Agenda item

The Director of Regeneration introduced the report as set out.

In response to a query around the extent of Section 106 funding that Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) had contributed, the Cabinet Member clarified that the decision being sought was to enter into grant agreements to deliver heritage and public realm improvements and that the level of Section 106 funding was agreed as part of the planning permission process for the new football stadium.

In response to another question around the extent to which THFC were benefitting from significant sums of public money, the Cabinet Member acknowledged  that the original Funding and Investment Package for North Tottenham agreed in 2012 was made up of public funding, and that the majority of the funding came through the GLA. The Cabinet Member reiterated that the proposed heritage and public realm improvements supported the Council’s regeneration ambitions in North Tottenham and would ensure the continued preservation of the heritage assets in the area. The Cabinet Member outlined that the funding relevant to this decision was £7.5m for heritage and public realm funding within the 2017/18 financial year. 

RESOLVED

I.        To grant approval to enter into a grant agreement with THFC to provide £2.5m for heritage improvements in the vicinity of the NDP scheme and provides delegated authority:

• to the Director of Regeneration to agree the Heads of Terms (which shall include the key requirements set out in paragraphs 6.16 - 6.21 of the report) under which the Grant Agreement will be made; and
• to the Director of Regeneration, after consultation with the Assistant Director of Corporate Governance, the Chief Operating Officer and the Strategic Director of Regeneration, Planning and Development, to agree the final grant agreement.

II.        To grant approval to enter into a grant agreement with THFC to provide £5m for public realm improvements and provides delegated authority:

• to the Director of Regeneration to agree the Heads of Terms (which shall include the key requirements set out in paragraphs 6.11 – 6.15 of the report) under which the Grant Agreement will be made; and
• to the Director of Regeneration, after consultation with the Assistant Director of Corporate Governance, the Chief Operating Officer and the Strategic Director of Regeneration, Planning and Development, to agree the final grant agreement.

III.        To note that the grant agreements will be developed in line with the headline conditions outlined in section six of the report for the £2.5m heritage improvement funding and the headline costings in appendix 2 of the report for the £5m public realm improvement funding.

IV.        To note that the council has received leading Counsel’s advice to ensure that these funding contributions meet all relevant State Aid requirements. Further information is set out in the Legal Comments at section eight of the report.

Reasons for decision

One of Tottenham’s most important economic and cultural assets is Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Securing firm plans for the delivery of the new stadium and associated mixed use development was the first step in establishing a comprehensive regeneration programme for North Tottenham and the £27m funding package approved by Cabinet in 2012 supports this ambition.

The February 2012 Cabinet report recognised the catalytic role the NDP scheme would have on regeneration in general in north Tottenham and, subsequently, the investment either delivered (phase one completed in 2013 and provides significant retail and commercial space, alongside an education campus) or committed, has been a key enabler in the development of the adjacent transformational, multi-billion pound High Road West and Northumberland Park regeneration schemes.

Given the previous commitment provided by the February 2012 Cabinet decision, the club’s funding model for the stadium has always assumed public sector funding contributing to heritage and public realm improvements. Given this decision and given the progress made with the NDP scheme, to not agree to release the £7.5m funding would not display good faith on behalf of the Council and could also have a potentially destabilising impact on THFC’s funding position for the remaining phases of the NDP scheme.  

Alternative options considered

An alternative option would be for the council to take on the delivery of the improvement projects itself, rather than THFC being the delivery agents. However, the identified improvements, namely the public realm ‘podium’ and the heritage improvements associated with the ‘Northern Terrace’, are THFC owned and managed. More importantly, the podium and the Northern Terrace are components within the delivery of a many hundreds of millions of pounds, complex development scheme. THFC will be delivering the podium and Northern Terrace works as part of their overall delivery programme for the NDP scheme. There would be little logic in another party seeking to manage the delivery of these works separate from the overall NDP scheme delivery.

The 2012 Cabinet paper anticipated the release of funding between 2012 and 2014 (£3m funding for heritage improvement) and 2015/16 (£5m funding for community event and public space). However these timescales were not realised due to THFC’s revised planning application, which was not expected at the time the 2012 Cabinet report was agreed.

Following discussion with THFC, and on the basis that development in line with the 2016 planning permission is demonstrably underway, it would be appropriate to ensure there are no further delays. It is therefore recommended that the funding to support the improvement projects associated with the redevelopment of the football stadium should be drawn down in 2017/18.