Issue - meetings

To consider a report by the Estates Officer on options for the continued management of the Creativexchange facility.

Agreed to surrender the lease for the Creativexchange building in St Neots to Longsands Academy and authorised the Strategic Assessment Estates Officer to negotiate a lease for the land which the District Council owns, including the car parking spaces, with Longsands Academy for a peppercorn rent.

With reference to a report by the Estates Officer (a copy of which is appended in the Annex to the Minute Book) the Cabinet considered a number of options for the future use and ownership of the CreativExchange building in St Neots.

The Executive Leader outlined the background to the report and explained that the current arrangements for the management of the building would expire on 31^st March 2014.

In discussing the content of the report, Members’ attention was drawn to the conclusions reached by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being). In that respect and in recognition of the educational and community benefits which would result, the Cabinet concurred with the Panel that the facility should be transferred to Longsands Academy.  Having considered options for the associated car parking land, the Cabinet

RESOLVED

that the lease for the CreativExchange building in St Neots be surrendered and the land with the related car parking spaces, which the District Council owns, be leased to Longsands Academy, on the best achievable terms.

To consider a report by the Corporate Office (Estates).

(Councillor J A Gray, Executive Councillor for Resources, was in attendance for this item).

With the assistance of a report by the Corporate Office (Estates) (a copy of which is appended in the annex to the Minute Book) the Panel considered a number of options for the future use and ownership of the Creativexchange in the Longsands Academy Campus. Following a brief introduction by the Executive Councillor for Resources and the Estates Strategic Assessment Manager, Members were informed that the current arrangements for the management of the building had now expired, which meant that consideration could be given to its future use and ownership.

The Panel discussed the original reasons for building the Creativexchange, occupancy levels and trends, the potential terms of a new arrangement with the existing management company, other options for the building and the Council’s land within which the car park was sited. Reference was also made to the ongoing inefficiencies associated with continuing to operate the facility. In recognition of the fact that there were lessons which could be learnt from this exercise, Members suggested that a post project appraisal should be undertaken.

At the conclusion of the deliberations, the Panel agreed on its recommendations to the Cabinet and requested that a review be carried out on the lessons which had been learned from the Creativexchange project including the expenditure which had been incurred.