Agenda item

In October 2012, the Cabinet agreed for the Chief Property Officer to produce a full viability appraisal and options report for the unique opportunity to develop the Grand Parade & Undercroft in the World Heritage City of Bath.  This Cabinet Report demonstrates the viability and sets out recommendations for phased delivery of the project.

Caroline Kay (Chief Exec, Bath Preservation Trust) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 7 and on the Council’s website] said that the Trust felt that the plans were a potentially exciting step in bringing the Undercroft back into use but reserved judgement on the soundness of the business case because there was not yet enough information available.

Anne Robins (The Empire Owners Association) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 8 and on the Council’s website] said that some development would be welcomed, but there had been no information about phases 2-4 of the plans.  She felt that loss of parking should have been listed as an issue, not as an objective in the report.  She warned Cabinet that the Empire Owners would strongly object to any night club or casino proposals.

Alex Schlesinger (Secretary of Small Business Focus) in an ad hoc statement [a copy of which is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 9 and on the Council’s website] stressed that the report had left many questions unanswered.  He explained these in detail and expressed a number of concerns felt by the Guildhall Market Traders.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones in an ad hoc statement supported the project which he said would bring benefits to the area and would be attractive.  He asked if it would be possible to have a day-time visualisation of the changes, in addition to the evening one in the report.  He had been encouraged by the assurances recently given to the Market traders by the Leader of the Council but asked that Cabinet would protect the stall holders’ rents from being increased unfairly until the projected increase in footfall had been demonstrated.  He asked Councillor David Bellotti to put at rest the minds of the Market traders by sending them the comfort letter he had promised.  Finally, he asked the Cabinet to develop a strategy for markets throughout the authority’s area.

Councillor David Laming in an ad hoc statement asked that the River Regeneration Trust should be involved at an early stage because of the proximity of the river which he felt should be exploited.

Councillor David Bellotti introduced the item by saying that this was one of the most exciting projects for a number of years.  The area in question had been neglected for too long.  This was an opportunity to restore part of the history of Bath and to benefit the local economy.  If adopted, this would be a legacy project with long-term benefits for future generations.  He warned Cabinet however not to underestimate the challenges.  He had been delighted that already over 15 positive responses had been received from businesses.

Councillor Bellotti assured the Cabinet that Council money would not be risked without having sufficient pre-lets in place to secure confidence in the project.  He anticipated that phase 1 would produce a surplus which would be used elsewhere.  He referred to the next phase, Market development and said that he felt the replacement of parked cars by market stalls must be a good thing.  Phases 1 and 2 would be delivered by December 2014, taking into account the need for detailed planning applications.

He assured the Market traders that it was not his intention to increase rents or to leave them out of the plans.  The intention was rather to increase footfall, which would benefit all Market traders.  He assured them that the new market operator’s brief would safeguard the existing excellent traders.  He promised to send the requested comfort letter once the proposals before Cabinet were agreed.

He thanked Caroline Kay for her contribution.  He agreed that to make it work, her points must be included in the plans.  There were no plans to make any changes to the Victoria Art Gallery.  He said that although the present plans did not include the archives, he was mindful of the benefits of upgrading their location.

He assured local residents that they would be fully consulted when phase 3 and 4 proposals were brought forward.

He moved the proposals.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal by emphasising the importance of the project.  He gave an assurance that nothing would be done which would be to the detriment of the Abbey project.  He also assured Caroline Kay that the plans did not involve night clubs.  He thanked her for the observation about the archives and agreed with her that the Guildhall basement was not the best location in which to house them.

Councillor Crossley emphasised that the Cabinet’s express intention was to preserve a presence in all 3 existing centres – including the Guildhall.  He assured the Market traders that the plans would make the market more vibrant and more attractive to shoppers, so that the market would thrive for another 150 years.

Councillor David Dixon read an entry he had seen on twitter in which a local businessman had said that the Undercroft was “a location to die for”.  He believed strongly that the key to success for the project was to increase footfall between the Guildhall Market and the Undercroft.

Councillor David Bellotti in summing up thanked the Chief Property Officer and his team for the excellent work done so far.  He observed that the feedback from residents and shoppers had been very positive.

On a motion from Councillor David Bellotti, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the recommendations to deliver the overall project in phases as described in the attached Viability and Options report;

(2) To APPROVE a capital allocation of £5.29m for Phase 1, to be funded by Service Supported Borrowing;

(3) To DELEGATE the final decision to proceed is delegated to the Chief Property Officer, Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Community and Resources and the S151 Officer;

(4) To ASK the Chief Property Officer to submit planning permission for Phase 1 (developing the Colonnades and Empire Colonnades into restaurant space(s), including re-opening of the access routes from Boat stall Lane, Parade Gardens and Slippery Lane);

(5) To CONFIRM that a pre-let shall be agreed for the Phase 1 restaurant space(s) before the Council commits to construction works; and

(6) To AGREE that a licence shall be granted to a specialist market operator for Phase 2 – enhancing Bath Markets, including extending the market into the area of the Guildhall car park, and the possibility of providing planned street markets in High Street, Orange Grove and Grand Parade.