The Delegated Decisions by Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation were scheduled to meet to discuss the asset rationalisation programme. Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, was expected to consider a report about the vacation of a leased property in Osney Mead. The meeting was also scheduled to cover declarations of interest, questions from councillors, petitions and public addresses, and the minutes of the previous meeting.

Asset Rationalisation Programme

Councillor Dan Levy was scheduled to review a report by the Director of Property and Assets regarding the asset rationalisation programme.

The report pack stated that one of the key aims of the Property Strategy is to release leased properties to make revenue savings and optimise the use of Oxfordshire County Council's own freehold estate.

The report stated that of the remaining leased properties, the largest is a property in west Oxford that is home to two frontline operational Oxfordshire County Council services. The rent is over £100,000 per annum with a further £142,000 per annum of property costs. The lease expires in 2030 with a tenant break clause in 2027.

The property extends to just over 15,000 sq ft and comprises light industrial space with ancillary office and storage areas. The two services need approximately 10,000 sq ft in one building, or 7,000 sq ft and 3,000 sq ft across two buildings.

The proposal was to vacate the leased property and either refurbish existing council-held property, if appropriate, or invest in freehold acquisitions that will add to the capital value of the council's portfolio. The saving is expected to be in the region of £186,000 per annum as well as future pressure savings of £30,000 per annum and a capital saving of £213,000 from the current decarbonisation programme.

The budget is currently held within the Asset Rationalisation Programme. An Initial Business Case was approved in March 2025. An Outline Business Case will be produced when the recommended options are found and approved so that the council can move forward with an acquisition without delay.

The key decision required was to allocate the funding to the capital programme as the proposed solution is over £2.0 million.

The report stated that the proposed course of action aligns with the Property Strategy and the objectives of the Asset Rationalisation Programme.

The capital funding for this project has obtained Capital Governance approval at the first stage by way of an Initial Business Case that has been through Property Capital Board and Strategic Capital Board. The project is fully funded from the Asset Rationalisation Programme budget and there are revenue savings generated from the project in the form of rent and property running costs.

The potential break date for the lease of the subject property is 28 February 2027 and notice needs to be served at least 6 months before that (if the break clause is to be exercised effectively). This means notice needs to be served on the landlord before the end of August 2026, and for the break to be exercised, Oxfordshire County Council will have to have vacated the property by 28 February 2027.

The landlord of the subject property may pursue a claim for damages against Oxfordshire County Council alleging that Oxfordshire County Council has failed to keep the property in the standard of repair required by the lease (a dilapidations claim ). Funds should be set aside for this. The acquisition of any new property will give rise to a Stamp Duty Land Tax liability and this needs to be taken into account in any cost/benefit analysis.

The course of action will result in further staff costs for Oxfordshire County Council Property and Legal, which will be recharged against the project budget, as previous staff costs have been. The two Heads of Service for the teams using the property have been fully consulted to date and as the project moves through governance, the wider teams will be consulted.

Any specific accessibility requirements have been built into the needs assessment already carried out with the affected service lines. The project does not have any further equality and inclusion implications with no change to current operations except for the location.

The current property is a 1970/80 light industrial building that is not carbon neutral. Any new building either refurbished or purchased and fitted out will have de-carbonisation works built in as part of the required works.

The Cabinet Member was recommended to:

• Approve the plan within the completed Initial Business Case for the vacation of a leased in premises in Osney Mead to produce revenue savings, and the allocation of previously agreed funding to source replacement properties for the affected services.
• Delegate decision-making on the purchase of the replacement properties to the Director of Property and Assets in consultation with the Section 151 officer¹.

Other items

The agenda for the meeting also included:

• Declarations of interest from councillors.
• Questions from county councillors. Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member's delegated powers. The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total.
• Petitions and public address. Members of the public who wish to speak on an item on the agenda at this meeting, or present a petition, can attend the meeting in person or 'virtually' through an online connection.
• The minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 May 2025. The minutes of the meeting held on 11 April 2025 were approved as an accurate record of proceedings at the previous meeting. At that meeting, Councillor Liz Leffman approved the commencement of the procurement of insurance cover for the council, and delegated authority to the Executive Director of Resources & Section 151 Officer to approve the award of contracts following completion of the procurement. Jack Nicholson and Dale Stevens also attended that meeting.