Agenda item

The Committee will receive an overview of the property assets register following unitary transition.

Contributors:

John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Property and Assets

Ian Thompson, Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability

John Reed, Service Director for Property and Assets

Papers:

Property Assets Update report

Property Assets Presentation

John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Property and Assets and the Head of Property and Assets introduced an overview of the Council’s property assets portfolio. In his introduction, Mr Chilver paid thanks to staff in property services who continued to deliver an excellent service in the current challenging situation.

John Reed, Service Director for Property and Assets attended to take members through the slides appended to the agenda pack and take questions.

During the presentation, Mr Reed advised the Committee of the current portfolio capital value (£.206 billion), the investment properties capital value (£361 million) and the income from the Council’s commercial and investment properties in 2020/21 (£19.5 million). Members were updated on significant response of the property and assets team to covid-19 which included continued support to tenants, a balanced approach to rent collection, signposting to funding and directing tenants to business rates colleagues, support with providing external seating licenses up to March 2021 and supporting flexible payment plans.  The Committee was advised that there was an active asset management plan in place which included an agricultural policy review, a number of significant landholdings and estates had been amalgamated, and a review of sites with potential for planning permission or other use was in progress. The active day to day management included dealing with new leases, lease reviews, rent reviews, property management, strategic consultancy advice and void management. The Council had an active capital disposals programme, a revenue income programme and provided support to a number of other council services including highways, adult social care, communities and leisure and economic growth and regeneration. The service was also actively considering how council buildings could be optimised through flexible working patterns, how the carbon footprint could be reduced and how savings could be delivered. Regeneration programmes were underway in Aylesbury (Station Quarter; The Exchange/Waterside North; Old Council offices; Old County Court), High Wycombe (Eastern Quarter; Brunel Shed; Future High Streets Fund) and Winslow (Winslow Regeneration Project).

Due to the commercially sensitive nature of members questions the Chairman resolved to exclude the public from the meeting by virtue of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that discussion will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely paragraph 3 – information relating to financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

During the confidential session, the Committee held a detailed discussion on council assets and the plans for those assets and raised a number of questions which focused on the current covid situation in relation to the property market and the impact the pandemic had on the performance of the property portfolio; potential plans for various council owned sites; the current position of specific sites across Bucks; what the Council looked for when assessing sites with potential and; the frequency of portfolio valuations and value for money of these. During the discussion, Members also asked whether it would be possible to have a list of council owned assets by Community Board area. Members were invited to email Mr Reed where this information was required and it would be supplied.