Agenda item

To consider the update report on the Handforth Garden Village.

The Committee considered the report which provided an update on the Handforth Garden Village since last discussed by the Committee in February 2023.

The Handforth Garden Village was a major long-term project for the Council, which had the capacity to generate capital receipts and presented an exemplary opportunity to promote sustainable development and place making.

Following the approval of the planning application in January 2023, the Economic Development Team had been working to progress the key actions. Expert advisers had been instructed to update the valuation from the original 2021 assessment with indications that the garden village would be financially viable and cash positive for the Council.  A report on this work would be brought to the Committee later in the year. A separate team had been appointed to undertake optimisation work examining the current proposals for the initial preparation and infrastructure work and would seek to maximise deliverability whilst still meeting anticipated planning requirements.

The Economic Development Team had engaged with the Local Planning Authority to identify an alternative mechanism to enable the obligations set out in the s106 agreement to be secured.  It was proposed that a Memorandum of Understanding would be submitted, confirming how and when the relevant obligations in the agreed s106 agreement would be met.  This mechanism would overcome the issue that the Council as landowner could not enter into a legal agreement with the Council as Local Planning Authority.

A Member Advisory Group was proposed to be set up with five members from the Economy and Growth Committee. The Advisory Group would advise officers on activity associated with the development of Handforth Garden Village, which would have implications and impacts on the Council’s reputation and/or on the broader local community.

In response to a question on the sustainable development of the Garden Village, the Head of Economic Development responded That the key principle of a garden village were a that was a sustainable community with the buildings being sustainable and it was a sustainable place for people to live, with employment opportunities, leisure facilities, schools and other facilities you would expect to see in a village.  There would be a number on site and off site mitigations to increase biodiversity and undertook to provide a written response on this.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee

1          nominate up to five members from the Committee to sit on the Handforth Garden Village Member Advisory Group and subject to nominations received and appointments approved by the Head of Governance and Democratic Services in line with the relevant protocols in the Constitution.

2.         Delegate authority to the Director of Growth & Enterprise (current Acting Executive Director – Place), to finalise, sign and submit Memoranda of Understanding to the Local Planning Authority, committing the Council as landowner/developer to meet obligations of the s.106 Agreement associated with planning permission 19/0623M.

3.         recommend to the Finance Sub-Committee that the existing Handforth Garden Village budget in the Council’s Capital Programme is separated into two project budgets, with the new project being titled Handforth Garden Village S.106 Development Obligations and having a budget currently estimated as circa £7m to cover the first tranche of S.106 contributions associated with the initial infrastructure works.

4.         note the intention of officers to utilise funds allocated for the Garden Village in the MTFS to instruct further priority workstreams in advance of grant of planning permission and approval of the final Business Case.

5.         note the intention to bring a further report to Committee once ongoing viability and business case work is completed, to seek authority for the next stage of the project.