Agenda and minutes
Public Speaking: To register your intention to speak at a Council, Cabinet or Committee meeting, please contact Democratic Services on committee@uttlesford.gov.uk or 01799 510410, 510548, 510369 or 510460. Panel, Forum and Working Group meetings do not generally permit public speaking. Please refer to a specific meeting's pdf agenda pack for further information and registration deadlines.
Live Broadcast: For Council, Cabinet and Committee meetings the video player will be available on this page under the Media banner a few minutes before the meeting is due to begin. Please note that Panel, Board, Forum and Working Group meetings are not generally broadcast on the website. We believe that live streaming video of our formal decision making meetings, and publishing the recordings to be watched back later, is good for democracy – and you can find these videos on our website. This video technology sits alongside the longstanding practice of providing seats in the public gallery for members of the public and journalists to turn up and watch our in-person meetings live. Please understand that whilst we will continue to make every reasonable effort to ensure that our key public meetings at which important decisions are live streamed and recorded, any failure in that technology does not in any way invalidate the legitimacy of that meeting or of the decisions taken at it. Even in the event of such occasional technical failures, the public gallery will still have been open, as required by law, and the minutes of the meetings will still be made available in due course.
Zoom and YouTube have their own privacy and data security policies, which can be accessed at www.zoom.us and www.youtube.com.
PDF 203 KBVenue: Zoom - https://zoom.us/. View directions
Contact: Chris Gibson
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest. Minutes: There were no apologies for absence or declarations of interest. |
|
|
Minutes of the previous meeting To consider the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2021 were approved. |
|
|
Commercial Strategy 2022 - 2027 To consider the Commercial Strategy 2022 – 2027. Additional documents: Minutes: The Director of Finance and Corporate Services presented the Commercial Strategy 2022 – 2027 and recommended that Members endorse the Strategy, subject to any agreed amendments. He outlined his briefing note that had been provided to Committee Members earlier in the day that detailed the key changes to the Commercial Strategy.
He said that the Council could no longer take on new investments:
We had the QC Opinion which says that we were not undertaking investment for yield but to underpin our core services. Clearly this Opinion and therefore approach now falls as the aim of any commercial investment is for financial return.
But the Council can retain and enhance our existing assets:
· The Code says - Authorities with existing commercial investments (including property) are not required by this Code to sell these investments. Such authorities may carry out prudent active management and rebalancing of their portfolios. However, authorities that have an expected need to borrow should review options for exiting their financial investments for commercial purposes and summarise the review in their annual treasury management or investment strategies. The reviews should evaluate whether to meet expected borrowing needs by taking new borrowing or by repaying investments, based on a financial appraisal that takes account of financial implications and risk reduction benefits. Authorities with commercial land and property may also invest in maximising its value, including repair, renewal and updating of the properties.
The Council’s original plan to buy and sell assets to keep the portfolio ‘fresh and relevant’ is no longer an option. We will need to retain the current assets for the long term, including re-letting and refurbishing as tenants change. There will also be an increased chance of business failure/rent default which we have to have a provision for. Therefore the seven new strategy key principles are:
· There will be no new commercial investments. · Subject to (d) and (e) below, the portfolio, as set out in this document is therefore complete. Of the £300 million allocated in 2020 to building the fund, £275,565,000 (£275 million) has been used. · MRP will be applied on an annuity basis over the life of each asset. · As the Council already owns, through Aspire (CRP) Ltd, the land at Chesterford Research Park it will continue to develop the asset to maximise its value. · As the Council already owns 46% of Stane Retail Park, which includes all of the public car parking, link roads and other shared elements for the entire site, it will evaluate the option of acquiring the rest of the asset to maximise the value of the already owned part. This would be done on the basis that the sum of the whole is worth more than the sum of the constituent parts. · The portfolio will be reviewed on a regular basis to determine the requirements of the Council and the appropriateness ... view the full minutes text for item IB3 |