The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director (Environment and Place) presenting an update on the Better Queensway Project and the options for future phases to regenerate the whole estate over a period of time and in phases.

Resolved:

1. That the Reserved Matters Application for Phase 1a (the first phase of housing) be approved and to proceed with the procurement of a partner to submit a planning application to bring forward the development of the area occupied by the existing temporary Essex Street Car Park, as set out in the submitted report.

2. That the commencement of the highways work in line with the consented outline planning application, conditionally granted on 6th September 2021 which states bringing the Queensway underpass up to grade, creating a new roundabout and providing a new 4-lane carriage way with associated footpath as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

3. That the need to provide additional resource funding for the proposed project for the remainder of 2024/25 and futures years, be noted and once that resource requirement is established a further cabinet decision and Council approval for addition to the Capital Investment Programme would be required.  

Reasons for decisions:

1. Decent, affordable homes are the foundations for people’s lives. By creating these new homes, the Council will be providing residents with stability, comfort and security to enrich their lives which will support mental and physical health.

2. Without the Council’s commitment to this project the HIF grant Homes England are providing will be at risk. There would be a risk of clawback of £500k by Homes England and the opportunity to secure and invest the further £14.5M which must be spent by 31^st March 2025 would be lost.

Other options:

1. Stop and do not carry on with the Project.   This option is drastic and would  cause financial loss and potential reputational damage.

2. Look at a different first phase.  This would involve starting fresh on a new area within the redline boundary. The other sites opportune for this could be Short Street and/or the Range site (which is subject to an income generating lease which includes a break clause exercisable in 4 years). This would be time consuming with new architect drawings/ viability work needing to be undertaken.

3.Re-design Phase 1.  The work carried out to date would be wasted, new architectural designs would need to be instructed and viability work undertaken and would cause a significant time delay.

Note: This is an Executive Function save that the final decision on any additions to the Capital Investment Programme is a Council Function.

Not eligible for call-in

Cabinet Member: Cllr Gilbert