Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director - Place

This Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director – Place which provided details of the arrangements for the Council to access the £20m grant funding allocated to the Council by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for the delivery of part of Phase 1 of The Strand Re-purposing Programme (the Programme). The funding had been awarded based on the bid submitted by the Council to DLUHC in Round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) process in summer 2022. Sefton was not one of the councils successful in that LUF process but when further DLUHC funding became available in 2023, through the Capital Levelling Up Fund (CLUF), the Council’s bid was chosen amongst a small number of others to be awarded the full amount that had been bid for from LUF.

The Cabinet on 5 January 2023 (Minute No. 108 refers) had approved the Strand Business Plan for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25, which included the recommendation that Phase 1 of the Programme should continue to be progressed. The report related to the approvals required for the Council to sign the DLUHC issued Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which is not legally enforceable but describes an understanding between the Council and DLUHC in relation to how the grant funding is to be used. Signing this MoU would secure the availability of the funding for the Council to access when works commence on Phase 1, scheduled for February 2024.

Prior to commencing works and starting to defray the grant funding, a further report would be submitted to the Cabinet with a full business case for delivering Phase 1 of the Programme for approval. In the event that Phase 1 did not proceed then the grant funding would not be drawn down and the MoU would be withdrawn.

Decision Made: That

(1)      the Executive Director - Place, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, and the Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services be granted delegated authority to complete the DLUHC Memorandum of Understanding for the allocation of the Capital Levelling Up Fund grant, totalling £20,000,000 and

(2)      any draw-down and defrayment of the Capital Levelling Up Funds made available to the Council through that Memorandum of Understanding must be subject to approval of a subsequent Cabinet Report containing a detailed business case before commencing the construction works.

Reasons for the Decision:

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. This remains the Council’s priority in relation to the centre. However, the continued changes to the nature of UK high streets, the uncertainties of the current economic climate and the impacts these are having on the retail sector continue to necessitate financial subsidy to keep the Strand operational and prevent the centre from realising its full potential to drive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9