Issue - meetings

Resolutions; Cabinet;

a.     Noted the work done to date by WNC officers and Northampton Arts Collective Limited on securing the £1.15m of GBF funding for the refurbishment of 24 Guildhall Road, the design development and procurement that has been undertaken to date and the next steps that are required to take forward this project.

b.    Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Planning, Economic Growth and Regeneration to enter into a partnership agreement between the Council and Northampton Arts Collective Limited. This will include, for example (but is not limited to), the establishment of the governance and project arrangements on the refurbishment project and the working relationship beyond completion as referenced in the cabinet report dated 9th September 2020.

c.    Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Assets and Environment to agree heads of terms for a lease and enter a 25-year lease on the lower ground, upper ground and first floors at a peppercorn rent. This is subject to a service charge to Northampton Arts Collective and all documentation related to the project will be completed on simultaneous basis.

d.    Delegated authority to the Head of Major Projects and Regeneration to approve the final design for phase one of the refurbishment project. Page 363

e.    Accepted further reports on any matters generally or risks pursuant to paragraphs 6.23 to 6.30 that arise that are different to what is proposed in this report.

 Reason for Resolutions

a.    The refurbishment project will make use of a WNC building, the former NCC offices, that has no other use.

b.    The recommendations above are required to progress this important cultural regeneration

Alternative Options

None

At the Chairman’s invitation Councillor Lizzy Bowen presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. The lease agreement for this property had been for a peppercorn rent for 25 years with a get out clause at year 10 if needed. It was advised that further funding for this project had come from the Towns Fund. The project had gone through a business case which found that although more money could have been achieved on the open market, funding then wouldn’t have been an option. There had been assurance that once approval had been received the project should be completed by March 2022.

Councillors made the following comments.

• It was asked who the other tenants of the building would be.
• It was noted that the previous councils had a history of badly managed projects.
• Many historical sites had been lost over the years, so this project was an exciting one.
• It was queried as to whether the staffing levels for this project were enough.

Councillor Lizzy Bowen advised that recruitment was almost up to full capacity and that securing other tenants was in hand