With three Labour Party councillors (John Warmisham, Stephen Coen and Richard Critchley) 'calling in' the Salford Council decision to sell land at East Philip Street to Urban Splash, details of the formerly secret deal have now been made public before the issue is discussed at the Council's Growth and Prosperity Scrutiny Panel next Wednesday 17th April.
The East Philip Street land was originally part of the Biospheric Foundation project, in which Salford Council sank £300,000 and the Manchester International Festival £100,000 for the hopelessly failed scheme.*
As part of the project, £30,000 was invested into developing a community forest garden, aided by many volunteers who believed they were creating something of value for the local community...
"The site was chosen specifically because it is within a deprived community, an area identified with poor access to fresh fruit and vegetables and poor diet" states the councillors' call-in statement "The Forest Garden was designed to leave a legacy for the community and be self-sustaining after a few years, requiring minimal maintenance. The site has been a success and is now producing a significant crop, which was intended to be free to the community..."
Since the Biospheric Foundation project collapsed, the site has been left overgrown and tangled with weeds and rubbish but the original plants and trees are still there, and many in the local community are willing to give up their time to bring the site back to its former glory.
As the councillors' call-in statement explains, "All of this information was missing from the officer's report". However, as part of the 'call-in', that officer's report, formerly secret, has now been made public and gives a glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors at the Council.
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, originally on the advisory board of the Biospheric Foundation, was to sign off the Urban Splash deal for "future development".
The report shows that the East Philip Street land was earmarked for 'proposals from Urban Splash' as part of an original Development Agreement dating back to 2005, when the Council transferred land at Springfield Lane in Irwell Riverside to the company, which has subsequently been developed into 71 unaffordable houses and (currently) 150 apartments branded 'Uptown Manchester'.**
Originally, Urban Splash offered £350,000 for the East Philip Street land to develop nine town houses but after a Flood Risk Assessment showed floor levels would have to be raised by over one metre, this was deemed 'no longer viable'.
Instead, Urban Splash proposed to, "in the short to medium term, undertake landscaping works and maintain the site to make it an attractive environment that could be utilised by occupiers at Paradise Works" (the artists' studio building it owns next to the site).
"In the longer term Urban Splash would review their wider land holdings to bring forward a more comprehensive solution given difficulties with developing the East Philip Street site in isolation (FRA, size, shape, highway issues)" the report adds, and "an offer of £250,000 has been made on an unconditional basis".
The 'long term' future for the wider site, the Council believes, could be "a high rise tower" and, although Urban Splash maintains this is "unlikely", an agreement has been written into the sale agreement for an extra £7,500 per unit built above fifty units.
The assessment of risk for the deal was deemed 'low' and the £250,000 received for the land was to go towards repaying Council debt.
The councillors are furious that the decision was made "without consultation with Ward Councillors or members of the public", despite Paragraph 3.2.3 of the Council's Policy for the Treatment of Surplus Property stating 'It will then consult with the relevant Ward Councillors and other relevant parties to identify any potential issues or interest there may be in the property'..."This did not happen", state the councillors.
"The site's current use, history, community involvement, intended legacy and financial investment by Salford City Council was not identified by the officer dealing with this site and was unknown to the Strategic Director of Place, as confirmed in a meeting on 29 March 2019" they explain.
"None of the relevant background information was contained within the officer's report presented to Cllr Boshell for decision on 25 March 2019, therefore, we do not believe that an accurate and informed decision was made" they add "...Without councillor involvement, or that of those who designed, built and help to maintain this site, it cannot be considered that the decision was open."
The councillors also slate the Council for not considering the alternatives for the site... "There is no evidence that consideration was given to maintaining the existing use as a community forest garden for the general public, or allowing appropriate community groups, charities and organisations to take on the maintenance or use of this site" they state "Individuals have expressed concern that the council directly prevented them from maintaining and utilising this site for its intended function. A neighbouring organisation already has a request with the council to undertake a clean-up of the site, demonstrating the ongoing interest and involvement of the community.
"Salford City Council's Greenspace Strategy, Policy GS117 requires surplus greenspace to be used to meet a shortfall in other types of greenspace" they maintain "There is no evidence this has happened. There is an identified shortfall of greenspace and allotments within this area of the city."
The councillors conclude that "The officer and lead member was not aware of all relevant information appertaining to this site, so could not make a reasonable decision. Given the site's current use, history, community involvement, intended legacy and council investment, the decision, which did not take account of any of this information, does not seem reasonable."
That the 'lead member' - in this case Councillor Boshell who signed off the deal - didn't know about the current land use seems far-fetched in the extreme, as it was a well publicised project at the time. And Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, who was ultimately tasked with 'approving the land disposal', definitely knew about the land use, given that he was sat on the advisory board of the Biospheric Foundation project.
Once again, this 'call-in' shows the complete lack of transparency, community consultation and even backbench councillor consultation that pervades Salford City Council.
The councillors' 'call-in' will be discussed at the Council's Growth and Prosperity Scrutiny Panel next Wednesday 17th April, 6:30pm at the Civic Centre, which will be open to the press and general public.
With a local election looming it will be interesting to see how the Labour Party dominated Scrutiny Panel will react.
For a full background see previous related Salford Star articles...
Community Forest Garden Sold For Apartments By Salford City Council – click here
Salford Council £300,000 Pea Growing Project – click here
*£400,000 Salford Biospheric Project Goes Bust – click here
The £30,000 Weed Garden By The Irwell – click here
**Urban Splash Wins Disappearing Salford Award for Springfield Lane – click here
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