Agenda item

Marine Lake Event Centre

Report of the Executive Director - Place

Minutes:

Further to Minute No. 41 of the meeting held on 28 July 2022 the Cabinet considered the report of the Executive Director – Place that provided an update on the progression of the operator procurement process, along with the ongoing contractor procurement process following previous approval of the procurement routes. In respect of the Marine Lake Event Centre. The report also included an update on current costs and funding position and therefore the required contribution from the Council of up to £19.7m; and indicated that the cost of this, to be funded via borrowing, had been included in this report together with the indicative annual income from the operator, to enable early visibility of potential Medium-Term Financial Plan implications for the Council.

 

Decision Made:

 

That:

 

(1)

the Executive Director – Place be authorised to enter into of an Agreement for Lease for the operation and management of the Southport Marine Lake Events Centre with SMG (UK) Limited trading as ASM Global, based upon the principles agreed within the Heads of Terms, as set out in the report;

 

(2)

the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services be authorised to agree the final terms to the Agreement for Lease;

 

(3)

the update on the build contractor procurement along with the targeted social value outcomes be noted;

 

(4)

the key project risks identified within this report, including future financial implications be noted; and

 

(5)

Council be recommended to:

 

(1)

approve a Supplementary Capital Estimate of £69.1m to be funded by: £31.7m from the Town Deal; £17.7m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; and £19.7m to be funded by the Council;

 

(2)

note that, in addition to the £69.1m identified above, £1.6m and £2.3m of pre-development funding, from the Town Deal and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority respectively, has already been included within the Capital Programme as approved by Council in September 2021. Therefore, the total capital scheme for the MLEC is £73m and this is the total value of the scheme which will be included within the Capital Programme;

 

(3)

note that the finance arrangements for the Council’s contribution of £19.7m to the MLEC will be agreed following consultation with the Council’s Treasury Management advisors and reported to Cabinet through the quarterly Treasury Management reports and the final proposal will be included within the Budget report;

 

(4)

delegate the completion and signing of Grant Funding Agreement of £17.7m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to the Chief Executive and the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services, in consultation with the Executive Director - Place, the Cabinet Member - Regeneration and Skills and the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, should it be formally approved by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; and

 

(5)

delegate the Grant Funding Agreement of £33.3m from the Southport Town Deal, following Full Business Case approval, to the Chief Executive and the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services, in consultation with the Executive Director - Place, the Cabinet Member - Regeneration and Skills and the Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, should it be formally approved by Government.

 

Reasons for the Decision:

 

Cabinet has previously approved to progress with a new Marine Lake Events Centre in Southport as part of the successful Southport Town Deal.

 

Following the submission of the business case and conclusion of the operator procurement there is a need to ensure there is a long-term commitment from the proposed tenant to provide confidence in the delivery of the scheme.

 

To progress and finalise the contractor procurement grant funding agreements from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Town Deal will need to be agreed along with the additional Council funding of £19.7m.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

The Outline Business Case presented to Cabinet on 24 June 2021 considered several alternative options ranging from do minimum, to refurbishment, to major redevelopment. The preferred option was major redevelopment with the other options being rejected as they did not meet the project aims and objectives.

 

The preferred way forward identified at the Outline Business Case stage was subject to further review in early 2022 focused on the re-examination of the scheme given capital affordability constraints alongside a review of the funding strategy. This review led to the confirmation of the preferred way forward scheme as set out at the Outline Business Case stage.

The Business case presented to Cabinet on 28 July 2022 presented the shortlisted intervention options examined including the Outline Business Case preferred option requiring £73m of funding and a reduced scheme requiring £61.8m capital investment.

These two intervention options were considered against a revised reference case that considers that the STCC did not re-open after COVID-19 and has been mothballed by the Council. Therefore, the Do Minimum option, examined as part of the Outline Business Case, was no longer considered.

The preferred option from the Outline Business Case scored the highest in the Full Business Case also and therefore the circa £73m major redevelopment remains the preferred option.

 

 

Supporting documents: