The identified sites are of a commercially sensitive nature. They have, therefore, been included within an exempt appendix at Agenda Item 27.

A report by the Interim Director of Corporate Services updated the Cabinet on the proposals for establishing a Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment In City Areas (JESSICA) programme in Merseyside.

The report set out the background to JESSICA and the process to date of working with the Igloo consortium to create a sustainable investment fund.

The Cabinet was asked to consider the background information and note the importance of JESSICA as a future funding instrument and agree to provide ‘in principle’ match funding to a Merseyside portfolio of assets that would allow the sub region to access £30m of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) monies to invest in development activity, subject to legal advice and specific conditions. For this the Cabinet was being advised by Cobbetts LLP. The list of preliminary identified sites were contained within Appendix A of the report which is commercially confidential.

The Interim Chief Executive reported that JESSICA was new and very complicated.  However, it was the future and a recent government White Paper had made specific reference to the JESSICA fund.

RESOLVED:

That

(1)  the continued development of this project be endorsed and further reports be received by the Cabinet in due course;

(2)  in principle, ‘holding’ match funding be provided to draw down ERDF to Merseyside to the value of £5m against Council owned assets (to be determined definitively once legal advice has been received) be agreed subject to the analysis of the risks of placing a restriction on title of the assets identified;

(3)  a further report on this matter to be brought back to a future Cabinet;

(4)  the Interim Director of Corporate Services be requested to convey the Cabinet’s thanks to those officers who were involved with JESSICA  for their hard work, especially as it had recently received national recognition; and

(5)  the interim Director of Corporate Services be requested to ensure that an independent evaluation of the book values contained in the related exempt appendix (minute No. 217 refers).