Agenda item

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached report (C-067-2016/17).

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached background papers in conjunction with the report (C-067-2016/17).

(1)        That the principle of retaining the Civic Offices headquarters location for the Council in Epping town centre be agreed (moving towards implementation of a modified option 4 of the Price Waterhouse Coopers report) based upon:

            (a)        the optimisation of space within the existing footprint of the main Civic Office        building (without extension) to accommodate the majority of staff;

            (b)        the desire to achieve a workstation to staff ratio of no more than 7:10 through        rationalisation of the layout in the building, flexible working by staff and agile             business practices; and

            (c)        the phased vacation of the Condor Building, rear extension, 323 Building, link        and associated car parks within 5 years with a medium term objective of making that part of the site available for residential and/or commercial use;

(2)        That an early review be undertaken of the options for the future provision of the Housing Repairs Service beyond the final 3 years of the existing repairs contract;

(3)        That the peak operational usage requirements of the Housing Repairs and the Neighbourhoods Depots be reviewed and:

(a)        that these two services be relocated to the Oakwood Hill Depot with a further report on how this could be achieved; and

(b)        the depot office space should be used to relocate staff there at a    workstation to staff ratio of no more than 7:10;

(4)        That a planning application be submitted for the provision of a temporary Housing Repairs Depot at and around the Control Tower at North Weald Airfield (including the first floor meeting room), at an estimated cost of £17,500, with capital budget provision made for its construction once the timescale for the required vacation of the Epping Depot was known, in order to minimise rental costs;

(5)        That an assessment be undertaken to evaluate if there was a net requirement for office space for staff currently based at the Civic Offices and Hemnall Street offices that could, notwithstanding flexible and agile working practices, be accommodated in the revised layout of the Civic Offices and Oakwood Hill Depot;

(6)        That, if the evaluation concluded it was not possible to accommodate all staff at the Civic Offices and Hemnall Street at the reconfigured Civic Offices and Oakwood Hill Depot, a further report be considered by the Cabinet on the most appropriate way forward; and

(7)        That the proposed redesign of the Council’s current reception area be approved in principle to provide a centralised Customer Service Reception subject to:

            (a)        the later submission of a full design;

            (b)        a report on the capital budget provision required; and

            (c)        procurement of a contractor and project management for the scheme.

The Leader of Council presented a report regarding a review of the Council’s Accommodation.

The Leader stated that the Council wanted to ensure that it provided services that were “fit for the 21^st Century” and had launched a Transformation Programme to improve working practices throughout the Council. The aim was to put the customer at the heart of everything the Council did and use modern technology to enable flexible working.

The Leader advised that the Council had commissioned Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) to set out a Strategic Outline Case for optimising the use of Council owned land and buildings in order to realise ongoing running cost efficiencies. Changing the way the Council worked was central to the strategy, and the Customer Contact Review conducted internally had identified opportunities to standardise, simplify and centralise customer service contacts.

The Leader reported that the recommendations set out in the report were to optimise the use of office space, releasing much needed brownfield land which would help reduce the housing pressure on valued green belt. Reconfiguring the Civic Offices in Epping would allow the site currently occupied by the Conder Building to be redeveloped over a five year period. Options for relocating the Housing Repairs Service were also considered in the report and further work was recommended to prepare detailed business cases setting out the optimum configuration and location for an overspill office.

The Leader advised that the Housing Repairs Service, managed under a Repairs Management Contract by Mears, was currently operating from a depot based in the St John’s area of, Epping.  This site was required for the St John’s Road Town Centre Regeneration Scheme and had to be vacated. The current contract had three years left to run and towards the end of the contract period the Council would, in the normal course of events, market test options for the re-provision of this service.

Councillor Bassett suggested that, following a meeting earlier in the week, the Housing Repairs Service should be co-located with the Grounds Maintenance and Fleet Operations within the Neighbourhoods Directorate at the Oakwood Hill Depot and that Recommendation 3(a) should be changed to reflect this.

Decision:

(1)        That the principle of retaining the Civic Offices headquarters location for the Council in Epping town centre be agreed (moving towards implementation of a modified option 4 of the Price Waterhouse Coopers report) based upon:

            (a)        the optimisation of space within the existing footprint of the main Civic Office        building (without extension) to accommodate the majority of staff;

            (b)        the desire to achieve a workstation to staff ratio of no more than 7:10 through        rationalisation of the layout in the building, flexible working by staff and agile             business practices; and

            (c)        the phased vacation of the Condor Building, rear extension, 323 Building, link        and associated car parks within 5 years with a medium term objective of making that part of the site available for residential and/or commercial use;

(2)        That an early review be undertaken of the options for the future provision of the Housing Repairs Service beyond the final 3 years of the existing repairs management contract;

(3)        That the peak operational usage requirements of the Housing Repairs and the Neighbourhoods Depots be reviewed and:

(a)        that these two services be co-located to the Oakwood Hill Depot with a further report on how this could be achieved; and

(b)        the depot office space should be used to relocate staff there at a    workstation to staff ratio of no more than 7:10;

(4)        That a planning application be submitted for the provision of a temporary Housing Repairs Depot at and around the Control Tower at North Weald Airfield (including the first floor meeting room), at an estimated cost of £17,500, with capital budget provision made for its construction once the timescale for the required vacation of the Epping Depot was known, in order to minimise rental costs;

(5)        That an assessment be undertaken to evaluate if there was a net requirement for office space for staff currently based at the Civic Offices and Hemnall Street offices that could, notwithstanding flexible and agile working practices, be accommodated in the revised layout of the Civic Offices and Oakwood Hill Depot;

(6)        That, if the evaluation concluded it was not possible to accommodate all staff at the Civic Offices and Hemnall Street at the reconfigured Civic Offices and Oakwood Hill Depot, a further report be considered by the Cabinet on the most appropriate way forward; and

(7)        That the proposed redesign of the Council’s current reception area be approved in principle to provide a centralised Customer Service Reception subject to:

            (a)        the later submission of a full design;

            (b)        a report on the capital budget provision required; and

            (c)        procurement of a contractor and project management for the scheme.

Reasons for Decision:

To optimise the use of Council land and buildings generating cost savings and to improve the Council’s customer experience of accessing services.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To continue to occupy and pay for more space than was required by current and future headcount. This option was discounted on the basis that it would not be good use of public funds.