Agenda and minutes

CABINET DECISION

Cabinet agreed on the 26 October 2011

 1.        To the closure of Dukes Hall, as from April 1^st  2012 and to delegate to the Lead Members for Value and the Lead Member for Culture, Towns and Communities authority to agree terms for its disposal.

2.         To agree to demolish Old Windmill Hall now, to be initially funded from Capital Contingency, which will be reimbursed from the Dukes Hall receipt

3.         In principle, to a proportion of the capital receipt arising from the disposal of Dukes Hall being utilised to deal with urgent repair and maintenance issues at the New Windmill Hall and Tweed Way Hall, assuming that these two halls transfer to a community organisation under a Lease Agreement. To delegate the decision on the level of capital spend from the Dukes Hall receipt on alternative community halls managed by Culture and Leisure Services, to the Lead Member for Value and the Lead Member for Culture, Towns and Communities. 

4.         In principle, to the transfer of the management of the New Windmill Hall to a community group or, in the event of this not proving possible, bring a further report back to Cabinet for consideration of subsequent options.   

5.         In principle, to the transfer of the management of the Tweed Way Hall to a community group or, in the event of this not proving possible, bring a further report back to Cabinet for consideration of subsequent options.

6.         To delegate decisions on all property matters associated with the transfer of New Windmill Hall and / or Tweed Way Hall, including the criteria for selecting the preferred voluntary group if more than one group expresses an interest in managing one of the halls, the selection of the preferred community group (s) and finalising lease terms, to the Lead Member for Value and the Lead Member for Culture, Towns and Communities. 

7.         In principle, to protecting existing bookings at those community halls that transfer to a community group, to be set out in relevant agreements; 

8.         To the demolition of the Old Windmill Hall building given the danger it poses to people who might try to enter the site, subject to the Dukes Hall site being disposed of and to be funded from the associated capital receipt

9.         To receive a further report on the option of disposing of the Old Windmill Hall site and adjoining land, to secure further investment in the New Windmill Hall facility for the purposes of leasing the building to a community group and surrounding facilities, in the context of improving the local environment and taking account of the setting of nearby listed buildings.  

10.       In principle to Cottons Hall being reopened when a Lease can be agreed with a suitable community organisation or, if this does not prove possible, to receive a further report on the future of the site.

The decision had been requisitioned by Councillors Clarence Barrett and Keith Darvill.

The reasons for the requisition were as follows:

A)        That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

There is also an exempt appendix (Appendix C) which is not available to the Press or members of the public.

CABINET DECISION

At its meeting on 26 October 2011, Cabinet considered a report concerning the approval of a preferred development partner for the Briar Road Estate.

Cabinet RESOLVED

1.         To approve Notting Hill Housing Group, as the Preferred Development Partner for the Briar Estate, subject to the final agreement of terms and the satisfactory conclusion of legal agreements;

2.         To approve Notting Hill Housing Group’s Variant offer as set out in the Exempt Appendix to the report.

3.         To request the Preferred Development Partner to proceed with the development of their design proposals, including consultation with residents, in order to submit a planning application(s);

4.         To authorise the Property Strategy Manager, the Head of Housing & Public Protection and the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services to provisionally agree Heads of Terms, deal with all matters arising and prepare the appropriate legal agreements with the Preferred Development Partner for the disposal and development of land in accordance with the principles of the Briar Development Brief and Improvement Proposals and subject to final approval of the terms by the Lead Members of Housing and Public Protection and Value;

5.         To authorise the Head of Housing and Public Protection under section 167 (2E) of the Housing Act 1996 to consult on the development of a local lettings scheme for the Briar developments;

6.         To authorise the Head of Housing and Public Protection to consult stakeholders on amendments to the Lettings Policy to enable specific local lettings policies to be developed for specific developments.

7.         To subject to all the above, approve £2.0 million be used to fund the schedule of Briar environmental improvements set out in para 3.13 of the report.

8.         To note that the £2m Capital Budget, as referred to in 2.6., will be an  addition to the Council’ Capital Programme, and therefore to Resolve that this addition be referred to Council, at the next appropriate  opportunity – as reported in para 5.3. 

REASONS FOR REQUISITION

1)     The decision to proceed with the preferred partner should not be made without a general understanding of the design and location proposals relating to the development of 164 new homes within Briar Road Estate;

2)     To give greater consideration to the impact on the public services infrastructure of increasing the population of the Briar Road Estate by an estimated 500 people (12.5%) including the implications for education and health services.

3)     The Cabinet Report and initial consultation had not identified the location within the estate of:-

a)     the development proposals;

b)     the number of garage/parking spaces to be lost and the consequent implications of the displacement of vehicles on the estate roads; and

c)      the amount of green space to be lost as a result of the development proposals

Councillor Keith Darvill presented the requisition.

Councillor Darvill commented that there had been some residential consultation over the past year. Residents and Ward Councillors were in favour of a scheme that improved the estate with better lighting, closure of alleyways and other general improvements.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

During the discussion of the reports the Committee RESOLVED to suspend Committee Procedure Rule 8 in order to complete the consideration of the remaining business of the agenda.