Agenda item

RESOLVED: The Cabinet agreed to the disposal of the site to County Developments (Northampton) Limited and Northampton Town Football Club Limited as outlined in Appendix A subject to:

a)    The expiration of the Assets of Community Value moratorium period.

b)    Agreement from Homes England as required.

c)    The Assistant Director Assets and Environment in consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and the Portfolio Holder for Finance being satisfied that all necessary steps have been taken to proceed with the disposal.

REASONS RESOLVED: 

1.    To ensure that the Council complies with its legal obligations under the Localism Act 2011.

2.    To meet the Council's obligations to seek best consideration in relation to land disposals, as set out in the report.

3.    In addition to achieve a number of wider benefits considered to be in the interests of the Council and the community in its area:

·         Generate a substantial capital receipt in the short to medium term (anticipated before the end of 2022).

·         Greatly assist in regularising the complex ownership position that exists on site:

·         Most immediately in relation to the HWRC site (which would be held by the Council free from any lease to CDNL) and the other retained land.

·         Also (at a later stage) in relation to the running track land if this was repurchased by WNC (as the relevant lease would be surrendered as part of the deal with CDNL).

·         Remove the risks of legal challenges from CDNL to the Council’s ability to break the Main Site Lease and the potential costs to the Council associated with that.

·         Increase the likelihood that the East Stand would be completed.

·         In the event that the East Stand was not completed, secure the return of the Running Track land to the Council’s freehold ownership with very little further cost (a price of £1 with associated legal and other transactional costs).

·         Making it likely the land will be developed, in line with the Council’s planning policies and the aims of the Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

None of the alternative options previously identified appeared preferable, whether on purely financial or on wider policy terms, to accepting the CDNL offer.

With the agreement of the Cabinet, the Chair proposed that this item be discussed first. At the Chair’s invitation Councillor Malcolm Longley presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated.

Councillor Longley made the following comments:

• He acknowledged a considerable amount of time and effort had been spent considering this issue, which was complicated by the various leases involved.
• He referenced the extraordinary council meeting that had taken place on 21st March, which had resulted in many good ideas and questions raised by members.
• The Council had sought to use its best judgement to maximise the returns for the Council and for residents.
• The site was subject to several leases and legal issues.
• Bids had been received from two interested parties, involving cash, overages, and other factors. One offer included the building of a stand. He referenced the fact that the value of bids had continued to increase as we moved towards a decision.
• He advised Cabinet that all items under consideration had been considered and advised that the Council had secured the best professional advice that it could.
• In coming to a recommendation, the Council had sought to balance the cash offers against the benefits that each offer provided and the certainty of a successful conclusion.
• He recommended that Cabinet accepted the bid from CDNL, which offered £2,050,000, an overage if the land was sold un-remediated, a buy-back on part of the land if the stand is not built, fewer legal complications and personal guarantees from the owners.
• He proposed an amendment recommendation C, so that it included consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance.
• He advised Cabinet that he would approve the deal only if he were satisfied with the terms and conditions of the proposed deal. 

Councillors made the following comments.

• It was queried whether a review of the process should be conducted after this is concluded, this would help ensure that lessons were learnt.
• It was suggested that a masterplan should have been developed for the site, with preferred options outlined.
• The amount of transparency was appreciated.
• The building of the stand had been promised some time ago and as such it needed to be delivered.

Councillor Malcolm Longley agreed that it was important that lessons were learned.

The Chair thanked speakers for their comments. He advised Cabinet that the process had been officer led until there had been something to deliver to members. He acknowledged the process had been complex and referenced mistakes that had been made by a predecessor authority. He referenced helpful comments that had been made at the Council meeting (on 21^st February) and that significant improvements had been made to the deal since that time.

 Councillor Phil Larratt thanked the officers for the hard work they had put into the issue. He felt the public would be pleased to see progress being made.

Councillor Mike Hallam said he hoped to see the club do more of the local community work that they were known for.

RESOLVED: The Cabinet agreed to the disposal of the site to County Developments (Northampton) Limited and Northampton Town Football Club Limited as outlined in Appendix A subject to:

1. The expiration of the Assets of Community Value moratorium period.
2. Agreement from Homes England as required.

The Assistant Director Assets and Environment in consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and the Portfolio Holder for Finance being satisfied that all necessary steps have been taken to proceed with the disposal