Agenda item
Property Asset Disposals 2008/09
At Full Council on 21st May 2007 the threshold levels for utilisation of officer delegation in respect of property asset transactions was raised to £100,000 for rental and £300,000 for acquisitions and disposals. At a previous Council meeting in 2006 it was agreed that the Head of Property and Asset Management would be required to prepare an annual report on all such transactions and for this report to be presented to the Performance and Finance Select Committee.
Minutes:
Richard Barrett (Head of Property and Asset Management) introduced the report which provided details of all property disposals and transactions valued at £100,000 for rental and £300,000 for acquisitions and disposals. He advised that a target of £10.73m of capital receipts as part of the overall rolling Capital Programme had been set for the period 2008/09 to 2011/12. Members heard that although the capital receipts target for 2007/08 had been exceeded, the 2008/09 figure of £1.176m was significantly below target. It was anticipated that the target for 2009/10 would similarly not be met, primarily due to property market conditions and also because some disposals had intentionally been retained to take advantage of any subsequent improvements in the property market. The Select Committee heard that the Council had a comparatively small property portfolio and often received internal bids or expressions of interests for properties it sought to dispose of. Richard Barrett then referred to the disposals as detailed in Appendix 2. Members also heard that there had been a few acquisitions, including 2 acquisitions to support the South Kilburn New Deals for Communities scheme.
Councillor Bessong queried whether more properties should be acquired to offset the growing housing list. Councillor Mendoza enquired whether should be property disposals of in view of the present market conditions and the Council’s small property portfolio. With regard to the Civic Centre, he enquired how long the option to buy land extended to and whether advantage could be taken of any subsequent upturn in the market. The Chair sought clarification as to when the option to buy land for the Civic Centre had been secured and had the Council benefitted from the downturn in the property market.
In response, Richard Barrett advised that the Council had in place a formal review procedure to ensure that some assets were not disposed of should they be required for another use. However, some disposals, such as disposing of a loft conversion would not be rigorously challenged. The issue of whether to acquire more property in respect of the housing need was being strategically considered, particularly in high priority areas such as South Kilburn, however any acquisitions would be subject to availability of funds. Richard Barrett advised that the option to buy land for the proposed Civic Centre had been obtained during May 2008 and at that time was on terms favourable terms to the Council. The option was on a fixed term basis for 3 years, with an option to renew for a further year. In view of the downturn in the property market since the option had been secured, the Council could consider renegotiating terms and further consideration would be needed prior to the final report being considered by the Executive.
The Chair acknowledged that conditions in the property market had impacted upon the Council’s ability to obtain its capital receipts targets and he indicated that further reports concerning how this affected community use buildings and in particular the Civic Centre be presented at a future meeting of the Select Committee.
RESOLVED:-
(i) that the schedule of disposals as detailed in appendix 1 of the report detailing transactions for the financial year 2008/09 be noted; and
(ii) that the schedule of all transactions completed under delegated powers as detailed in appendix 2 of the report be noted.
Supporting documents: