Agenda item

(Asset Management & Economic Development Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-062-2014/15).

(1)        That the freehold of the 8.98 Ha of land adjacent to Ongar Leisure Centre in Fyfield Road be sold, to enable the construction of the new Ongar Academy, in accordance with the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 2 of the report; and

(2)        That the Asset Management and Economic Development Portfolio Holder, in consultation with the Director of Neighbourhoods, be authorised to agree the final terms of the disposal including the sale price, to be determined by independent valuation.

The Portfolio Holder for Asset Management & Economic Development presented a report on the potential sale of land adjacent to Ongar Leisure Centre to the Secretary of State for Education to enable the construction of the new Ongar Academy.

The Portfolio Holder reported that Ongar Comprehensive School had closed in 1989 and schoolchildren from Ongar and the surrounding villages had been forced to travel to schools outside of the area. In 2012, the ‘School 4 Ongar’ campaign was launched by local parents to lobby for a new school to be provided in Ongar. The Group was incorporated as an Academy Trust and submitted a successful application to the Secretary of State for Education in May 2014. The Trust was now investigating potential sites for the Academy and had expressed a strong preference for the 8.98 Ha of land adjacent to Ongar Leisure Centre in Fyfield Road. The Council had purchased the freehold of this land in 2004 from the County Council, however the sale had contained restrictive covenants to prevent any further development of the site and restrict its use for leisure purposes only. The County Council was prepared to enter into a Deed of Variation, which would relax the existing Covenants to also allow State Funded Education and ancillary uses.

The District Council had been supportive of the new Ongar Academy and the Portfolio Holder sought approval from the Cabinet for the disposal of 8.98 Ha of land adjacent to Ongar Leisure Centre, Fyfield Road, Ongar, to facilitate the provision of a new Secondary School, the Ongar Academy.  Agreement was sought on the Heads of Terms (attached to the report at Appendix 2) for the freehold acquisition by the Secretary of State for Education, at a price to be determined by a suitably qualified independent firm of Valuers. It was proposed that the final terms of the disposal be agreed by the Portfolio Holder in consultation with the Director of Neighbourhoods.

A local ward Member for Chipping Ongar, Greensted & Marden Ash endorsed the Council’s support for a new school in Ongar. However, there were concerns about access to the proposed new school on the plans and the impact that the new school would have on the existing car parking provision at this location. The Director of Neighbourhoods responded that this issue had already been identified. The new entrance to the school would be subject to planning permission, and the school would have adequate provision for parking by staff and visitors to the school. A local member for Chigwell Village, who was also a County Council Member for Chigwell & Loughton Broadway, undertook to confirm with the County Council’s Legal Officers that there would be no charge levied on the District Council for relaxing the existing covenants on the site.

Decision:

(1)        That the freehold of the 8.98 Ha of land adjacent to Ongar Leisure Centre in Fyfield Road be sold, to enable the construction of the new Ongar Academy, in accordance with the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 2 of the report; and

(2)        That the Asset Management and Economic Development Portfolio Holder, in consultation with the Director of Neighbourhoods, be authorised to agree the final terms of the disposal including the sale price, to be determined by independent valuation.

Reasons for Decision:

To facilitate the construction of a new secondary school in Ongar by agreeing the sale of land adjacent to the Ongar Leisure Centre by the Secretary of State’s funding approval timescale of March 2015.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To decline to sell the site to the Secretary of State, although the Secretary of State did have statutory powers to acquire the land. However, this would delay the funding approval and seriously compromise the delivery of the new school.