Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of City Development seeking approval to award a £500,000 grant to the owner of the First White Cloth Hall for a scheme of repair and restoration that would enable the building to be brought back into sustainable use, subject to a receipt of final costs and a suitable grant application.  In addition, the report provides an update on the progress of the rest of the Lower Kirkgate Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) scheme and details options to ensure that the available Heritage Lottery Funds are fully drawn down, in order to deliver the originally envisaged programme outcomes.

(Please note that Appendix 5 to this report is designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (3))

Further to Minute No. 164, 20^th April 2016, the Director of City Development submitted a report which sought approval to award a £500,000 grant to the owner of the First White Cloth Hall for a scheme of repair and restoration that would enable the building to be brought back into sustainable use, subject to a receipt of final costs and a suitable grant application. In addition, the report also provided an update on the progress made in respect of the rest of the Lower Kirkgate Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) scheme and detailed options to ensure that the available Heritage Lottery Funds were fully drawn down, in order to deliver the originally envisaged programme outcomes.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board was provided with an update regarding the associated planning application following the recent consideration of that application by City Plans Panel on 8^th March 2018.

Following consideration of Appendix 5 to the submitted report designated as exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(3), which was considered in private at the conclusion of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED –

(a)  That approval in principle be given to the award of a maximum £500,000 grant from the Lower Kirkgate THI scheme to the owner of the of the First White Cloth Hall for its repair and restoration, and that the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of City Development in order to enable the Director to undertake the detailed approval and issuing of a grant agreement;

(b)  That the progress made in respect of the Lower Kirkgate Townscape Heritage Initiative be noted, and that support be given to the exploration of statutory compulsory purchase action, should it be required.