Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Place

(NOTE: Pursuant to Part 3e, Paragraph 19, of the City Council's Constitution, the Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee or her nominee, has been invited to attend for the consideration of this matter and to agree the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements will not apply. The reason for urgency being, that the decision has already been delayed pending resolution of Combined Authority funding.  If the project is to complete by 2022 work needs to commence as soon as possible.)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director of Place, which sought approval of the proposed appointment of a Preferred Bidder to deliver the City Centre South scheme and permission to formally enter into a contract with the Preferred Bidder for the delivery of the scheme, subject to satisfactory completion of the legal processes.

A corresponding private report detailing confidential aspects of the proposals was also submitted to the meeting for consideration.

Investing in the city centre and creating a new mixed use retail led scheme was a top priority for the Council.  Over recent years significant grant funding, mainly from Europe, had been invested in improving the city centre, including the new bridge deck at junction six to create an impressive pedestrian link to the railway station, the transformation of Broadgate and improved settings for some of the city's finest buildings, including the Council House and Holy Trinity church. Work was also underway to demolish Spire and Christchurch House ready for the water park and leisure centre, which will open in 2018.

City Centre South would transform some of the most tired and out dated areas of the city centre, including Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade and Hertford Street. The vision for the scheme being recommended was for a vibrant mixed use redevelopment, including a new anchor store and other shops, car park, restaurants and leisure provision and new homes. The scheme aimed to better connect the city's much loved, circular market which currently feels cut off from the shopping area and the use of high quality materials to create a nice environment for local shoppers and visitors. 

Following on from a recent procurement exercise using the Competitive Dialogue route, officers were now in a position to make a recommendation to appoint a developer to proceed with the scheme. Furthermore, funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority had been secured specifically for this project.

The report submitted set out a number of issues that were considered in order to identify the preferred bidder and those to be considered as part of the proposals for the City Centre South Development, including Council funding to the proposed scheme; Heads of Terms; and further matters in relation to the case for a Compulsory Purchase Order.

It was noted that the decision had already been delayed pending resolution of Combined Authority funding and that, if the project is to complete by 2022, the Council would need to commence as soon as possible.  Due to this timescale requirement, in accordance with Part 3e, Paragraph 19 of the City Council’s Constitution, Councillor Lancaster, Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, attended the meeting for the consideration of this matter and agreed the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements would not apply to the decisions made by the Cabinet.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Accept the bid and award the contract to Bidder A as the Preferred Bidder for the delivery of the City Centre South scheme, subject to the detailed information contained in the associated private report.

2.  Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Place and Executive Director for Resources following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration and Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources to undertake the necessary due diligence, finalise and complete the process of entering into the contract with the Preferred Bidder, subject to the detailed information contained in the associated private report.

3.  Approve in principle to use its Compulsory Purchase powers pursuant to sections 226 and/or 227 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and/or section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for the acquisition as necessary of the land outlined in red on the indicative plan at Appendix 1 (“the Land”) for planning purposes in order to enable the development of the City Centre South scheme, subject to the detailed information contained in the associated private report.

4.  Authorise the Executive Director for Place to grant written authority to officers to enter onto the Land or other land for the purposes of carrying out surveys pursuant to section 172 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

5.  Authorise the Executive Director for Place to issue notices requisitioning information from persons in relation to the Land or other land pursuant to section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

6.  Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Place, after consultation with the Legal Services Manager (Place & Regulatory) (or their nominee), to complete and settle the land referencing exercise to identify all owners, tenants, occupiers and others with a legal interest affected and which may be included in any future Compulsory Purchase Order and/or become eligible for compensation under section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, subject to the detailed information contained in the associated private report.

7.  Note that a detailed report in relation to the proposed Compulsory Purchase Order setting out the justification and a statement of reasons will be presented to Cabinet in due course.

8.  Note that a full Equalities Impact Assessment will be undertaken into the potential impact of the proposed Compulsory Purchase Order to meet with the Council’s Public Sector Equality Duty.

9.  Recommend that the Council:-

  i.  Approve the grant funding in the sum of £98.8 million pounds from the West Midlands Combined Authority and delegate to the Executive Director for Place and Executive Director for Resources in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration and Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, the authority enter into the necessary grant funding agreement to secure the funding, subject to the detailed information contained in the associated private report.

  ii.  Approve that £98.8 million is added to the Council’s capital programme, all funded from the West Midlands Combined Authority.