Decision

1. Noted the positive interest from developers in both Portsmouth as a city and City Centre North (CCN) as a regeneration project, following the conclusion of the recent Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) process.
2. Noted the delivery options and commence the next phase of the project, as per the recommendations outlined in the attached Mace report (Executive Summary Appendix A, and Full report in the confidential exempt Appendix B).  This is to seek an agreement with a Master Developer to deliver the vision for the City Centre.
3. Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Property & Investment and Assistant Director of Procurement, in consultation with the Leader, to:
4. 1 Following determination of the preferred option, procure a Master Developer partner.
5. 2 Prepare a Development Management Services Agreement (DMSA) to be entered into with the Master Developer Partner.
6. 3 Commission key site surveys to support the DMSA Business case.
7. 4 Incur expenditure as required to progress these activities and other associated activities related to the scheme up to the estimated value of £2.63m (exempt Appendix C).
8. Noted that a further report seeking authority to enter into the DMSA with the Master Developer, enabling the preparation of a detailed business case will be brought to Cabinet in summer 2026.
9. Supported the submission of the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for the City Centre Road project to the Department of Transport via the Major Road Network Fund (noting this is currently under review by DfT).