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.
Decision type: Non-key
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Decision due: 14 Feb 2024 by Executive