Agenda item

Further to Minute 104 of the Cabinet, the City Council 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 (Minute 110 below refers).

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 City 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.