Agenda item
Report Called In - Heron Quays West – Proposal to Use Compulsory Purchase Powers to Aid Land Assembly and Development
(Time allocated – 30 minutes)
Minutes:
Further to their respective declarations of a personal and prejudicial interest, Councillor Abdul Asad and Councillor Shiria Khatun left the meeting for the duration of the Committee’s consideration of this agenda item.
COUNCILLOR BILL TURNER IN THE CHAIR
Suki Binjal, Interim Legal Services Manager, informed Members that a letter had been received before the meeting from the solicitor representing a number of Third Parties currently occupying the site at Heron Quays West. The representative had asked that the letter be circulated to Members and its content read out to the meeting. Ms Binjal advised that such a representation would be regarded as a deputation and that in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules at Part 4.1 of the Council’s Constitution (Rule 20.1), the deadline for receipt of deputation requests had passed before the letter was received.
The Committee agreed to hear the Call-in before considering whether or not to hear the representation.
Mr Michael Keating outlined the call-in procedure to the Committee.
Councillor Shirley Houghton for the Call-In Members referred to the reasons in their requisition and highlighted the main issues that they held with the provisionally agreed decision to use compulsory purchase powers in respect of land at Heron Quays West, mainly that the correct process and procedure was not followed by the Cabinet, and an independent valuation of the site had not been made.
Councillor Houghton then responded to questions from the Committee in relation to the content of the call-in requisition, and suggestions that the Cabinet were not in full possession of the facts.
The Committee then considered whether to hear the representation from the Third Parties raised previously. Councillor Oliur Rahman asked why the representation had not been received before the deadline for deputations. The representative for the Third Parties indicated that they did not wish formally to submit a deputation but merely to put forward a number of points as set out in their letter. Suki Binjal, Interim Legal Services Manager, advised the Committee that the Constitution provided for such third party contribution only by means of a deputation or petition. It was open to the Committee however to consider whether to suspend the relevant Procedure Rule to enable a deputation to come forward without the stipulated notice period.
Councillor Stephanie Eaton moved, and Councillor Oliur Rahman seconded, that Council Procedure Rule 20.1 be suspended in order to allow the Committee to debate whether to hear the deputation. This motion was put to the meeting and was agreed.
Following debate, the committee voted on whether to hear the deputation and decided that they would not.
Councillor Joshua Peck, Lead Member for Resources and Performance, on behalf of the Cabinet, then addressed the Committee in response to the Call-in stating that the accuracy of the valuation had never been an issue and that the regeneration benefits for the community were huge and justified the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO). He advised that he was satisfied that the process had been followed correctly and that the Cabinet had all the information it needed.
Committee Members then put detailed questions to Councillor Peck and Mr Paul Evans, Interim Director, Development and Renewal, on a number of issues including the influence of the proposed community benefits on the decision, the consultation process, and the information available to the Cabinet.
After questions and before the Committee debated the matter, Councillor Peck and Councillor Hawkins left the meeting.
Following the debate the Committee voted on whether to refer the item back to the Cabinet for further consideration and it was
RESOLVED:
That the alternative course of action proposed in the Call-in be not pursued and the decision of the Cabinet be confirmed.
Supporting documents: