Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director for Regeneration and Economic Development and Assistant Director for Capital Projects and Property. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for House Building, Place-Making and Development.

Approval is sought for acquisition of third-party land based on a business case and as per the boundary set out within the report. Approval is also sought to progress to pre-contract stage with extension of the existing design team contract.

The Cabinet Member for House Building, Place-Making and Development introduced the report which sought agreement to the acquisition of the remaining third-party land interests on the site, based on the business case for the redevelopment of Gourley Triangle as set out in the report.

Cabinet noted that in agreeing to the acquisition of the properties within the site and the associated redevelopment, a capital bid would be submitted as part of the next Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the cost of the works element of the development. This capital bid would be a self-financing bid.

Approval was also sought for the pre-contract budget (set out in exempt part of the attached report) to progress the development of the Site including an extension of the existing Contract with the multi-disciplinary design team through to submission of a planning application at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Work Stage 2+.

Noted that the objectives for the site were set out in the July Cabinet paper where the draft Master Plan had been agreed and the Council were working with residents and local businesses to build up proposals which was essentially mixed-use proposal. There were heritage aspects to the sites noted and information provided on how they would be retained.

Following questions from Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following information was noted:

-       The process for decision making would take place through the gateway process outlined at CAB 760 and as this was a complex and detailed scheme, there would be advice provided by external advisers and specialist officer. Officers advised that the negotiations were taking place simultaneously as much as possible .

-       In relation to considering ground contamination and potential financial impact, this would be worked through in the due diligence stage and considered with the third parties when compiling the acquisition price.

Further to considering the exempt information at item 772 and agreeing the exempt recommendations,

RESOLVED

1. To note the business case for the acquisition of the remaining third-party land parcels on “the Site” as set out in paragraphs 6.4-6.65 of the report.

2. To acquire, based on the business case, the remaining third-party land parcels coloured pink and situated within “the Site” outlined in red on the plan attached as Appendix 1 and to be held in the General Fund for planning purposes; and

3. To approve a budget for acquisitions as set out in 3.2, being a total sum set out in the exempt Part B of this report to be funded from the Strategic Acquisitions Fund.

4. To 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 price for each acquisition and the final heads of terms and legal documentations.

5. To approve a budget for project development costs to Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Work Stage 3+ (tender), being a total sum set out in the exempt Part B of this report to be funded from the Strategic Acquisitions Fund.

6. To approve the extension of the Contract with Haworth Tompkins Architects from RIBA Work Stage 1+ to RIBA Work Stage 2+ (planning application) for a total budget set out in the exempt Part B of this report.

7. To 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 approve a contingency sum in relation to the Contract extension with Haworth Tompkins Architects as set out in the exempt Part B of this report.

8. To note the key principles of the draft Business Retention and Relocation Strategy as set out in paragraph 6.25 of the report.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

The recommendations in this report support the delivery of the Gourley Triangle site allocation in Tottenham Area Action Plan (AAP). This site has long been identified as having the potential for renewal and placemaking given the poor quality of its current built environment.

Business Case and Land Acquisitions

The Council’s employment and economic growth aspirations are ambitious, seeking to deliver 12,000 jobs in the borough by 2026 as identified within the Local Plan Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (2018). The business case set out in this report has workspace at its heart with new development aiming to secure employment spaces that meet the needs of the post-Covid economy alongside wider Council objectives of placemaking, delivering council homes, and sustainability. With highly limited land supply in the borough, opportunities such as this should be carefully considered and maximised.

The Council is in a unique position to secure the Site Objectives for the Gourley Triangle. Acquisition of the remaining land interests will allow the Council control over the site and hence the ability to take forward a comprehensive redevelopment scheme.

Multi-Disciplinary Design Team Appointment

The project requires the appointment of a high quality and experienced multi-disciplinary design team to deliver the detailed planning application and technical design work to RIBA Work Stage 3+. In April 2021, Haworth Tompkins were appointed under delegated authority to deliver feasibility work up to RIBA Work Stage 1+. This paper seeks approval to extend this Contract to RIBA Work Stage 2+ as allowed for by the original procurement and give the option to approve a contingency sum under delegated authority if required.

Progression of the design to RIBA Work Stage 2+ will enable certain elements of the scheme to be designed in detail, ensuring that the planning application locks in quality that is protected from potential future value-engineering exercises.

Alternative Options Considered
 

Not agreeing the Business Case and Land Acquisitions

Not agreeing the business case and land acquisitions was rejected as it would mean that the Site would remain in its current form and would not deliver on the Masterplan Objectives noted by Cabinet in July 2021. This would result in a lost opportunity to support the Council’s ambitious economic housing and growth targets as set out in the Borough Plan and result in an uncertain future for this important site.

Due to planning policy requirements and disparate land ownership, it is considered that the Council are the only party who are able to implement a holistic approach to development of the Site in a timely fashion. This report recommends such an approach.

Endorsing the business case but acquiring third party acquisitions at a later date

This option was considered and rejected. There is currently an opportunity to acquire third party land parcels and a number of third-party vendors have indicated that they have a compelling business reason to dispose at this time. Were the Council not to take the opportunity to acquire at this time, there is a risk that the sites could be sold on, and that development by a third party could take place which does not meet the Masterplan Objectives as noted by Cabinet.

This option also risks the loss of external funding from the Future High Street’s Fund (FHSF) and Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) as there is potential that the grant funding will need to be repaid if programme milestones are not achieved. The FHSF grant requires that it is spent by March 2024, and the BLRF grant requires land to be released for residential development also by March 2024. If these milestones are not met, then alternative funding sources would be required which would have a detrimental impact upon the scheme’s deliverability and viability. Acquiring the third-party sites would provide the Council with a level of control which would not be achieved should land be owned on a piecemeal basis.

Re-procurement of the Multi-Disciplinary Design Team

The Council could seek to re-procure the services of a Multi-Disciplinary Design Team at this juncture. This option is not recommended as the original procurement exercise envisaged that the team would continue through to the next stage. It would be detrimental to the project in terms of time, cost, and quality to change the professional team at this stage in the project’s delivery.