The Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure Decisions was scheduled to discuss the disposal of Surrey Cottage, and to exclude the public from the meeting for a discussion of exempt information. No questions from members, or the public, and no petitions were received.

Disposal of Surrey Cottage

The report pack included a request for Councillor Natalie Bramhall, Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure, to approve the freehold disposal of Surrey Cottage, Scotts Grove Road, in Chobham, Woking, following an open marketing campaign.

Surrey County Council was expected to accept a surrender of the current headlease held over the asset by Halsey Garton Residential Ltd (HGR) as part of the transaction.

The recommendations included in the report pack were that Councillor Bramhall:

1. Formally declares the asset surplus to operational requirements (in consultation with The Leader and Deputy Leader).
2. Approves the sale of Surrey Cottage to the party, at the price and subject to the conditions, noted in the part 2 report. The sale is conditional upon the simultaneous surrender of the headlease held over the asset by HGR which has been agreed by the HGR Board.
3. Approves the HGR premium for the surrender of its interest from the gross receipt and notes there is debt aligned to this asset, with both parties bearing their own costs and appointments of their own professional team.
4. Delegates authority to the Executive Director for Environment, Property and Growth in consultation with the Director of Land and Property to finalise the transaction and enter into all associated legal agreements.

The report pack stated that the reasons for these recommendations were:

• Terms have been agreed to sell the freehold interest to the party, and at the price, noted in the part 2 report, following an open marketing campaign of the vacant property.
• The asset was part of an early tranche of residential properties transferred by the Council to HGR in February 2021, with a premium paid by HGR to the Council for a head-leasehold interest. The HGR Board have requested that it be handed back to the Council and sold.
• The Cabinet Member is asked to formally declare the asset surplus to operational requirement under the Council’s constitution.
• The property is not required for any operational purposes.

According to the executive summary:

The property consists of a 2 bedroomed detached house that was transferred to HGR by the Council under a 40-year lease in February 2021. At the time of transfer, the property was tenanted. The property became vacant as of 12 August 2024.

The property had been openly marketed by residential marketing agents, Curchods, on a freehold and vacant possession basis subject to contract and survey. The report pack stated that bids were as noted in the part 2 report, and that Curchods recommended the offer, also based on status and financial terms of the bidder as outlined in the part 2 report.

The report pack noted several risks and their mitigations:

| Risk description | Mitigation the report pack also stated that:

The Council continues to operate in a very challenging financial environment. Local authorities across the country are experiencing significant budgetary pressures. Surrey County Council has made significant progress in recent years to improve the Council’s financial resilience and whilst this has built a stronger financial base from which to deliver our services, the cost-of-service delivery, increasing demand, financial uncertainty and government policy changes mean we continue to face challenges to our financial position. This requires an increased focus on financial management to protect service delivery, a continuation of the need to deliver financial efficiencies and reduce spending in order to achieve a balanced budget position each year.

Exclusion of the public

The report pack recommended that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the part 2 report regarding the disposal of Surrey Cottage, as it contained exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular individuals. This was recommended in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972¹.