Cabinet Member for Finance

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Property and the above Cabinet Member which provided an update on progress against the Property Strategy Action Plan and reported the outcome of the annual Property Performance Indicators for 2013/14.  The Cabinet Member for Finance explained that further work was being undertaken to review the options regarding grazing land.  With regard to Table Eight: Rent Arrears, he confirmed that the outstanding rent arrears relating to shops had now been cleared.

A Member asked the Leader for his view on how the Council’s Property Strategy could fit into a wider strategy to increase income for the Council?

The Leader confirmed that the Chief Executive and Strategic Management Team had been tasked with exploring options to reduce the Council’s reliance on income from Central Government and increase the income generated locally.

A Member made the following comments: should more priority have been given to reducing rent arrears sooner?; regarding the Bridge Road, Sheerness site, was the Council’s options really dependent on Kent County Council’s (KCC) decision?; concern about the total floor area still categorised as in a bad condition – why was that, and what was being done to improve this?; and why were the toilet facilities in the Borough so expensive to maintain, particularly when some of the facilities were in a poor condition?

The Cabinet Member for Finance undertook to look into the Member’s comments regarding toilet facilities and what was being done to improve those properties in a poor condition, and report back to the Member.

The Head of Property confirmed that she would review the detail behind the figures in Tables One and Two and provide further information to Members.  She explained that there was a limited maintenance budget which had to be prioritised, and greater importance was placed on maintaining buildings open to the public.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs suggested that grazing land did not have to be utilised to be of use, as green spaces were important in the planning process for mitigating land.

The Cabinet Member for Localism asked if the transfer of Council assets through the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) Policy had reduced the call on the Council’s maintenance budget?; could clarification be provided on industrial sites; and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) were looking for a suitable building, could officers explore if there were any Council buildings which may be suitable and liaise with CAB?

The Cabinet Member for Performance welcomed the overall improvements in the condition of properties as illustrated in Tables One and Two.

With regard to industrial sites, the Head of Property outlined the current rental arrangements and explained that the Council had decided to terminate its leases at New Road, Sheerness, as the Council was unable to generate any income from the current arrangement. The Council would continue to benefit from ground lease rental.  The Head of Property also confirmed that a maintenance budget was transferred with an asset as part of the CAT Policy.

RESOLVED:

(1) That progress made against the Property Strategy Action Plan be noted.

(2) That the 2013/14 Property Performance Indicator results be noted.