Decision details

Disley Parish Council owns and manages Arnold Rhodes Open Space and Newtown Playing Fields. Cheshire East Council currently holds developer contributions secured through Section 106 agreements specifically for improvements to these facilities. The available balances exceed £140,000 and are restricted to open space, play, recreation and sports facility improvements at these locations.

To ensure timely delivery of projects, Cheshire East Council is proposing to enter into a grant agreement with Disley Parish Council. This arrangement will allow the Parish Council to directly procure and manage improvement works whilst Cheshire East Council retains appropriate oversight to ensure compliance with the S106 agreements.

That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Legal and Enforcement, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Regeneration

1.         Approve of a supplementary capital estimate of £142,286.52, fully funded by external contributions (Section 106 funding available for eligible improvements at Arnold Rhodes Open Space and Newtown Playing Fields in Disley.)

2.         Approve to enter into a Grant Agreement with Disley Parish Council, enabling the Parish Council to deliver eligible open space, play, recreation and sports facility improvements using the Section 106 funds held by Cheshire East Council, subject to appropriate monitoring and compliance requirements.

3.         Approve to make a same-day payment of the initial £45,352.00 funding allocation to Disley Parish Council upon completion of the Grant Agreement, to allow the Parish Council to immediately commission the first phase of works comprising the Arnold Rhodes Play Area Improvement Scheme (£45,352 excluding VAT). This will secure current contractor pricing, avoid unnecessary delays and support expenditure of the S106 contributions within the required timescales.

The proposed approach provides a quicker route to delivery than managing the project directly through Cheshire East Council resources.  Offices have identified that direct council delivery would likely introduce delays due to current workloads and increase the risk of expenditure falling beyond the S106 deadline.  

The project will deliver visible improvements to a well-used community facility and forms the first phase of a wider programme of open space enhancements in Disley.

Do nothing - leaving the S106 fund unspent increases the risk that the contributing developer may seek to recover the monies once the spend deadline has passed.  Any delays will also lead to higher construction costs, reducing the overall value of the improvements that can be delivered.

Improvements undertaken by Environmental Servies:  given the current workloads within the Environmental Services, this approach would introduce further delays and is likely to result in expenditure falling beyond the S106 spend deadline.