Decision details

RESOLVED:

(1)       That Cabinet notes the recommendation that the Chairman of Hitchin Committee should be a member of any Churchgate Project Board and notes that Paragraph 1.2.6 of the Council’s Constitution authorises the lead officer to chose the membership of the project board, in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

(1)       That the proposals progress to the final work required prior to Full Council’s final approval of the terms of any proposal;

(2)       That the Consultation Strategy, which will form part of any development management agreement with a developer, clearly sets out how the community will continue to be engaged with and how they will have opportunities to see and influence the final proposals.

REASON FOR DECISION: The Council has been seeking to regenerate the Churchgate Centre for a number of years and a number of different proposals have been considered during that time, with none of those proposals progressing to a successful conclusion. The proposal currently being considered finds a solution to a number of the problems faced by previous proposals and would appear to be achievable in the short term. The proposals would also see significant investment in Hitchin Market and the public realm. The Council’s potential investment in this regeneration opportunity is also expected to provide a reasonable financial return. The initial proposals received significant public support when they were consulted on in March/April 2018.