Agenda item

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

A.    Delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director Assets and Environment to dispose of the assets listed in the report and where relevant agree the terms of such disposal in line with the proposals in the relevant appendix.

B.    Noted that Property Number 14/Appendix J ((Part of Wantage Farm) was withdrawn and is no longer included in the recommendations.

C.    Items 15 and 16 may require the consent of the Secretary of State on the grounds that the disposal is at an undervalue of more than £2 million. Given the circumstances it is expected this would be forthcoming.

D.    A number of further delegations are required in order for officers to effectively manage a range of transactions on a day-to-day basis affecting the Council’s property portfolio. These are set out in the table below and will be incorporated into Constitution on a permanent basis as part of the ongoing review that is currently being undertaken by Democracy & Standards Committee. Pending the outcome of that review in December, it is recommended that interim delegated authority be granted to the Assistant Director Assets and Environment to;

a.     Agree, and enter into, leases of up to 125 years at nil, or otherwise a value at less than best consideration, which are directly related to the conversion of a local authority maintained school to an academy, or where as a result of a Council decision (including provisions of a Section 106 agreement entered into by the Council or Section 106 unilateral undertaking benefiting the Council) a new school is to be created, and that school will be an academy. This includes the authority to enter into agreements for such leases.

b.     In consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member and Chief Financial Officer, agree, and enter into, leases of community centres and similar buildings at less than best consideration (including nil consideration) with parish/town councils or charities.

c.     Grant licenses and tenancies at will, including grant at less than best consideration, where this supports the effective management of the Council’s property or enables implementation of the Council’s policies or statutory duties.

d.     Grant leases on commercial terms for terms not exceeding 15 years or capable of break at the Council’s discretion at intervals not exceeding 15 years.

REASONS:

A.    Cabinet will be fully aware of the history to LGR in Northamptonshire and therefore it is not proposed to cover this in detail as part of this report.

B.    At Vesting Day (1st April 2021), there were several freehold and leasehold disposals that had been agreed by the predecessor Councils. Approval to these transactions had been given via several different routes including cabinet, cabinet member and officer delegated decisions. These are summarised in more detail in the relevant Appendix.

C.    For varying reasons, these disposals were not completed prior to Vesting Day. The Monitoring Officer has advised that a previous decision from one of the predecessor Councils does not carry forward to WNC. New decisions are required.

D.    This paper therefore seeks authority from Cabinet to progress with the transactions as set out in this paper and more specifically, as set out in the relevant Appendix. For clarity of records, Cabinet is requested to make individual decisions in relation to each recommendation stated in Section 3 of this report.

E.    Considering these issues has highlighted certain where it is certain, or almost certain, what course of action the Council would be expected to take. In those cases, it is proposed that the necessary decisions be delegated to allow for efficient and expedient action to be taken.

F.    As members will be aware, under the Academies Act 2010 (the Act) there is a process for converting schools from maintained by the local authority to academy status. New schools are also normally created as academies. These are often called ‘free schools’ but legally are academies. The Department for Education’s usual practice is to seek a 125-year lease for nil consideration. This is an alternative to the use of powers in the Act by the Secretary of State to require a freehold or leasehold transfer of the land.

G.   As there are no realistic alternative options to consider in such cases, it is proposed that leases up to 125 years in length be capable of being authorised by the Assistant Director Assets and Environment where they specifically relate to the conversion of a school to an academy or the assignment of an existing lease between appropriate academies. Under the current constitution, any leases over ten years (unless the Council can break the lease at intervals not exceeding ten years) require Cabinet approval. 

H.    It has also become clear that there are likely to be various requests for leases of community centres / facilities. These leases enable a parish/town council or charity to operate such centres for the good of the local community. As such, it is usual to offer leases at a value which is lower than the one which could be reasonably obtainable in the market, often at nil consideration or at rent which covers only covers items such as insurance. It is therefore proposed that the Assistant Director Assets and Environment be authorised to grant such leases. (The constitution envisages such standing approval being granted as it excludes leases granted not at best consideration from officer delegations except in cases approved in policy.)

I.       The constitution does not expressly address the issue of tenancies at will or licenses to occupy property a value which is lower than the one which could be reasonably obtainable in the market. These flexible arrangements are needed to ensure property is effectively managed, the costs of void property are minimised and the Council can effectively implement its policies and comply with its statutory duties. It is proposed that it is made explicit that such arrangements can be made.

J.     It has been identified that commercial leases are often now required with fifteen-year terms. This applies to three of the transactions covered in this report. However, the constitution only delegates authority to grant commercial leases on market terms with terms up to ten years (or capable at break by the Council at ten-year intervals). It is therefore suggested that this period is extended to fifteen years so that routine lettings are not delayed.

K.    Whilst it is intended that these issues would be addressed in the review of the Constitution currently underway, this is not due to be considered by Council until December. It is therefore proposed that these additional delegations are approved pending the consideration by Council of the Constitutional review.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

A.    Once the decision is confirmed, the appointments will be communicated to the Members and the outside bodies and partnerships. The schedule of appointments will be kept under review during the year and Democratic Services will deal with any changes that arise.

B.    The Council may choose not to appoint to the outside bodies in Appendix A but would need to consider whether there would be any implications arising for the Council or the body concerned by not making an appointment

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS DECLARED AND DISPENSATIONS GRANTED: None.

The Chairman announced that appendix J had been removed from the item and would not be considered. He then invited Councillor Longley to present the report, copies of which had been previously circulated. Councillor Longley advised that the report could be described as a tidying up exercise, and that the report gave a detailed description of each proposal. With regard to Wantage Farm (appendix J), further consultation was required.

A Councillor noted that residents of Thorplands and surrounding areas had not been consulted.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet;

A.    Delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director Assets and Environment to dispose of the assets listed below and where relevant agree the terms of such disposal in line with the proposals in the relevant appendix:

2. Items 14, 15 and 16 may require the consent of the Secretary of State on the grounds that the disposal is at an undervalue of more than £2 million. Given the circumstances it is expected this would be forthcoming.

C.    A number of further delegations were required in order for officers to effectively manage a range of transactions on a day-to-day basis affecting the Council’s property portfolio. These are set out in the table below and will be incorporated into Constitution on a permanent basis as part of the ongoing review that is currently being undertaken by Democracy & Standards Committee. Pending the outcome of that review in December, it is recommended that interim delegated authority be granted to the Assistant Director Assets and Environment.