideration of environmental issues as well as wider national changes.

It is therefore proposed to conduct a full review of the Local Plan, and an indicative timeline is included as part of a refreshed Local Development Scheme 2022-25, a copy of which was appended to the report.  Adoption of a reviewed Local Plan is anticipated to take place in early 2025 and an indicative timeline was detailed in the report.

RESOLVED that Cabinet :-

1)  Notes the timeline indicated in the Report

.

2)  Adopts the draft Local Development Scheme 2022-2025.

3)   Recommends that Council approves the commencement of a full Local Plan Review.

Report of the Director of Property Services and Development

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Property Services and Development which indicated that the City Centre South scheme will deliver transformational improvements to Coventry City Centre through new homes, jobs, commercial and leisure opportunities and high quality public spaces. The  report sought formal approval to the next stage of the project (following the previous Council approval in January 2022 to proceed with the making of the Compulsory Purchase Order).

A corresponding private report detailing confidential financial matters was also submitted for consideration (Minute 56 below refers).

The Council’s development partner, Shearer Property Regen Ltd (SPRL), have appointed Hill Holdings Limited as the funding partner for the Scheme under the terms of the Development Agreement entered into between the Council, SPRL and Shearer Property Group (SPG) in 2019. The Council are working with the developer to optimise the Scheme and an application to make a number of refinements to the Outline Planning Permission for the Scheme will be submitted to the Local Planning Authority shortly.

The parties are also working together to agree variations to the Development Agreement to reflect the Scheme refinements and the commercial terms of both the Council and development partner. Whilst deliverability is being optimised through design and contractual changes, where a viability gap remains the developer has a right under the Development Agreement to make a request of the Council to bridge that financial gap, in order to make the scheme financially viable. The Council has no obligation to agree to such a request; however, it is recommended that the Council resolves to provide financial support to the project in order to secure delivery.

This report, therefore, seeks formal approval to utilise funding awarded to the Council by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), as well as some additional Council resources, to provide additional funding support for the Scheme and to make changes to the Development Agreement to enable the delivery of the Council’s key regeneration priority for the city, delivering important new homes, hundreds of new jobs and a step change in the quality of the city centre.

The Scheme will deliver a range of transformational benefits for the people of Coventry. The proposed refinements to the Scheme will lead to up to 1,500 new homes (an increase from 1,300 new homes), new retail, employment, health care and leisure space resulting in a new sustainable city centre community whilst still retaining a mixed use approach. As well as these quantitative benefits, the delivery of the Scheme will realise a significant number of qualitative benefits that will benefit local residents and businesses, which include:

§  An increased diversity in city centre uses, through the delivery of residential units (including different tenures), mixed retail and leisure spaces and new public realm provisions.

§  An active, attractive and inclusive evening economy, as a result of the provision of a more varied commercial offer which will lead to a more socially inclusive place.

§  Improved attractiveness of the city centre as a business location, through attraction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

There were no other items of urgent public business.

Report of the Director of Property Services and Development

(Listing officer: A Hunt – email adam.hunt@coventry.gov.uk)

Further to Minute 53 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Director of Property Services and Development which set out the commercially confidential matters relating to proposals for the next stage of the City Centre South scheme, which will deliver transformational improvements to Coventry City Centre through new homes, commercial and leisure opportunities and high quality public spaces.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:-

1)  Delegates authority to the Director of Property Services and Development, following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer), the Director of Law and Governance, the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities to undertake the necessary due diligence and approve the terms of the Scheme funding and, thereafter, enter into any associated legal agreements and undertakings that are necessary to give effect to the recommendations within this report.

2)  Approves, in principle, the proposed Variations to the Development Agreement between the Council, Shearer Property Regen Ltd and Shearer Property Group.

3)  Delegates authority to the Director of Property Services and Development, following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer), the Director of Law and Governance, the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities to undertake the necessary due diligence and approve and enter into the legal agreements and undertakings necessary to give effect to recommendation two above.

4)  Recommends that the Council approves the use of up to £32.75m to support the delivery of the Scheme and £1.2m to fund Project Support and Monitoring Costs (£28.7m of which is to be funded from the West Midlands Combined Authority City Centre South grant and £5.25m from Capital receipts to provide the remaining gap funding for the Scheme and Scheme Project Support and Monitoring Costs). 

There were no other items of urgent private business.