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Three Herefordshire councillors have asked for further clarification of the deal to 'sell' the proposed retail quarter, which is situated close to the Hereford United football ground and includes the livestock market area, to developers Stanhope. The meeting is due to take place tomorrow, Monday.
The councillors, DJ Benjamin, GFM Dawe and MAF Hubbard, have 'called in' the decision taken on June 25th for the following reasons. (Councillor Dawe is leader of the Alliance for Accountability and Democracy grouping on the Council. Councillors Dawe and Hubbard are both independents)
* There being no previous indication that a 250 year lease was being considered, and insufficient explanation as to why this was necessary.
* The ‘Masterplan’ was negotiated before the start of the credit crunch and there has been no public re-negotiation of plans for the Retail Quarter since those events.
* With due regard to matters of commercial confidentiality, there is insufficient information about the structure of the financial arrangements in relation to the Retail Quarter itself, and also between the Retail Quarter and other parts of the ESG project.
Whilst this meeting can not reverse the decision as such it can ask the council cabinet to further consider its decision and can make recommendations to them.
One particular point which may be bugging the three councillors and perhaps many Herefordshire tax-payers is that the financial details of the proposed sale to Stanhope have not been made public.
Obviously the higher the proceeds for the Council the better, at least in the short term. What they will do with those proceeds will be debated to the full once the deal is made public. And, of particular interest to Hereford United supporters, was a recent comment made by Councillor Terry James to the effect that the Council could consider buying the leases of the Edgar Street ground from Formsole who he said was 'dragging its feet' over development at the ground.
However the revelation by the Council, as reported in the Hereford Times, that no sum has been agreed does beg the question how can they agree to 'sell' the retail quarter not knowing what they will receive. That approach might be said to show signs of weakness.
It is very difficult to guess how much the Council might gain from the sale.
However a freedom of information request for a Dr K J Hamer might ellicit some details.
Dear Sir or Madam,
It has been recently announced that agreement has been reached to
sell 10 acres of the Cattle Market as part of the Edgar Street Grid
plans.
Please can you inform me: 1. The value the Council declared for
this land as a fixed asset in its Financial Accounts - for each of
the last 3 years. 2. What financial and non-financial proceeds will
be received by the Council for the sale of the 250 year lease. 3.
What external Professional advice the Council received in pursuit
of ensuring Residents would get good value for money from the sale?
4. On what basis was 250 year lease decided to be the most
appropriate term? 4. Provide a copy of the cost/benefit analysis
for the sale of the ESG land.
Yours faithfully, Dr K J Hamer
The Council has until August 5th to respond to this request.