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European Ruling Alters Council's Plans
A decision in the European Court of Justice concerning a French Council’s (the Commune de Roanne) urban development project, will affect how Kingston Council goes about the development of part of its town centre, known as the Eden Quarter. The European Courts of Justice has ruled that Roanne’s urban development project has to be considered a public works contract. That means the European procurement rules should apply. And that has implications for Kingston’s currently proposed arrangements.
On the face of it Roanne, a town of 36,000 near
the Rhone Alpes and
Kingston, do not have much in common. But the European Court of Justice’s decision means that Kingston
Council now needs to undertake a procurement exercise to select a development partner to realise its
ambitions for Eden Quarter.
As part of the Council’s K+20 plans, it had been working with Hammerson plc to establish the best approach to developing the Eden Quarter and had been planning, subject to negotiations, to enter into a Development Agreement.
Up to now Development Agreements, involving the acquisition and sale of land had been thought to fall outside European procurement requirements. The Roanne case has clarified how the law will be applied and that the form of the agreement like the one Kingston Council has been considering could be challenged if the appropriate procurement rules were not applied.
In the light of legal advice that has now been received the Council’s Executive at its meeting on 6 November will consider a recommendation to undertake a procurement exercise. This will involve publishing a formal notice in the official journal of the European Union seeking offers to develop part of Kingston Town Centre. It is anticipated that the procurement exercise will take 6 months.
A consequence of the legal advice the Council has received is that the Executive is recommended to terminate its co-operation agreement with Hammerson plc. They were working together to establish the most appropriate approach to bring forward development proposals to deliver the redevelopment of Kingston Town Centre. The Council will repay £450,000 it received in respect of its costs under the co-operation agreement. This will be met from the Council’s reserves
Commenting upon the advice the Council has received Councillor Derek Osbourne, Leader of the Council said
‘This decision of the European Court of Justice about the Commune de Roanne’s urban development project means we will have to change the way we go about realising our ambitions for the Eden Quarter. Once the Executive has had a chance to consider the advice we have had, our objective will be to run a robust procurement exercise so that we can deliver the best possible outcome for Kingston. This is quite literally, about building for the long term.’
For more information about K+20 Designing Our Future Together please telephone 020 8547 5302 or email Kplus20@rbk.kingston.gov.uk