Decision details

The Executive Member for Regeneration submitted a report for Executive’s consideration.

The site at Newham Hall was identified in the Local Plan (2014) for residential development. It was the Council’s largest parcel of surplus land at 71ha. With 42ha of net developable land the site had capacity for approximately 1,000 dwellings (Appendix 1).

Although the land had not been marketed for sale, Middlesbrough Council had received two speculative offers for the land in the last three years. More recently, the Council received a Joint Venture proposition from Homes England and entered into an Exclusivity Agreement with them for the period December 2022 - September 2023.

Following assessment of these offers and insights from market research the report sought approval for Middlesbrough Council to:

·         progress with the disposal and marketing of the land independently rather than sell to a third-party developer or through a Joint Venture with Homes England; and

·         to utilise LUF2, Towns Fund grant, Strategic Highways and S106 monies, other developer contributions and Council capital programme resources to undertake site de-risking to ensure best consideration for the site at the point of sale.

The disposal of the land was recommended in order to meet the Council’s requirements to generate capital receipts, increase annually recurring revenue streams and, as the value of the individual site exceeds £250,000 it was a key decision.

The report would seek continued delegated authority to be granted for the Director of Regeneration and Director of Finance to ensure a smooth and efficient disposal and delivery process to take place.

The implications of the recommendations of the report had been considered by the appropriate officers of the Council and were set out in the main body of the report.

The overall integrity of the Local Plan (2014) depended upon the land supply identified within it being made available. Following Executive approval in 2017 to terminate the Agricultural Tenancy, approval to dispose of the land was granted by Executive in July 2022 via the Asset Disposal Business Case process (Appendix 2 - Confidential).

Middlesbrough’s housing offer needed to keep pace with the demands of the market. The release and development of this suburban site would allow that to be achieved; stemming outward migration and making Middlesbrough a more desirable place to live, with a quantity of residential properties that would address the needs of a changing, growing and evolving population.

The development of new housing was a key component of the Council being able to achieve financial sustainability through growth in its tax base which generated increased Council Tax income. In addition, the capital receipts generated from sale of land, including housing sites, would support the delivery of the Council Plan and its Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

The Executive Member commented the report was focussed on securing investment from the site rather than specific planning considerations.

ORDERED that Executive:

1.    Approve the approach of Middlesbrough Council acting as the master developer for the Newham Hall site - being financially responsible for bringing the site forward for phased disposal and marketing without external intervention or support from Homes England;

2.    Approve the use of the awarded Levelling Up Fund 2 and Towns Fund grants, Strategic Highways Section 106 Funding, other developer contributions and existing Council capital funding of £4.129m dedicated to Housing Growth or other projects already contained within the current capital programme to unlock and de-risk the Newham Hall housing site;

3.    Approve Delegated Authority for the Director of Regeneration in respect of Public Open Space and Land Appropriation process and;

4.    Approve Delegated Authority for the Director of Regeneration and Director of Finance for further amendments to the proposed disposal route.