Decisions

Improvement works have been planned at Henfield Library using around £30,000 of Section 106 Developer Contributions which expire at the end of the 2019/20 financial year.

The work includes the relocation of books to allow removal of old fixed shelving, new flexible shelving being fitted some internal rearrangement, including some electrical work and redecoration. These works will improve the customer experience for residents and allow more effective use of space.

It would not be possible to do this level of work safely whilst open to the public therefore the proposal is to close from Monday 27th January 2020 to Wednesday 5th February 2020 inclusive.

The Director of Law and Assurance, with the agreement of the Cabinet Member for Fire & Rescue and Communities and the Chairman of the Environment, Communities and Fire Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 5.23 to close Henfield Library from Monday 27 January 2020 to Wednesday 05 February 2020 inclusive. 

That Henfield library is closed from Monday 27 January 2020 to Wednesday 05 February 2020 inclusive to enable renovation works to fit new flexible shelving, undertaken some internal rearrangement, electrical work and redecoration.

Enabling residents to remain independent in later life is one of the key objectives of the West Sussex Plan. To this end, the Council has indicated a willingness to invest in social care infrastructure projects which help to make this possible.

Extra care housing has been identified as a particularly effective means of enabling people with care needs to remain independent, living in purpose-built homes within a residential setting with some communal amenities and an on-site care service.  The proposal being put forward is to support the development of new extra care housing scheme comprising 48 flats on the site of a former supported housing scheme in East Grinstead.

The site is owned by Eldon Housing Association which has obtained planning permission and a commitment to grant funding from Homes England, however additional funding from WSCC will also be required if the scheme is to proceed.   

The Cabinet Member for Finance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, has approved a capital contribution of £0.96m to Eldon Housing Association to provide a scheme comprising of 48 units of extra care housing at the Lingfield Lodge site in East Grinstead.

The Chichester Growth Deal identifies a set of shared priorities between WSCC and Chichester District Council (CDC) to support economic growth within the city of Chichester.  This includes a commitment to the Southern Gateway as identified in the Southern Gateway Masterplan (2017) which includes the development of land currently owned by the County Council at the former Year 7 building and the current all-weather hockey pitch at Chichester High School.  The Southern Gateway Masterplan was adopted by Chichester District Council in 2017 as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

WSCC and CDC have worked in partnership as strategic land-owners to promote the effective implementation of the Southern Gateway and to bring forward sites within their respective ownership collaboratively in order to deliver the opportunities identified in the adopted SPD. 

The two authorities entered into a Collaboration Agreement on 1^st May 2019 re-enforcing the commitment to the MasterPlan objectives and supporting the strategy to secure a Development Partner, led by CDC, including the methodology and criteria for inclusion of the WSCC land within the principles of a draft Development Agreement.

In May 2019 CDC commenced an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) procurement process to select a Development Partner for the Southern Gateway.  In June 2019, a WSCC Leader Decision (reference LDR01 (19.20)) enabled WSCC to join the procurement process and, provided WSCC consideration in relation to valuation of its land along with other key identified evaluation criteria can be met by the successful bidder

Four bids were taken into the initial tender stage.  Following evaluation and dialogue, two bids were taken to detailed submission and final bids.  The submissions detail each bidder’s approach to the delivery of Southern Gateway.  The subsequent evaluation assesses the quality and financial elements of the bids against criteria established for the procurement process for the identification of a preferred bidder.

This report (restricted to members only) details the procurement process and the outcomes of the evaluation of the final bids in reference to the quality and financial evaluation criteria established for the project.  Subsequent to the outcomes of the procurement process and evaluation criteria, this report makes recommendations for the appointment of the preferred bidder as a Development Partner and explains the next steps which should lead to the signing of a Development Agreement. for the delivery of Southern Gateway.

Recommendations

(1)        That under authority delegated in Leader Decision LDR01 (19.20) the Executive Director of Place Services agrees to the appointment of the successful bidder as the selected Development Partner to deliver the Southern Gateway Regeneration project on the Heads of Terms shown in Appendix A (restricted for members only) once matters are finalised with the bidder;

(2)        That after further work with Chichester District Council and the appointed development partner a Development Agreement is prepared in order for a future decision by the Executive Director of Place Services and the Director of Law and Assurance to jointly approve the execution of the Development Agreement.