Agenda item

The Regeneration Project officer introduced the report and outlined that in February 2012 Cabinet agreed to contribute £500,000 towards public realm improvements on Worcester Avenue. This money has not yet been allocated and will not be until Tottenham Hotspur (THFC) are in a position to lay permanent surfaces and finishes once the majority of construction in and around the stadium has finished. Meanwhile, a number of additional highways and transport related priority issues had been identified which the Council will need to resolve ahead of the new stadium opening. The report proposed using a proportion of £500,000 already allocated to fund these works. THFC would still be required to complete the Worcester Avenue work through their own funds and the remainder of the £500,000 committed, with no further funds being provided by the Council. This would be guaranteed through stipulations contained within a section 278 agreement for Worcester Avenue. 

RESOLVED

1.    To approve the reallocation of £211,937.48 plus 15% contingency (equating to a maximum of £243,728.10) from the £500,000 committed by Cabinet in February 2012 for improvements to Worcester Avenue, to cover urgent highways and transport works required to mitigate against the large volume of spectators visiting the new THFC stadium from August 2018 to be carried out as highway works pursuant to the 2016 S106 agreement.  

2.    To agree that the remainder of the £500,000 continues to be held until THFC are in a position to install a permanent surface and fixtures to Worcester Avenue.

3.    That, where agreed with THFC, any additional work required for similar improvements can also be funded from this sum until the £500,000 ceiling has been reached.

4.    That the Section 278 agreement relating to Worcester Avenue stipulates a requirement for THFC to complete the work to Worcester Avenue in line with the February 2012 Cabinet agreement without any additional funding (beyond any remaining funds from the original £500,000 allocated) being provided by the Council.

Reasons for decision

In February 2012 a package of funding for north Tottenham was agreed which included a financial contribution of £8.5m towards the Northumberland Development Project (a stadium led regeneration scheme delivered by THFC). This contribution covered contributions towards public realm and heritage improvements as well as £0.5m towards improvements to Worcester Avenue.

Due to the large volume of construction on and around Worcester Avenue both now and in the future, THFC do not intend to install permanent surfaces or finishes to the road until a much later date. The Council has therefore retained this £500,000, for release once THFC are in a position to carry out the permanent works.

Through the preparation of the Local Area Management Plan (LAMP), THFC and officers from the Council have identified that some additional highways and transport improvements are required ahead of the opening of the new stadium in August 2018. The total cost of these works equates to £215,937.48 (£243,728.10 including 15% contingency) and will be carried out as highways works pursuant to the S106 agreement as per the following table:

In order to fund these works with no additional financial burden to the Council, it is proposed that it is funded out of the £500,000 currently being held for Worcester Avenue.

To ensure that the Council is not required to contribute further money towards Worcester Avenue at the point THFC carry out the improvement work, the section 278 agreement for Worcester Avenue, which primarily relates to the management of the road, will include a clear stipulation that THFC complete a permanent surface and fixtures to Worcester Avenue in line with the original February 2012 Cabinet agreement. This will be solely through their own funds with the Council contribution equating only to what remains of the £500,000 after the improvement work specified in 4.3 above has been completed.

Whilst the proposal in this report does not incur any additional financial burden to the Council nor prevent the completion of any works previously agreed with THFC, a Decision report is required as it represents a variation from the funding strategy specified in the February 2012 Cabinet report. 

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Fund the highways and transport improvements through other budgets: The Council could decide to use an alternative Council budget to fund the require works. This would incur additional cost to the Council with a detrimental impact on other planned highways/transport improvements. As THFC and Council officers have reached agreement to progress as outlined in section 4 above there is no justifiable reason for incurring additional expense on the Council or failing to carry out much needed improvements work elsewhere in the borough.

Require THFC to provide funding for the cost of the highways and transport improvement works now: Through the S106 agreement, highway works to the value of £1.86m are to be carried out by the Council. Legal have confirmed that as the £500,000 for Worcester Avenue is yet to be spent it may not count towards the £1.86m figure until the work has been completed. The Council are therefore not yet in a position to require THFC to contribute any additional funds. Even if the Council were to do so this would not save the Council any money as THFC would then be able to draw down the full £500,000 once they deliver a permanent surface and fixtures to Worcester Avenue. As the arrangement described in section 4 above explains, the proposal contained within this report would see the Council’s contribution towards Worcester Avenue reduce by the amount spent on these highways and transport improvements. There is therefore no benefit in the Council trying to demand that THFC cover the cost of the work now.