To approve the expenditure of up to £7.229 million of allocated capital funding to progress delivery of Ross Enterprise Park (phase 1) into the next phase of construction, and to undertake procurement for a main contractor and other essential suppliers to deliver those works.

a)    To approve expenditure of up to £7.229 million for construction works as set out in Appendices 1 to 3 and associated activity to secure delivery of phase 1 development of Ross Enterprise Park; and

b)    To delegate to the Director for Growth authority for all operational decisions necessary to deliver the works in (a), including the agreement and implementation of a suitable procurement strategy to secure the necessary suppliers.

1.     Do nothing: Do not develop Ross Enterprise Park and allow the market to meet the employment need of the Ross on Wye locality. This option has been discounted as there is an observed market failure for the delivery of new employment space of any scale within Herefordshire. The opportunity to obtain the benefits of the scheme would be lost. This is not recommended.

2.     Utilise an alternative delivery model: No other viable delivery models have been identified, but the proposed development model has been used with success at Skylon Park, Hereford Enterprise Zone. Efforts have been made to secure gap funding and Enterprise Zone status from the Government. However as a result of the highly competitive nature of the initiatives, those applications were ultimately unsuccessful. This is not recommended.