Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Place Shaping

The Corporate Director of Place Shaping introduced the report which provided an overview of the Transformation Programme – Development of Council Property Assets Project.  He advised that the current progress would be reported to the Major Developments Panel on 27 July 2011 and that it was planned to submit a report to Cabinet in the Autumn.

The Corporate Director outlined the content of his report stating that a key issue was that the requirements of the Area Action Plan (AAP) would apply equally as a land owner.  The Council’s four strategic sites (Civic Centre site, Byron Park, Greenhill Way car park and Gayton Road Site) represented 30% of the Area Action Plan.  In terms of the commercial master planning work relating to these four sites, it was intended to report to Cabinet in early 2012.  The market appeared to be easing and planning applications from Dandara, Land Securities and Wichford were expected.  Drawing attention to the objectives of the Transformation Programme, he emphasised that officers wished to ensure that a significant revenue benefit was delivered.

The Corporate Director reported that following the approval by Cabinet of the disposals programme in May, the first property had been sold at auction the previous week for just above the expected price.  There was now a forty day completion period for the sale.

Members made a number of comments and asked questions which were duly responded to as follows:

·                     A Member questioned how many facilities outside the Civic 1 site would be eliminated and how Members would know when this process had been completed.  The Corporate Director responded that only stand alone office buildings, other than the Depot and Teachers’ Centre, were being consolidated but that he would advise the Member separately in terms of numbers.  High level planning assumptions had been used and the master plan would enable officers to bring forward plans for the best approach.  The Corporate Director added that, in terms of capital, £2.5m was available in the budget over the next three years to complete the necessary work to the civic site, including fire escapes and IT moves.

·                     In response to a Member’s question as to whether the third sector would be able to make use of some buildings, the Portfolio Holder advised that it was not yet know which option would be chosen.  The Corporate Director advised that the Civic site as a whole underperformed in commercial terms.  The overall infrastructure was being considered in terms of supporting the existing and growing community.

·                     A Member expressed some concern that alternative locations for the Civic Site would be removed by demolishing some buildings.  The Corporate Director reassured the Committee that the Council would not end up in a ‘beached’ position.

·                     In terms of deliverability on Civic 1, the Corporate Director advised staff would be given smaller desks and less space around their desks.  There was to be a move away from the concept of ‘my desk’.  There was capacity for this when you took into account annual leave and other factors.  The Member questioned whether this was a good use of taxpayers’ money and was advised that it was a good use and particular mention was made of the Children’s Transformation Programme which would result in the staff being located together. 

·                     A Member sought clarification on the position in terms of the driving centre site where it appeared that there had been no progress since 2006.  The Corporate Director advised that a considerable amount of time had been spent on planning for the development of the site and also the Leisure Centre site.  The Council had been due to exchange contracts on an excellent deal in March 2008 but due to the world wide recession it had fallen through.

·                     A Member questioned the capacity of Civic 1 in terms of the staircases and the number of people who could be safely evacuated.  There were also issues in terms of the changing headcount and the impact of mobile and flexible working.  The Corporate Director confirmed that this was a valid point and central to officer thinking.  Considerable work was required and also building control approval.  There were design solutions and changes to the way the evacuation plan was delivered for the building.  Congestion on the stairs had been an issue for years and a likely solution was phased loading floor by floor using the full potential of the existing fire alarm system.

·                     There had been a commitment not to reduce the size or capacity of the skate park and there were restrictions in relation to Byron Hall and a Member questioned how these issues would be addressed in terms of proposed development on the Byron Park site.  The Corporate Director responded that a key outcome was modern, fit for purpose, accessible facilities and that a key component of the AAP was planning for essential social infrastructure.  The site allocation report due for consideration in the Autumn would give Members the opportunity to take a more focused look at this issue.  The Portfolio Holder emphasised the importance of Byron Hall in terms of Asian functions as the only other possible venue in the borough with the required capacity was the Zoroastrian Centre.  He confirmed that, at this stage, there were no plans to replace the Leisure Centre but that there was a commitment to improve sports facilities.

·                     A Member sought reassurance that there was no double counting in terms of the £2.5m in relation to IT and mobile and flexible working.  The Corporate Director advised that it was a standalone consolidation project and to his knowledge there was no double counting.

·                     A Member challenged the Corporate Director in terms of the timescale for moving to a new Civic Centre as it was not included in the report and stated that there would be no financial gain to do this unless it was after 2020 and this might then lead to the double counting another Member had referred to.  The Member indicated that he could not endorse the paper without a timescale.  The Corporate Director responded that there were no plans to relocate the Civic Centre but that it was one of the four strategic sites included in the commercial master planning exercise.  Referring to page 4 of his report, he advised that a paper would be submitted to Cabinet in early 2012 and would set out options around the phasing of development but that the overarching constraint would be the market.  In order to allay Members’ concerns, the Corporate Director added that there would be an estimated £480,000 savings per annum which would more than pay for the proposed investment.  The Portfolio Holder advised that he would advise the Member in terms of timescale outside of the meeting but indicated that there may be an issue in terms of commercial confidentiality.

·                     A Member suggested that, with additional staff being moved into the Civic Centre and new furniture being purchased, there was an opportunity to increase home working and hot desking.  The Corporate Director confirmed that the mobile/flexible working project would enable additional options.

·                     In terms of car parking at the four sites, a Member questioned what was being done to ensure that cars did not park on side roads and was advised that each of the sites had different requirements.  The objective was to reduce the use of the private car and, in particular, those with just one person.  Members would be consulted on their requirements.  The Corporate Director added that this issue would be reported back to the Committee through the Development Plan Documents (DPDs).

·                     The performance data, whilst detailed, was not as current as it should have been.  Members were advised that the indicators would be submitted to the Performance Board the following week.

The Chair thanked the Portfolio Holder and Corporate Director for their attendance and responses.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.