Decision details

Decision to enter into Regulating Lease with Crown Estate in order to provide habitat improvement areas on the River Welland

1)    Approve the Council entering into a Lease with the Crown Estate in order to provide agreed terms for East Mercia Rivers Trust to install habitat improvements on the River Welland at Spalding. 

2)    Delegate to the Deputy Chief Executive, Programme Delivery and Assistant Director, General Fund Assets to agree a suitable and sufficient Lease with the Crown Estate that enables the improvements to be undertaken whilst protecting the Council’s position. 

The project sits under a Council-led partnership responsible for overseeing the town centre improvements in Spalding with the river enhancement project being a key part of this programme of works. 

The lease provides Council with the legal right to install environmental improvements to the river Welland at Spalding on behalf of a wider partnership funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The draft terms of the lease have been negotiated and in principle agreement reached for this project to proceed and therefore also retain external grant funding that is approved to support the scheme through the delivery and management phase via East Merica Rivers Trust.  

Do nothing – Under this option, the riverside improvements will not proceed. The Crown Estate has placed a requirement on the Council to enter to a regulation lease on the land upon which the biodiversity improvements will take place, in order for the project to proceed. Under this option, the funding of circa £20,000 provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the project would have to be returned to the funder.   

None declared.