Agenda item

Salford City Council - Record of Decision

Title:  1,2,15,16,17,18 Ralli Courts, Stanley Street, Salford, M3

I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council constitution do hereby;

Note that as there will not be sufficient time for the usual call in period in relation to my decision in this matter,  the chair of scrutiny committee’s consent has been sought for the waiver of the call in arrangements in relation to this decision and associated matters on the grounds of urgency/necessity and that the report confirms that the following have been requested and obtained

(1) advice from the Head of Paid Service and/or the Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Finance Officer, that the decision being taken by the City Mayor is urgent because any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the residents of Salford; and

(2) confirmation that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board (where the matter is within the remit of the Overview and Scrutiny Board) (or if otherwise) the relevant Scrutiny Panel has agreed both that the decision proposed is reasonable in all the circumstances and to it being treated as a matter of urgency.

Approve the recommendations made within the report as follows.

1.    Approve the proposed negotiation threshold for the full and final settlement under all heads of the claim via mediation and that the final agreed figure will be delegated to and approved by The Strategic Director of Place not exceeding the said threshold of pursuant to the mediation.

2. Approve the payment of compensation agreed, adjusted for the advance payments received by the claimants to date and providing where agreement is reached at mediation, it reflects a figure no more than the approved threshold.
3. Authorise the Shared Legal Service to complete all necessary documentation and to take all steps which are required to give effect to the above recommendations.

The Reasons are:  

1,2,15,16,17,18 Ralli Courts, Stanley Street, Salford, M3 were included in the Salford Central CPO 2010 and vested with the City Council on 30^th April 2014.  The parties are actively pursuing negotiations as to the level of compensation payable to the claimants and have agreed to mediation in advance of a hearing at the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber.  This approval enables the Council to seek to reach an agreement at the mediation session on the 23^rd July and to pay any agreed compensation at the earliest opportunity.

All costs associated with the compulsory purchase and compensation in connection with the Salford Central CPO are covered the Council’s development partner ECf under an indemnity.

The threshold figures approved have not been disclosed within this record of decision as to do so may prejudice the Council’s negotiating position

Note:  Waiver of call in

To enable this report to be considered and for the decision of the City Mayor to become effective before the mediation session on the 23^rd July, and so not be subject to call in, it has been necessary to seek and obtain the following:

(1) advice from the Head of Paid Service that the decision being taken by the City Mayor is urgent because any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the residents of Salford; and

(2) confirmation that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board or the relevant Scrutiny Panel has/have agreed both that the decision proposed is reasonable in all the circumstances and to it being treated as a matter of urgency.

Both the advice and confirmations detailed above have been obtained.

Options considered and rejected:           Not applicable

Assessment of Risk:                                    Low

The source of funding is:                            Salford Central Revolving Acquisition Fund (RAF)

Legal Advice obtained:                               Yes Juliet Mbam, Manchester and Salford Shared Legal Services.

Financial Advice obtained:                         Yes, Chris Mee Strategic Finance Manager

Procurement Advice obtained:                  Not applicable

The following documents have been used to assist the decision process.

public briefing report submitted to Property/Regeneration Briefing on 16 July 2020

Contact Officer:        Sarah Malone                       Tel No 0161 779 6073

This decision was published on Thursday 16 July 2020

This decision is not subject to call-in and will come in force with immediate effect.