Agenda item

Purpose of Report

1.    To provide an update on the delivery of the Eastern Access, including the rail overbridge, and the agreements which were in place with Network Rail and Lincolnshire County Council.

2.    To provide an update on the development of the first 52 homes and to set out options for the management of the residual public open spaces within this phase.

3.    To outline the ongoing work with partners in relation to the detailed design of the site wide infrastructure and the prospective funding arrangements to support its delivery

Decision

1.    That the progress with the delivery of the Eastern Access and the provisions that had been agreed to assist in managing the longer-term risks for the Council be noted.

2.    That the proposals for the management of the retained areas in respect of the first 52 homes, namely that these were to be retained by the Council and a service charge levied as set out within the officer’s report be approved.

3.    That the work towards a potential future funding package to support accelerated delivery be noted.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

To transfer the residual green spaces and common areas of the land into a Management Company, which would ultimately be managed independently of the Council, with costs recovered via a service charge on the new home-owners.

Reasons for the Decision

Conditional approval by Executive in July 2024 to progress with the delivery of the eastern site access from Tritton Road to include a vehicle and multi-user bridge oversailing the railway line was subject to final approval of the technical designs and legal agreements being in place with Network Rail and Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) regarding construction, adoption, maintenance and the granting of rights for the resulting infrastructure This had now been secured. The City and County Council had entered into respective bridge agreements with Network Rail to cover the arrangements for construction and adoption of the asset in September 2024, allowing the City Council to enter into contract with John Graham Construction Ltd for delivery of the bridge and access road, which was progressing well.

The City Council had also entered into a Section 278 Agreement with LCC which permitted carriageway works to the existing highway at Tritton Road to form the bell-mouth and a new signalised junction to serve the site once housing development commenced. Additional works to tie in with Tritton Road and Dixon Street junctions was also part of this scope of works.

In addition to the bridge works, the City Council had now entered into a Development Agreement with Lindum Developments Limited for the delivery of the first 52 homes, following the Executive decision in July 2024 and final approval of the legal drafting and associated finances, in line with that decision.

Works had now commenced on site for the first phase of 19 homes, which were due to be completed in summer/autumn 2025 onwards.

In preparation for the marketing and sale of these first homes, the development site had now been rebranded with the launch of ‘Charterholme’ in December 2024. The first 52 homes would be known as ‘One@Charterholme’ for marketing purposes.

By way of further preparation, ahead of housing sales and the delivery of the development over the next 2-3 years, arrangements for the management of the residual green spaces and common areas also needed to be determined

Retention of the residual green spaces and common areas of land by the Council allowed for flexibility for the management of the first phase to be embedded with any future management arrangement to ensure consistency across the development.

It was also proposed that a service charge be implemented in order to cover these costs, being commonplace on new developments of this nature and a mechanism to ensure that quality spaces were maintained. This was particularly important for this gateway site, to set the standards for future phases and given that this phase consisted of 100% market homes. It was also considered appropriate to ensure a consistent approach to the funding arrangements for open spaces within the subsequent development parcels.

A further report to Executive would be presented in due course to set out the site wide management arrangements, once the design and scope for the central green area was further developed and the design parameters for the development parcels had been crystalised, alongside the funding arrangements for the delivery of the site wide infrastructure.

As set out in previous reports, officers were continuing to work with partners such as Homes England to seek to secure a further funding package to support the delivery of the wider site infrastructure such that the Council could maintain its role as master developer and deliver fully serviced housing sites to the market, for third party development or for the direct delivery of its own Council housing stock.

A full business case for funding was being prepared for completion this Spring, with a decision expected in Summer 2025. A further report would be tabled to update on the design and funding proposals once there was more information to present.