Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor T Dean.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

Councillor I Faseyi declared an interest as the site was located in her local Ward; Councillor B Roberts declared an interest as he was a Local Ward Member in Crewe.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relevant to the work of the body in question.  Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman or person presiding will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.

No members of the public were present.

To consider a report on the Royal Arcade Redevelopment Scheme which presents the alternative options for procurement and recommends a preferred approach.

That approval be given for Officers to proceed in procuring a development partner through a competitive dialogue procurement approach.

It was reported that in April 2015 the Cabinet approved the acquisition of the Royal Arcade site in Crewe town centre, following which the Council commenced the first stages of its delivery plan for the site’s redevelopment.  It had been in dialogue with a number of interested parties in relation to the future of the site, including existing occupiers of the properties, developers, the owners of other sites/properties and other key stakeholders.

The Council undertook an evaluation of the different options for delivery of a redevelopment scheme on this site through internal discussions with Council officers and its external advisers, Cushman & Wakefield (formerly known as DTZ) and took account of delivery timescales, financial implications, deliverability issues and risks.  Following this evaluation and an analysis of the responses from developers the Cabinet, at its meeting on 29 September 2015, agreed to select and appoint a development partner through a procurement process.  

The Council undertook a compliant procurement process pursuant to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and through informal dialogue with developers this has emerged as the preferred option for most as they would seek for the Council to be engaged throughout this process as a partner, sharing ownership and refining the scheme.

It was noted that the likely timetable for delivery would be dependent on the process undertaken, but a developer could be appointed within 6-9 months if an open or restricted procurement process was undertaken, or up to 12 months if a competitive dialogue undertaken.  Provided the procedure is implemented correctly and, in particular, that the Council’s requirements are clearly articulated at the outset, this option carries a low risk of a successful challenge which could derail the process.

The report put forward the alternative options and recommended that approval be given to a competitive dialogue procurement approach. 

RESOLVED

That approval be given for Officers to proceed in procuring a development partner through a competitive dialogue procurement approach.