Issue - meetings
London Square (New Town Hall) - CIL
Meeting: 12/01/2022 - Grants Determination (Cabinet) Sub-Committee (Item 6)
6 London Square (New Town Hall) - CIL PDF 5 MB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Charlie Carter – Assistant Project Manager (Town Hall) presented the report.
The report sought permission to use £1,486,800 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to deliver the London Square (working title) project on behalf of Barts NHS Trust (Barts) and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH).
Officers highlighted the aims of the project, which remained consistent with the PID, which sought to:
· To provide a civic setting for the new town hall development;
· To provide strong visual amenity for the local area in between two commercially dense (employment) sites;
· To build accessible routes through the Whitechapel Masterplan area
The Sub – Committee noted the questions submitted on behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the following:
Reassurances were sought about a number of issues as summarised below:
· In view the land ownership issues (primarily owned by Barts) whether the £1,486,800 equated to 20% of the expenditure or the total? It was confirmed that this was the total costs, and that this will be funded by the Council in line with the Cabinet decision. The Council were keen to see this square come forward given the benefits of the plans.
· Match funding from Barts. It was noted none was proposed.
· The long term responsibility for maintenance of this land and costs. The Council were engaged in discussions with Barts about future arrangements. The Council have proposed to pay for the costs of maintaining the square and Barts would repay the Council on a 80/20 basis, however this has not been finalised.
The Committee discussed a number of issues as set out below:
· Members welcomed the proposals and supported the Council’s ambitions for the London square, especially given the benefits.
· They were keen to see that it was completed in conjunction with the Town Hall development.
RESOLVED:
1. Authorise the use £1,486,800 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding to deliver the London Square (working title) project on behalf of Barts NHS Trust (Barts) and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH);
2. Delegate the Corporate Director Place the power to authorise the execution of any agreements necessary to give effect to resolution 1.