Purpose

Proposed
decision
To approve the extension of the
Old Rectory Business Centre contract for a period of 12 months to
allow time to undertake the disposal
 
The Old Rectory
Business Centre in Northfleet is a KCC-owned facility that has
offered high quality office space to local businesses since 2009.
In September 2024 decision 24/00083 was taken by the Cabinet Member
to dispose of the property as a going concern and approve an
extension to the current contract for a period of nine months
(expires at end of August 2025) to allow time to undertake
disposal.  Whilst good progress has been
made in preparation for the disposal, a further extension of 12
months is required to complete the process and ensure smooth
handover of control once the property is sold.
 
 
Options:
 
Option 1 –
Preferred option. Extend the current management contract for
a duration of up to 12 months to complete the property disposal
process and ensure smooth handover of control.  The Director of Growth and Communities will have
delegated authority to enter into a short-term contract extension.
The contract will continue as per the current terms and conditions
with no amendments proposed. The service provider has indicated
that they would agree to a contract extension. The proposed
contract extension would be taken in line with Clause 2.2 of the
Contract document, which allows up to 48 months of
extensions. 
 
Option 2 -
Initiate a procurement exercise to test the market and allow for a
short initial contract period of 12 months with extension clauses
to ensure minimal disruption to the companies on site.  This would require resource in the form of KCC
officer time to run a procurement process but would also be
difficult to complete before the end of August. is not a preferred
option as it would not be feasible for the Council to re-procure
this service for such a limited period, particularly since work is
underway to dispose of this asset as a going
concern.

 
Option 3 – Do nothing and allow the
management contract to end on 31st August
2025.  This is not a preferred option,
as this could lead to the closure of the centre which would be
highly detrimental to businesses located at the centre and damaging
to the local economy and local residents employed at the
centre.
 
Alignment
to KCC Strategies: Securing Kent’s
Future – Budget Recovery Strategy, Objective 3 - Full cost
recovery on discretionary spend as the centre is self-funding and
returns a profit to KCC on an annual basis. The option also
supports the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership’s
‘Kent and Medway Economic Framework’ which looks ahead
to 2030 and sets out Kent’s priorities to build and safeguard
a prosperous economy: increasingly productive, sustainable and
inclusive. The Old Rectory Business Centre contributes to the
ambitions and many of the actions identified with the Framework,
for example action area 4 “Supporting the conditions for
growth” and by ensuring access to the spaces that businesses
need to expand and by “embedding economic opportunity at the
centre of local regeneration” (action area 16).
 
 

Decision

As Cabinet Member for Economic
Development & Coastal Regeneration I agree to :
 
 
1.       APPROVE the
extension of current contractual arrangements for three months from
(1 September 2025) to (30 November 2025) and undertake a
procurement process to secure management services for a further 12
months with extension clauses to 30 November 2026 to allow time to
undertake the disposal and ensure that any new owner has the option
of an existing management company in place.
 
2.       CONFIRM the decision
to dispose of the Old Rectory Business Centre in Northfleet as a
going concern as detailed in decision 24/00083
 
3.       DELEGATE authority
to the Director of Growth and Communities, working with the
Director for Infrastructure in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Economic Regeneration and Coastal Communities to exercise
relevant contract extensions and oversight of a procurement process
and enter into relevant contracts or legal agreements
 
4.       DELEGATE authority
to the Director of Growth and Communities to take other relevant
actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of and
entering into required contracts or other legal agreements, as
necessary to implement the decision to extend and reprocure
management services