Decision details

To agree the vision and principles of moving the ‘Civic Heart’ – the democratic core - of the county council out of County Hall in Kingston and closer to the residents of Surrey by the end of 2020.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the principle of moving the council closer to the residents of Surrey, and leaving the County Hall complex (in Kingston) by the end of 2020 be approved.

2.    That the principles and criteria on which the location for the new Civic Heart will be chosen be agreed.

3.    That the analysis provided for selecting a location for the new Civic Heart of the council in accordance with the selection principles and request that further work be done to provide due diligence for the leading location options – Guildford and Woking be approved.

4.    That the principle of reviewing council staff work bases, and relocating our people to other premises within the council’s estate, in order to better meet service needs and work closer with our partners be agreed.

5.    That the responsible officer be authorised to appoint advisors to work with the council to explore and appraise the options for the County Hall complex to maximise the potential receipt or benefit to the council, and for this analysis to be presented back to Cabinet in July 2019 be agreed.

6.    That a detailed programme proposal report, for decision, would be received at July 2019 Cabinet be agreed.

Reason for Decision:

The Community Vision for Surrey in 2030 and the council’s own Organisation Strategy envisage a quite different and much improved relationship and connectivity between the council and Surrey residents, and a new way of working for the council. A foundational step in furtherance of both is to locate the headquarters of the council in Surrey itself. The move (comprising the establishment of a ‘Civic Heart’ where many of the functions of a County Hall will be located, a wider workforce increasingly enabled to work in a more agile way and the introduction of new ways of working across multiple work locations) will secure benefits to residents and the council.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Corporate Overview Select Committee]