Decision details

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a)             Agrees to declare part of Hawkwood Road Car Park surplus to requirements and appropriate the land for planning purposes to facilitate the delivery of Phase 1 of the Masterplan;

(b)            Authorises officers to undertake work to prepare for the possible use of compulsory purchase powers for the acquisition of the third-party land and interests necessary to implement both the Masterplan and the Royal Arcade proposals as set out in paragraphs 12–32 and 42-55 of this report. These preparatory steps are set out in paragraphs 96 -100 of this report.

(c)             Instructs officers to bring a further report to Cabinet, requesting a decision to exercise Compulsory Purchase powers together with a proposed Statement of Reasons, setting out the justification for the use of these powers, if necessary should negotiations by private treaty not be possible;

(d)            Authorises officers to enter into a planning performance agreement and the submission of planning applications for Phase 1 Masterplan and the Royal Arcade projects;

(e)             Agrees that the Council will acquire a high street unit required for the Masterplan Phase 1 and delegates authority to the Chief Executive to conclude the transaction in consultation with the S151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and the Portfolio Holder for Development Growth and Regeneration;

(f)              Acknowledges that the Royal Arcade project is dependent on a successful bid to the Heritage Fund and should that be unsuccessful the project will be brought back to Cabinet for further consideration.

RECOMMENDED that Council: -

(g)            Accepts and approves the remaining allocation of £18.229m Towns Fund grant as outlined in Table 1 for the delivery of the following projects; the Town Centre Masterplan Phase 1, the Royal Arcade, Digital Connectivity and Local Transport projects, subject to the approval of the business cases by DLUHC;

(h)            Approves borrowing of £11.784m towards the Phase 1 Masterplan and Royal Arcade project and adjusts the MTFP to reflect the £420k pressure between 2024/25-2028/29;

(i)               9. Acknowledges the allocation of £2.25m of grant from the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme. This funding is profiled to be utilised over the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: The Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Development, Growth and Regeneration

Reason

The production of an annual report is a statutory responsibility and therefore the endorsement of the four statutory partners (Dorset Council, BCP Council, NHS Dorset, Dorset Police) of the safeguarding partnership is required prior to publication.