Link - background

• Before the Market Thoroughfare link could be developed:

1.  the land needed to be bought; and
2. a funded development scheme had to be in place.

• Centros bought some of the land but were unable to agree terms for the rest.

• The council started the process to try and get a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for all the remaining interests in the Market Thoroughfare – there were objectors so it would have had to go to a Public Inquiry.

• For a CPO to be successful the council would have to prove to an independent Inspector that a viable scheme would be built within a reasonable time (two to three years).

• Planning permission was given in 2005 for a development which included a series of small shops along a widened link, with apartments above.

• The 2005 development agreement (DA) stated that the developer had to use 'reasonable endeavours' to buy the land needed to develop the link. BUT the DA also said that redevelopment was subject to a 'viability test'. This was included because the developer, due to commercial prudence, would not agree to being committed to building something regardless of cost.<

• Under the viability test:
• • developers agreed to incur a loss of up to £5.9 million on the scheme which had planning permission;
  • if the amount of the loss rose by more than £250,000 above the £5.9 million Centros didn't have to build the link unless the council was prepared to fund the extra costs (an open-ended amount);
  • late 2009 estimated loss to the developer of building the Link scheme was £8.1 million
    
• In an effort to secure some benefit for St Edmundsbury's residents if the wider link did not go ahead, negotiations took place between both parties with the result that the developers have transferred to the council land at School Yard East and West (estimated market value £750K).
  
• The council  decided to accept the offer because:
• • there was a strong risk the CPO would not be successful and going to Public Inquiry would have been very expensive;
  • the economic situation makes the link scheme financially unviable in the foreseeable future;
  • Council Tax payers will benefit from the land offer;
  • the historic town has benefited from increased footfall since the arc opened, using the existing pedestrian links (market traders and shop owners, for example, have both been reported as saying their trade has increased).