Future of Billing Aquadrome Memorandum of Understanding

1. Parties

1.1 Country and Coastal Parks 1 Limited, company registration number 15512564 (‘Meadow Bay’).

1.2 West Northamptonshire Council (‘Council’).

2. Introduction

2.1 Billing Aquadrome (the ‘Aquadrome’) has recently been acquired by Meadow Bay. The parties agree that the Aquadrome has great potential as a tourist site in West Northamptonshire, but that it is in need of investment and change. Meadow Bay is committed to delivering this.

2.2 This MoU, which is not legally binding, sets out the intentions of the parties to secure a staged and managed transition of the Aquadrome to the intended end point, and through the approach, set out below. 

2.3 The parties intend to work collaboratively to secure optimised outcomes for the Aquadrome, Northampton, and West Northamptonshire.

3. Intended end point

3.1 The bulk of the Aquadrome (the ‘main site’) will be a high quality tourist site, offering both holiday accommodation of various kinds and various attractions. It will respect and take advantage of the natural environment in which it is located.

3.2 There will be no residential use (that is, use as the place someone normally lives) of the Aquadrome except in accordance with 3.3.

3.3 There will be a distinct part of the Aquadrome (the ‘residential site’) for residential use. 

This will:

3.3.1 Be on ground with an acceptable level of flood risk for accommodation, road and pedestrian access, and utility services.

3.3.2 Have a separate identity and branding from the main site.

3.3.3 Be regulated under the Mobile Homes Act 2013; that is, as a ‘relevant protected site’ under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (the ‘1960 Act’), with a separate license from the main site.

3.4 In consultation with the listed parties, Meadow Bay wishes to explore opportunities to mitigate future flood risks, subject to:

3.4.1 Ensuring no increase in flood risks to housing, businesses, local infrastructure and assets of significance, or other assets of significance as a result of these works

3.4.2 All planning, environmental, and other consents are secured before any work they relate to commences, and they are complied with at all times.

3.5 Flood risks to the main site will be understood and managed, with Meadow Bay 
implementing effective arrangements to mitigate risks to visitors and residents. These efforts will aim to mitigate unplanned costs incurred by public bodies or support from charitable or voluntary groups during flood events.

4. Methods of approach

4.1 The Parties will work collaboratively to secure the intended end point. This does not, of course, require any of the public sector parties to act other than in accordance with their proper regulatory and other roles.

4.2 In relation to the removal of any residential use from the main site and its formal establishment on the residential site, Meadow Bay and the Council will:

4.2.1 Conduct this process in a staged and planned manner, allowing time for current residents to make alternative arrangements (which may include moving to the 
residential site). This process is expected to take between five and ten years.

4.2.2 Meadow Bay will share with the Council, and seek the Council’s views on, its plans for removal of any residential use from the main site, and work with the Council on supporting those people to find alternative accommodation. It will not commence removals until an overall plan has been agreed with the Council.

4.2.3 Priority will be given to removing residential use from the main site in areas of highest risk first, and then moving to areas of lower risk.

4.2.4 Insofar as is legally proper, each will share information on people who are, or 
appear to be, living on the main site with the other to inform planning and decision-making. (Until the residential site is established, the whole Aquadrome will be 
considered to be the main site.)

4.2.5 Meadow Bay will work with the Council on any proposals it wishes to explore for creating the residential site, as well as its overall plan for developing the 
Aquadrome. The Council will provide constructive feedback on such proposals.
(Where this calls for formal pre-application processes, the normal fees will apply.)

4.2.6 In relation to the main site, Meadow Bay will implement robust procedures to
ensure that people are not living there as their main home, including by regular 
confirmation that they have a main home elsewhere. 

4.3 Meadow Bay will work with the Environment Agency (‘EA’) and the Council on any proposals it wishes to explore to defend any part of the Aquadrome against flooding (whether to improve its enjoyment for tourist purposes or to increase the area which would meet the test in 3.3 for the residential site, or both). 

In particular:

4.3.1 Meadow Bay will engage competent engineering and other professional advisors to prepare designs, including of mitigation schemes to meet the requirement of 3.4.

4.3.2 The EA and the Council, each as regards their own responsibilities, will engage with Meadow Bay and its professional advisors to test and verify the proposals put forward. This may require payment by Meadow Bay for the time and cost incurred.

4.3.3 All parties will seek to ensure that any such schemes will result in a net 
improvement to the natural environment (in addition to any requirement for 
biodiversity net gain) and a reduction in overall flood risk.

4.4 Meadow Bay and the Council will work together to modernise the current site license under the 1960 Act under which the Aquadrome operates (to cover the main site), ensuring it is fit for purpose, and to put in place a suitable license for the residential site.

4.5 Meadow Bay will maintain an up-to-date register of the main home addresses of all those who own or rent units on the main site. It will share it with the Council and emergency services in the event of a flooding incident affecting the main site.

4.6 Meadow Bay, the Council, and the EA share information on watercourses and flood management infrastructure affecting the Aquadrome with each other. 

5. Joint Working Group

5.1 The Parties will operate a joint working group (the ‘working group’) to oversee progress towards the achievement of the intended end point.

5.2 The working group will:

5.2.1 Meet as required, but typically quarterly.

5.2.2 Be chaired by the Council.

5.2.3 Provide a forum for discussing progress on each aspect of the intended end point, and proposals for this. 

5.2.4 Maintain confidentiality, whilst adhering to applicable legal requirements for public bodies, to foster atmosphere of open discussion. Furthermore, Meadow Bay will seek assurance from related parties that commercially sensitive discussions, such as those involving proprietary information, are safeguarded from public disclosure.

5.3 All parties will seek to provide open and constructive comment. Meadow Bay accepts that none of the public bodies can, by comments at the working group, bind themselves as to future decisions on decisions such as on planning permissions. Except where otherwise agreed by the affected parties, Meadow Bay will not cite discussions at the working group in applications for any regulatory approval.

6. Review

6.1 The Parties will keep this MoU under review and as appropriate update it. 

6.2 In particular, once the intended end point is reached, this MoU would no longer be required, although the parties may at that time wish to put in place new arrangements to ensure the Aquadrome remains consistent with the intended end point or for such other purposes as are relevant at the time.

Downloadable copy

You can download a copy of the MoU below.

Last updated 29 November 2024