Purpose

The Estates and Valuation Team manages the Council’s commercial property portfolio, which includes 12 shopping precincts, three industrial estates and a wide range of other assets such as community centres, sports pavilions and scout huts. The portfolio generates approximately £6 million in annual income, and the team achieved the highest possible audit rating of Substantial Assurance for its working practices.
The team faces ongoing recruitment and retention challenges due to the scale, complexity and commercial importance of its workload. The proposed contract extensions are required to ensure continuity of service. The service operates within a highly specialised market where suitably qualified and experienced professionals are in short supply, and repeated attempts to recruit to permanent roles have been unsuccessful. As a result, the service has relied on agency resource to maintain service delivery.
These issues are further compounded by uncertainty associated with Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which continues to impact interest for permanent roles. On that basis, extending the current contractual arrangements represents a pragmatic approach to maintaining operational delivery and managing ongoing workload pressures.
The extension will enable the Council to continue delivering a critical service, safeguard income-generating assets, and avoid disruption while longer-term organisational arrangements are clarified through LGR.

Decision

Extension of the following contracts through to 31st March 2028:
Park Avenue Recruitment Limited:
- Estates Surveyor Lead (November 24 to March 28)
- Estates Surveyor (May 24 to March 28)
The Oyster Partnership Limited:
- Estates Surveyor (Graduate) (October 23 to March 28)

Alternative options considered

Three options have been considered as part of this report: extending the current roles, terminating the existing arrangements and procuring replacement roles through the CCS Framework, or recruiting to the roles on a permanent basis. Having assessed the advantages and disadvantages of each option, the recommended approach is to extend the current roles. The individuals currently undertaking these positions possess specialist skills, are performing well, and provide continuity in the delivery of key services, some of which are statutory. This option also requires minimal administration to implement. Procuring replacement roles through the CCS Framework could potentially provide improved terms and conditions; however, it would impact service delivery, require a procurement exercise and notice to be served on the current arrangements, and the framework is unlikely to provide appropriately qualified professionals with the specialist expertise required. Recruiting to the roles permanently could generate longer-term savings and service continuity, but the current shortage of qualified Chartered Surveyors specialising in Commercial Property, together with the uncertainty associated with Local Government Reorganisation and future staffing structures, makes this option less viable at this stage. On balance, extending the current roles represents the most practical, least disruptive, and lowest-risk option.