(1) To note that the legal research undertaken concludes that the Council does not own the tow path, Weir, or bridge, and neither does the Council have any obligations to maintain the assets.
(2) To progress with “Option 1” as outlined in Section 10 of the report submitted to the Executive.
(3) To communicate publicly the Council’s rationale for progressing with “Option 1”.
(4) To continue to be available to engage with the National Trust or other Parties should other currently unknown options become available.
Reason:
The Council was receiving continued public criticism and is facing pressure to provide a permanent solution to the collapsed Tumbling Bay Weir and footbridge. A decision was required from Executive to provide clarity on the level of the Council’s ongoing involvement in this matter.
Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:
· OPTION 2: The Council makes a one off limited financial contribution of £tbc to another organisation leading the work and taking ongoing responsibility, likely to be the National Trust.
· OPTION 3: The Council takes a more active role in the project. In order to do this, the Council would need to recruit a suitable project manager to take the lead in coordinating a collective agreement on next steps with key stakeholders over the next 6 months. This option incurs an initial £50,000 revenue cost and £000’s in contributions this and future years. This will be growth in the MTFP and savings will need to be found to cover this cost.
· OPTION 4: Assume full legal responsibility for the Tumbling Bay Weir and agree a transfer of the land and Weir to Guildford Borough Council ownership.
Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:
None.