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RESOLVED: Cabinet;
a)   
Noted the progress made on the St James Depot site
since the acquisition in November 2023.
b)   
Authorised the Director of Communities and
Opportunities to approve the appointment of a principal contractor
to undertake the remedial works required on the St James Depot
site.
c)    
Approved the recommended delivery route for a
high-quality residential scheme and authorises the Director of
Communities and Opportunities, in consultation with the Chief
Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer, to enter into a Development
Agreement and associated documents with the preferred development
partner for the St James Depot site.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
1.    
To allow the St James Depot development site to
deliver the objectives for re-development set out in the Full
Council report dated 30th November 2023 by way of removing or
reducing the abnormal costs associated with re-developing the site.
Through undertaking remedial works on the St James Depot site, it
will allow for the procurement of a development partner to deliver
a residential scheme on the site, regenerating a site which has sat
derelict for over a decade contributing to the decline of the town
centre.
2.    
To ensure the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF)
grant conditions are met, particularly in relation to the
requirement to be in contract for remedial works as set out in this
report and to spend the grant within the award timescales and for
the permitted purposes.
 
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:
To not approve the ability for
the Council to award the contract for the Brownfield Land Release
Fund remedial works for the St James Depot site would mean that the
Council would not meet the grant stipulation of being in contract
for the works by 31 March 2025. This would mean that the Council
would run the risk of having to return grant monies to OPE which
would impact negatively the relationship with OPE and the
reputation of the Council. This would mean that there would be no
funding to remedy the constraints on the site to get the site ready
for a developer. The delivery strategy for the site would then need
to be reviewed and the buildings on site will be left empty for a
considerably longer period with a prolonged adverse impact on the
street scene and encouraging further anti-social behaviour,
creating less interest from potential development partners, and
incurring greater costs to achieve a cleared site.