Issue - meetings

Report of the Interim General Manager – Alexandra Palace – To report back to the Board on progress made by the Alexandra Park & Palace Regeneration Working Group (APPRWG) since the last Board meeting on the 21 June 2011 and the main activities in relation to Stage 2 - Concept Planning, and also to update the Board regarding preliminary discussions with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and English Heritage (EH) in relation to funding.

The Board received the update on the regeneration of Alexandra Palace, introduced by Mark Hopson (Head of Regeneration and Development, Alexandra Palace) as laid out in pages 1 - 5 of the to follow document.  The reasons for late ness for the report’s circulation had been due to a Regeneration Working Group meeting coinciding with the agenda dispatch timescales. The Board were briefly advised that a draft communications strategy would be prepared in November and a draft business plan in December and Trustees would be consulted on a procurement strategy at an away day on 29^th October. The Palace was also running stakeholder meetings once a month.

The Board briefly discussed the proposals, with the following main points raised and responses thereto:

·        With regard to clarification of the match funding and how this would happen it was noted that provision had been made within the budget to cover the match funding as part of the English Heritage bid (paragraph 11 of the report). Palace Regeneration staff would meet with English Heritage representatives on Friday 21^st October 2011 to discuss the bid and receive advice on the conservation of the Palace in terms of prioritising repair works. Should external funding bids not be successful the Palace would continue with some emergency repair works using the allocated £55k, which was part of the on-going maintenance budget and separate to the capital bid for 2012/13 submitted to the Council.

·        The Board recognised that the cost of repairs needed to be closely aligned with the benefits (commercially and in terms of regeneration) and consultations would be about the specific areas of the Palace and Park.  A masterplan for an over-arching vision would then be produced with a strategic vision for potential investors.

·        That in response to clarification as to possible future uses it was explained that “soft model testing” was where market operators were first consulted about their interests without being formally approached.

·        In response to concerns it was reported that most of the regeneration work was led and managed internally by Trust staff, however some expert advice was required. Board members expressed their satisfaction at the background knowledge and experience of representatives of Colliers International who were facilitating the project.

RESOLVED

i.          That the on-going regeneration work for Stage 2 be noted;

ii.         That the submitted funding application to English Heritage be noted; and

iii.        That the on-going budget position for Stage 2 regeneration work be noted and the use of identified Trust savings for the existing budget shortfall for 2011/12 be confirmed.