Issue - meetings

RESOLVED: Cabinet:

1.    Approved the proposals for delivering Phases 2A (Towcester) and 2B (Northampton) of the Office Optimisation programme.

2.    Noted the £5 million (m) budget for the building works and £0.616m budget for IT equipment and works for Phase 2 of the Office Optimisation programme proposed in the draft budget.

3.    Authorised the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children, Families & Education to consider the outcomes of consultation on relocation of Towcester Children’s Centre and if justified to approve the relocation of the Children’s Centre to the Forum.

4.    Authorised the Assistant Director Assets & Environment in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance to:

a)    Granted a lease of part of the Forum, Towcester to Towcester Town Council in its capacity as trustee of the Towcester Community Centre Trust (charity number 304254) as set out in 5.8. This lease would be at no rent but would be in exchange for the surrender of the lease held by the Trust over the current Towcester Community Centre.

b)    Granted a lease of the 1992 Guildhall extension (except the parts of it retained with the historic Guildhall) and allied rights and agreements to a developer or occupier following a competitive disposal process.

c)    Granted a lease of space at County Hall and an allied license to use the Council Chamber and other relevant spaces to Northampton Town Council.

RESONS RESOLVED:

1.    To deliver efficient, effective, and economical services for the people and businesses of West Northamptonshire.

2.    To enable the Council to reduce revenue expenditure and maximise opportunities to generate revenue and/or capital income without adversely affecting services.

3.    To make best use of the assets the Council would retain direct use of.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

There are a very large number of possible options and sub-options, meaning it would not be productive to list them all here. Given the work undertaken to date it is suggested that the key choice is whether to proceed with the schemes at all, and if so whether to proceed in Northampton on the basis that Angel is the main office base, with use made of space at County

Hall and the historic Guildhall as described above.

The Chair presented the report on behalf of Councillor Malcolm Longley, copies of which had been previously circulated. It was noted that the cost of maintaining multiple buildings was an unjustified cost to local residents. The Guildhall would continue to be a civic base and the Mayoral office would remain there.

A statement from the current Mayor was read by a Northampton town councillor.

A Northampton Town councillor made the following comments.

• The Guildhall was paid for by the residents of Northampton and as such belonged to them.
• The Town council is a tenant of the Guildhall and has paid its rent on time.
• The Town Council had tried to work in partnership with WNC for the last two years.

Councillors made the following comments.

• It was echoed that the Guildhall belonged to the people of Northampton.
• Working together on a strategy was important.
• There were various member rooms full of storage.
• It was felt that residents viewed the Guildhall as the home of the town council.
• It was queried whether an impact assessment been carried out about moving the one stop shop from the Guildhall.
• This was a very complex situation with many variables and risks.
• Concern was raised about the Guildhall staff.

Councillor Adam Brown advised that there was complete respect for the history of the town.

The Chair noted that accessibility is a concern and that much thought and care is needed.

Councillor Mike Hallam advised that the Guildhall would still be owned by the public and that the mayor would still be based in the building.

The Assistant Director Assets & Environment advised that the County Hall is no longer suitable to house the coroner as the building is listed no big changes can be made to it.

RESOLVED: Cabinet:

1.    Approved the proposals for delivering Phases 2A (Towcester) and 2B (Northampton) of the Office Optimisation programme.

2.    Noted the £5 million (m) budget for the building works and £0.616m budget for IT equipment and works for Phase 2 of the Office Optimisation programme proposed in the draft budget.

3.    Authorised the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children, Families & Education to consider the outcomes of consultation on relocation of Towcester Children’s Centre and if justified to approve the relocation of the Children’s Centre to the Forum.

4.    Authorised the Assistant Director Assets & Environment in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance to:

a)    Granted a lease of part of the Forum, Towcester to Towcester Town Council in its capacity as trustee of the Towcester Community Centre Trust (charity number 304254) as set out in 5.8. This lease would be at no rent but would be in exchange for the surrender of the lease held by the Trust over the current Towcester Community Centre.

b)    Granted a lease of the 1992 Guildhall extension (except the parts of it retained with the historic Guildhall) and allied rights and agreements to a developer or occupier following a competitive disposal process.

c)    Granted a lease  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108