Issue - meetings

Council agreed to

       I.    Approve additional funding for the Phase 1 community buildings of: 

a.      £1.53m for the Sports Pavilion (including an allocation of £300k from the Renewable Energy Reserve) 

b.      £6.5m for the Community Building funded from Capital Receipts. 

     II.    Approve an amendment to the Capital Programme to increase the allocation by £1.38m for the Phase 2 Civic Hub funded by the s106 to reflect the total allocation after indexation. 

    III.   Approve an additional £4.82m allocated to the Civic Hub programme funded from Capital Receipts.  

   IV.   Note that the Phase 2 Sports Pavilion is likely to be underfunded, but that delivery is not expected until 18 months after the 500th occupation on Phase 2.  Although an exact amount cannot be estimated at this time, it is proposed an additional allocation of £2m be made in the General Fund Capital Programme, funded from Capital Receipts, for this project.  

     V.    Create a further provision of £433,000 (£219,000 plus indexation) for the Phase 1 Section 106 shortfall.  

   VI.   Create a provision for Phase 2 Section 106 commitments of £1.6m 

  VII.    Request that officers undertake a further review of infrastructure prioritisation in the S106 agreement for phase 2 in light of this report and report the matter back to the Planning Committee for consideration.    

VIII.   Agree to the Community Centre and Local Centre being built on Parcel 6 via a Direct Delivery or Development Manager model.  

   IX.   Pause the wider Enterprise Zone development (on Parcels 1,2, 3 and 4) for an initial period of 12 months. A report to come back to Council in six months’ time.

     X.    Agree the approach to Parcel 5 taking into account the option agreement set out in the exempt section of this report 

The Chair explained that certain appendices to the report contained commercially sensitive information and whilst her preference was to remain in open session, if councillors wished to refer to the sensitive information, then the meeting would need to vote to exclude the press and public from that discussion.

Councillor Bill Handley, Lead Cabinet Member for Communities, presented this report that recommended the provision of community buildings, development of the Enterprise Zone and funding, including the Section 106 shortfalls, at Northstowe. He explained that there was a typographical error in the third recommendation and the figure needed to be amended to £4.82m.

Councillor Heather Williams requested that recommendation ix be amended to include a recommendation that a report come back to Council in six months’ time regarding the Enterprise Zone development. Councillor Bill Handley accepted this amendment, which was agreed without debate.

Councillor Heather Williams stated that there was cross party support for the provision of community facilities at Northstowe but she wanted assurances that the large sums of money were being well spent and that a thriving Enterprise Zone would be established, unlike in Cambourne where houses were being built on the Business Park. The Chief Executive replied that the terms of sale prohibited the building of housing on the Northstowe Enterprise Zone until 2042.

Councillor Daniel Lentell said that Northstowe was a diverse and vibrant new community, which would be well served by the proposals in the report. Councillor Judith Rippeth supported the recommendations in the report and praised the high sustainability rating of the proposed buildings at Northstowe.

Councillor Sarah Cheung Johnson explained that she and the other local member Councillor Alex Malyon supported the recommendations in the report and were looking forward to residents benefitting from these new community buildings.

Councillor Sue Ellington expressed concern that land set aside for a faith building was not part of the current plans. Councillor Bill Handley replied that there was land set aside for a faith building but this was for a later stage of the development. The Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development confirmed that a burial ground was part of Northstowe’s infrastructure requirements.

Councillor Lina Nieto asked whether businesses would be adversely affected by the delay. Councillor Bill Handley assured Council that there would be a positive impact on businesses, as, if agreed, the recommendations would result in the building of facilities that they would use.

Councillor Bridget Smith stated that Northstowe had excellent infrastructure but needed the community facilities promised in the report, the provision of which would provide an exemplar for future developments on Bourn airfield and Waterbeach. She thanked officers for their work.

The recommendations, as amended, were proposed by Councillor Bill Handley and seconded by Councillor Bridget Smith. A vote was taken and by affirmation

Council agreed to

       I.    Approve additional funding for the Phase 1 community buildings of: 

a.      £1.53m for the Sports Pavilion (including an allocation of £300k from the Renewable Energy Reserve) 

b.      £6.5m for the Community Building funded from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8

Cabinet:

a)    Agreed to establish a Member Governance Board for Northstowe

This decision was first published on Monday 11 July and so the deadline for call-in is 5pm on Monday 18 July.

Cabinet:

Recommended to Council to:

a)    Approve additional funding for the Phase 1 community buildings of: 

                      i.        £1.53m for the Sports Pavilion (including an allocation of £300k from the Renewable Energy Reserve) 

                    ii.        £6.5m for the Community Building funded from Capital Receipts. 

b)    Approve an amendment to the Capital Programme to increase the allocation by £1.38m for the Phase 2 Civic Hub funded by the s106 to reflect the total allocation after indexation. 

c)    Approve an additional £2.82 allocated to the Civic Hub programme funded from Capital Receipts.  

d)    Note that the Phase 2 Sports Pavilion is likely to be underfunded, but that delivery is not expected until 18 months after the 500^th occupation on Phase 2.  Although an exact amount cannot be estimated at this time, it is proposed an additional allocation of £2m be made in the General Fund Capital Programme, funded from Capital Receipts, for this project.  

e)    Create a further provision of £433,000 (£219,000 plus indexation) for the Phase 1 Section 106 shortfall.  

f)     Create a provision for Phase 2 Section 106 commitments of £1.6m 

g)    Request that officers undertake a further review of infrastructure prioritisation in the S106 agreement for phase 2 in light of this report and report the matter back to the Planning Committee for consideration.    

h)    Agree to the Community Centre and Local Centre being built on Parcel 6 via a Direct Delivery or Development Manager model.  

i)     Pause the wider Enterprise Zone development (on Parcels 1,2, 3 and 4) for an initial period of 12 months.    

j)     Agree the approach to Parcel 5 taking into account the option agreement set out in the exempt section of this report 

This is a recommendation to Council, and not subject to call-in.

