Decision details

Sheffield City Council has been requested by the Department of Culture, Media Sport (DCMS) to receive and then act as Accountable Body for £3.5m of capital funding to establish a new facility providing work space, business incubation and other services for entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) based in the Sheffield City Region whose ambitions and business models rely on digital technologies and their applications.

Following a competitive selection process and acting as the Accountable Body for the funding, SCC has assessed a number of proposals and is now in a position to enter into a Funding Agreement for up to £3.0m with Northpoint CH Ltd for the development of Castle House into a work space and incubation facility for the ‘tech sector’ and related businesses.

The Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Business and Investment and the Director of Finance instructs the Director of Legal and Governance complete all the necessary documentation to give effect to the proposals.

Sheffield City Council has been requested by the Department of Culture, Media Sport (DCMS) to receive and then act as Accountable Body for £3.5m of capital funding to establish a new facility providing work space, business incubation and other services for entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) based in the Sheffield City Region whose ambitions and business models rely on digital technologies and their applications.

Following a competitive selection process and acting as the Accountable Body for the funding, SCC has assessed a number of proposals and is now in a position to enter into a Funding Agreement for up to £3.0m with Northpoint CH Ltd for the development of Castle House into a work space and incubation facility for the ‘tech sector’ and related businesses.

Alternative delivery mechanisms were considered at the time of the original Cabinet Decision at 9th March 2016. Since that time the Council has held an open and competitive selection process to identify the most appropriate beneficiary for the funding.

The selection process generated 5 Expressions of Interest of which two were taken forward for detailed analysis. The final selection was based on a range of relevant criteria and the highest scoring proposal taken through to detailed negotiation prior to entering into the Funding Agreement.

Consideration of the remaining balance of the Funding (£0.5m less SCC costs) will be given further consideration in 2018.