Decision details

Potential purchase of ECC land interest in St Johns Road site

The Portfolio Holder for Asset Management & Economic Development presented a report on the proposed development at St John’s Road in Epping.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Cabinet of proposals to acquire Essex County Council’s land interest at the St John’s Road site in order to progress the development in accordance with the scheme proposed by the preferred bidder, Frontier Estates. The acquisition was expedient as the County Council had received a higher alternative bid for their land holding in St John’s Road. The alternative bid was unconditional and of a magnitude that created a potential ‘best value’ problem for the County Council, should they accept the Frontier bid. Officers from the County Council had been instructed by their Members to offer the District Council the opportunity to purchase their land so that the preferred bid by Frontier could proceed.

The Portfolio Holder stated that, whilst under this proposal the scheme promoted by Frontier would remain essentially unchanged, the Heads of Terms previously agreed with Frontier and the Town Council would need to be revised to reflect the change in land ownership and share of the offer price. The County Council had indicated that they would accept a consideration from the Council comprising Lindsay House and the balance in money.  Whilst the total consideration must improve on the proposed share that the Frontier bid would have yielded, they would be able to accept a lower capital sum than that offered by the alternative bidder. This was due to there being employment, economic regeneration and other local issues which they had considered, together with future revenue benefits in relation to their use of Lindsay House.

The Director of Governance added that this course of action represented the best consideration, including planning gain, for the residents of Epping through the proposed development. The District and Town Councils had always had a different objective to the site than the County Council. The Portfolio Holder clarified that the garage site behind Epping Library was not included in the proposals, and that the Town Council was broadly supportive, in principle, of this course of action. The Chief Executive confirmed that the Town Council was due to debate the issue at a meeting next week.

Decision:

(1)        That Essex County Council’s land holding in the St John’s Road Development site be acquired for a consideration not exceeding the sum agreed by the Cabinet;

(2)        That the consideration be comprised of a combination of land, being Lindsey House, Epping at a value negotiated by the Council’s agent, Savills, and the balance in money;

(3)        That a supplementary Capital estimate in the sum of £1million be recommended to the Council for approval;

(4)        That negotiations to defray the additional cost to the Council be continued with both Epping Town Council and Frontier Estates; and

(5)        That authority be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Asset Management and Economic Development in consultation with the Director of Governance to agree amendments to the Heads of Terms approved on 21 July 2014 to reflect any consequential changes arising from the decisions above.

Reasons for Decision:

To ensure that the District and Town Council’s preferred option for this important development site in St John’s Road, Epping was deliverable and costs incurred in marketing and developing the preferred scheme were not written off as abortive.

To prevent inappropriate or speculative development proposals for part of the site.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To return to the market. However, this would involve further time and cost and the two local Councils were supportive of the current scheme.

To market just the Depot site. However, this would be contrary to the partnership approach and the aim of the development brief which promoted a collaborative approach to maximise both the financial and community benefits.