Report of Deputy Chief Executive (Place)
(Listing Officer: A Hunt, Tel: 024 7683 1812)
Minutes:
Further to Minute 24 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), setting out the commercially confidential matters relating to proposals to grant a lease on land within the Friargate Business District.
RESOLVED that the Cabinet:
1) Approves capital expenditure, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions precedent (contractual protection) contained within the option agreement dated 15th January 2019 between the Council and Friargate JV Project Limited, as outlined in para 1.2, to fund the acquisition of the site shown edged red on the Site Plan appended to the report, by way of the entering into of a 250 year lease in return for a premium payment in the sum now indicated (plus acquisition fees and Stamp Duty Land tax).
2) Delegates authority to the City Solicitor, following consultation with the Finance Manager (Corporate Finance) and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to finalise the terms of the leasehold acquisition between the Council and Friargate JV Project Limited to ensure that this transaction will be entered into in the most efficient manner.
3) Authorises the grant of a new lease for the unexpired term of the headlease to be acquired under recommendation 1) above (less seven days) to a special purpose vehicle to be formed by Wylam Investments Limited for the site shown edged in red on the Site Plan appended to the report for the development of a hotel in accordance with the terms of this report.
4) Approves the draft Heads of Terms for the grant of the underlease as set out in the Proposed Heads of Terms appended to the report.
5) Delegates authority to the City Solicitor, following consultation with the Finance Manager (Corporate Finance) and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to undertake the necessary due diligence, make any subsequent variation to the Heads of Terms, and to complete the necessary legal documentation required to enter into the new lease arrangements.
6) Approves capital expenditure of up to £1m from existing resources within the Public Realm Programme associated with City of Culture readiness, to be used for the purposes of delivering a public realm scheme in and around the hotel site.
7) Delegates authority to the City Solicitor, following consultation with the Finance Manager (Corporate Finance) and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to agree the final public realm cost, specification and necessary legal documentation required for delivery.
8) Approves capital expenditure of up to £0.685m from existing resources within the capital programme to be used for the purposes of providing the necessary utilities and servicing infrastructure in the surrounding area to the site as well as up to the boundary of the site in order to enable the delivery of the hotel.
9) Delegates authority to the City Solicitor, following consultation with the Finance Manager (Corporate Finance) and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to agree the final services and utilities cost, specification and necessary legal documentation required for delivery.
10) Approves (following practical completion of the infrastructure) the proposed grant of a lease for up to 50 car parking spaces at the rail station multi-story car park on the terms now indicated.
11) Delegates authority to the City Solicitor, following consultation with the Finance Manager (Corporate Finance) and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to undertake the necessary due diligence and to complete the necessary legal documentation required to enter into the new car park lease arrangements.
12) Cabinet recommends that Council approves the necessary adjustment to the Capital programme to reflect the capital expenditure incurred in the acquisition of the leasehold interests within the Friargate Business District.