Purpose

The
Council Plan sets out the Council’s ambition to minimise
the burden of local taxation, delivering the agreed priorities for
residents within the approved budget and capital programme. The
Council maintains an
Asset Management Policy and
Strategy that
details how the Council’s Assets will be managed and
developed to deliver against the targets within the Council
Plan.   An objective of the Asset
Management Strategy is to acquire, manage, maintain and dispose of property effectively,
efficiently and sustainably, together with optimising financial and
commercial opportunities. Decisions may be taken by the Cabinet,
the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property or by the relevant
Cabinet Member in relation to assets under the control of the
County Council in accordance with the approved and published Asset
Management Strategy.
 
This report seeks
approval by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to confirm
surplus declarations for a number of
assets, deemed surplus to service operational requirements.
Declaring them surplus enables a further decision to be made on
either a sale of the asset (for a capital receipt) or to retain it
for wider non-service led activities of the County Council such as
redevelopment for investment, regeneration, social, community or
environmental use, particularly where this could complement the
Council’s ambitions relating to climate change where it is
viable.

Decision

Recommendation:  That the Cabinet Member endorses that the County
Council declares the following assets surplus to service
operational requirements:

a)  
Tangmere Perimeter Track, (Part), Tangmere Airfield, Tangmere,
Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 3TT

b)  
Shoreham Mudflats under Adur Ferry
Bridge, Shoreham BN43 5RA

c)  
Stoneycroft Nurseries, Holding 26,
Choller Estate, Eastergate Lane, Walberton,West Sussex BN18 0BA,

d)  
Land adjacent to Billingshurst Primary School, High
Street/Stane Street, Billingshurst,
West Sussex RH14 9RE

e)  
Car Park and Land known as Poor Mans Corner, Devils Dyke Road,
Poynings, West Sussex.
 
Following publication, recommendation a) of
the proposal, ‘Tangmere Perimeter Track, (Part), Tangmere
Airfield, Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 3TT
was called in for scrutiny by the Performance and Finance
Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 27 November 2023.  The
remaining recommendations b) to e) proceeded to approval in the
usual way. 
The Committee supported recommendation a) and
that committee recommendations concerning future decisions should
be considered by the Cabinet Member.   The Cabinet Member
has therefore approved element a) of the decision with effect from
27 November 2023 and his response to the committee recommendations
will be included in the agenda for the meeting of the
Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee on 24 January
2024’