Agenda item

To consider a report on the regeneration of Crewe town centre.

 

 

 

Cabinet considered a report on the regeneration of Crewe town centre.

 

The Council had invested £6m in acquiring the Royal Arcade properties, which included the bus station. In November 2015, the Council committed to seeking a commercial development partner to lead in delivering a leisure-led, mixed-use redevelopment of the site. Following a robust procurement process, the Council had selected a consortium comprising Cordwell Property Group and Peveril Securities as its preferred development partner. The report sought approval to enter into a development agreement to deliver the scheme, which would include a new cinema, restaurants, shops, a new bus station and a multi-storey car park. The report also included proposals to improve the town’s markets and invest in the public realm.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Cabinet

 

1.    subject to a formal decision by Cheshire & Warrington LEP, accepts a grant of £10m Local Growth Funding to support the delivery of projects in the Crewe town centre regeneration programme (as detailed in the report), with authority for entering into a formal funding agreement to be delegated to the Executive Director Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Communities, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Portfolio Holder for Highways and Infrastructure;

 

2.    authorises the Director of Legal Services to enter into a development agreement with Peveril Securities Ltd to secure the redevelopment of the Royal Arcade site, to include a cinema, other leisure uses, retail uses, a new bus station, car park and public realm (area 1a and 1b) within the site; a lease of part of the site be granted to Peveril Securities for a period of 200 years (Appendices1-7 provide location plans and development proposals, including a summary of the provisions within the development agreement (Appendix 5));

 

3.    notes that the redevelopment will be subject to planning and highways approval by the Council, as Local Planning Authority, at a later date;

 

4.    delegates authority for any decisions ancillary to the development agreement to the Executive Director Place, in consultation with the Director of Legal Services, the Chief Financial Officer/s151 Officer and the Head of Assets and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and other appropriate Portfolio Holder(s), including to:

 

(a)  negotiate and enter into all legal agreements required to support the delivery of the Development Agreement and the Head Lease to the development partner, including the final demise of the Head Lease and any agreements ancillary to the Development Agreement and the Head Lease and any variations required to the Development Agreement which fall within the scope of this contract award;

 

(b)  take all actions required to facilitate vacant possession of the development site and in respect of undertaking the statutory process to dispose of any of areas of public open space within the development site and, in support of this, to note that the Council will not enter into any new agreements for occupancy of vacant units;

 

(c)  as reasonably required to:

 

                                   (i)        take all actions necessary for the acquisition, extinguishment or otherwise rendering ineffective any third party interests over the Development Site or to appropriate such land so as to come within the provisions of section 237 of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

 

                                  (ii)        use all reasonable endeavours as land owner to assist with any application for any Stopping Up Order as made by the Developer;

 

                                 (iii)        release or procure the release of any rights, covenants and other interests over the Development Site insofar as it has the right to do so and provided that such release would not put the Council in breach of any obligation to a third party or parties; and

 

                                 (iv)        take such steps, in relation to the open space within the Development Site under either S123 Local Government Act 1973 or Part IX Town and Country Planning Act, as will enable its disposal within the Development Agreement arrangements.

 

5.     as part of the development agreement, agrees to transfer budgets into the Council’s main Capital Programme from the Addendum allocated for the Crewe Town Centre Regeneration Programme as follows:

 

(a)  up to a maximum of £3.745m towards the cost of the development of a new Crewe town centre bus station, to be retained in the freehold interest of the Council;

 

(b)  up to a maximum of £150,000 towards the costs of securing vacant possession of the Royal Arcade site, prior to the granting of a licence/lease to Peveril Securities Ltd; 

 

(c)  up to a maximum of £9.465m towards the cost of a new multi-storey car park (MSCP) within the Royal Arcade site, to be retained in the freehold ownership of the Council;

 

(d)  up to a maximum of £4.1m towards the cost of public realm on Council land/highway in Crewe town centre in the area immediately adjacent to the Royal Arcade site (area 1b), and to agree to vary the original terms of its procurement to include up to this amount within the development agreement;

 

(e)  up to £3.49m towards the cost of public realm on Council land/highway in Crewe town centre in the area around the Market Hall and other parts of the town centre (area 2), as indicated in Appendix 7, with authority for commencing procurement and entering into a contract for the these works to be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Portfolio Holder for Highways & Infrastructure.

 

6.    notes that resolution 5 above will be subject to the final stage approval of the business case by the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Communities and the Director of Finance and Procurement;

 

7.    having considered the alternative options for the future of Crewe’s markets (Market Hall, Market Sheds and outdoor/on-street market), agrees to

 

(a)  endorse the recommended option for the future of Crewe Market Hall, in terms of its physical form, operation and governance,  which will require remodelling and refurbishment of the interior, and some changes to its exterior façade (Phase 1);

 

(b)  delegate a decision on the preferred option and to take all actions required, including negotiating and entering into any legal agreements and the servicing of notices relating to the current and future occupation of the defined market site in order to implement the preferred option, following public consultation in October 2017, to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance & Communities and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration.

 

8.     subject to resolutions 7 (a) and (b) above, agrees to

 

(a)  transfer a budget of £3.9m into the main Capital Programme from the Addendum allocated for the Crewe Town Centre Regeneration Programme, in order to meet the costs required to undertake the remodelling of Crewe Market Hall (Phase 1) and any subsequent works related to future decisions relating to Crewe markets (Phase 2);

 

(b)  consider a potential requirement to use a proportion of the identified budget to secure vacant possession of the Market Hall, prior to any potential remodelling;

 

(c)  commence the procurement of a service operator for all, or some of the Crewe market operations, currently undertaken on behalf of the Council by ANSA, to include consideration of legal, financial, property and HR implications;

 

(d)  delegate authority for any subsequent key decisions over these Market investments, vacant possession and the appointment of a service operator to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Communities and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration;

 

(e)  consider a further report on additional changes (Phase 2) to Crewe markets (Crewe Market Sheds and street traders), with a formal decision to be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Communities and Regeneration;

 

(f)   note that, in taking forward the proposals for the markets, the Council intends to work in close collaboration with Crewe Town Council and other key partners, as appropriate, as part of a partnership-based approach to ensure that the implementation of the plans and future operations are undertaken with plans for other events and activities in the town centre.

 

9.     notes that there will be additional revenue implications to the Council, and that these will be identified in the business case to be addressed in relevant base budgets during the Council’s budget-setting and budget management process, these relating to:

 

(a)  the cessation of income to the Assets budget for Royal Arcade, due to redevelopment of the properties;

 

(b)  future costs of operating the new car park and revenue implications for other car parks in Crewe town centre;

 

(c)  future costs of operating the new bus station;

 

(d)  future costs for maintenance of public realm;

 

(e)  potential loss of income during works to Crewe Market Hall; and

 

(f)   future costs for maintenance of Crewe Market Hall.

 

10.  notes the development of a draft public realm strategy for Crewe town centre and Area 1 implementation plans, and to agree to consult with appropriate stakeholders prior to a decision on its final adoption, to be delegated to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Portfolio Holder for Highways and Infrastructure; and

 

11.  notes the development of plans for a History Centre to be located in the town centre, subject to securing external funding, which will also play an important role in the regeneration of the town centre and act as a key anchor project for the Civic and Cultural Quarter.