The Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council has again outlined the benefits of the Freshney Place Leisure Scheme – hitting back at an insinuation that it is a ‘dodgy capital scheme’.
Cllr Philip Jackson made his comments during the latest Full Council meeting at Grimsby Town Hall in response to a question raised by resident James Brooks, and reiterated how the Government has unequivocally backed the scheme by giving the council the money to purchase Freshney Place as an asset to drive regeneration.
He also pointed to the recent budget, in which the authority received £20 million towards the scheme in the second round of Levelling Up funding – a further demonstration of the Government’s support of the Grimsby Town Centre Strategy.
Cllr Jackson also once again reiterated that the Freshney Place scheme is not a burden to the taxpayer in North East Lincolnshire.
Mr Brooks did not attend the Full Council meeting, so Cllr Jackson was unable to address him directly.
Instead, Mr Brooks’s question was read out to the chamber: “North Lincolnshire has announced a council tax freeze for next year in order to help its residents cope with the cost of living crisis. North East Lincolnshire Conservatives had planned to raise council tax by the maximum permitted but at the last minute used reserves to make the increase more politically friendly but is still struggling to balance the books. Instead of using Freshney Place rental income to finance high-cost borrowing on dodgy capital schemes, would it not have made more sense this year to use that income to help struggling residents by keeping their council tax bills as low as possible?”
Cllr Jackson said: “Firstly, I want to clarify the North Lincolnshire situation. While it may have frozen the council tax part of its precept, it increased its Adult Social Care precept by 1.75%, and that is the increase its residents will see on their council tax bills. Neighbouring Lincolnshire County Council also raised their precept by ‘the maximum permitted’, to use Mr Brooks’s words.
“Mr Brooks implies that the Freshney Place Leisure Scheme is a ‘dodgy capital scheme’ – his words, not mine. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would remind Mr Brooks that the Government gave us the money to purchase Freshney Place as an asset to help us drive regeneration in Grimsby Town Centre. The Government further demonstrated its support for, and confidence in, our Grimsby Town Centre Strategy. In the budget, we received a second tranche of round two Levelling Up funding – £20 million towards the Freshney Place Leisure Scheme.
“Freshney Place actually generates a positive financial return for the council, nett of all associated costs. In 2023/24, it will contribute £1.5 million to the council’s coffers. The income from Freshney Place and its redevelopment more than offsets any borrowing costs for the new development. This positive financial position is further enhanced by the additional £20 million Levelling Up monies and is based upon detailed financial due diligence and modelling from our professional advisors which suggests that the yield will grow over time. Importantly, there will be no burden for the council taxpayer in North East Lincolnshire; quite the opposite, in fact.
“We received very positive feedback from Government on our Freshney Place Leisure Scheme bid. Here is what they said: “This bid had a strong strategic fit. A key strength of this bid was its stakeholder engagement. A variety of relevant stakeholders had been engaged, in addition to various public engagements, which shaped the bid’s development. Having built upon extensive engagement undertaken to inform various projects preceding this LUF bid, which all tied into the bid’s proposals, engagement continued to take place and bid-specific consultation was evidenced, demonstrating the ongoing local support for the scheme. The case for investment and the market failure were articulated well, with local challenges and barriers to growth coherently outlined. This included credible evidence to demonstrate the declining retail performance of the town, in addition to outlining the lack of leisure opportunities and an evening economy in the town centre. The bid’s proposals were well positioned to address these, and as such, the Theory of Change was realistic and flowed from the interventions. This bid demonstrated strong alignment with local policies and strategies. The bid outlined good alignment to funding streams such as Grimsby’s Town Deal and the local allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. A compelling case was also presented for the bid’s impact on Levelling Up, which was also complemented by a rationale to the positive contribution this bid would have on four of the Levelling Up Missions.”
“Doesn’t sound like a ‘dodgy capital scheme’ to me.”
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