MAJOR questions about the finances of Brentwood's William Hunter Way development will now be answered in public – including how the financial benefits could be significantly reduced compared to the terms negotiated in 2007.
Motorists will also have their interests addressed after it was revealed they could have to pay higher parking charges because of the development.
A little-used piece of council legislation known as Standing Order 1.4 has been enacted by Labour councillor Mike Le Surf in a bid to force the issue into the public forum – something Brentwood Borough Council has consistently resisted.
An extraordinary general meeting is now expected to take place at the Town Hall on November 26.
A briefing note, dated August 2012 and seen by the Gazette, shows that developer Stockland wants to reduce the annual amount the council would receive to cover the loss of income from the William Hunter Way car park.
Instead of being paid £325,000 per year for the first 15 years, which had been negotiated in 2007, the council would receive just £225,000 a year.
In addition, at a recent meeting between the council and the developer it was indicated that the authority would see its combined revenue from commercial letting and car parking fall by around 10 per cent.
This means the estimated annual income of £411,300 anticipated from the terms agreed in 2007 would be cut to £217,000 – a reduction of 48 per cent.
On a separate but related matter, a report from consultants Parking Matters, dated August 2012, warns that the proposed tariff of £1.20 for two hours at William Hunter Way would result in an operating loss for the council. It adds that in 2017/2018 the council could make a loss of £295,000 if it parking charges were not increased.
Councillor Le Surf said this week: "We need to look at the whole thing again. We can slow the whole thing down – Stockland are pulling out of the UK anyway. If we walk from this deal, we are in the driving seat.
"We get £600,000 from parking charges in the William Hunter Way car park anyway.
"We don't have to rush it. At the end of the day, the financial environment was totally different in 2007 than in 2012.
"Lets go back to the drawing board. Let's see if we can do it better."
A spokesman for the borough council said: "It is common for councils to have ongoing discussions with a development partner in the run-up to implementation and we are talking to Stockland.
"It is essential that schemes are both viable and deliverable. We seek the earliest completion of the scheme.
"We shall be holding an extraordinary meeting of the council where we shall be discussing the matter and there will be a report with the latest details about the scheme. The council has engaged a parking consultancy to give advice.
"Their proposals will be evaluated and when this process is completed, the council will take a view on the way forward about the management of the car park."
