E.22/22
Consideration was given to a
report that presented an update on the Ivybridge Regeneration Project following the
meeting of the Development Management Committee held on 6 July
2022.
By way of an update, the Deputy
Leader reminded those in attendance that planning permission had
been refused by the Development Management Committee.
In view of this decision, the
lead Member felt that it would be helpful to set out the project
costs and proceeded to inform that:
-
the Council report on 11 February 2021 had set out
that the pre-construction costs could be up to
£450,000. These were costs
associated with: detailed design; the tender and planning process;
and associated legal work on the agreement for the
lease;
-
in 2021/22, the Council spent £285,441 on the
project and there had been further expenditure to date in 2022/23
of £83,484. As a result, there
had been expenditure of £368,925 paid to date. Therefore, of the £450,000 referred to in
the Council decision on 11 February 2021, the Council had currently
spent £368,925 to date;
-
there were also preliminary costs. As set out in reports to the Executive in June
2020 and September 2020, the preliminary costs totalled
£115,000 and were for: planning; ecology; lease documents;
and treasury management advice. As a
consequence, the total expenditure incurred since 2019 amounted to
£483,925 (£368,925 plus £115,000).
Following his update, the lead
Member PROPOSED that:
1.
the Ivybridge
Regeneration Project be now terminated; and
2.
it be noted that £483,925 has been invested
into this Project.
(This was subsequently SECONDED).
In
discussion, the following points were raised:-
(a)
Notwithstanding the decision of the Development
Management Committee, a Member advised that:
o
there were a number of (non-vocal) residents who had
been supportive of the proposals;
o
the adopted Ivybridge
Neighbourhood Plan was consistent in its reference to the need for
town centre development and the wish for an ‘anchor’
business/store;
o
it was disappointing that the Town Council had
changed its mind mid-consultation and no longer supported the
contents of its Neighbourhood Plan;
o
the Council had spent £483,925 of public money
on the basis of the initial feedback of 67% of local residents
supporting the project and this being the only suitable site that
complied with the Neighbourhood Plan.
(b)
In calling for a lessons learned exercise to be
undertaken by either the Overview and Scrutiny or Audit Committee,
other Members felt that:
o
as the project had evolved, it clearly became
apparent that it did not suit the needs of Ivybridge, with their view being that the town was
able to regenerate itself;
o
the planning application had been sub-standard in
their view, with a number of issues (including biodiversity and
visual impact) having never been adequately addressed. As a result, the Members commended the Development
Management Committee for unanimously voting to refuse the
application and wished to highlight that no criticism should be
made of the Planning Case Officer;
o
the press release issued from the Council on 6 July
2022 did not set the right tone and required further clarification;
and
o
the approach to Consultation that had been adopted
for this project did not fit with the conclusions reached by the
Task and Finish Group review into Consultation and
Engagement.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the
Ivybridge Regeneration Project be now
terminated; and
2.
That it
be noted that £483,925 has been invested into this
Project.