For the Board to consider a verbal update on Wessex Fields.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Dynamic Places provided an update to the Board. It was explained that at the time of the request being made for an update to the Board on this issue there were no plans to change anything which had previously been agreed. The Wessex Fields site had been handed over as a project to FuturePlaces and all FuturePLaces work was being wrapped up into bundles and would be presented to Cabinet at a future date. It was confirmed that as of the end of 2023 Wessex Fields was not being considered a priority site.
Since then, BCP Council had been approached with an offer to purchase the land. The Cross-Party Strategic Asset Disposal \working Group was due to consider the offer at a meeting on 8 March. If the group endorsed the proposal, it would be considered by Cabinet on 10 April and then by Council depending on the valuation level. The meeting was advised that until anything was agreed by the working group there was nothing further to report. The Cross-Party Working Group had a set of agreed criteria against which it would assess the offer. A number of issues were raised by the Board in the subsequent discussion including:
· Whether the arrangements for phase 2 of the A338 works for the northbound slip road and roundabout within this area would be affected. It was noted that it could not be confirmed until heads of terms were agreed.
· Whether the purpose of the site would be ancillary or compatible with the hospital. The Board was advised that without disclosing who the offer had been received from it would be difficult to give any further information.
· Prior to the offer being made any report on this issue would have explained that this was a FuturePlaces site and that any work they had done would come within a future update to Cabinet about what the next steps would have been.
· There were concerns raised that it had been heard that the Council had dropped its plans for the development of Wessex Fields, namely the aspiration for the area being a science/biotech type industry-based employment area. It was noted that the requirement for the area was to generate a certain number of jobs and it did not dictate a specific purpose for the site. The Local Plan identified it as a primary employment site.
· The Working Group would consider issues around best value for the site and decide whether to recommend on to Cabinet and Council in accordance with the key principles as agreed by the working group in accordance with section 123 of the Local Gove3rnamnet Act 1972. The offer must also meet the independent red book valuation. The current offer was deemed to be credible and would be followed up.
· It was noted that in general there was not a policy to always sell to highest bidder buy default. A site that would be of huge social and community value may be sold at a lower price to someone which would develop it in this way.
· The Chief Finance Officer explained in response to a query regarding whether it was imperative to sell the site to balance the budget that the budget had been set but there was a £3.8 million shortfall, which could be addressed by a schedule of assets that were under consideration which potentially that could realise that value and clearly any conversation about Wessex fields, if that was turned into receipt, would've been able to be a contribution towards the £3.8 million.
The Chairman advised that if a proposal was taken to Cabine3t this would first come through O&S Board at its next meeting and thanked those present for providing information.