Agenda item

To consider a report of the Director of Business, Development and Growth (to follow).

Councillor Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader presented a report of the Director of Business, Development and Growth updating Members on Market Walk.

The report summarised the decisions the Council had made regarding the development of the Market Walk Extension in terms of agreed leases and the recent decision by Marks and Spencer to review all proposed new Simply Food stores following a change in senior personnel at the company. All proposed new sites would be subject to re-appraisal including Chorley and so despite having a signed agreement in place with Reel Cinema, the Council could not currently progress with the scheme under the existing terms for approval for delivery.

To minimise the Council’s financial exposure on the scheme and mitigate against any short term negative impacts the construction work might have, Eric Wright Construction had been instructed to:

·         Complete the drainage and service diversion works that are already underway.

·         To complete the final design works as already commissioned.

·         Cancel the order for piling and piling mat

·         To not confirm any orders that would commit the Council to further expenditure including structural steel and cladding system.

·         To move back the fixed hoarding line by 15.11.17 to make existing hard standing available for 24 public parking spaces

·         To lay an area of temporary tarmac surface to create c.30 car parking spaces to be available for public use by the afternoon of 18.11.17

·         To lay an area of temporary tarmac surface to create an additional c.30 car parking spaces to be available for public use by the afternoon of 25.11.17

·         To further condense the area of the site to the minimum required to enable delivery of remaining scheduled works.

Reel Cinema had been made aware of the situation and had responded positively. There was also interest from a major chain restaurant which was being pursued. To date £2.6m had been approved and committed and the report contained a number of options going forward:

Option 1 – Continue with the extension at the earliest opportunity and that may include seeking a partner to mitigate some of the costs/risks and/or possibly amending the current scheme.

Option 2 – Retain the temporary car park surface and site infrastructure and continue to seek alternate tenants for the existing design.

Option 3 – Consider a redesign of the scheme or other financial models.

Option 4 – Stop and reinstate the Flat Iron Car Park to a high quality permanent finish.

In presenting the report, the Executive Leader referred to a 200 signature petition he had received opposing the development and stated that this would be taken into account, however there was other evidence to be considered:

·         The existing Market Walk units were all fully occupied with other interest from businesses

·         The Council needed a revenue steam going forward to help meet the increasing budget gap

·         Meetings were taking place with traders to listen to their concerns, but ultimately it was for everyone to work together to demonstrate Chorley was open for business now and into the future

·         The public would like to see the delivery of a cinema and also food/restaurant opportunities in the evenings when smaller independent businesses didn’t necessarily want to trade.

In conclusion Councillor Bradley felt the Council needed to pause, to work up further options that would benefit the interests of the town residents and traders and recommended that those proposals be submitted to the Market Walk Steering Committee and then to the Council meeting in January 2017.

Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources supported the proposal to pause the scheme, referring to the need to consider the bigger picture and the Council’s achievements in reducing parking fees, bringing former sites back into use, holding major events and purchasing Market Walk with an income to the Council of £1m a year. The review of the provision of an M&S Simply Food store was a setback but it was important not to lose sight of the value that a cinema would bring to the night time economy of Chorley.

Councillor Alan Cullens, Leader of the Opposition, was pleased the debate on Market Walk was being held in public and supported looking at other schemes, however he stated that his group was wholly opposed to any further development on the Flat Iron which would reduce car parking. He referred to the petition and the impact on business and traders from the loss of car parking and requested:

·         That all work related to the scheme be halted, that it be confirmed that no scheme will go ahead by the end of January, and car parking be fully reinstated.

·         Remove existing hoardings so that the town centre looks open for business; and

·         Consider compensation for the loss of business during this time.

Councillor Bradley agreed to consider these proposals and seek to make improvements where possible but the timetable in place had not been just to suit M & S but also Reel Cinema and discussions needed to continue with them as they were keen to come to Chorley. Car parking was the main concern of traders at the current time and work was taking place with them to maximise parking space in the centre.

Other councillors referred to the availability of other car parking which was just a few more minutes walk from the centre; the new park and ride facility at both Morrisons and Woodlands; and comparisons with other larger towns where parking was always considerably further away from the shops. Councillors  Paul Walmsley and Peter Wilson reiterated the need to pause the work on the Market Walk extension to evaluate the options. It was essential to generate more income for the Council and whilst the M & S stance was disappointing there was still a great deal of confidence in the scheme and the ability to let all units.

RESOLVED -  

1.    That the Council agrees to pause and suspend operations on the site until the end of January with a view to doing a more detailed analysis of the various options going forward, being presented to Market Walk Steering Group and Council in January.

2.    That Council approves an additional £54,200 expenditure incurred in creating temporary parking, suspend the site and continuing professional fees until the end of January 2018.