Councillors and committees

Agenda item

COUNTY HALL MOVE AND AGILE PROGRAMME UPDATE

Purpose of the item: To monitor the progress of the Agile programme, the decant of County Hall in Kingston and the move to the new Civic Heart.

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Dominic Barlow, Assistant Director – Corporate Landlord

Brendon Kavanagh, Portfolio Lead – Corporate

Leigh Whitehouse, Executive Director of Resources

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Executive Director of Resources summarised that the closing of County Hall in Kingston upon Thames was on track to be completed by the end of December 2020; Woodhatch Place, the new civic heart, was on track to be open by the start of 2021. All staff had been written to about their new administrative bases. Approximately 20% of staff had been told their new base would be located at Ashley Park House in Walton; however, it had not been possible to use this space, so the decision had been made (and approved by Cabinet) to obtain space in an extra building in Weybridge in which these staff would be located instead. The uncertainty this had created amongst some staff was unfortunate, but the outcome of moving the base to Weybridge was a better outcome, as the commute was easier and cheaper for many staff. Finally, the sale of the Kingston County Hall was progressing as planned and the ‘for sale’ sign outside the building would be updated today (18 December 2020) to read ‘under offer’.

 

2.    A Member asked what the reaction was amongst staff to the alternative office bases they had been allocated. The Executive Director stated that there might be a sense of frustration among staff whose administrative base had been changed from Ashley Park House to Weybridge – while the outcome had been good, there had been a trade-off with uncertainty. A travel study had been commissioned for all office bases, which would provide guidance. Another main issue was the decant from County Hall, and communications would be sent to staff today about how to collect their belongings. Staff were being reasonable and showing fortitude towards the move.

 

3.    A Member asked if officers were incorporating disabilities into the travel plans. She noted that, while Surrey’s bus services worked well for people with disabilities, there were many train stations that were not disability compliant. The Portfolio Lead – Corporate replied that disabilities were indeed being incorporated into travel planning, and added that he had met with the Inclusion and Diversity Group the previous day to discuss this topic.

 

4.    A Member requested that a detailed analysis of the complete results of the travel survey – including the results of the survey conducted with Members – be presented to the County Hall Move and Agile Programme Task Group at its next meeting. The Portfolio Lead agreed to provide detailed analysis.

 

5.    A Member asked whether any more detail on the sale of County Hall could be shared publicly, and whether the Council would be keeping an interest in the property after selling for long-term income or was selling the property as a capital item. The Executive Director replied that the site was under offer and the Council had a preferred bidder. The details would go to Cabinet in January 2021 and this information would be shared with the Task Group in due course. There was not much more that could be said publicly at the moment.

 

6.    The Executive Director provided assurance to Members that everything mentioned in the Select Committee’s recommendation (below) would be reviewed and overseen by the County Hall Move and Agile Programme Task Group early in 2021.

 

7.    After some discussion on the recommendation, the Select Committee agreed the recommendation. Wyatt Ramsdale abstained on section ‘c’ of the recommendation as below.

 

Recommendation:

1.    The Select Committee recommends that the County Hall Move and Agile Programme Task Group is to receive the following information:

a.    The Agile Office Estate Strategy;

b.    The results and analysis of the Woodhatch travel plan survey and agile workforce programme survey;

c.    Details of the County Hall sale and bids – the Task Group should have an opportunity to review and comment on any bids to buy County Hall before any decision is made.

Supporting documents: