Agenda item

For Council to consider the move of the Civic Heart from County Hall to the Canon site, Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey from 1 January 2021.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report noting that he responded previously to a couple of questions asked earlier regarding accessible transport to Woodhatch.

As Chairman of the County Hall move and Agile Programme (CHAP) Task Group, Mr Forster noted the informal report by the Task Group on the Civic Heart move to Woodhatch circulated to Members yesterday. The Task Group established by the Resources and Performance Select Committee, scrutinised the County Council’s plans to move County Hall out of Kingston and find a new Civic Heart in Surrey, noting that the Canon site in Woodhatch, Reigate, had been identified. The Task Group agreed that Woodhatch would be a suitable location in principle regarding the buildings and surroundings, however the transport connections were currently unsuitable. Surrey County Council needed a headquarters that was accessible to staff, Members and the public. After declaring a climate emergency and complaining that Surrey’s roads were congested the Council cannot move to Woodhatch knowing that the move would encourage people to use their cars. The Task Group wanted the poor transport connections to Woodhatch to be addressed before the final decision was taken on designating Woodhatch as the Council’s Civic Heart. The decision should only be taken once there was a sustainable transport plan, comprehensive office estate strategy and the costs involved were shared with Members.

Eight Members made the following comments:

·      Supported the recommendations put forward by the CHAP Task Group to Council and asked if the Leader could comment on whether the recommendations could be accepted and that they would be followed through.

·      That two earlier Member questions highlighted the need for a sustainable travel plan which should have been finalised before the Council committed to move and there must be sufficient budget allocated to that travel plan to ensure that the new Council headquarters would be in a sustainable location.

·      That Woodhatch was in an attractive location but it was revealing that there were four hundred and seventy-five parking spaces. There was insufficient detail on the costs needed to improve the building and transport sustainability.

·      That the Council would not get anything achieved if it focussed on the detail around transport holding up the major decision to move, whereby a shuttle service or local bus provision from the railway stations for example could be arranged in due course.

·      That the Council made a commitment to move out of Kingston-upon-Thames and back into Surrey, staff needed certainty on that; the move would support the local economy of east Surrey.

·      That it was only recently that the Council passed a motion regarding climate change and a commitment to it was needed throughout decision-making.

·      That the recommendation of the Task Group was to proceed with the move but only when the transport arrangements were resolved and made sustainable, welcomed an amendment on the matter.

·      That people were not aware that Redhill was a transport hub, it was the only area outside of London that had rail connectivity across the four cardinal directions as well as a good bus service and the Woodhatch site was a short walk from Reigate town centre.

Mr Forster, seconded by Mr Nick Harrison, proposed the following amendment to the recommendation: to delay the final decision on designating Woodhatch as the Civic Heart until the transport assessment was completed and the conclusions contained within CHAP informal report were addressed.

The amendment was put to a vote in which 23 voted For, 46 voted Against and no Abstentions, therefore the amendment was lost.

RESOLVED:

Agreed that the Council’s Civic Heart be based at Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey from 1 January 2021.