Purpose

To proceed with
the disposal of the Council-owned land at Malthouse Road, and to
lift the Restriction on Title on part of the site that is owned by
the Hospice, in collaboration with St Catherine’s Hospice
surrendering their lease on the Council-owned land and the disposal
of the land in their control, to achieve the proposal as
detailed.  The proposal aims to preserve
the legacy of this site and to achieve significant social value in
the continued provision of care and support, that is inclusive of
on-site affordable housing.

Content

Exempt Paragraph 3 -
Information relating to
financial and business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding
that information)

RESOLVED

That the
Cabinet:

a)    
Approves the disposal of the Council’s land
assets on the Malthouse Road site in order
to achieve the preferred outcome as detailed in section 6
below, and to accept the outcome of the land receipt as detailed in
section 5 below.

 
b)    
Delegates the negotiation, approval
and completion of all relevant legal
documentation, to the Head of Strategic Housing, the Head of
Corporate Finance and the Head of Governance, People and
Performance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing
and the Leader of the Council. (Generic Delegations 2 and 3 will
be used to enact this recommendation).
 

 
Reasons for the
Recommendations
 
The Hospice is due to relocate to their new premises
at Pease Pottage by end-2023, and they are aiming to surrender
their lease on the Council-owned land, and to dispose of their
freehold interests in the remainder of the site, including a
portion of the site over which the Council has placed a Restrictive
Covenant.
The
combined freehold interests held by the Council and the Hospice
results in an assembled site that is jointly capable of achieving a
greater outcome than if they were brought forward independently,
and both parties are collaborating towards achieving this
objective, whereby the Council is requested to dispose of its
freehold interest alongside the Hospice disposing of their freehold
interests.
As
part-landowner, and in line with the Council’s emerging Local
Plan, the Council has restricted the future use of this assembled
site for the continued provision of a care facility or to provide
sheltered accommodation, and the market has been assessed
accordingly, with the preferred outcome as further detailed in this
report.