Agenda item

      Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Richard Clewer, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Heritage, Arts & Tourism, Housing and Communities introduced the report which sought Cabinet’s approval to procure a partner to form a joint venture (“JV”) master developer with the Council to develop the Council’s land holdings as part of the Future Chippenham programme and possibly other Council owned sites.

The Cabinet received a number of questions from Susan McGill. Cllr Clewer explained that the questions had received written responses which were published on the Council’s website in Agenda Supplement 2, details of which can be found here.

The report indicated that the Council has received expert advice on the model of a joint venture that would be attractive to the market. The advice tested the viability of the JV model based on the existing development model for Future Chippenham and this shows the Council would maximise its return from the JV model compared to the conventional approach of disposing of its land on the open market. The advice is provided in the exempt part of the agenda under minute 34.

The Cabinet noted that a briefing had been arranged for the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Environment Select Committee and Chair of the Financial Planning Task Group on 1 February 2021.

In response to comments from Cllr Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, about the consultant ‘31 ten’ and whether they would consider another option to the proposed JV detailed in the report; details about the financial analysis of the JV option and direct sale approach; and involvement in the appointment process; Cllr Clewer asked for the first two issues to be discussed with officers outside of the meeting due to their sensitive nature and Cllr Clewer confirmed that there was no definitive model for the appointment process, although members would be involved.

Resolved:

1. Agree to seek a joint venture partner to form a master developer for the Council owned land included in the Future Chippenham programme.

2. Agree to procure specialist commercial advice to inform the JV procurement process

3. Agree to procure specialist legal advice to inform the JV procurement

4. Agree to procure specialist property advice to inform the JV procurement.

Reason for decision:

The council owns a significant amount of the land which is included as part of the Future Chippenham programme. The council should seek to maximise the value from these important public assets and ensure that it achieves the objectives of the Future Chippenham programme while delivering the best possible return for the Wiltshire Council and its residents. The expert advice

received by the council strongly indicates that the optimum model for  achieving these objectives is to seek a joint venture partner to form a master developer for the council-owned land included in the programme. Therefore, cabinet’s approval is requested to endorse both this approach and to agree that the council team proceed with the procurement of specialist commercial, legal and property advice to deliver a successful and compliant procurement process to secure a joint venture partner.