The purpose of this report is to outline and approve the next steps to procure and appoint a development partner to take Student Accommodation proposals up to and including Riba stage 3, advise on future investment models and support in the creation of business cases for cabinet to gain authorisation to further advance the proposals on two sites in Hereford City – Edgar Street Stadium and College Road Campus.

That:

a)    The Cabinet Member for Community Services and Assets approves the spend of up to £253,679, using both 2023/24 and 2024/25 revenue budgets and reserves to be used to develop student accommodation across Hereford City, as detailed in the resources table in section 20;

b)    The Cabinet Member for Community Services and Assets authorises entering           into contract up to the value of £200,000 with a development partner following a compliant tender process to prepare a full business case and to take both sites up to and including Riba Stage 3 so further governance decisions can be made in relation to developing student accommodation;

c)     The Cabinet Member for Community Services and Assets delegates all operational decisions to the Director of Resources and Assurance to complete the above recommendations

1. Do Nothing: The council could decide to do nothing in terms of developing student

accommodation on its key strategic sites in the City but this would not meet the visionas set out in the County Plan 2020-2024 to encourage continuous investment in our local workforce and a culture of lifelong learning in our community. The council’s 2023/24 Delivery plan is committed to working with partners to increase workforce skills in the County to meet the needs of the economy. Additional student accommodation is critical to helping achieve this vision.