Agenda item

[To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration. Report of the Assistant Director for Commissioning]This report provides a strategic framework and a set of recommendations to guide decisions for the future of each community building within the scope of the review, consistent with decisions of Cabinet made in 2012 and the vision and principles of the Community Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration introduced the report, which set out the overarching principles and recommendations of the Community Buildings Review which had been undertaken corporately.

Councillor Strickland highlighted a change to Appendix B, item 20, Selby Trust, final recommendation and rationale, to now read explore and agree use of the site in the medium term, including any options required for re-providing existing community uses, through a feasibility study to be developed collaboratively by the Trust and the Council.

This report included agreeing a community model lease to apply to all community buildings .This will mean, community groups managing and using the community buildings, meeting a social value checklist and criteria to ensure they are working for social outcomes and meeting the needs of residents.

The Cabinet Member indicated that cessation of circular funded rent and peppercorn rent which will be phased out in a managed way in light of the move to community model leases.

In response to Cllr Berryman’s question on deleting strategic framework principle (e) at paragraph 6.4, to ensure that community buildings are not vulnerable to developers, noted that community buildings were ultimately owned by the Council so any disposal would be subject to Cabinet agreement.  This clause was needed to ensure that there is an overriding right for the Council to buy and safeguard a site for regeneration purposes if the need in future arises but the grid at appendix B makes clear that there are no plans to use this clause to take over sites especially if they are delivering social values and outcomes for residents.

Councillor Blake was invited by the chair to ask a question, and he began by supporting the deputations request to pause the decision making on the Community Buildings Review to allow organisations to develop their RTB offer and compile a capital project.

Councillor Blake further spoke about an inherent inequality with the application of the peppercorn rent cessation as some groups would have longer to wait than others for the cessation to impact. The circular rent changes would have a short and medium term impact, so sooner than the changes to some clients on peppercorn rents.

In response to these questions/observations, the Cabinet Member reminded Members that this the review had started over 3 years ago and there had been good consideration of the likely impact of the changes going forward. 

Community Matters, an independent charity, had also helped work on these proposals with community groups and the Council .Also the changes to rent requirements would be phased in. Asset transfer had been part of the discussion with community organisations and would continue.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration agreed that the inequality between organisations rent and lease terms were evident and the new approach taken forward by the review will be applicable at different times. However there was a need to start making changes somewhere .So as and when leases do expire there will be a robust fair criteria applied.

Subject to amendments to appendix b, section 20,Selby Trust  as set out above by the Cabinet Member , the Cabinet

RESOLVED

1. To agree to adopt the strategic framework set out in Section 6 including the principles set out at paragraph 6.4 which will be applied to the community buildings under review (listed at Appendix A) and to any further buildings which the Council identifies as forming part of the community buildings portfolio to guide decisions on their future;

2. To agree the recommendations as set out at Appendix B, in relation to Section 7 and made in the context of robust assessments of  buildings conditions, lease and contracts, organisational capacity perspectives together with demand for education, health or housing and/or other regeneration needs of the borough; 

3. To agree the further recommendations as set out at Section 7 and to agree that these will be used to guide future decisions on buildings in the Community Building portfolio.  This includes the agreement that where there is an overriding demand for education, health or housing, buildings will be freed up for regeneration, alternative use or disposal;

4. To agree the recommendation to move towards the implementation of a new Community Model Lease and agree a new process for assessing eligibility for rent subsidy for organisations willing to adopt the Community Model Lease as set out at paragraph 7.4, and 7.5;

5. To agree the recommendation to end the current system of Circular Funded Rent (CFR) and Peppercorn Rents and to phase out the CFR subsidy on a managed basis by March 2019 which includes approval not to implement further Peppercorn Rents upon expiry of current Peppercorn lease as set out at paragraphs 7.6 and 7.7;

6. To agree the additional recommendations to establish criteria around Asset Transfer and lease monitoring and evaluation as set out at paragraphs 7.9, 7.10 and 7.11; 

7. To agree that the authority to work with individual organisations to effect the recommendations at Section 7 is delegated to the Director of Planning, Regeneration and Development following consultation with the Lead Members of Housing and Regeneration and Health and Wellbeing and the Section 151 Officer;

8. To note the Equalities Impact Assessment at Appendix C and agree that individual Equalities Impact Assessments will be undertaken as appropriate.

Alternative options considered

Following the initial Community Building Review recommendations from the 2012 review, an interdepartmental Community Building Working Group considered a range of alternative options for each building in terms of proposals for the short to medium term and a strategy for each asset – likely to be in terms of retain, improve/invest or dispose/alternative use.  All alternative options were considered against key criteria which took account of regeneration programmes and priorities under the current Corporate Plan including education and housing.

A ‘do nothing’ scenario was considered. However this approach was rejected as an option. As alluded to in the Cabinet Member introduction, effective, proactive asset management is essential in order to maximise on the Council’s investments in order to support and underpin corporate priorities, particularly in terms of our ambitions for health, wellbeing and social and economic regeneration.

Alternative options were also considered in relation to Circular Funded Rent. A ‘do nothing’ option was considered in which Circular Funded Rent (CFR) would continue to be paid to the limited number of organisations currently receiving it on an ongoing basis. This was rejected on the grounds of equity and transparency. A second option was to cease CFR with a period of notice and expect organisations to pay a market rent. This was considered to be likely to lead to significant instability in the sector given the additional financial costs to which organisations would become subject. The third and preferred option was to cease CFR in a phased way and to move towards payment of an agreed market rent over a period of 2 -3 years.

Reasons for decision

The proposed individual recommendations for each building in Section 7 Table 1 follow a rigorous and comprehensive assessment process and provide the Council with the best considered option in each case.

The recommendation for the adoption of the proposed strategic framework and guiding principles will ensure that the Council opts for the best considered option with regard to the use of the community buildings currently defined and those for the use of the community in the future.

The recommendation to cease Circular Funded Rent, moving proactively to the implementation of a Community Model Lease with the availability of a limited subsidy for a wider group of applicants contributes to the Commissioning Team budgetary target of £1.4m cashable savings.