Issue - items at meetings - KD 3827 Meridian Water: Development Opportunities

Issue - meetings

KD 3827 Meridian Water: Development Opportunities

Meeting: 12/03/2014 - Cabinet (Item 13)

13 Meridian Water: Development Opportunities pdf icon PDF 362 KB

A report from the Director of Regeneration, Leisure and Culture will be circulated as soon as possible. (Report No.211, agenda part two also refers). (Key decision – reference number 3827)

(Report No.210)

(8.55 – 9.00pm)

Minutes:

Neil Rousell (Director of Regeneration, Leisure and Culture) introduced his report (No.210) concerning the development opportunity areas that were located within the boundaries of the Meridian Water Masterplan.

 

NOTED

 

1.               That following 16 October 2013 Cabinet meeting, appropriate professional advice had been taken to inform discussions with a major land-owner regarding their holdings in Meridian Water (attention was drawn to section 5.4 of the report).

 

2.               That there was no part two report for consideration at this meeting;

 

3.               That it was anticipated that the final report authorising the purchase of the land would be set before Cabinet on 9 April 2014, as detailed in section 5.5 of the report.

 

Alternative Options Considered: The following options had been considered:

·       Declining the possible purchase of the land potentially available to the Council had been considered, but rejected due to the uncertain timescales associated with their owner bringing the land to market and securing development.

·       The purchase of the sites on an individual basis had been considered “in-principle”, but this was not an option open to the Council at this time as the opportunity was only available as a package.

·       The use of compulsory purchase powers to acquire the land that comprises the opportunity, either as a package or individually had also been considered, but this was not the Council’s first preference given the current advanced negotiations with the owner. The Council’s power to purchase land compulsorily should perhaps be best regarded as a reserve power to be used if the land-owner in question were to, for example, put forward unreasonable (or unduly onerous) terms, such that the purchase proposition would be unlikely to be taken-up in the market.

 

Reason: To update Cabinet on the current position with the negotiations and highlight the work being undertaken before further decisions concerning redevelopment of Meridian Water were progressed.