Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration.]

To agree to the leasing of the ground and two upper floors at 54 Muswell Hill to be used as a Health Centre for the local community.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report which sought agreement to the granting of a lease at 54 Muswell Hill to the Muswell Hill GP practice. This proposed decision would allow the Council to help ensure communities had a good quality local GP practice in an area where there would otherwise be a shortage.

It was noted that the Council had been working with the Haringey and Islington  CCG’s and the NHS to plan future care and health services in the borough. The granting of a new 25year lease of the ground and 2 upper floors would provide a new modern facility capable of serving up to 25000 patients from one site. The decision would ensure that this part of the borough had new modern facilities and ensured the Council retained its interest in the asset.

Cllr James responded on the question of whether, with the proposed addition of this facility in the Muswell Hill area, there was still required additional health facilities in the area or would the area require additional facilities but with a lesser priority. It was noted that the borough CCG representatives were keen to go ahead with this facility and the provision would solve the problems of having a shortfall of GP’s in the Muswell Hill area. The Cabinet Member and had a keen interest in this decision and was fully aware of the pressure from community representatives for more GP’s in the area and this decision would respond to this concern.

Further to considering the exempt information at item 26,

RESOLVED

1.    To grant  an under lease of 54 Muswell Hill  (shown edged red on the plan attached in Appendix A of the report)  to The Muswell Hill Practice for a term of up to 25 years  for a premium and/or rental income that would represent best consideration as set out in the exempt section to this report (Part B) and as set out in the draft Heads of Terms attached and set out in Part B to this report. The costs of the transaction to the Council are set out in Part B to the report.

2.    To give delegated authority to the Director of Housing Regeneration & Planning after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration to agree the final terms for the lease including the premium and/or rental amount that would represent best consideration.

Reasons for decision

The long lease of 54 Muswell Hill was acquired by the Council on 14 July 2017 to support the provision of GP services in this area.  At the time of the 2018 Cabinet decision it had also been intended to include a small number of shared ownership residential units in this property.  However, the structure and fire protection issues following Grenfell has made the residential units difficult to implement, and at the same time the CCG see a solution to their own medical services needs in taking a lease on the whole building rather than part of it as originally proposed.  From the Council’s perspective, this ensures a beneficial public use of this asset supporting health partners in local service delivery and secures a capital receipt for the Council whilst enabling the Council to maintain a long term interest in the property.

Alternative options considered

The alternative option is not to lease the building to The Muswell Hill Practice.  However, this would mean that the existing Muswell Hill Practice would continue to not be DDA compliant and undersized for the current patient list.

In this option the building at 54 Muswell Hill would remain vacant until either a solution to the residential use of the upper floors is found and the ground floor let separately or the whole of the building is let for another use.