Minutes:
The Director of City Regeneration and Development submitted for the Committee’s consideration a report which provided an update on a number of strands of the housing-led regeneration programme of work.
The Director reminded Members that, following the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) in April 2025, which formalised the Overarching Business Plan (OBP) and the Joint Venture (JV) governance arrangements, the Private Sector Partner (PSP) had submitted a proposed Seed Site Development Programme. She reported that the Council had a contractual obligation to consider and approve the Development Programme within the agreed timeframe. She advised that the prioritisation and programme for the seed sites had been developed through a process of site prioritisation followed by the establishment of a development programme for each site, which included key milestones and longstop dates. In relation to the development proposals for each of the sites, the Director advised that the Initial Site Specific Business Plans (ISSBP) would be brought back to the Committee for approval.
The Committee was provided with an update in respect of the Strategic Site Assessment (SSA) Phase 2 sites, which highlighted that the PSP had identified a potential site which could be considered as an Additional Opportunity Site. It was reported that there might be an opportunity to bring forward additional SSA Phase 2 sites, and that further updates would be brought back to the Committee and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, as appropriate.
The Director also provided an update, as requested by the Committee at its meeting in June 2025, on the current position of the Strategic Site Assessment Phase 1 sites which summarised the work that had been undertaken to date and next steps.
The Committee was informed that there continued to be an ongoing requirement to retain specialist commercial and financial related property advice as the JV moved through the delivery process, and that a report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in relation to these services.
The Committee:
i. noted the progress made through the governance process for the approval of the Seed Site Development Programme submitted by the PSP;
ii. agreed the prioritisation of the Seed Sites as detailed in the report;
iii. noted that the Initial Site Business Plans would be brought back to the Committee for approval in respect of the detailed development proposals for each of the sites;
iv. noted the key milestone and longstop dates that contractualised key event dates in the PSP Development Programme and provided the Council with the ability to remove exclusive development rights that were currently granted under the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA);
v. noted the requirement for ongoing specialist financial and commercial property services from the appointed provider;
vi. agreed that the key appointment of the specialist financial and commercial property services provider would be noted in a Contract Report to be submitted to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee;
vii. noted the potential to include one of the SSA Phase 2 sites, as agreed through the City Growth and Regeneration Committee and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, as an Additional Opportunity Site, and that the PSP would consider inclusion of the asset for redevelopment along with another seed site, with further proposals to be brought back through the Site Specific Business Plan;
viii. noted the potential opportunity for additional SSA Phase 2 sites to be brought forward through the PSP, with further engagement and updates to be brought back to the Committee;
ix. noted the update in relation to a seed site’s development brief, the continued progression of workstreams alongside the Department for Communities, and the advancement of the scheme through the appointed Housing Association; and
x. noted the update in relation to the SSA Phase 1 sites.