Cabinet resolved to:
(i) Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer to appoint a design team in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules to work up and submit a full planning application along the lines of the site masterplan shown at Appendix 1 to the report, on behalf of the Council;
(ii) Agree to allocate up to £3.4m to cover pre-development costs from the Investment and Acquisition Budget to allow the project to seek planning approval and to take Phase 1 of the scheme (shown in Appendix 2 of the report) through to RIBA Stage 4 design;
(iii) Note that a future Cabinet report shall seek approval for the delivery option, with the Business Plan highlighting a range of options;
(iv) Authorise the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Director of Law and Governance, to negotiate and award any agreements to give effect to recommendations (i) and (ii) above; and
(v) Authorise the Director of Law and Governance, or an authorised delegate on her behalf, to execute all the legal agreements, contracts and other documents on behalf of the Council in relation to recommendations (i) and (ii) above.