has an average height at eaves of 6m providing 7,800
cubic metres of useable volume compared to a total of approximately 4,000 cubic
metres at Forest Road and Library HQ.
This is a "shell" building and will require adaption and fitting
out to accommodate the uses proposed. A
design and specification is being worked up with an estimate for this work
capped at £150,000.
5.
By acquiring and adapting this
building it will be possible to accommodate the following uses:
·
Library Headquarters offices, book
collation, book storage and library vehicles.
·
Temporary storage of artefacts and
documents from The Guildhall freeing up space for Phase II of the Museum of
Art.
·
Education Stores from Forest Road,
Newport.
·
Stored items and files for Finance
(Forest Road), Planning (Dodnor) and Electoral Registration (Daish Way).
·
Stored artefacts and records at 8a
Clarence Road, East Cowes.
6.
It
is proposed that library and education staff shall manage this new facility and
there will need to be some staff training in terms of storage management and
document handling. Liaison and delivery
of stored documents will be via the existing courier service, which needs to be
varied accordingly. Having developed a
new Library and Storage Headquarters the Council will then have available the
following savings and surplus assets that can either be sold, surrendered or
reused:
·
Land at Parkhurst for 39/40
dwellings.
·
Maisonette at East Cowes consisting
of two bedrooms.
·
Land at Forest Road, Newport (see
below).
·
Possible sale of Carisbrooke Depot
(see below).
·
Surrender lease of Unit 12 at
Dodnor.
·
Surrender occupation of Unit 4 at
Daish Way.
·
The Guildhall small courtroom will
be available for the museum.
·
Repairs backlog at existing
establishments is resolved.
7.
Given that through the above
proposal the site at Forest Road, Newport, will become vacant, the Council is
being recommended to consider reusing that site to accommodate the Wight Bus
Fleet, which is currently parked and managed from Carisbrooke Depot. Whilst the depot at Carisbrooke works
reasonably well and is centrally located, accessibility is less than perfect
and there is a possibility of generating a capital receipt for reuse at Forest
Road. The Transport Manager is
continuing to work up details on this idea but they remain unclear at the time
of writing this report.
8.
In order for the proposals to
proceed it will be necessary for the Council to acquire 4 & 5 Mariners Way
before the surplus property is sold.
The Council’s Officers have negotiated a provisional price for the new
property after an extensive search for replacement premises and believe it is
the best value solution for the Council at the present time. The developer has indicated that should the
Council proceed with the purchase of these buildings he will speculatively
build another 10,000-15,000 square feet of factory units at Somerton. The full cost of the move is shown on the
attached Business Plan. The forward
purchase of the building will minimise disruption to the Services concerned and
prevent any unnecessary moves.
9.
The Library HQ site together with
the Council owned surrounding land and buildings is subject to a Planning
Application for 39 dwellings. The tenants of the buildings enjoy security of
tenure and will be entitled to compensation based on Rateable Value although
can be offered suitable alternative accommodation by the Council as an
option. 8a Clarence Road is a two
bedroom flat with access from Ferry Road and can be offered for sale on the
open market. The Council has interest
from adjoining landowners for both the Forest Road and Carisbrooke Depot sites,
previously reported to the Executive, and any sale will depend upon the
preferred solution for the Transport fleet and accord with Council’s policy
where a marriage value occurs.
10.
Both the existing Library HQ and
Forest Road stores are in poor condition with a total maintenance backlog
estimated at £250,000. The Council will save this amount if the proposals go
ahead. The estimated net benefit of the
proposal is a capital saving of £62,000, ignoring the maintenance backlog.
11.
In terms of revenue, the proposed
moves will allow the Council to surrender the lease of Unit 12 Dodnor
Industrial Estate saving some £15,000 pa.
Further savings will be made through the amalgamation of various current
facilities into one unit and the improved use of the Guildhall following
further grants applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Total annual savings
are estimated at £17,000 plus the opportunity cost of storage at the Guildhall
estimated at £5,000 pa. Full details of
which are shown on the Plan attached.
12.
The Executive is being asked to
agree recommendations to proceed with the advanced purchase of 4 & 5
Mariners Way at a price of £470,000 (four hundred and seventy thousand pounds)
together with a budget of £150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand pounds) to
fit out the property. The Council is also being asked to support the disposal
of the Library HQ site at Parkhurst, 8a Clarence Road, East Cowes and either
the Forest Road site or Carisbrooke Depot depending upon a suitable scheme
being finalised with the Transport Manager.
13.