Cabinet:

k)    Agreed to establish a Member Governance Board for Northstowe

The above decision from Cabinet is subject to call-in.

Cabinet received the Delivery at Northstowe proposals. Councillor Bill Handley, Lead Cabinet Member for Communities, introduced the report, and thanked the Scrutiny & Overview Committee for their work. The Lead Cabinet Member also commented on the draft Northstowe Delivery Board document, and collaborative work with Northstowe Town Council.

After a short discussion, Councillor Bridget Smith, Leader of the Council, closed the item, thanked Officers for their work, and Cabinet:

Recommended that Council:

a)    Approve additional funding for the Phase 1 community buildings of: 

                        i.         £1.53m for the Sports Pavilion (including an allocation of £300k from the Renewable Energy Reserve) 

                       ii.         £6.5m for the Community Building funded from Capital Receipts. 

b)    Approve an amendment to the Capital Programme to increase the allocation by £1.38m for the Phase 2 Civic Hub funded by the s106 to reflect the total allocation after indexation. 

c)    Approve an additional £2.82 allocated to the Civic Hub programme funded from Capital Receipts.  

d)    Note that the Phase 2 Sports Pavilion is likely to be underfunded, but that delivery is not expected until 18 months after the 500^th occupation on Phase 2.  Although an exact amount cannot be estimated at this time, it is proposed an additional allocation of £2m be made in the General Fund Capital Programme, funded from Capital Receipts, for this project.  

e)    Create a further provision of £433,000 (£219,000 plus indexation) for the Phase 1 Section 106 shortfall.  

f)      Create a provision for Phase 2 Section 106 commitments of £1.6m 

g)    Request that officers undertake a further review of infrastructure prioritisation in the S106 agreement for phase 2 in light of this report and report the matter back to the Planning Committee for consideration.    

h)    Agree to the Community Centre and Local Centre being built on Parcel 6 via a Direct Delivery or Development Manager model.  

i)      Pause the wider Enterprise Zone development (on Parcels 1,2, 3 and 4) for an initial period of 12 months.    

j)      Agree the approach to Parcel 5 taking into account the option agreement set out in the exempt section of this report 

And Cabinet:

k)    Agreed to establish a Member Governance Board for Northstowe 

Appendices A, B,  D and E are attached to the report, and Appendix C is a separate document. Appendices F, G and H are restricted.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee considered a report providing an update on a range of issues concerning Northstowe and making several recommendations related to the provision of community buildings; development of the Enterprise Zone and funding, including a funding shortfall in the Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Councillor Helene Leeming emphasised the importance of securing value for money especially in view of current inflationary pressures. Officers outlined how they intended to achieve this, and the Leader commented that sometimes quality should be prioritised over cost in order to assure effective futureproofing. The Head of Economic Development and Investment was confident that the community facilities referred to in the report could be delivered within cost parameters outlined in the financial appendices.

In response to a question from Councillor Anna Bradnam, the Head of Finance clarified that Cabinet would be recommended to increase the Capital Programme allocation for Northstowe to £34.6 million. Councillor Bradnam said there must be no compromise in community facilities complying with South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘Green to our Core’ aspirations.

Referring to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s intention to buy 60 affordable homes on Phase 2B, Councillor Graham Cone applauded the fact that, once the contract had been concluded these homes would be managed as Council property.

While noting that community buildings were available for use by everyone, Councillor Stephen Drew said the differing needs of Faith groups must be considered in the longer term.

Councillor Dr. Martin Cahn emphasised the importance of good architectural design for the community buildings in Northstowe and the need to determine the future governance of such buildings. The Leader assured Councillor Cahn that discussions about governance were ongoing and the Head of Housing summarised briefly the different business plans being worked on for the different types of community buildings.

Councillor Peter Fane said that the economic strategy must champion clean technology as being of prime importance.

Councillor Dr. Aidan Van de Weyer welcomed the proposals as a step towards place-making and observed that facilities at Northstowe would be important for South Cambridgeshire as a whole. However, he cautioned against such expenditure being at the expense of some other demand on the District Council’s finances. Councillor Stephen Drew clarified that place-making at Northstowe must enhance the quality of people’s lives.

The Chair invited Councillor Heather Williams to speak. Councillor Williams hoped that ‘landmark building’ would not simply mean ‘large building’. She continued by saying that Cabinet members might find it useful to have before them on 11 July some draft terms of reference for the Governance Board. Contingencies must be put in place to cope with unexpected challenges along the way.

The Chair proposed, and the Committee affirmed, that the Press and public be excluded from the meeting at this stage so that Members could consider restricted information contained in appendices F, G and H to the report in accordance with Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that, if present,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9

Cabinet:

Approved the investment detailed in the exempt report of the Head of Finance as a commercial property investment in accordance with the approved Investment Strategy.

The Cabinet considered a restricted report from the Head of Finance. Councillor John Williams noted this investment was part of the previously approved Investment Strategy

After a short discussion, Councillor Bridget Smith concluded the debate, thanked Officers for their work, and Cabinet:

Approved the investment detailed in the exempt report from the Head of Finance as a commercial property investment in accordance with the approved Investment Strategy.