Agenda item

The Deputy Monitoring Officer has agreed to call-in the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property concerning the Freehold Disposal of Marle Place, 171 Leylands Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8HZ decision, published on the Executive Decision Database on 13 February 2023 and in the Members’ Bulletin on 15 February 2023.

The decision report asked the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to agree:

1.   That the County Council disposes of its freehold estate at Marle Place, 171 Leylands Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8HZ as set out in Annex 1 and

2.   Authority is delegated to the Director of Property and Assets in conjunction with the Director of Law and Assurance to conclude the terms of the sale with the purchaser.

The decision report by the Assistant Director of Property and Assets is attached as Annex 1 (Part I) and Appendix A (Part II).  The supplementary information report to the call-in is attached as Annex 2.

The call-in was initiated by Cllr Condie supported by Cllr Lord, Cllr Cherry and Cllr Milne.  The decision has not previously been previewed by the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Condie has been invited to outline the reasons for the call-in request to the Committee.

Cllr Marshall, Leader, has been invited to address the Committee and answer questions.

58.1     The Committee considered the call-in of the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property concerning the Freehold Disposal of Marle Place, 171 Leylands Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8HZ published on the Executive Decision Database on 13 February 2023 and in the Members’ Bulletin on 15 February 2023.

58.2     The item was introduced by the call-in proposer, Cllr Condie, who gave the following reasons why he felt the decision should be changed: -

·         Community interests had not been adequately taken into account

·         There was no evidence or rationale in the County Council’s view that the community had shown no interest in the site as there was interest from community groups to acquire a strip of garden and an outbuilding that are part of the site

·         A request for the partial sale of the site was declined by the County Council even though the strip of garden and outbuilding were of little value and their sale would not delay the process

·         Community groups were told that they could bid for the whole site on the open market, but the cost was prohibitive to them

58.3     Cllr Marshall, Leader, gave the following initial response saying that: -

·         There had been a lot of correspondence with Cllr Condie since July 2022 on this matter

·         The local council did not want to buy the site

·         No community group had come forward to express interest in buying the site

58.4     Mr Edwards, Assistant Director (Property & Assets), added the following: -

·         The County Council had publicised that it was looking to dispose of the site

·         A number of visits to the site took place but when the costs and liabilities were understood potential bidders did not pursue the purchase

·         Burgess Hill Town Council was aware of the disposal and had visited the site

·         The County Council had looked at getting the best price from the sale of the site and found that if a small section was sold separately it would have a significant impact on the overall sale price therefore, in this case, it was felt that the best course of action was to dispose of the site as a whole

·         Local organisations could have asked for the site to be declared as a Community Asset Transfer, but none had

58.5     Summary of responses to members comments and questions: -

·         There was no restriction on the future use of the site, subject to planning permission

·         There was a view that the sale decision was the best option for the site and that it would raise funds that could be used on council services

·         The County Council had a priority in the Council Plan to help communities but a financial input was needed from community groups for matters that were not part of the Council’s statutory services

·         There had been consultation with community groups over the sale of the site since July 2022

·         The County Council had been approached by a number of organisations, but many did not understand the liability of taking on the site e.g. statutory inspection work, then lost interest when they became aware of this

·         The County Council did not have any use for the site itself

·         The Park Centre, near Marle Place in Burgess Hill, was being offered as a Community Asset Transfer with the support of Burgess Hill Town Council – if taken up this will benefit the community but one bidder has withdrawn its interest due to financial liability issues

58.6     Resolved - that under Section 100(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following section of the item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I, of Schedule 12A, of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified under the item and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

58.7     Summary of discussion held in private – the Committee: -

•         Recognised the wider social value context of asset sales in general

•         Suggested that when the sale was complete that the new landowner could be put in contact with any interested community groups – this was raised in relation to the partial sale of the community garden

•         Supported the unrestricted usage sale of the asset

58.8     Summary of discussion held in public – the Committee:-

•         Noted the communication and publicity undertaken with community groups ahead of the sale

•         Recognised the need to make best use of resources and that the sale aligns with the key priorities of the Council Plan

•         Supports the community engagement that takes place currently and supports this continuing in future for all asset disposals

58.9     Resolved – that the Committee supports the decision by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property concerning the Freehold Disposal of Marle Place, 171 Leylands Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8HZ