What is a Lock-Out Agreement? The Lock-Out Agreement provided Halladale with an exclusive 12 month opportunity to demonstrate that a redevelopment scheme could be achieved which met the aspirations of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, and MARS as well as receiving support from the Billingham Partnership and the local community. It restricted both partners from discussing the regeneration of the town centre with any other developer or interested development partner such as a supermarket provider, and consulting with the open market. Why did the Council enter into a Lock-Out Agreement? At the time, MARS' willingness to enter negotiations signified a key milestone in bringing the regeneration forward and the Council agreed to enter into the Lock-Out Agreement with MARS and Halladale so that options for refurbishing Billingham Town Centre could be fully assessed and consulted on. The Council valued Halladale's good reputation and wide range of relevant experience across the country in both new retail development and refurbishment of existing centres. Officers were of the opinion that Halladale had done sufficient to demonstrate the added value by securing MARS engagement in the feasibility process and ensuring a swift start in developing an option appraisal. It was therefore hoped that the agreement would lead to a feasible scheme which could be implemented in partnership with MARS and lead to the regeneration of the whole town centre. In December 2004, Cabinet agreed to enter in to a Lock-Out Agreement for a period of 12 months with Halladale so that options for refurbishing Billingham Town Centre could be fully assessed and consulted on. What happened during the Lock-Out Agreement? During the 12 month Lock Out Agreement, Halladale carried out an initial period of consultation in February / March 2005 to identify what the community's priorities for the future of Billingham Town Centre were. This provided Halladale with a wealth of information which they used to form their first outline proposals for the Town Centre. In July 2005, residents, businesses, members and stakeholders were re-consulted on the outline design concepts to ensure they had properly identified and understood the public's priorities from the initial consultation. For further details regarding the outcome of the consultation please view the consultation page from the side menu. In October 2005, Halladale submitted a feasibility study for the Council's consideration. The Council undertook extensive financial calculations and examined the legal implications, however it was concluded that this option would not be financially viable. On this basis Halladale was advised to review their proposals and resubmit a revised development proposal to the Council, which was presented to the Council on the 1st March 2006. The revised proposals were also subject to detailed and lengthy financial and legal assessments by Council Officers to determine whether they could lead to the successful redevelopment of Billingham Town Centre, and a number of discussions continued to be held with Halladale in order to allow Officers to recommend to Members on how best to proceed. Can I view the proposals? Unfortunately due to commercial sensitivity both sets of outline proposals are highly confidential. Consultation will be undertaken once a feasible set of proposals has been approved by Cabinet. |
