Issue - meetings

With the building of the new Civic Centre, the existing Town Hall site will become surplus to the Council’s requirements during 2013.  Previous reports to the Executive have outlined that the Council needs to maximise the capital receipt for the Town Hall in order to contribute towards the Civic Centre business plan.  This report sets out the marketing exercise undertaken for the Town Hall and makes recommendations to the Executive in respect of the disposal of the Town Hall site.   The report also recommends that the Executive agree to authorise the appropriation of the Town Hall site to planning purposes to enable the operation of powers under Section 237 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (Section 237) to facilitate the redevelopment of the Town Hall site.

(i)         that approval be given to the disposal of the Town Hall site for the sum set out in the confidential Appendix 1 of the report from the Director of Regeneration and Major Project, to the preferred bidder, or depending on how negotiations proceed, agree a sale to the reserve bidder - the second highest bid and that the Director of Regeneration and Major Projects to be authorised to agree the final terms and to complete the disposal;

(ii)        that the Director of Regeneration and Major Projects be authorised, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Procurement, to appropriate the Town Hall site as shown heavily outlined in black on the plan comprised in Appendix 2 for the planning purposes of facilitating the redevelopment of the Town Hall site pursuant to section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972.

Councillor Crane (Lead Member, Regeneration and Major Projects) reminded the Executive that with the building of the new Civic Centre, the existing Town Hall site would become surplus to the council’s requirements during 2013.  Previous reports to the Executive had outlined that the council needed to maximise the capital receipt for the Town Hall in order to contribute towards the Civic Centre business plan.  Councillor Crane outlined the marketing exercise undertaken for the Town Hall which formally started in March 2012, following which five submissions were received. He drew members’ attention to the legal implications and the appendix to the report which was not for publication, and made recommendations in respect of the disposal of the Town Hall site to a preferred bidder referred to in the report, or to the reserved bidder, depending on the outcome of negotiations and subject to planning permission.

Appendices to the report were not for publication as they contained the following category of exempt information as specified in Schedule 12 of the Local Government (Access to Information Act) 1972: 

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED:-

(i)         that approval be given to the disposal of the Town Hall site for the sum set out in the confidential Appendix 1 of the report from the Director of Regeneration and Major Project, to the preferred bidder, or depending on how negotiations proceed, agree a sale to the reserve bidder - the second highest bid and that the Director of Regeneration and Major Projects to be authorised to agree the final terms and to complete the disposal;

(ii)        that the Director of Regeneration and Major Projects be authorised, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Procurement, to appropriate the Town Hall site as shown heavily outlined in black on the plan comprised in Appendix 2 for the planning purposes of facilitating the redevelopment of the Town Hall site pursuant to section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972.