Agenda item

Update on Options for the Redevelopment of the Regis Centre Area

The purpose of this report is to remind the Subcommittee of the actions agreed to date by the Council and to invite Members to consider whether changes to the core elements of the agreed scheme should be recommended to Full Council in order to facilitate a scheme which can be delivered commercially without resorting to any significant public subsidy.

 

 

Minutes:

            The Director of Place presented this report which provided the background to the Council’s development strategy for the potential redevelopment of the Regis Centre but which might now be severely impacted in light of the challenging economic conditions that would be experienced as a direct result of the corona virus pandemic.  A number of recommendations to Full Council had been set out in the report in order to facilitate an amended scheme which could be delivered commercially without resorting to any significant public subsidy.

 

            In participating in a full debate, there was an overwhelming concern expressed by Members that they were being asked to make recommendations on a matter which they did not feel fully informed about.  The previous administration had agreed a strategy but it was felt that far more detail was required, particularly with regard to the financial aspects relating to negotiations with Whitbreads and the future of the Alexander Theatre.  There was also a certain disquiet that what was being proposed was piecemeal development and was not regeneration.

 

            The Chairman, having picked up on the concerns being raised, proposed that the matter be deferred to seek further information around the financial implications, with a further report to be brought back by the Director of Place to a future meeting.  This was duly seconded.

 

            Further comments were made indicating that the development plans of the Sir Richard Hotham Project should be revisited and that the feasibility of opening the Royal Hall should be explored.

 

            The Director of Place, in confirming that he would present a further report to a future meeting in the event the matter was deferred, advised that that report would set out the basis of the negotiations undertaken previously and also include other issues raised in the debate relating to, for example, the condition of the buildings.  Due to the nature of its content, much of the report would necessarily have to be of a confidential nature.   

 

            The Director of Place also took the opportunity to remind Members that in 2018 the Council did have a redevelopment strategy for the Regis site, known as the Winter Gardens Project.  It had been agreed at that time that, in order to deliver a complex and overall package of proposals, that would be best achieved through a series of individual developments.  The report on the table was inviting Members to approve the first phase of that strategy to build a hotel and to bring back into the Council’s full control the public house and theatre to allow the Council to move forward on developing the site.  The Subcommittee was reminded that there was therefore a strategy, there was a plan, and the report was inviting Members to commence the delivery of the scheme.  However, he did request that if Members now wished to deliver something completely different, officers be provided with clarity around what they wished to see delivered.

 

            A further proposal was put forward that a recommendation be made to Full Council that the Sir Richard Hotham Project, proposals for a water feature and all other options be explored to deliver the best possible outcome for the people and businesses of Bognor Regis and to ensure that all Councillors were brought up to date to understand all the options available.

 

            In line with the Council’s procedure rules, the Subcommittee turned to the first proposal to defer and, having been voted on with an overwhelming majority,

 

RESOLVED

 

That the matter be deferred to enable the Director of Place to present a further report to a future meeting setting out the detail of previous negotiations and other matters.

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