Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Place

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director of Place, which sought approval of the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in the site of the Land Registry offices on Torrington Avenue, Coventry.

A corresponding private report detailing the commercially confidential financial elements of the proposals was also submitted to the meeting and detailed in Minute 81 below.

The Land Registry building on Torrington Avenue was constructed on land leased from the Council in 1945 on a 99 year lease. The lease was due to expire in 2044. The user provisions contained in the lease permits the premises to be used for Government purposes only.  Terms for the disposal of the freehold to the Land Registry had previously been approved by Cabinet in 2011, although the transaction was never completed.  The Cabinet noted that the site was shared with the Job Centre, which would be unaffected by the proposals.

The Government had approved the establishment of Finham Park 2 Free School on the western side of the City and the school opened in September 2015 in temporary accommodation on the existing Finham Park site in Green Lane.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) had been searching for a permanent site for the Free School.  The Land Registry building was under occupied and the building met the Free School/EFA requirements for a Free School.  The building comprised 11,000 sq m of offices over 3 floors with 268 parking spaces.  Under the terms of the lease a Free School does not constitute a permitted government use.

However, the Government had given Permitted Development Rights for a permanent change of use of office premises to state funded school premises without the need for planning permission subject to prior approval of the Local Planning Authority. The only grounds that needed to be satisfied were those of noise, contamination, transport and highways.

The Land Registry would move out of the building and were believed to be moving to the QCAD building at the Butts, so no jobs would be lost to Coventry. 

Agents for the EFA had agreed terms with the Councils agent to purchase the Council’s freehold interest in the site of the Land Registry building.  The agents had confirmed that the consideration represented the best that could be obtained in the current market, thus satisfying the Council’s obligations under Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable.

The sale of the Council’s freehold interest in the site of the Land Registry building on Torrington Avenue followed a previous resolution by Cabinet to dispose of ground leased assets where there was no strategic reason or financial justification for retention. The capital receipt would be used to pay off debt thus realising an annual revenue benefit as part of Strategic Property Review targets to the Medium Term Financial Forecast.

In school place planning terms, the establishment of a Free School in this location would impact on the operation and intake of the nearby schools of Westwood, Tile Hill Wood and Woodlands Academies and the WMG Academy for Young Engineers.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1.  Approve the disposal of the Council’s freehold interest in the site of the Land Registry Offices at Torrington Avenue.

2.  Approve that the proceeds be allocated to the Strategic Property Review target to reduce debt servicing costs in accordance with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy, which provides that Prudential borrowing should be repaid from capital receipts as they are generated.

3.  Delegate to officers within Resources Directorate (Legal Services) to prepare and compete documentation for the freehold sale and collect the agreed purchase sum.