Agenda, decisions and minutes

See guidance below.

There were none

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

There were none

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Requests to speak must be submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting.  Requests to speak should be sent to committeesdemocraticservices@oxfordshire.gov.uk .

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails, then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9 am 2 working days before the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

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To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2024

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2024 were approved

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2024/265

Contact: Henry White, Operational Manager – Estates, Assets and Investments (Henry.White@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer (CMDF).

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Approve, as a key decision, the freehold sale of land comprising part of North Farm, Aston.

b)    Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Resources (Section 151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to consider officer recommendations and agree the final purchaser and sale price.

The Cabinet Member considered a report, regarding the freehold of the agricultural unit at North Farm, Aston. The property was historically let on a secure Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy. This tenancy fell away in 2016 on the tenant’s death and Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) took the site back in in 2017. The decision was taken to add value to the site by seeking planning consent. If planning permission was achieved, the intention was for the farmyard and farmhouse to be marketed for sale.

The Cabinet Member agreed to the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve, as a key decision, the freehold sale of land comprising part of North Farm, Aston.

b)    delegate authority to the Executive Director of Resources (Section 151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to consider officer recommendations and agree the final purchaser and sale price.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2024/290

Contact: Chris Dyer Operational Manager & Senior Project Lead (Major Projects)

chris.dyer@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Approve entering the first part of a two-stage contact with Willmott Dixon for them to carry out pre-construction services on the expansion and refurbishment of Speedwell House under a Pre-Construction Service Agreement (PCSA).

b)    Delegate authority to the Director of Property in consultation with the Head of Legal Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer to complete all necessary legal documentation to give effect to this contract award.

The Cabinet Member considered a report regarding the expansion and refurbishment of Speedwell House to achieve a single, city centre headquarters to accommodate the Council’s corporate and democratic services. This scheme was part of the City Centre Accommodation Strategy approved at Cabinet on 23^rd January 2024.

The Initial Business Case (IBC) for this project was approved by Cabinet on 19 March 2024 and the project entered the capital programme (£22.680m). The building strip-out works had commenced and would be completed by the end of September 2024.

Whilst the strip-out works had been progressing, the Council had tendered the extension and refurbishment of Speedwell House which involved two-stages of appointment. Under the first stage, the contractor would be appointed to work under a Pre-contract Services Agreement (PCSA) to develop the design. As part of the second stage, the contractor would submit their final offer and programme to deliver the works based on the detail of design they had agreed to develop.

The Council was committed to delivering Speedwell House at pace

The Cabinet Member said that the process should be carried out as quickly as possible and agreed to the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve entering the first part of a two-stage contact with Willmott Dixon for them to carry out pre-construction services on the expansion and refurbishment of Speedwell House under a Pre-Construction Service Agreement (PCSA).

b)    delegate authority to the Director of Property in consultation with the Head of Legal Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer to complete all necessary legal documentation to give effect to this contract award.