Issue - meetings

The report of the Chief Executive is attached.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Robinson presented the report of the Chief Executive providing an update to Council on the Development Corporation.

Councillor Robinson outlined the dual purpose of the Development Corporation report, which sought to bring Council up to date on the development of the Corporation, and outlined recommendations to move forward. Council’s attention was drawn to a typographical error in the recommendations, where £300k should read £500k. The ambitions of the Development Corporation, which aimed to capitalise on the geographical relationship between East Midlands Airport, the proposed HS2 link at Toton and the soon to be decommissioned, power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar were outlined.  The creation of 19,000 new jobs was highlighted, together with the potential for the Borough to be a leader in carbon neutral developments. Council was asked to note the business case for change contained within the report. The development of the site would be a long process, which would require legislation. In July 2020, the Secretary of State had confirmed support for the creation of an Interim Vehicle to manage the change. This report sought Council’s agreement to the creation of that Interim Vehicle.  Councillor Robinson informed Council that the Interim Vehicle would be operational from January 2021, and that the funding mentioned in the report would cover a period of three years and included hiring a programme team, a master-planning exercise and the delivery of the business case. Councillors were reminded that the existing power station site was a vital, strategic site and a very visible site within the Borough.

Councillor Edyvean seconded the recommendations in the report and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor J Walker noted the progress that has been made on this project since the last update to Council. She conveyed that the Labour Group recognised the need for financial support but expressed their reservations about many of the proposed developments and asked whether they were really being undertaken with the best interests of Rushcliffe residents in mind. Concerns were expressed over the recent coverage in the press that HS2 would no longer reach as far as Toton, the ‘gimicky’ nature of the zero-carbon research centre, and that the government might still change the nature of its support for this project. However, Council was advised that despite her reservations, she still considered that it was more important to have a seat at the table than the alternative. Council was reminded of the opportunity presented by this project to create a sustainable future for the site but asked Councillor Robinson to ensure this future was environmentally viable as well as bringing economic benefits to the Borough.

Councillor Major confirmed that the Liberal Democrat party was happy to support the proposals for the Interim Vehicle to oversee the significant redevelopment of this Borough landmark. She recognised that investment was needed to move the project forward but expressed concern that this was being taken from the Council’s Climate Change Fund and asked that alternative sources of funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38