Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Manydown Overview Committee Meeting

Name: Manydown Overview Committee
Start: 2023-11-23T18:30:00Z
End: 2023-11-23T21:30:00Z
Location: Committee Rooms 1 & 2 - Deanes

23 Nov 2023, 6:30 p.m.

This is a meeting of the Manydown Overview Committee of Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council held on the 23rd Nov 2023.

The last meeting was on 21st Feb 2024.

Meeting Status

Confirmed

Agenda Published

Yes

Decisions Published

Minutes Published

Yes

Meeting Location

Committee Rooms 1 & 2 - Deanes

Meeting Recordings

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Agenda

Item	Title	Minutes
1	Apologies for absence and substitutions	There were no apologies for absence.
2	Declarations of interest	There were no declarations of interest.
3	Urgent matters	There were no urgent matters.
4	Minutes of the meeting held on the 21st June 2023	Minutes of the meeting held on the 21st June 2023 The minutes of the meeting held on 21^st June 2023 were confirmed by the committee as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
5	Manydown North Land Drawdown	Manydown North Land Drawdown Report Appendix 1- Land drawdown purchase strategy- Confidential Appendix 2 Confidential Appendix 3 - Draft S123 Valuation Report (Confidential) Appendix 4 Draft HoTs (Confidential) Appendix 5 Confidential Appendix 5a confidential Appendix 5b confidential Appendix 6 Confidential The Leader of the Council introduced the report in the absence of the Cabinet Member for Major Projects and Regeneration and advised that it was a landmark opportunity to bring the paper on the Manydown North Land drawdownafter a period of 27 years. It was momentous and transformational for the Borough as there had been consequences for the Borough during that period. When they came into Office in May 2023 it was a priority of the administration to drive the project forward. He thanked the Councillors that had got them to that stage and thanked the Officer team for all their work in particular the Executive Director of Corporate Services and the Project Director. The project was moving forward towards the contract phase to complete and finalise all aspects. The focus would be on significant detail over the next period so conservations with the Members of the Committee and Ward Councillors would be critical in terms of information and transparency. It was critical to reflect on the words of the high court judgement as they gave a direction of travel to go in and what the purpose and focus was. “Excerpt from The Manydown Judgment 17 April 2012 4.2 The Council's objectives in purchasing the site, in partnership with the County Council, would be: (i) To achieve a properly planned, comprehensive development of the area. (ii) To secure land for low-cost housing in accordance with existing Council policy. (iii) To achieve a financial gain which, in turn, could be put, in whole or in part, to further housing initiatives. 4.3 The partnership with the County Council is important for many reasons. In particular there will be requirements for infrastructure investment prior to the first land sales. This load needs to be shared. ….” The Committee considered the report and commented that the statement in the report by the Cabinet Member for Major Projects and Regeneration was too political and the Manydown Overview Committee was not a political Committee. It was felt that it should not have been written as to contribute blame as Members were there to discuss the land drawdown and were aware of the history. The Chair advised that the Project Director would be giving a confidential presentation and proposed that, due to the confidential nature of the information contained within the presentation, the committee passed a resolution that, by virtue of paragraphs 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting. On resumption of the open session the Chair confirmed that members had discussed the private presentation. RESOLVED: that the Manydown Overview Committee: § notes the progress made on the Manydown North project. §reviews and provides comments on the content of this report for consideration by the Executive Director Corporate Services and Assets (S151 Officer) in consultation with, Project Director Manydown and Chief Operating Officer MGC LLP and Cabinet Member for Major Projects and Regeneration to inform the gateway review process outlined at paragraph 8.1.
6	Review of work programme	MOC Work Programme The Project Director advised that there had been an update to the previous work programme as the timelines had changed slightly. He confirmed that there had been a discussion with the Chair in the pre-meeting to establish how they would deliver the items to the Committee in the next 5 months before the pre-election period. The Chair agreed that with Officers they would agree the best way forward either by possibly an additional Committee or an All Member Briefing. The Chair advised that she was pleased to see that a presentation from Green Basingstoke / Greater Southeast Net Zero Hub would be scheduled. It was requested that information on the following topics be included at a future date:- The road network around Wotton St Lawrence in particular the Junction Community facilities provision to establish a full picture with the surrounding area so the facilities offered would complement each other. The committee noted the work programme.