Purpose

Approval to proceed with the acquisition

Decision

Cabinet RESOLVED:

That the original Recommendations 1 and 2 (on page 212 of the report) are delegated to the relevant Cabinet Member in consultation with Executive Director, Monitoring Officer and s.151 Officer. To confirm, the Delegation relates to 1) approval to acquire the property and 2) agree the purchase price and this decision making will be in the form of a Cabinet Member Decision Notice.

Alternative options considered

a. Negotiate terms for a new lease. This option would enable the Council to seek continued occupation of the land; however, it would not provide long term operational control or remove the ongoing risk associated with reliance on a third-party lease. If suitable terms could not be agreed, the Council may be required to vacate the land, resulting in the immediate loss of essential parking, service access and emergency access for the school.

b. Do nothing. This option is not considered viable. Taking no action would leave the Council without a secure legal basis for continued occupation of the land and could result in the Council being required to vacate with no suitable fallback arrangement in place. This would create significant operational risk for The Beeches School, particularly in relation to staff and visitor parking, servicing, safeguarding and emergency access.

c. Acquire the land using compulsory purchase powers. This option is not considered appropriate in the circumstances. A compulsory purchase process would be lengthy, subject to statutory procedures and potential challenge, and would not address the immediate operational risk arising from the expired lease. It may also result in the Council incurring additional compensation and professional costs under the relevant compensation legislation, potentially increasing the overall cost beyond the negotiated purchase price.

d. Acquire the freehold interest. This is the preferred and recommended option. It would secure long-term control of the land, protect the operational needs of The Beeches School and remove the uncertainty associated with the expired lease. It would also make effective use of the capital budget already allocated through the Council’s approved capital programme and provide a clear, deliverable route to securing the land for continued school use.