Issue - items at meetings - Kings Quarter Development Progress

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy concerning regeneration at Kings Quarter.

Please note that Appendix A is exempt from disclosure to the press and public by virtue of Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person, including the authority that holds the information) and paragraph 5 (information in respect of which a claim to legal privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings) of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended. If Members wish to discuss Appendix A the Cabinet will need to resolve to exclude the press and public before doing so.

RESOLVED that:

(1) the following activities areapproved to assist in achieving the delivery and discharge of likely planning conditions for a newly refurbished Kings Square by the Autumn of 2020-

a) Procurement of a demolition contractor to remove the former Furniture Recycling Project part of Grosvenor House and the old bus station structures.

b) Procurement of archaeological and soil investigations for the proposed sites of Plot 1, 2 and 4.

c) Procurement of a below ground geotechnical survey to agree the foundation structure for a new substation on Plot 2.

d) Procurement of a Construction Design Management (CDM) Principal Designer. This is a legal requirement and must be in place prior to commencement of works on Kings Square and the wider quarter.

e) Satisfaction of various planning conditions associated with Kings Square likely to include archaeological surveys, ground investigations and detailed construction drawings to enable the procurement of the contractors by Autumn 2019.

f) Appointment of a legal advisor to provide assistance with the development of the S106 agreement.

(2) it is noted that subject to any necessary consents being obtained and the bids from the procurements listed in recommendation (1) being in budget, the Head of Place, in consultation with the Council Solicitor, will award the contracts to enable those works to be undertaken before determination of the planning application.

(3) it is noted that the cost of refurbishing Kings Square is included in the Council’s draft capital programme to be presented to Full Council in February 2019. Further budget will need to be identified for the next phases of the regeneration programme. Preliminary Enabling Works associated with this have been listed in Appendix A Table 2 of the report.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy that sought approval for necessary capital enabling costs to carry forward the momentum generated by the Kings Quarter regeneration project and ready the site for development.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy emphasised the importance of maintaining the momentum for the regeneration of Kings Quarter and thanked officers for their work. He further advised Members that the recent planning application concerning Kings Walk had been successful but that outcome of the recent Culture Development Fund bid to refurbish Kings House into a creative incubation hub (3.6), was not yet known. The Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods reiterated the importance of maintaining the pace of progress and reminded Members of the significant impact of the new Transport Hub on the area and importance of the proposed archaeological investigation for both the history of the city and the public interest it would stimulate.