Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation]

To seek approval for the acquisition of industrial land in Seven Sisters to support for general fund purposes.

The Cabinet Member for House-Building, Place-Making and Development introduced the report which sought approval for the acquisition of freehold interests known as 6-40 Durnford Street, N15 5NQ and Land to the Rear of 728 Seven Sisters Road, N15 5NH in Seven Sisters, using funding secured as part of MHCLG’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) Programme.

The Cabinet Member and the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning responded to questions from the Cabinet and Councillor Barnes:

-           This report was to seek approval for the acquisition of properties – detailed proposals for the future of the properties would be provided in a future report.

-           This was the start of a long process and it would be a minimum of 2-3 years before any work would begin on site in a phased development.

-           The acquisition provided value for money in that it provided a valuable asset in terms of the commercial property portfolio.

Further to considering exempt information at item 23 it was

RESOLVED that Cabinet

1.         Note the Draft Masterplan Objectives outlined in Section 6.

2.         Agrees to acquire for General Fund purposes “the Site” for a sum (as reported in Part B of the report) based on the draft Heads of Terms which are set out in Appendix 4 (in Part B of this report).

3.         Note that the seller will take a lease back of the Site from the Council on acquisition for a period of 2 years (with break clause) as set out in the draft Heads of Terms in Appendix 4 (in Part B of this report).

4.         Give delegated authority to The Director of Housing, Planning and Regeneration after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation and the Cabinet Member for House Building, Placemaking and Development to agree the final heads of terms and the legal documentations for the acquisition.

Reasons for Decision

The Gourley Triangle site is an important site allocation in the Tottenham Area Action Plan. It has long been identified as having the potential for renewal and placemaking given the quality of the current built environment. At its heart, the future of Gourley Triangle will aim to reflect employment and workspaces that meet the contemporary post-Covid economy. There is also potential to meet wider Council objectives of placemaking, delivering council homes and sustainability. 

Due to complex and fragmented land ownership, it is considered that the Gourley Triangle site could not come forward without public sector intervention. The Council is able to lead this intervention by developing a coherent masterplan and land acquisition programme. This report sets out the draft key objectives informing the development of the masterplan and brings forward for decision the first land acquisition.

An opportunity has arisen to make an early acquisition of a critical land interest at the heart of the Gourley Triangle and adjacent to existing Council freehold interests. There are a number of 3^rd party interests in the Gourley Triangle area and the proposed acquisition of “the Site” enables the Council to take the lead in land assembly of the Gourley Triangle. The Council has secured external funding from MHCLG’s ‘Future High Streets Fund’ to cover the cost of this acquisition.

The acquisition price and associated business case is based on an ‘existing use value’ approach and covers the fallback position of what would happen in the event the Council were unable to take a wider redevelopment forward.

Alternative Options Considered

Not acquiring The Site

This option was rejected because the Site is central to achieving the Council’s strategic objectives for the wider Gourley Triangle site allocation as set out in the Tottenham Area Action Plan.  There are further risks that the Site could be acquired by another third party, who may not be willing to work with the Council to secure those outcomes. Additionally, the Council understands that the long-standing third party local business is actively constrained in its current site, and there is an important opportunity to facilitate their future growth through agreeing to purchase the Site at this time. 

Acquiring The Site at a later date

This option was considered and rejected. There is a current opportunity to acquire and the vendor has indicated that they have a compelling business reason to dispose at this time.  The risk is that the Site could be sold on were the Council not to take the opportunity to acquire from a willing vendor at this time. In this case the Council would need to, should it wish to redevelop the Gourley Triangle site in the future, seek to acquire the Site first by private treaty with the possibility of exercising its CPO powers as part of a land assembly exercise where that is not possible.