Agenda item

Marine Lake Events Centre and Light Fantastic Business Case

Mark Catherall presented a summary of the proposed Business Case for the Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) and the Light Fantastic. Work has progressed to ensure programme dates can be met whilst the Business Case is still being finalised. Report due to go to cabinet on 23^rd June, where high level summary will be presented to protect the integrity of the council processes. This is due to the commercial sensitivity and competitive procurement processes still in progress.

The consultation process is underway with the online forums closing tomorrow (10^th June 2022). The drop-in sessions at the beginning of the month were well attended with over 300 direct conversations. Turley's have captured the feedback and will combine all the findings when finalising the Business Case and Planning application. Most responses to date have been positive especially from local businesses and residents. Main comments / queries include wanting to ensure the promenade has a high-quality elevation and wanting details about construction. Residents referred to the disruption caused by previous developments in the area. The team have also been in contact with the Yacht club and confirmed they can continue to sail, follow up meetings have been set up.

Mark Catherall went on to summarise each of the sections within the Business Case.

Strategic case. The Southport Theatre and Convention Centre (STCC) is no longer fit for purpose. Even before the pandemic, bookings were lost to rival locations due to deterioration of the buildings, technical shortcomings, and operational issues.

Economic case. The facilities will attract 0.5million visitors annually equating to £18m local investment from tourism. It is envisaged that 101 full / part time jobs would be created along with 188 off site jobs.

Financial Case. Project costs are currently estimated in the region of £73m and includes an 8.1% contingency (5.1% for Inflation to mid-point 2024 and 4% for project unknowns).

Commercial Case. Proposed Design and Build procurement of the facilities and then transfer to long term operator to operate on behalf of the Authority. Reviewing other examples such as Leeds, Hull, and Swansea. The Authority has the support of over 40 specialist consultants to develop the plans. This is utilising the 5% pre-payment and means the project can be progressed rather than wait until after the Business Case approval is in place.

Management case. Following the delivery framework and grant programme.

Programme

The following dates are the milestone dates that the project team are working to:

Submission of the business case is on track, c.800-page document. It was agreed to provide members with a copy of the summary business case prior to submission.

Q&A

Q. PH felt it was important to see the detail and be aware of any dramatic changes to what had been agreed previously. PH went on to question if the recent House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, Local economic growth report had been considered and wanted reassurance that the failings identified in the report did not impact this project.

A. It was agreed that a summary business case can be provided for the benefit of the board and whilst the report is useful it is more focusses was the Levelling up fund rather than Towns Fund.

Q. AN queried the contents of the summary and asked if it could provide a list of provisions and plans of the proposed complex. Discussion took place surrounding what would be included as part of the planning application and elements that will be in the public domain. Details can be provided in the summary document, but members were reminded that we would need to be prudent as the competitive processes are still underway.