High View Neighbourhood Centre - Legal services

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (The Council) has approval to undertake a redevelopment of the High View Neighbourhood Centre in Hatfield. The Council will be seeking to appoint a developer later this year, probably following the OJEU Competitive Dialogue Process An SPD was created in 2010, which will form the basis of the development brief. Further guidance is being produced by Colliers International to bring this document up to date.

It is envisaged that the centre will be developed by a partner who, will enter into a development agreement and on receipt of a satisfactory planning consent will be granted a building lease. The developer will deliver the development and have the ability to draw down a long lease of the completed accommodation enabling them to dispose of the residential on long leasehold lettings; the commercial will be passed to the Council who will assume responsibility for its management and letting. The Council will retain the freehold of the whole estate and retain the commercial income. The developer will have sold the residential and will have no long term residual interest or liability.

The Council is looking to instruct a legal team to provide a range of services to support the disposal process and the longer term estate management of the development. Some initial work will be required to assist with the marketing process with the majority of the work undertaken following the selection of the partner developer.

The following legal services will be required:

• General advice regarding the proposed structure of the various transactions; this within the context that The Council has now been advised that this transaction is likely to be considered a contract of works and so with have to be covered by the OJEU process, probably coming under Competitive Dialogue;

• Undertake report on title; undertake searches, assisting with the preparation a sales pack;

• Draft and conclude all documentation This is likely to take the form of:

o Development Agreement (DA) needs to be created between The Council and the Developer. Importantly this creates obligations on the Developer. Principally, this will be for appropriate design, in line with the Council’s requirements, and that they must obtain planning permission before they gain the Building Lease. o The Developer will then undertake the scheme design and submit the planning application. The Process will be able to oversee this process (as per the DA). o On receipt of planning permission the Developer will gain the Building Lease. This will allow them to undertake the development. They will have to undertake this in-line with the planning permission and DA. The DA should also contain obligations on the Developer to complete the development by certain timescales. o The Developer will undertake the development work in order to draw down the Long Leasehold Interest. This is where they can gain the value from the project. ...

Additional information: Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/