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RESOLVED:
 

1.   
That Cabinet approves the details of the letting of
Consort House as outlined in the Part 2 report.

2.   
That Cabinet delegates authority to the S151 Officer
in consultation with the Director of Land and Property to conclude
best value terms and complete all associated legal
documentation.

3.   
That Cabinet notes the Financial and Value for Money
implications recorded in this Part 2 report.
4.   
That Cabinet formally declares the asset surplus to
operational service requirements, and upon completion of the
letting, to hold the asset for Investment purposes pending any
future Cabinet or Strategic Investment Board decisions on its
future.
Reasons for
Decisions:
 
A letting
of the entire building now provides an opportunity for the Council
to not only mitigate its void holding costs, but to secure a
long-term rental income stream enabling the asset to be held as an
investment property, pending any future decisions of the
Council.
The
proposed tenant is a significant provider of services supporting
Surrey communities.
Consort
House has remained largely vacant since late 2022, other than the
current temporary occupation by library services for storage and a
short term click and collect service. The Council has incurred void
holding costs on the building and has a rental liability for some
related car parking. Marketing of the building, on either a
freehold or leasehold basis, has been pursued against the
background of a very depressed office market over the past 2
years.
There have
been no recent commercial proposals received for the freehold
interest that would be recommended to Cabinet.
(The decisions in this item
can be called- in by the Resources and Performance Select
Committee)