Issue details

In April 2022 £94.7m of external Brownfield Investment Land (BIL) grant funding was awarded for projects in the first phase of the Temple Quarter regeneration programme. The business case and funding bid was submitted by WECA to Homes England, on behalf of Bristol City Council and Network Rail, and the grant will be administered by Homes England. In relation to this grant funding, in October 2022 Cabinet authorised the Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration to (amongst other things) take all necessary steps to negotiate the terms of and enter into the initial Flow Down Agreement and a Collaboration Agreement and 'agree the terms of offer letters with WECA and thereafter draw down funding to prepare Delivery Plans for the relevant Infrastructure Items for which the Council is to be responsible (including procuring and awarding contracts in excess of £0.5m) October 2022 Cabinet Decisions
Since October there have been detailed negotiations over the terms of the Collaboration Agreement and Flow Down Agreement between all the parties. The final version of the Collaboration Agreement (CA) has now been settled. Its key terms have not departed from the outline in the Cabinet report. The parties have agreed that, whilst an FDA is required to satisfy, HE requirements, it is premature to commit to a full blown FDA at this early stage; not being required in reality until DP approval.
The Northern Entrance and Southern Gateway projects are 'Infrastructure Items' included within the grant funding bid, and work is required to develop designs for these projects up to RIBA Stage 3; this will form a key input for the Delivery Plan for these projects. This Officer Executive Decision enables the Council to enter into contract with the Strategic Partner for design work relating to RIBA Stages 2 and 3 for these projects. The TQ Directors Board, at its meetings on 9 and 23 November 2022, and the parties in subsequent discussion, have, in order to maintain progress with these two projects, (and albeit in advance of the formal Offer Letter from WECA) approved these proposals and confirmed the principle that the funding for the contract will be met from the BIL. Commissioning these services does not commit the Council to assuming responsibility for implementation of either project.