To present a post project review of Orwell Place Car Park and Event Space for consideration by Cabinet, and to provide an update on the regenerated site in Dovercourt Town Centre since opening in September 2023.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)     notes this post project review of Orwell Place and endorses the learning points as set out in Appendix A of the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.4), to inform future capital projects;

b)     requests the Leader of the Council to ensure that key messages from the aforementioned Appendix A, are clearly documented within the Council’s Annual Governance Statement, as expected by the Best Value Duty Statutory Guidance; and

c)      invites the Overview and Scrutiny Committees to consider including the outcome of this review on their work programmes to provide additional scrutiny of the performance and lessons learnt.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.4) which presented a post project review of Orwell Place Car Park and Event Space for consideration by Cabinet, and which provided an update on the regenerated site in Dovercourt Town Centre since opening in September 2023.

Cabinet was aware that Orwell Place Car Park was the first phase of the ‘Dovercourt Revisited’ plan, supporting the town to grow to its full potential and would support future projects in the process of being developed which included:-

“1.   Kingsway improvements: A major investment into the appearance of Dovercourt Town Centre.

2.    Library project: The Adult Community Learning skills centre will return to the area within a refurbished library.

3.    Milton Road: Demolish the out-of-date multi-storey car park at Milton Road and provide an attractive and safe ground level car park to compliment Orwell Place.

4.    Victoria Street: Demolish a dangerous structure and redevelop 8 new social homes.”

Members recalled that further opportunities were currently being delivered through the High Street Accelerator Pilot Scheme (HSA) which had provided seed funding of £237,000 and green space funding of £500,000. Dovercourt High Street had been chosen as one of ten high streets receiving funding from the HSA Pilot Programme which had been announced in March 2023 as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan.

Schemes within the HSA included shop front grants, a pop-up shop, improved wayfinding, shop wrapping, a new website and events.  The green spaces proposal currently being designed by a team of award-winning urban designers, would link the high street, beach and the Kingsway Improvements Projects enhancing the public realm offer to the community.

The ‘Starlings’ site redevelopment had been advocated in Dovercourt Revisited, approved by Cabinet in July 2019.  Dovercourt Revisited had proposed a redevelopment with a new animated public space, public toilets, and a surface car park with the capacity to accommodate 59 car parking spaces, with six designated for disabled use. 

It was reported that on 13 September 2019, Cabinet had allocated £1.599m from existing Council resources to the redevelopment of the Starlings site in Dovercourt Town Centre and the demolition of the Milton Road Car Park and 15 parking spaces in Bagshaw Road. The delivery proposed redevelopment of the Starlings site first, to create new parking and then demolish Milton Road Car Park.

Members were reminded that, following provisional completion of the project, Orwell Place Car Park had been opened in September 2023 on the site of the former derelict Starlings Site in Dovercourt High Street with a revised 53 parking spaces in total; eight with electric vehicle charging, and eight disabled bays which hosted two of the electric chargers. Essex County Highways were still to sign off the entranceway and so completion of the final account with contractors remained outstanding, which would determine the final cost of the project. The Council had allocated a total of £2,541,050 to the project and there was currently a forecast underspend.

Cabinet was cognisant that the project  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131