Issue - meetings

Appendix 1 to the report is in the private section of the agenda at Item 16.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment presented the inaugural five-year rolling Business Plan of Be First, the Council-owned company launched on 1 October 2017 with the key objective of driving forward the delivery of the Council’s regeneration agenda.

The Cabinet Member highlighted some of the key aspects within the Business Plan which included:

·  The outline modelling for the delivery of a minimum of 9,700 new homes in the Borough by 2023, of which over 2,200 would be delivered under the Council’s Investment and Acquisition Strategy;

·  The business modelling to achieve the £10.3m financial contribution to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) from 2020/21 onwards;

·  Outline proposals for the establishment of a Development Company (DevCo) to enable Be First to undertake development activity;

·  Broader socio-economic benefits such as the creation of new employment and training opportunities; and

·  The governance arrangements, which would ensure that transparent monitoring and control arrangements existed between Be First and the Council as 100% shareholder.

The Cabinet Member commented that the £10.3m contribution to the MTFS, coupled with other financial benefits that would stem from the delivery by Be First of the regeneration programme, such as increased Council Tax revenue, would help to protect other vital Council services and mitigate the ongoing funding cuts imposed by the Government.

Observations were made regarding the need for Be First to include all relevant partner organisations in the planning of major regeneration schemes, to ensure that the proper community infrastructure accompanied new housing, and the important role that ward councillors could play in developing plans for an area.  In response, the Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development advised that he intended to set up a working group which would take a holistic view of the response needed to significant increases in an area’s population.  He also acknowledged the need to involve ward councillors, although he stressed that their involvement should not be seen as an opportunity to veto projects that had already been approved.

Cabinet Members commented on the fresh impetus that Be First would be able to give major regeneration projects such as Barking Riverside and it was noted that plans had been approved by the Mayor of London and TfL for significant improvements to the rail and road network serving the area.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the Be First Business Plan 2018/19 – 2022/23, at Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the appropriate legal construct for the DevCo trading vehicle Be First Developments Ltd being delegated in accordance with recommendation (ii) below;

(ii)  Agree in principle to the formation of a trading vehicle ‘Be First Developments Ltd’ and to delegate authority to the Director of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and the Cabinet Members for Finance, Growth and Investment and Economic and Social Development, to agree with Be First the appropriate legal construct and the terms of all the requisite legal documents and agreements (including a shareholder’s agreement);

(iii)  Agree that the Council provides a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100