A fourth recommendation is the
disposal of Quay House, Newport, to fund the move already agreed of the Museum
Workshop Team to Cothey Bottom, Westridge, Ryde. This cost is estimated at £50,000. The property is situated adjacent to the Riverside Centre and is
currently used as offices by the Museum Workshop Team. Quay House is also within the Newport
Harbour Regeneration Area and whilst it has potential for conversion to
residential use subject to planning consent the Trustees of the Riverside
Centre by a registered charity have asked to acquire a 25 year lease by way of
a premium.
14.
The Riverside Centre, as occupiers
of the adjoining land, are described as Special Purchasers. Their offer includes a substantial premium,
sufficient to cover the cost of the move of the Museum Workshop Team, followed
by an annual rent. Options for the Quay
House include retaining or selling by public auction or private treaty.
15.
The granting of a lease to the
Riverside Centre would allow the Centre to develop the next phase of their
facility and for the Council to retain the freehold interest.
CONSULTATIONS
16.
This
report has been drafted by a Members Task Group and was scrutinised by the
Resources Select Committee at its meeting held on 20November. Service managers have been extensively
consulted and support the proposals as does Unison.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
17.
Legal
authority for the Council to acquire and dispose of property for its functions
is given under S120 of the Local Government Act 1972.
18.
The
Council is the Freeholder of the Library HQ, Forest Road site, the Guildhall
and Carisbrooke Depot subject to a long lease in favour of the Quarr
Group. 8A Clarence Road is also
freehold. Unit 12 Dodnor is still
occupied by the Council, however the Lease has recently expired and whilst
officers are currently in negotiations with the Landlord, possession can be
given up on 6 months notice at present.
19.
The
Council is the freeholder of Quay House.
20.
The
unencumbered freehold title of 4 & 5 Mariners Way would be acquired.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
21.
The
Executive has previously agreed the Accommodation Review Phase 3 and the
principle of “ring fencing” capital receipts for subsequent moves, subject to a
business plan for each tranch of moves.
This scheme involves the forward acquisition of new property, that is
before the disposal of current assets and can be managed within the Capital
Programme. This is on the basis that
contracts are exchanged in January with the works to be undertaken this financial
year and that legal completion is deferred until April 2003.
PLANNING
22.
4
& 5 Mariners Way has planning consent for office, light industrial and
warehouse use. 8A Clarence Road,
East Cowes has previously been used as a flat and there are established uses
for the land at Forest Road and Carisbrooke Depot. A Planning consent has been granted on the Library HQ site and
adjoining Council owned land. The
consent includes conditions requiring improvements to the existing private
roads which provide access to the site and the drainage system provision.
RISK
23.
The
main risk to the Council is one of finance and the confidence in the property
market. In particular under the
proposed scheme is a down-turn in the property market and falling values
between acquiring the units at Mariners Way and selling the Council owned
surplus assets. For example a 10% fall
in the property market in this period would reduce a surplus balance of £62,000
to a small deficit.
CORPORATE PLAN/COMMUNITY STRATEGY
24.
This
proposal helps support the Corporate Plan and Community Strategy in that key
objectives in the Corporate Plan include :
·
Improving
health, housing and quality of life.
·
Raising
education standards and promoting lifelong learning.
·
Improvements
to transport.
25.
The
Council is also committed to improving service delivery.
26.
By
selling the freehold of Quay House the Council would lose control of an
important area of Newport Quay. This
may be offset by increased capital receipt to be ring fenced for further moves.
OPTIONS
1.
That the Council acquires the
freehold of 4 and 5 Mariners Way, Somerton, Cowes, on the terms set out in the
report.
2.
That the Council develops 4 and 5
Mariners Way for its Library HQ and primary store at a cost capped at £150,000.
3.
That the Council sells the freehold
of the properties named in this report and surrenders the occupation of those
premises currently leased.
4.
That the Council authorises officers
to enter into negotiations with the Riverside Centre Limited for a lease of
Quay House, subject to the Council’s own special purchaser rules, and the
review of the existing lease with a further report to come back to the
Executive.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Options 1, 2, 3 and 4.
BACKGROUND
PAPERS
Depot at 21 Whitcombe Road, Carisbrooke – Executive –
13 August 2002
Library
HQ, Parkhurst – Executive – 18 December 2001, 22 April 1999
Previous Accommodation Review Papers
– Executive – 5 June 2002
M J H Development letters – 7
October 2002, 5 November 2002
Contact Point:
David Lovell, Asset Manager F 823266
|
M J A FISHER
Strategic Director
Corporate
and Environment Services
|
R R BARRY
Portfolio Holder for Resources
|
