The Head of Capital Projects, Regeneration and Culture, will be in attendance to provide an overview of the Middlehaven Masterplan.
Recommendation: for Panel to determine whether further information is required.
Minutes:
Following investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Middlesbrough Council, clearance work had taken place at Middlehaven to provide a blank canvass for development. There had been several masterplans for the area but none had come to fruition due to several factors including; the global recession, lack of funding, development values and much of the land being in different ownerships.
There had been some successes including Middlesbrough College campus, Boho 1 and Boho 5 and My Place. However a large area of Middlehaven was still undeveloped. Circumstances had changed over time but accelerated in a positive direction over the last couple of years. The Council now had control over the area although there was still some land from which the proceeds of any sale had to be shared with the HCA.
The Council had been successful in bringing funding into Middlehaven and it was easier to sell to Developers now because it was a blank canvass. Almost £30 million had been secured through the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) for various projects and the Towns Fund project was focussed on Middlehaven. The Council had also recently secured £7.9 million from the Brownfield Housing Fund to spend on site preparation.
Market opportunities had changed with a shift to more urban living as well as a lot more interest in commercial development through the growth of the digital sector and others. As the College had expanded there was more interested in educational opportunities and a new secondary school would be built there.
BCEGI, one of the world’s biggest building companies, as well as being a Funder and Developer, had been brought on board to provide expertise that was not available in-house or locally.
One of the key issues about developing a masterplan for Middlehaven was that it had to be planned in a coherent way, so that different schemes would not be competing against each other. As different schemes came forward they were all working within their own boundaries and the spaces in between: public realm, transport infrastructure, open space, all needed to be planned properly. It was also vital that new developments were phased properly. Bringing lots of property to the market at once could depress values and dampen some of the enthusiasm for Middlehaven. However, due to various funding streams, the Council did need to bring developments to market at a slightly faster pace than would have been the ideal.
The masterplan needed to tell a clear story so that anyone who was thinking about investing in Middlehaven could see what was happening and when. The masterplan would give the area an identity and guide investment decisions as well as helping prioritise project delivery and secure further external funding. It would also assist in convincing investors who were currently interested in MIddlehaven, as well as those who were not currently interested, that there was big development happening and there was potential to deliver it all.
The Council wanted to be proactive about the spaces in between developments so that there was good public realm and public transport infrastructure and it became a good place, rather than a series of good projects. Transport links were a critical part of that. The new masterplan was not a change of direction, it was about making sure that the Council’s direction was deliverable. The masterplan was a mixture of residential, commercial, and education developments and making sure that it was a coherent place with all of those component parts.
The dock bridge had opened the site up from the east and there was close proximity to the A19 and A66 corridors. Investment in the Rail Station and direct trains to London were also a good selling point. Middlehaven was also close to the town centre and retail and leisure offer.
In terms of current progress, Boho 8 which was 10,000 square feet of new modular commercial space for new companies, had been completed and demand for space was high. Bohouse North, which was Thirteen Group’s second development, comprising 40 new live/work properties for digital and creative professionals, would be finished by May. Also, site works had started on Boho Bright Ideas which was 60 homes for families and young professionals. A total of 60,000 square feet of Grade A commercial space for the digital sector was in the pipeline and Boho X would be on site in August 2021. The Outwood Riverside Academy, a 900 place secondary school specialising in technology would also be built.
There were some challenges as to how people would move around the area and how the educational offer fitted in. The biggest challenge was the five brownfield housing sites that would take 634 units of housing. This development required careful planning so that it sat as a coherent place to live rather than five separate housing developments that bore no relation to each other.
Funding had also been obtained to restore the Old Town Hall and the Captain Cook Public House. Work had started on the public house and Officers were planning how the Old Town Hall could sit as the centrepiece of Middlehaven again. There were also proposals for an urban farm to the northwest of Middlehaven which would be coming forward soon. The draft masterplan would be submitted to the Executive in summer 2021 for approval.
A Member queried the fact that the park in Middlehaven had been neglected and that did not send a good message to potential investors. It was confirmed that this issue would be picked up by Environment Services.
It was clarified that following the recent completion of legal proceedings, the former scrapyard site would be cleared and any additional costs for the clearance would be forwarded to the previous owner.
In relation to transport there was an infrastructure plan as part of the masterplan that considered bus, walking and cycling routes and peoples’ ability to move around without always using a car. Commercial buildings usually wanted staff car parking spaces so there was a balance to be struck. People would not necessarily have a parking space on their drive so there had to be provision for electric charging points.
There was some interest in the area previously earmarked for the Snow Centre and the dockside was particularly attractive for residential and also offices.
One of the proposals for the Old Town Hall was a market place with a food and drink offer. Funding from the Towns Fund was available to renovate either the Old Town Hall or the Captain Cook Public House to a state where the building could be brought to market. There was no decision as to which project would take priority as it depended on the market interest.
In relation to a query regarding land contamination it was explained that a large area of the land had been remediated to a standard, although not necessarily the standard for housing. Funding of £7.9 million was available to complete remedial work on the five housing sites over the next 18 months.
There was also a proposal in relation to combined heat and power and energy generation from the water. Net zero buildings would be a good selling point.
AGREED that the information provided was received and noted.