Issue - meetings

To consider any decisions made by the Cabinet at its last meeting that have been called-in.

The Chairman informed the Committee that he had called in a decision made by the Cabinet at its meeting on 28^th September 2017 for consideration by the Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

The Chairman explained that he had taken this course of action because he felt that the Cabinet was inconsistent in its treatment of the Crediton Office in contrast to the disposal of Tiverton Town Hall (both acquisitions had been a result of the establishment of the Authority in 1974),  to the detriment of Crediton Town Council and its community.

The Chairman reminded the Committee that the result of the negotiations with Tiverton Town Council, as stated in the Minutes of the Cabinet of 5^th January, were that the Town Council agreed that they would purchase the Town Hall at a cost of £175k (half the price of the valuation), spreading the cost over a 6 year period with no interest payable.

He also informed the Committee that the recommendation by the Cabinet in respect of Crediton Office was:

1)    To dispose of the Crediton Office at the full market value (“thus providing an opportunity to maximise income and demonstrate value for money”)

2)    To notify the Land Charges service of the intention to sell the Crediton Office building and to inform the local community that the property had been registered as an asset of community value (with the risk “that the Town Council will be required to relocate”)

The Chairman added that there was no suggestion as to how that risk would be addressed or supported.

The Chairman said that ‘as I understand events, the previous Cabinet meeting of 31 August had before it an option that the building be offered to Crediton Town Council at half the then advised value on similar terms to Tiverton and that negotiations had been conducted with the Town Council to that effect, so much so that provision was made in the Crediton budget via an increased precept to meet the cost over a number of years, comparable to the Tiverton offer. However this potential outcome was deferred at the Cabinet meeting to allow for further information to be provided prior to a decision being made. Subsequently there was a modest increase in the advised valuation.  As a consequence, again as I understand, the Town Council was anxious that their asset could be potentially at risk and therefore applied for its recognition as an asset of community value. Why this application apparently lead to the termination of all previous discussions without the possibility of reaching a successful conclusion is unclear to me.  The Leader at the Cabinet meeting of 28^th September remarked that it changed the complexion of the negotiations, but did not give further explanation. Crediton Town Council would have wished to continue with negotiations. Certainly the Town Council would not have wanted to put any impediment in the way of achieving a successful outcome, irrespective of its resort to the safety net of an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66

Following deferral of the item from a previous meeting, to consider a further report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources regarding the future use of the Crediton Office.

The Cabinet had before it a * report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources outlining options for the future use of the Crediton Office.

The Cabinet Member for Housing outlined the contents of the report outlining the six options available for consideration.

RESOLVED that recommendation 3 in the report be approved and  recommendation 6 in the report also be approved, namely: that the Land Charges Service be notified of the intention to sell the Crediton Office building and that the local community be informed that the property had been registered as an asset of community value.

(Proposed by Cllr R L Stanley and seconded by Cllr C R Slade).

Notes

(i)        Cllr C R Slade declared a personal interest as he was the Council representative on the Community Transport Association who used the Crediton Office;

(ii)       Cllrs K I Busch and Mrs M E Squires requested that their abstention from voting be recorded;

(iii)      * Report previously circulated.

Following deferral of the item from a previous meeting, to consider a further report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources regarding the future use of the Crediton Office.

This item had been deferred until the next meeting to allow for further information to be provided prior to a decision being made.

To consider a report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources regarding the future use of the Crediton Office.

The Cabinet had before it a * report of the Director of Finance, Assets and Resources outlining options for the future use of the Crediton Office.

The Cabinet Member for Housing outlined the contents of the report

RESOLVED that this item be deferred for at least 2 months to allow for further discussions and investigations to take place with regard to the options for the building.

(Proposed by Cllr R L Stanley and seconded by Cllr P H D Hare-Scott).

Note: * Report previously circulated.