Nirah: hopes rise that it's all back on
09 October 2006
Nirah: hopes rise that it's all back on
County ready to offer £200,000 to get freshwater aquarium plan moving again.
The legal log-jam holding up plans for a £375 million freshwater science and visitor attraction at Stewartby seems to be on the point of resolution.
Bedfordshire County Council and the company behind the huge scheme Nirah Holdings fell out in July amid claims the local authority had attached "unacceptable conditions" to an offer of extra start-up cash.
But now county council deputy leader Coun Richard Stay has said a deal could be in sight after fresh legal advice was obtained.
He said he hopes the money to fund the completion of Nirah's bid for initial planning consent could be agreed the week after next, while he expects the application itself to be submitted by the end of October.
Coun Stay said: "I am hopeful that we can find a way of enabling Nirah to bring this scheme to the planning application stage, but I think we need to keep the pressure on them to deliver.
"We have kept our part of the bargain and there's now a high degree of expectation that Nirah will keep theirs and deliver the application."
Nirah wants to recreate endangered freshwater habitats in a spectacular centre at the Quest claypit, combining scientific research with animal conservation and visitor education.
Its backers say its set-up costs will be funded by private investors after it has obtained planning consent on the site.
But to reach that point, it had to sign a deal with the county council and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). The two bodies formed a consortium to loan £3 million to allow Nirah to get to the planning stage, with a further £1 million loan to keep it alive until it could raise its own cash.
However, the consortium and Nirah Holdings argued when the company asked for more money beyond the initial £3 million to finish preparing its application.
Another deal was struck to raise the £600,000 needed, with Nirah agreeing to find half privately and receive the rest from the county council.
When Bedfordshire eventually put the money on the table after taking legal advice, Nirah rejected it and claimed the attached conditions were unacceptable.
For its part, the county said it had to stay within EU rules on "state aid", which govern public sector help to private ventures.
It is new, more encouraging expert opinion on the state aid issue which seems to be prompting the guarded optimism at County Hall, which is understood to have been asked for a reduced contribution of £200,000.
Bedford Mayor Frank Branston said state aid was never really a stumbling block.
He added: "I have been more hopeful for some length of time now. The nadir was in August, when I would have given us a less than even chance, but I think that's improved considerably.
"State aid was always a red herring because the money is a loan at a commercial rate of interest."
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