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(1) 
That confirmation of the award of £20m in Government funding
to deliver the Skills and Education Campus and the ongoing
discussions with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) to monitor progress be noted.
 
(2) 
That the confirmation of the award of £6m by the Combined
County Authority (CCA) towards two Council capital projects
including £4m towards the refurbishment of St. John’s
for a new Digital and Cyber Hub and £2m towards the Skills
and Education Campus be noted.
 
(3) 
That the provisional agreement of terms with the University of
Central Lancashire (UCLAN) to occupy a new building (Building 1) as
indicated on the site masterplan drawings attached to the report as
Annex 1 (existing site plan) and Annex 2 (proposed site plan) be
noted.
 
(4) 
That it be noted the appointment of building contractors to
construct Building 1 and the external public realm works would be
presented to a future Executive Board meeting following the
conclusion of a competitive tender process to finalise costs and
programme.
 
(5) 
That the site masterplan drawing attached to the report as Annex 2
illustrating outline plans for Building 2 with the Council in
discussions with various parties to determine levels of interest
with the delivery of Building 2, a follow-on phase be
noted.  It was also noted Maple Grove
Development was granted a non-exclusive land option by the
Executive Board in November 2024 for Building 2 to bring forward a
speculative development should the opportunity arise.
 
(6) 
That it be noted the estimated development costs for the Project
were £45m which comprised £32m for Building 1 and
£13m for external works which included highway realignment,
service diversions, flood basins, landscaping and public realm.
 
(7) 
That a capital budget of £45m (excluding VAT) be approved for
the Project which included £20m of Government funding and
£2m of CCA funding with the remaining £23m funded by
the Council.
 
(8) 
That £23m of capital funding, with £13m reallocated
from the existing capital programme, together with £10m of
supplementary capital (borrowings) which would be secured by way of
a property lease to UCLAN with rental income covering the
additional borrowing costs be approved. 
The lease agreement also included an option for UCLAN to pay an
upfront premium to the Council in lieu of future rents and to
acquire the freehold.  Either way the
Council would be covered for the additional borrowings.
 
(9) 
That it be noted the Project would drawdown funding from the
Government and CCA before using Council funding, thereby reducing
costs to the Council by delaying borrowing costs.
 
(10)       
That it be noted an updated planning application would be submitted
under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to
reduce the building height to reflect the latest requirements of
UCLAN and to reduce capital costs.
 
(11)       
That delegated authority be granted to the Strategic Director
Finance and Resources and the Deputy Director of Legal and
Governance to conclude the necessary legal formalities to satisfy
compliance with the Subsidy Control Act.
 
(12)       
That the granting of a long lease to UCLAN on commercial terms with
no break clauses and contracted within the Landlord and Tenant Act
1954, be agreed in principle, including the principle of an option
to pay a premium to acquire the freehold.
 
(13)       
That the risks profile of the agreement for lease and the
obligations to cover future adverse cost fluctuations caused by
interest rate movements or unexpected inflationary pressures,
together with developer risk be acknowledged and accepted, and it
be noted an appropriate level of development contingency had been
included in the capital funding.
 
(14)       
That delegated authority be granted to the Growth Programme
Director and the Deputy Director of Legal and Governance to
finalise lease terms with UCLAN with the final commercial agreement
to be subject to a future report to the Executive Board.
 
(15)       
That the appointment of Turner and Townsend and BDP Architects for
Project and Cost Management with Multi-Discipline Design Services
for the Project be approved following a competitive tender process
using the Crown Commercial Services Framework.
 
(16)       
That the appointment of Casey Construction as the Civil Engineering
Contractor for the highways and enabling works be approved
following a competitive tender process using the Council’s
Growth Framework.
 
(17)       
That the appointment of United Utilities to progress the design and
construction works for the sewer diversions in Ainsworth Street,
required to enable Building 1 to commence on site be approved, and
delegated authority be granted to the Growth Programme Director and
the Deputy Director of Legal and Governance to finalise cost and
terms and complete the necessary legal formalities for the United
Utilities Agreement.
 
(18)       
That delegated authority be granted to the Growth Programme
Director and the Deputy Director of Legal and Governance to
finalise and complete the necessary legal formalities for the
Consultancy Agreement with Turner and Townsend and the Civil
Engineering contract with Casey Construction.
 
(19)       
For the reasons set out in the report, the waiver to the
requirements of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules be
endorsed and the appointment of Blake Morgan solicitors be approved
to prepare contracts for the appointment of Turner and Townsend as
lead consultant for the Project and to commence work on preparing
the Agreement for Lease, Building Lease and Building Contract for
the Project which would all be subject to a future report to the
Executive Board.
 
(20)       
That the Growth Programme Director be authorised to commence the
procurement of a building contractor using either the North West
Construction Framework (managed by Manchester City Council) or the
Council’s own Growth Framework and the successful contractor
be appointed under a Pre-Construction Service Agreement with the
appointment of the construction work subject to a future report to
the Executive Board, once design, costs, programme and risk had
been finalised.
 
(21)       
That delegated authority be granted to the Growth Programme
Director and the Deputy Director of Legal and Governance to
finalise cost and terms and complete the necessary legal
formalities for the Pre-Construction Services Agreement.