Issue - meetings

Appendix 1 to the report is exempt from publication as it contains commercially confidential information (exempt under paragraph 3, Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended)).

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services presented a report on the purchase of Barking Business Centre, 25 Thames Road, Barking, IG11 0JP.

There was an opportunity for the Council to purchase a 4.75-acre industrial site known as the Barking Business Centre, 25 Thames Road. The Site was immediately adjacent to other landholdings owned by the Council that were intended to be redeveloped for industrial intensification in conjunction with residential accommodation. The Site therefore forms part of a strategic land assembly exercise that is in part funded by the GLA who have provided £30 million of grant for land assembly.

The acquisition of the Site would provide the Council with a significant controlling interest within the Thames Road regeneration area, increasing LBBD’s ownership to just under 50% of the likely medium-term development area on Thames Road. More specifically, the Site was located next to other land already held by the Council, namely 23 Thames Road. Therefore, with the proposed acquisition of the Site, there was an opportunity now to secure a comprehensive redevelopment plot with capacity for 525 new residential units. Securing this development plot would help LBBD to deliver its vision for the area, as set out in the River Road / Thames Road masterplan, which was approved at Cabinet in November 2020.

The Cabinet resolved to

(i)   Agree to the purchase of the Barking Business Centre, 25 Thames Road, Barking, as shown edged red in Plan 2 at paragraph 2.2 of the report, on the terms set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Finance, Performance and Core Services and for Regeneration and Social Housing and the Director of Law and Governance, to conclude purchase agreements and any other related documents; and

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Finance, Performance and Core Services and for Regeneration and Social Housing and the Director of Inclusive Growth, to approve a site asset management strategy that shall address the related budget plan for planned refurbishment, future planning promotion, site preparation and potential later disposal.