Council leader explains decision on major development
A council’s leader said he had to make a decision about a town centre development autonomously because of coronavirus lockdown restrictions and a “challenging timescale”, but repeated his promise to not use the power often.
Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies assigned nearly £11,850,000, partly to match-fund a £7,000,000 government grant, and approved the purchase of land to form part of “Station Quarter”. Local Growth Fund conditions require the grant to be spent within the year.
Asking his cabinet for its retrospective endorsement, he said he used “strong leader” powers sparingly as “it’s best decisions are made in public”.
Councillor David Wright, the cabinet member for the economy, housing, transport and infrastructure, said the Station Quarter development aims to add housing, offices and retailers connecting Telford Central railway station and the town’s shopping centre.
A report, by Regeneration and Investment Manager Dawn Toy and housing investment programme manager Kate Callis, said LGF money is distributed by regional Local Enterprise Partnerships.
The Marches LEP, which covers the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire, had a £27,000,000 overspend in 2019-20 and gave councils the chance to bid for the money.
Telford and Wrekin’s proposal included brownfield sites at the planned Station Quarter, Donnington and Wellington. The LEP made the decision to award £7,000,000 at its board meeting, held remotely, on March 24.
The process was conducted under “challenging timescales” which required a funding agreement in early May with the money to be spent by April 2021, Ms Callis and Ms Toy wrote.
“The strong leader decision was taken in response to the LEP’s timeframe,” they added.
In the cabinet’s first remote meeting, and its first meeting since February, Cllr Davies said: “This is a strong leader decision I made during the pandemic and the lockdown, when we weren’t meeting.
“It isn’t something I often use. I do think it’s best decisions are made in public in these types of meetings.
“But, what I committed to do when I became leader was put any strong leader decision I made before the first cabinet meeting.”
Cllr Wright said the purpose of the project was “to bring back brownfield sites into use and also stimulate the economy”.
He said: “As part of that process we have been purchasing land, in particular in the Station Quarter area, and the grant funding element has been used to purchase a site at the heart of that redevelopment proposal.
“We’re aiming to redevelop the area between the station and the Telford Shopping Centre so it has a mix of office accommodation, new housing, potential short-stop retail uses, so it provides a really attractive area between the station and the town centre.”
The 10-member cabinet endorsed Cllr Davies’s decision.
