Decision details

It was proposed by Councillor O. Rybinski and Seconded by Councillor C. Barnard and Resolved to move the exclusion of the Press and Public for the remaining items on the agenda in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.

The Committee considered an exempt report on the acquisition of Property AB. The property and Development Manager presented the report and asked the Committee if they were happy to proceed as per the recommendations.

The Chairman asked the Committee to consider whether acquiring properties  was something they wanted the Council to continue to do.

The Committee debated the Chairman’s question and concluded that providing any proposed acquisition was viable and any proposed development project could be completed they would be happy for such acquisitions to be moved forward.  

Members expressed the view that some of the delays in completing projects  experienced in the past may not be as likely now that the Council had moved to collective decision making under the new Committee system.

Members debated the recommendations in detail, reviewing the potential risks and benefits, and concluded that they were happy to agree the recommendations as set out in the agenda.

Resolved to;

1.    approve the commencement of negotiations, by officers, to agree Heads of Terms with the vendor (if possible) on the terms as set out in the main report.

2.    require officers to report back to either the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee or, once established, the Development Sub Committee, once negotiations on Heads of Terms have concluded, and for that Committee to determine:

a)    whether to recommend the acquisition

b)    the acquisition price

c)    the capital budget for redevelopment

d)    all aspects of due diligence to proceed further (if approved), including legal, planning, design, construction, costing, ground conditions, environmental considerations, financial strategy, treasury management strategy, governance, statutory compliance, tenant review and any other issues that may arise during the due diligence process.

3.    agree for the Committee agreed above to report to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and full Council as required.