Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director (Place).

The Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director (Place) in relation to the three-year Business Plan for the fiscal years 2021/22 to 2023/24 for the Strand Shopping Centre, Bootle. As well as forecasts for each of these periods, the Business Plan includes outline strategy and short-term action plans for the future of the asset.

Decisions Made:    That the Cabinet:

(1)           approved the Business Plan for 2021/22 to 2023/24;

(2)           noted the content of the report and of the Business Plan, including the factors that could influence and impact upon the financial returns to the Council from The Strand, and the outline strategy and action plans proposed to manage and mitigate these; and

(3)           recommend to Council that Council approve a supplementary capital estimate of £795k (£640k in 2021/22, £115k in 2022/23 and £40k in 2023/24) to be supported by borrowing and funded from within the business plan cashflow.

Reasons for the Decisions:

The council’s objectives for the acquisition of The Strand in 2017 were to ensure that it was supported to continue its role in the local community, as a key asset at the heart of Bootle critical to the town’s physical, economic and social regeneration.

Since the start of the spread of COVID-19 in the UK in March 2020, the regular weekly and monthly monitoring of the operations of The Strand have indicated increasingly severe impacts of the pandemic and associated government restrictions on the operations of and financial returns from The Strand. Despite continued uncertainty, this report and Business Plan provide an update on forecasts for the coming years, as well as short- to medium-term mitigants and actions.

However, operational decision-making must be made within the context of an approved Business Plan.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Further delay to publication of a three-year Business Plan– despite continued uncertainty on the economic and regulatory impacts of the pandemic, and governmental and sectoral response, and continued impacts on The Strand, this was discounted given the importance of an approved Business Plan, and the expected continuation of uncertainty for the economy and for the sector for a significant period to come.