Update following the Policy and Finance Committee meeting, 24 September 2021

At last week’s Policy and Finance Committee meeting, Councillors agreed to refer the decision, in relation to the land adjacent to Newark Library, to Full Council for consideration. The next Full Council Committee meeting is on 12 October 2021.  Some late information was presented to Committee members and they decided it was necessary to have more time to review this before having a full debate and making a decision.

Councillor Keith Girling, Vice-Chairman of the Policy and Finance Committee, at Newark and Sherwood District Council said, “Members of the committee had spent a lot of time reading through reports, studying the four options and listening to representations from residents in the lead up to this week’s Policy and Finance Committee meeting.  Through the landowner’s solicitors, less than 24 hours prior to the Committee meeting, one of the four options was revised and a new option also presented.  This additional offer, arriving at this late stage, meant that the decision should be referred to Full Council for consideration to allow Councillors the time to understand it.  It was very disappointing that the landowner put this offer on the table at such a late stage.  A number of residents had turned out to hear the decision and I’m particularly disappointed that unfortunately, due to this late information, we couldn’t give them that debate and decision.

“When the lease arrangement was set up, priorities may have been different. We will learn lessons from this but we have to make a decision on how to move forward based on the position we are now in. We will debate on possible options fully and in public.

“This is a situation that no-one wants to be in.  Whatever decision we make, it will be a difficult one.”