Agenda and minutes

Information on public speaking is available online

There were no members of the public registered to speak.

The notes of the previous meeting held on 27 July 2021 were agreed.

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Declarations of interest.

Councillor Jack Rowland, Personal, Ward member for Seaton.

Declarations of interest.

Councillor Paul Hayward, Personal, Employee of Axminster Town Council.

Information on matters of urgency is available online

None.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the press) have been excluded. Thereare no itemswhich officersrecommendshould be dealtwithin thisway.

None.

The Forum considered the latest issue of the newsletter, which highlighted:

·         Completed rent negotiations for the Clocktower Café in Sidmouth;

·         Marketing a compound site at Manstone Workshops;

·         Completed insurance valuation work – around 4500 housing and commercial assets with a combined reinstatement value of over £900 million;

·         Renewal of lease for Axe Vale Caravan Park – providing certainty for the tenant and a welcome increase in rent for the Council, as well as securing continued visitor spend into Seaton;

·         Ongoing work on asset valuations.

The Forum noted the newsletter.

The Forum were presented with a report that outlined the work undertaken by the Property and FM team in recent months.  The report listed a reminder of the services provided, along with detail on the main compliance work, reactive and planned work.  The Forum were reminded that during 2019/2020 stock condition surveys were undertaken of all General Fund buildings and the investment required over the next 30 years was assessed.  The team also considered the rental potential for each and every building over the same 30 year period.  Considering the costs and income together resulted in the net present value of the building maintenance and investment required over the next 30 years as being £11.9 million.  The core stock condition data informs decision making.

A summary of the current projects for the Team, reactive works, and subsequent capital bids submitted for funding was set out in the report. It was noted that approximately 50% of reactive works were carried out in house and 50% was allocated to contractors.

The Service Lead for Place, Assets and Commercialisation introduced Jorge Pineda-Langford – Principal Building Surveyor, who updated the Forum on the consideration of those capital bids by the Budget Setting and Capital Allocation Panel, resulting in many bids being recommended forward to Cabinet and Council as relating to urgent works and health & safety related works; and others were referred to the LED Monitoring Forum for further debate.  Cabinet were due to consider those bids that evening.

He also outlined the workings of the Property and Facilities Management Team and gave an overview of the work they undertook:

·         General estate and facility management.

·         Management of Statutory Building Compliance (SBC).

·         Management of Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM).

·         Delivery and Management of Reactive Maintenance (RM) by both EDDC maintenance technicians and external contractors.

·         Safekeeping and sharing of compliance documentation.

·         General advice on property matters and sharing of relevant information.

·         Project management (capital works).

·         Contractor management, including review of H&S documentation, quality of work, etc.

In response to a question about materials discounts the Council may have negotiated with builders merchants, the Forum were reassured thatcorrect procurement channels were followed and where appropriate due to quantum, discounts would be explored.The Property and Propery & Facilities Management Team worked with other teams across the Council to try and plan as much work as possible and to take advantage of economies of scale and procurement opportunities.  The Council could not be as fluid as it might like as it was necessary to comply with standing orders.  There was a competitive tender procedure for bigger projects in order to achieve best value for costs.  It was suggested that a group of officers and members should consider whether the current procurement procedures were working to give the service the best value.  The Chair of the Asset Management Forum, Councillors Pratt and Rowland, the Service Lead – Place, Assets and Commercialisation and the Principal Building Surveyor would meet with the Strategic Lead Finance to consider this, before reporting back to the Forum.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

The Forum received a report on the Place and Prosperity Team, outlining an example of the types of projects overseen by the team.  It highlighted the key functions of the service as:

·         Developing and delivering place-making strategy and linked development projects;

·         Secure new funding sources for development projects and investment opportunities;

·         Work with the Council’s own resources to deliver better places;

·         Identify means of improving and strengthening the towns and town centres, commercial centres and key locations in the District.

The workplan for the team included as examples the following projects/sites:

·         Hayne Lane, Honiton

·         Drill Hall Sidmouth

·         Cloakham Lawns, Axminster

·         Axe Valley feasibility work

·         Levelling Up Fund

·         Devon Place Board (to now include Seaton as well as Axminster)

·         Community asset transfer

·         Seaton Morudunum

·         Websters Garage site, Axminster

·         Reopening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSSF) and Welcome Back Fund

·         Beer Pilot project

·         Seaton Jurassic

·         Beach Huts

The Forum discussed the status of the Beer pilot project and acknowledged that it was taking longer than expected.  Heads of Terms were being finalisedand was awaited from the Parish Council and Streetscene Service to finalise a service level agreement.  Following this a public parish council meeting would be held to help assure and understand whether support for the project still existed from the village.  Officers would attend and then prepare a report for Cabinet.  If necessary, further consultation with village residents would take place and be led by the Parish Council.  It was noted that the pilot had demonstrated the need to be very clear on the process from the start.  It was also reported that a revised draft community asset transfer procedure was being circulated for officers to review

The Forum noted the report.