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RESOLVED: that
Cabinet:
a)   
Noted the update to works undertaken by Officers
from April 2022 onwards.
b)   
Delegated authority to the Director of Communities
and Opportunities in consultation with Chief Finance Officer, the
Monitoring Officer and the Cabinet Member for Economic Development,
Town Centre Regeneration and Growth to enter the necessary
Contracts, Warranties and Bonds for all related works for the
removal of asbestos and the demolition of all the buildings
required across the site.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
·        
To allow the 35-45 Abington Street development site
to deliver the objectives and strategy agreed by Cabinet on 12th
April 2022 by way of providing a development partner with a site
cleared of the existing buildings.
·        
To ensure the Towns Fund grant award is spent within
the award timescales and for the permitted purposes.
 
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
To approve the ability for the
Council to award a contract or contracts to enable the asbestos
removal from 20-28 Wood Street and 35-39 Abington Street and the
demolition of 20-28 Wood Street, 35-39 Abington Street and 41-45
Abington Street. These will allow the Council to deliver to a
developer a cleared site: Cushman Wakefield have identified this
approach as the most economically advantageous route to attracting
developer interest in the site.
 
Not to approve the ability for
the Council to award a contract or contracts to enable the asbestos
removal from 20-28 Wood Street and 35-39 Abington Street and the
demolition of 20-28 Wood Street, 35-39 Abington Street and 41-45
Abington Street. This would mean reviewing the whole delivery
strategy for the scheme. It would also mean that the buildings will
be left empty for considerably longer period with prolonged adverse
impact on the street scene and encouraging further anti-social
behaviour, potentially creating less interest from potential
development partners, and incurring greater costs to achieve a
cleared site. It would also cause significant challenge to the
Council’s ability to meet the date by which the grant fund
must be disbursed (April 2025). MCHLG sets grant spend dates
deliberately short to encourage and to incentivise the rapid
conclusion of funded schemes: the Abington Street scheme is no
exception. If the grant were not spent by the due date, there is no
guarantee that the spend period would be extended.