Decision details

The Housing Manager submitted a report seeking approval to adopt a strategic approach to rationalising the councils plot garage sites through a programme of closure, refurbishment and disposal.

The report noted that a plot garage site was a site where the council rented a plot of land to a lessee who subsequently developed their own garage, with the council currently owning over 40 such sites across the Borough. The Housing Manager advised that the condition of the plot garage sites and garages on them had been a matter of increasing concern over the past couple of years. The report also noted that the plot garage sites generated very low revenues and that many of the sites suffered from low demand and high vacancy rates. In response to the significant challenges presented, a Plot Garage Site Options Report had been compiled in order to assess the options for the plot garage sites, considering the costs and risks of retaining the sites against those of disposing of them.

The full Plot Garage Site Options Report was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report and provided details of the appraisal process used for the review as well as a detailed analysis of the information gathered. The recommended future options for each of the plot garage sites were also set out and categorised as follows:

·        sites identified for closure, clearance and sale / disposal to developer

·        sites identified for closure, clearance and redevelopment by Chesterfield Borough Council

·        sites identified for closure, clearance and any required remediation e.g. landscaping or groundworks

·        sites identified for retention and investment

·        sites identified for retention and conversion into car parking areas

The report also included details of the legal and financial considerations that had been taken into account in making the recommendations for rationalising the council’s plot garage sites, as well as details of how the programme would be developed and implemented.

*RESOLVED –

1.   That the strategic approach to the rationalisation of the council’s plot garage sites, as detailed in the officer’s report be approved.

2.   That the Housing Manager be authorised to begin a programme of closure, refurbishment and disposal of Housing Revenue Account plot garage sites.

3.   That the Housing Manager, in consultation with the Property, Procurement and Contracts Law Manager, be delegated authority to begin a programme of closure, refurbishment and disposal of General Fund plot garage sites.

4.   That the Housing Manager be delegated authority to amend the plot garage site option report recommendations, in consultation with relevant Cabinet members, as the process of closure, refurbishment and disposal of plot garage sites progresses.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To meet the councils priority ‘to improve the quality of life for local people’ and objective 5 ‘To increase the supply and quality of housing in Chesterfield Borough to meet current and future needs’.