Agenda and minutes

Report attached

In accordance with paragraph 17 of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee Rules, a requisition signed by two Members representing more than one Group (Councillors Clarence Barrett and Keith Darvill) had called in an executive decision signed on 22 November 2012.

The executive decision was to:

1.         To formally confirm that the Old Windmill Hall and adjacent car parking as detailed on the attached plan be declared surplus and to authorise the disposal of the freehold interest in the site.

2.            To authorise the commencement of the statutory process to appropriate from open space and then dispose of the land detailed on plan sps 1294/1 Rev A.

3.            To authorise the appropriation of the land shown on plan sps 1294/1 Rev A from the cartilage of the Old Windmill Hall to open space use subject to the removal from the open space use of the land shown

4.            To authorise the Property Strategy Manager, in consultation with the assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) to deal with all matters arising from this decision and to complete the disposal. This is to include completion of the statutory process for the appropriation of open space land in the event of there being no representation on the proposal.

At the start of the meeting, the Chairman allowed the Cabinet Member for Value to make a statement on the executive decision.

Cllr Ramsey explained that following discussion with the Leader as to one of the reasons of the call-in, that referred to Cabinet receiving a further report on the option of disposing of the Old Windmill Hall site and adjoining land, to secure further investment in the New Windmill Hall facility for the purposes of leasing the building to a community group and surrounding facilities, in the context of improving the local environment and taking account of the setting of nearby listed buildings. Councillor Ramsey stated that he had decided to withdrawn the executive decision in order for the report be produced and circulated.

As a result the report would be considered at the Cabinet meeting of 13 February 2013.

For the rest of the meeting, members of the committee and other members present took the opportunity to contribute issues that they would like the report to address.