Issue - items at meetings - Issues Raised by Members

To consider the following matters raised by Members:

(a)      Petitions: to receive any petitions submitted to the full Council or at the meeting itself;

(b)      Written Questions: to consider any written questions;

(i)            Redevelopment of the Kind Alfred Site: Question from Councillor G. Theobald.

(c)      Letters: to consider any letters;

(d)      Notices of Motion: to consider any Notices of Motion.

(i)        Supermarket Levy: Notice of Motion from the Green Group.

6.1         The Chair noted that Councillor G. Theobald has given advance notice of a question which was listed in the agenda papers.

6.2         Councillor G. Theobald’ s question asked:

“Given that it is now almost a year since P&R Committee agreed the way forward for the redevelopment of the King Alfred site, will the Leader of the Council please provide Committee with an update on progress with choosing a preferred bidder for the new leisure centre?”

6.3         The Chair responded:

“As Councillor Theobald will be aware, it was this administration that re-established the King Alfred project in 2012, following many years of inactivity from the previous administration.  In a relatively short period we confirmed the city’s priorities for the new Sports Centre, and the type of enabling development needed to help deliver it, and set out the process by which the council would seek to appoint a development partner.

Since securing the unanimous support of the Policy & Resources Committee in July 2013, officers have continued preparatory work needed to inform and support the formal procurement exercise.  The King Alfred is among the most strategically significant projects in the city and it is vitally important that the council is properly prepared before embarking on a complex tendering process.  To do so prematurely will not benefit either the council, interested developers or the community.

As a first step in this process, in November 2013, the council hosted a ‘Developers’ Day’ event that enabled early engagement with the development community, and the opportunity for the council to promote this exciting development opportunity. This successful event, attended by 65 senior representatives from more than 40 companies, enabled the council to outline the city’s objectives and to begin dialogue with a range of industry specialists.  Valuable feedback obtained from the day has helped inform the planned process, which we hope will be welcomed by developers.

We have just recently appointed Deloittes to support the council with property, procurement, and cost advice to support the OJEU ‘Competitive Dialogue’ and we are committed to starting the procurement exercise later this summer.

6.4         By way of a supplementary question Councillor G. Theobald asked for more information in relation to the specific timetable, and the Chair agreed he would send a detailed written response after the meeting to this effect.

6.5         The Chair noted the Notice of Motion as listed in the agenda, and formally proposed the motion himself which was seconded by Councillor by Councillor Sykes. The Committee then debated the motion.

6.6         The Chair then put the following motion to the vote:

“This Committee resolve to endorse the Local Works campaign for a ‘supermarket levy’, and support the Derby City Council-led bid to government requesting relevant powers under the Sustainable Communities Act.”

6.7         The motion was carried.