Issue - meetings

That the re-marketing of the Bar End Depot site be approved to commence in late October 2025.

Councillor Reach made a personal statement advising that he lived opposite the Bar End depot site but he had received advice from the Monitoring Officer that this did not constitute an interest requiring formal declaration and action.  He remained in the room and took part in the debate and decision on this report.

Councillor Tod introduced the report, explaining that the preferred developer had withdrawn from the process as a consequence of changes in the retirement living and home care market both locally and nationally.  Given the time pressures due to local government reorganisation (LGR) it was not proposed to restart the process, but instead to re-market the site with the same mix of uses as previously agreed.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Lee, Godfrey and Horrill addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Lee

Councillor Lee highlighted the current shortage of homes for older people and the need for urgent action due to LGR proposals.  He considered that larger integrated retirement communities (IRCs) offered the most viable model and queried if the remarketing requirements could be adjusted to attract extra care developers capable of delivering a larger, more viable scheme.  He also requested confirmation on monies previously spent and the anticipated future costs for remarketing the site. Finally, he asked for reassurance that nature enhancement opportunities would not be diluted during redevelopment and emphasised the wider need for older people’s housing provision in rural market towns across the district.

Councillor Godfrey

Councillor Godfrey stated that the Bar End depot site was prioritised over 10 years ago as a major project to deliver and queried his perceived lack of action on this and other major development projects in more recent years. He estimated that this delay has cost the council nearly £2 million. He also highlighted concerns regarding the impact of LGR.  Finally, he suggested a number of other alternative uses for the site, including social housing or additional leisure facilities.

Councillor Horrill

Councillor Horrill queried whether the developer’s citing of market conditions for withdrawing was an excuse, given the ongoing significant need for housing for older people.  She believed that the scheme had not been prioritised sufficiently by the council, emphasising the local residents’ long-standing request for a convenience store and pressed Cabinet to provide a more definite timetable, highlighting the urgency due to LGR proposals. She asked whether any of the previous bidders could offer a viable alternative.

Councillor Tod together with the Strategic Director and the Corporate Head of Asset Management responded to the comments made, including outlining the proposed timeline for the site to be re-marketed for a six-week period with responses to be analysed later in 2025 and a report back to Cabinet in January 2026.

The Strategic Director and Corporate Head also responded to questions from Cabinet Members.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

That the re-marketing of the Bar End Depot site be approved to commence in late October  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7