Issue - meetings

Appendix 2 to the report is exempt from publication, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), as it contains the commercially confidential terms of the proposed purchase of land and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services reported on the proposed disposal of the Pondfield House Depot located in Wantz Road, Dagenham, which had been declared surplus to requirements, by means of a freehold sale to the Department for Education, through its property company ‘LocalED’, for development as a Special School.

The Cabinet Member stated that the proposed sale would not only help to meet the demand for school places for pupils with severe learning difficulties and autism but also provide the Council with a significant capital receipt, the detail of which was contained in a private and confidential appendix to the report, once terms and contracts had been agreed.

Members fully supported the proposals for the site, citing its central location which would benefit parents taking their children to and from school.  The Leader echoed the comments and added that he hoped it would be the catalyst for the upgrading and redevelopment of the wider area, providing benefits and future opportunities for local residents. 

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the disposal of Pondfield House Depot, Wantz Road, Dagenham, as shown edged red in the plan at Appendix 1 to the report, to LocatED Property Limited (the Government-owned property company responsible for acquiring sites for new schools) for the sum set out in Appendix 2 to the report, in order for the site to be developed as a Special School for pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties and Autism underpinning the Council’s School Place Planning Strategy;

(ii)  Approve the entering into of a short-term peppercorn lease agreement (without security of tenure) co-terminus with the period that the site became vacant and the disposal was completed with LocatED, which minimised the Council’s risk while the site whilst vacant;

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services, to agree the final terms and contract documentation to fully implement and effect the short-term lease and sale of the site; and

(iv)  Authorise the Director of Law and Governance, or an authorised delegate on her behalf, to execute all the legal agreements, contracts and other documents on behalf of the Council.