Cheshire East Council has released a report about plans to build an adventure playground at Tatton Park having been ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner.
The Council had refused to provide the Cabinet report looking at the business case for building BeWILDerwood, in conjunction with Bure Valley Adventures Ltd, to a campaign group.
They refused on the grounds of commercially confidentiality and because it was an internal communication which had been circulated on a 'need-to-know' basis.
The Save Tatton Action Group (STAG) then complained to the Information Commission's Office who ruled in January that the Council should disclose the report by February 12th.
The Commissioner considered that the significant expenditure of public funds, the need for public reassurance and confidence in the council's practice in relation to substantial projects of this type (with reference to the Lyme Green report), the significant local disquiet about the nature of the development and, on the basis of the publically available evidence, the apparent absence of a competitive tendering process all combine to produce a heavy public interest weighting in favour of disclosure of the information.
The Council chose not to challenge the Information Commissioner's findings that the Cabinet document should be released to the public.
Councillor Jamie Macrae, Cabinet member with responsibility for prosperity and economic regeneration, said "We understand the interest in this matter but we have taken the appropriate advice at all stages of the process and have acted fully within this.
"The Information Commissioner has accepted this but we felt it was important to clear the air, so that we could start a fresh and more positive conversation about the best way to secure Tatton's future."
The report reveals that:
- CEC would spend £1.5m building a new car park and related infrastructure within Tatton Park, which would be recouped over 20 years from income generated by additional park entry charges at Tatton.
- The Council would also provide a loan of up to £5million to BeWILDerwood, in order to allow them to build the attraction, which would be repayable over 12 years and provide CEC with access to the greatest share of the profits.
- BeWILDerwood would build and operate the attraction themselves, taking a 20-year lease on the site.
- As the sole investor the Council would have full 'step-in' rights to take over and operate the attraction if loan repayments were not made or if the attraction failed to deliver a profit.
- After the lease expires all the fixed assets within the site would become the property of the Council.
- By defining a development site for the attraction and leasing that site to Bewilderwood, the Council would not be required to undertake an EU compliant tendering process.
- The returns to the Council during the loan repayment period would be £300,000 to £400,000 per annum, increasing to £600,000 to £700,000 after repayment of the loan.
The concept of a new visitor attraction at Tatton Park is a key element of the 'Tatton Vision' which aims to create a self-sustaining Tatton Park which offers an enhanced visitor experience for both local people and visitors from further afield.
Councillor Jamie Macrae said: "Tatton Park is currently one of the region's premier visitor destinations, welcoming over 800,000 people each year.
"The Vision will build on the investment being made in Tatton and the commitment of the Council to secure the estate and its proud heritage for future generations.
"We are choosing to move forward with the BeWILDerwood attraction as we feel it would be sympathetic to the park's natural woodland environment. Additionally, we are confident it will attract new family groups to Tatton, create new jobs and open up a part of the estate that was previously inaccessible to the public.
"There is a range of groups in the local community that want to secure the future of Tatton. Now is the time for all of us with an interest in its future to work together to achieve this.
"The current planning application will shortly be resubmitted and I would encourage people to engage with us during the consultation period to let us know their thoughts."
The full Cabinet report entitled 'Tatton Park Business Development: Phase1' can be downloaded here.
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