Cabinet Member decisions

Background

Sunny Bank Primary School was established on 1 September 2016 when Murston Junior school and Murston Infant School and Maintained Nursery amalgamated. The new primary school opened in the existing accommodation of both schools and it wasenvisaged that in the longer term the Local Authority would pursue opportunities to bring the school together on one site that was in the ownership of KCC and support the school’s operation as an all-through primary school.

The KCP 2019-2023 identifies the need for additional places in the Sittingbourne East primary planning area. The expansion of Sunny Bank Primary by 0.5FE was identified to meet this need. A full feasibility was commissioned in 2018 to relocate the infant department and Nursery to the junior department site and provide the infrastructure to expand by 0.5FE to a 2FE primary school. This ensures that there are adequate places for children from new housing that is already being built out in close proximity to the school, as well as the future financial viability of Sunny Bank.

The current infant department was originally established in the 1860s and additional buildings were added over subsequent years. The buildings are in poor condition and the cost of maintaining the infant school site in order to ensure the buildings are fit for purpose would be considerable. The Infant buildings are on a site that is in the ownership of a local Diocesan Trust that comes under Canterbury Diocese. The lease costs are in the region of £ 20,000 per annum and are currently paid by KCC as the school would not be able to meet these costs and remain viable.The most cost-effective option is therefore to relocate the infant department to the junior site which is in the ownership of KCC and is of a sufficient size to accommodate all the buildings required for a 2fe primary school plus nursery.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education is asked to:

(i)            Allocate £4.2M from the Children, Young People and Education Capital budget;

(ii)          Authorise the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the General Counsel (Interim) to enter into any necessary contracts/ agreements on behalf of the County Council; and

(iii)         Authorise the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under the contracts. Variations to contract value to be no more than 10% above the capital funding agreed by the Cabinet Member without requiring a new Record of Decision.

This proposal is also subject to Planning agreement.

Background

Previously, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) used to assess how well Local Authorities were performing in Adult Social Care.  They no longer do this, and as part of national changes, all Local Authorities are now asked to produce a document, in partnership with their residents to enable them, to hold the authority to account.  As a result, the Local Account for Adult Social Care has been produced.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health is asked to APPROVE the Local Account document– ‘Here for you, how did we do?’ (April 2018 – March 2019) (attached at Appendix 1).

Decision:

Approval to award a contract for the delivery of Facilities Management Services in East Kent and to delegate authority to the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services to agree final terms and enter into any necessary contractual documentation.

Background:

The Southborough Hub Project is a joint project between Kent County Council (KCC), Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) and Southborough Town Council (STC) to deliver a Community Hub scheme which has been a long-term aspiration for Southborough Town.  Two previous key decisions (15/00041 and 15/00024) were taken authorising the inclusion of the library and the funding/land transactions required  to facilitate the project.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Collaboration Agreement were signed between KCC and TWBC and STC. The land with the benefit of consent for the 69 residential units was

sold to Crest Nicholson, which along with the NHS and FA grant, has provided the budget to fund the project.

The terms of the Collaboration agreement have facilitated detailed development of the next stages of the project. This includes the negotiation and execution of funding agreements with the NHS and Football Foundation, together with the negotiation of a final tender sum for the construction works.

Proposed decision:

To authorise to the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services and the Corporate Director for Finance to enter into the necessary legal documents to enable the construction of the Southborough Hub development.

Alternatives considered:

Part retention of the existing buildings on the site with relevant refurbishment instead of total rebuilding was considered and this was noted as part of the formal consultation in 2015/16.

Further information on alternatives and other details considered may viewed online as part of the previous consultation materials.

As Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services, I approve the progression of the Southborough Hub Development project and authorise the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Corporate Director for Finance to enter into the necessary legal documents to enable the construction of the Southborough Hub development.