Issue - meetings

A report from the Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Growth is attached.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and Growth, presented the report which identified the Phase 3 list of sites surplus to the requirements of the Council and sought approval for their disposal to help meet urgent savings targets and rationalise the estate. It also set out how the recommendation accepted by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be taken forward in relation to Community Asset Transfers (CATs).

In response to Members’ questions, it was noted that phases 1 and 2 would be revisited to develop deadlines for community groups to engage with the Council with regards to CATs, and members of the public were encouraged to speak with local Councillors and engage with officers. With regards to the projected c£8m to be generated in capital receipts, this was based on market testing but needed further monitoring and updating to be a reliable estimate. It was further noted that some investment was sometimes needed up-front to get sites ready for development and achieve a higher value.

It was noted that engagement with communities would be carried out before any transfer, but also support would be provided afterwards to mitigate issues of capacity and access to funding.

Decision:

Cabinet gave approval for the disposal of the Phase 3 property assets that have been identified as surplus to the Council’s requirements.

Reasons for the decision:

·         To enable the Council to achieve its revenue savings targets through the Transformation Programme, as well as generate capital receipts that can enable other Council projects to be supported.

·         To support community groups take on the management of property assets via CATs. This will allow residents to continue to enjoy the benefits they provide to local communities. This will also support the Council’s ‘Let’s Do It Real’ strategy – the work around the Neighbourhood Model and Team Bury’s Community Wealth Building Framework.

Other options considered and rejected:

·         Do nothing/not dispose of property assets – revenue savings and capital receipts would not be generated by not reducing the number of property assets and the Council would continue to be responsible for maintaining them with a finite budget.

·         Identify other Council programmes where revenue savings could be made, and capital receipts generated. Other areas across the Council have already been earmarked for further revenue savings and this programme is required to enable savings targets to be met. With regards to the latter, there is no other programme that will bring about capital receipts.