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RESOLVED: Cabinet;
a)   
Approved the acquisition of the Corn
Exchange
b)   
Recommended to Council the establishment of a
capital budget of the value set out in the private appendix for the
acquisition and delegates authority to the Director of Communities
and Opportunities, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer
and Monitoring Officer, to finalise the purchase subject to Council
approval.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
a)   
unlock the Greyfriars site by creating a new
north-south connection and direct link from the Greyfriars site to
the Market Square and town centre enabling the delivery of 1000+
new high quality homes, new leisure and cultural facilities
alongside extensive public realm and a new town park.
b)   
enable the regeneration of a prominent derelict
building into a multi-purpose cultural venue that supports
activities at Greyfriars and on the Market Square.
c)    
support the economic and social wellbeing of West
Northamptonshire.
d)   
allow for the redevelopment of the Corn Exchange to
act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the Greyfriars
sites leveraging private sector investment.
 
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

The council could decide not to
purchase at this time and if it the property was then acquired by a
third party and land banked and continues to sit derelict then it
could decide to compulsory purchase in the future. The compulsory
purchase process from making the order to the Secretary of State
could take in the region of 12 to 24 months and would also bear
significant cost to the council to take it through the judicial
process.