Agenda item

8.1

It was moved by Councillor Leigh Bramall, seconded by Councillor Abdul Khayum, that this Council:-

(a)      welcomes the historic 60 year partnership between Sheffield City Council and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group;

(b)      believes that this is the biggest Chinese investment deal of its kind to be made by a UK city outside of London and is the first deal of its kind to be made by a UK city;

(c)      notes that the 60 year commitment secures a stream of investment into the city for the next generation, and is likely to mean a whole range of projects become viable because of the long-term nature of the relationship;

(d)      believes that the deal will be important in helping to grow the city’s economy and could create thousands of jobs for the people of Sheffield;

(e)      notes that the agreement between Sheffield City Council and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group has been over 18 months in the making and thanks all involved for their hard work in bringing the agreement forward;

(f)       welcomes the commitment of Mr Wang, Chairman of the Board and President of Sichuan Guodong Construction Group, to Sheffield and welcomes these comments he has made about the city - “Sheffield really does stand out amongst all UK cities as an outstanding business investment. This agreement illustrates our confidence in Sheffield as a city going from strength to strength, with real growth potential. We are looking forward to being a part of this over the coming decades.”;

(g)      welcomes that the agreement with Sichuan Guodong Construction Group is running parallel to increasing civic and cultural ties between Sheffield and the city of Chengdu and welcomes the prospect of further mutually beneficial collaboration between the two cities; and

(h)      will write to Mr Wang to demonstrate the Council’s full support for the partnership and looks forward to growing the working relationship between the city and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group to support many positive developments in the City.

8.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Martin Smith, seconded by Councillor Ian Auckland, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.        the insertion, in paragraph (c), of the word “potential” before the word “stream”;

2.        the replacement, in paragraph (d), of the word “believes”, by the word “hopes”; and

3.        the re-lettering of paragraphs (f) to (h) as new paragraphs (h) to (j) and the addition of new paragraphs (f) and (g) as follows:-

(f)       notes the need for transparency and a strong governance process for any major investment in the city and calls on the Administration to be open with opposition Councillors and members of the public about the details of the partnership;

(g)      calls on the Administration to ensure that it seeks competitive bids for the sale of all Council owned or developed assets to ensure that the city gets the maximum return for each individual investment;

8.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

8.3.1

The votes on the amendment were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For the amendment (14)

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Councillors Magid Magid, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Shaffaq Mohammed, Paul Scriven, Ian Auckland, Steve Ayris, Alison Teal, David Baker, Penny Baker and Vickie Priestley.

Against the amendment (37)

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Councillors Chris Rosling-Josephs, Bryan Lodge, Michelle Cook, Kieran Harpham, Jackie Drayton, Talib Hussain, Craig Gamble Pugh, Mary Lea, Andy Bainbridge, Steve Wilson, Abdul Khayum, Alan Law, Abtisam Mohamed, Lewis Dagnall, Cate McDonald, Chris Peace, Bob Johnson, George Lindars-Hammond, Josie Paszek, Lisa Banes, Nasima Akther, Mohammad Maroof, Julie Dore, Ben Miskell, Jack Scott, Mike Drabble, Peter Rippon, Dawn Dale, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Jayne Dunn, Jack Clarkson, Keith Davis, Olivia Blake, Ben Curran, John Booker and Zoe Sykes.

8.4

It was then moved by Councillor Robert Murphy, seconded by Councillor Magid Magid, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)     is concerned about the Council’s signing of an investment deal decades into the future, long after the signatories have left office and public accountability, and notes that previous deals have led to serious financial burdens for Sheffield City Council;

(b)     is disappointed by the lack of consultation over the last 18 months in what has been described as the first deal of its kind to be made by a UK city and the biggest outside of London;

(c)      is disappointed by the lack of information regarding the deal and partnership available to city councillors and the public; and

(d)     calls for full public disclosure and scrutiny of this and any further investment deals of this kind.

8.5

Following a right of reply from Councillor Leigh Bramall, the amendment was put to the vote and negatived.

8.6

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      welcomes the historic 60 year partnership between Sheffield City Council and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group;

(b)      believes that this is the biggest Chinese investment deal of its kind to be made by a UK city outside of London and is the first deal of its kind to be made by a UK city;

(c)      notes that the 60 year commitment secures a stream of investment into the city for the next generation, and is likely to mean a whole range of projects become viable because of the long-term nature of the relationship;

(d)      believes that the deal will be important in helping to grow the city’s economy and could create thousands of jobs for the people of Sheffield;

(e)      notes that the agreement between Sheffield City Council and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group has been over 18 months in the making and thanks all involved for their hard work in bringing the agreement forward;

(f)      welcomes the commitment of Mr Wang, Chairman of the Board and President of Sichuan Guodong Construction Group, to Sheffield and welcomes these comments he has made about the city - “Sheffield really does stand out amongst all UK cities as an outstanding business investment. This agreement illustrates our confidence in Sheffield as a city going from strength to strength, with real growth potential. We are looking forward to being a part of this over the coming decades.”;

(g)      welcomes that the agreement with Sichuan Guodong Construction Group is running parallel to increasing civic and cultural ties between Sheffield and the city of Chengdu and welcomes the prospect of further mutually beneficial collaboration between the two cities; and;

(h)      will write to Mr Wang to demonstrate the Council’s full support for the partnership and looks forward to growing the working relationship between the city and Sichuan Guodong Construction Group to support many positive developments in the City.

8.6.1

The votes on the Substantive Motion were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-