Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Monitoring Officer submits a report, whichenables the Overview Select Committee to consider the call-in of the Executive Decision taken by the City Mayor relating to the Refurbishment of the Haymarket Car Park, provision of lifts to the theatre and purchase of Haymarket House.

The recommendations for the Committee are set out in Paragraph 2 of the report.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report detailing a five Member call-in of the Executive decision taken by the City Mayor relating to the refurbishment of the Haymarket car park, provision of lifts to the theatre and purchase of Haymarket House. 

The Chair introduced the call-in, explained the process and invited Councillors Willmott and Waddington to address the committee.

Councillor Willmott, who had seconded the call-in, explained that Councillor Kitterick, the proposer, was unable to attend. Councillor Willmott and Councillor Waddington then addressed the committee and points made included the following:

·      The decision would involve investing a further £10.6m in the Haymarket, including £8.4m in the Travelodge Hotel. It was questioned whether it was the right way to spend over £10m of public money;  whether it was sensible in terms of regeneration and why the Council was giving money to Travelodge, which was a very profitable company.

·      The money appeared to be drawn from cash reserves rather than capital funds and could therefore be spent on other projects such as Children’s Centres, which would be more beneficial to the City.

·      The Haymarket appeared now to be owned by one person and Councillors questioned the level of due diligence that had been carried out on the owner.

·      Instead of the money being spent on the Haymarket proposals, the Council could provide 250 homes to meet social housing needs; the income of which would exceed the rental income from Travelodge. The Council was setting up a housing company in order to invest £2m to provide 50 houses, and by that logic, 250 homes could be provided with the £10m.

·      There were 10,000 families in the City who desired or needed a Council house and people were desperate for homes or less cramped accommodation.

·      The ‘Right to Buy’ scheme had reduced the housing stock and the closure of Goscote House would result in a further loss of accommodation.

·      The Members argued that additional housing would create more jobs than the Haymarket scheme. Travelodge itself did not employ a large number of staff.

·      Concerns were expressed that Travelodge had a 25 year lease and could still owe the Council money when the lease expired. Further concerns were expressed over the Council’s 125 year lease on the Haymarket.

·      It was questioned whether the money that was intended to be spent on the Haymarket reflected the political priorities of a Labour Council.

·      The argument had been made that the money invested in the City, would trickle down and lead to regeneration, but Councillor Waddington expressed a concern that many economists were now questioning the logic of that. She believed that investment in the neighbourhoods would lead to bigger returns.

·      The Members asked the committee to refer the decision back to Full Council to enable detailed scrutiny. The committee was asked to consider what the people of Leicester needed. The Members who had called in the decision believed that housing was the best option.

The City Mayor then responded to the call-in of the decision and stated that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.