Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment

Recommendations:-

1.    That 8,880 m² land at Boston Park be temporarily utilised by Yorkshire Water by way of a short-term lease to store soil, materials and site accommodation, to allow service reservoirs to be replaced in their current locations on an adjacent site, subject to the granting of planning permission.

2.    That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport be authorised to negotiate on the fee and financial arrangements in consultation with the Assistant Director of Financial Services.

3.    That the Head of Legal Services be authorised to negotiate and complete the necessary lease documentation.

Consideration was given to a report which proposed the temporary utilisation of land at Boston Park by Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire, which was needed to replace two existing reservoirs which were coming to the end of their asset life. 

It was noted that over 20,000 properties and Rotherham Hospital were directly supplied from the site.  Yorkshire Water had considered various options and had previously concluded that building a new reservoir on an area of Boston Park next to the current reservoirs would be the most appropriate solution.  However, following public consultation and a legal challenge regarding existing covenants which protect parkland at Boston Park, an alternative solution had been developed.

The new proposal brought forward for consideration by the Cabinet was for temporary use of park land to be granted to Yorkshire Water from January 2020 for a period of two years and for the park land to be returned to the Council at the end of that period in a similar or improved condition to pre use.

It was noted that Yorkshire Water had developed their own consultation plan, and this had ensured that the Friends of Boston Castle and Parklands (FoBCAP), local residents and other interested parties had been engaged.  Consultation events took place on 8 and 9 October 2019 to inform stakeholders of the proposals and the likely impact on park users and residents. Council officers were also present during public consultation sessions and noted that there was no significant public resistance to the proposal. The FoBCAP had previously been consulted in 2016 regarding improvement plans for the park, but had not felt able to support previous proposals to build a new reservoir within the park. Yorkshire Water had met with FoBCAP and council officers in September 2019 to discuss their revised proposals. At that stage, the FoBCAP committee indicated that they were comfortable with the proposal for temporary use of the park for material storage.

Resolved:-

1.    That 8,880 m² land at Boston Park be temporarily utilised by Yorkshire Water by way of a short-term lease to store soil, materials and site accommodation, to allow service reservoirs to be replaced in their current locations on an adjacent site, subject to the granting of planning permission.

2.    That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport be authorised to negotiate on the fee and financial arrangements in consultation with the Assistant Director of Financial Services.

3.    That the Head of Legal Services be authorised to negotiate and complete the necessary lease documentation.