The report of the Strategic Director (Development) is attached

(Councillor Richards declared a personal interest in this item as a member of the Board of One Manchester)

The Strategic Director, Development submitted a report on proposals for the compulsory purchase of the sites of two former dwellings houses within the Ilk and Alpine street within the Clayton under the provisions of Section 17(1) (b) Housing Act 1985 to facilitate the provision of housing accommodation.

These Order Lands were related to the same overall Regeneration Strategy for the Ben Street area as referenced above in minute Exe/19/50. The Strategy was adopted by the Executive in March 2015 (Minute Exe/15/045). In this case, given that the owners of the Order Lands could not be traced it was not considered likely that the owners of the two subject plots would come forward to negotiate the sale of the Order Lands. Therefore, compulsory purchase appeared to be the most appropriate way to bring the land back into beneficial use and ensure that the objectives of the regeneration of the wider Ben Street scheme could be achieved. That will, in turn, achieve both a qualitative and quantitative gain in housing provision as judged against the housing provision currently existing in the neighbourhood.

Once acquired, these sites would then be disposed of to “One Manchester” to facilitate the development of new housing.

Appended to the report was a “Statement of Reasons” that would form part of the legal justification for why it was necessary to use Compulsory Purchase in this instance. The report explained that the Statement had been prepared in accordance with the legal and Government guidance.

Having considered the report and the Statement of Reasons we agreed that the use of Compulsory Purchase was appropriate and authorised the making of an Order.

Decisions

1.         To authorise the making of the City of Manchester (20 Ilk Street and 22 Alpine Street) Compulsory Purchase Order 2019 (“the Order”) under Section 17(1) (b) of the Housing Act 1985, and the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to acquire the Order Lands for housing purposes for the reasons set out in the Statement of Reasons appended to the report.

2.         To note the contents of the attached Statement of Reasons appended to the report.

3.         To authorise the City Solicitor to seal the Order and to take all necessary steps, including the publication and service of all statutory notices and presentation of the Council’s case at public inquiry, to secure confirmation of the Order by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the vesting of the land in the City Council.

4.         To authorise the Strategic Director Development (in the event that the Secretary of State notifies the Council that it has been given the power to confirm the Order) to confirm the Order, if the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so.

5.         To authorise the Head of Development to approve agreements with landowners setting out the terms of withdrawals of objections to the Order including where appropriate the exclusion of land from the Order.

6.         To authorise the Strategic Director Development and the City Solicitor to make deletions from, and/or minor amendments, and modifications to the proposed Order and Order Plan or to agree to refrain from vesting any land included within the Order should this be in their opinion appropriate.

7.         To authorise the Head of Development to negotiate terms for the acquisition by agreement of any outstanding interests in the land within the order prior to its confirmation.

8.         To authorise the Strategic Director of Neighbourhoods to take all necessary steps to secure the closure of all relevant highways streets and alleyways which are required for the development to proceed, if requested by the Director of Housing.

9.         To agree that the resources of the City Council are sufficient to carry out the duties resulting from the making of the City of Manchester (Ilk and Alpine Street, Clayton) Compulsory Purchase Order 2018.

10.       To agree that compensation for owners and other interests will be paid in accordance with the law on compulsory purchase.