A partnership Approach to Land Development

Chris Howlett | Director of Estates & Facilities | Dawn Scrafield | Director of Finance | Colchester Hospital Gwyn Owen | Head of Housing |

1 Essex Housing Essex Housing ORIGINS/BACKGROUND

3 Public Community Essex Sector Land Budgets Housing Project Essex Housing PURPOSE

5 “Creating a financially sustainable model to release public sector land in order to develop private, affordable and specialist housing” Essex Housing HOW WE OPERATE

7 Essex Housing provides professional services to partners allowing them to increase their own capacity or capability to:

Advise and Provide assist setting brokerage up across the development Recruit Produce partnership -specific development Identify and business so that Procure delivery -specific assess sites cases for multiple contractors vehicles that resources to for suitability investment partner reflect the oversee site objectives commercial development can be needs of fulfilled those involved Value Model

% of or full market value

Revenue from developing site (e.g. Council Tax increase minus additional service costs) Value

Revenue savings from improved outcomes (e.g. reduced social care costs)

Non cashable social benefits Partners engaged

Basildon Borough Council Rural Community Council of Essex Council Local Government Association Brentwood District Council District Council Cabinet Office National Housing Federation District Council District Council City Council Southend-on-Sea Borough Council Colchester Borough Council Council East of Local Government Council Association District Council Essex County Council Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Council Essex Police Essex Probation District Council Health Partners Homes and Communities Agency

10 Essex Housing working in partnership with Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

ESSEX COUNTY HOSPITAL

FREEHOLD: COLCHESTER HOSPITAL UNIVERSITY NHS FT

LOCATION: COLCHESTER TOWN CENTRE

PROPERTY: ACUTE HOSPITAL SERVICES WITH POOR QUALITY ESTATE INCLUDING LISTED BUILDINGS DATING BACK TO 1812. ARCHAEOLOGY, CONTAMINATION AND PLANNING RISK

11 Location - Colchester

Colchester The Site

Principles of NHS Site disposal

Estatecode HBN-08 Part B says:- • The NHS should dispose of surplus property as soon as possible • Check that the property doesn’t have to be returned to the SoS • Circulate details of the disposal to local NHS organisations, Other local healthcare providers, NHSPS and local authorities • Sell the land to a public sector organisation or where no interest, to the open market • Prepare a business case for the disposal • Assemble a disposal team with the necessary property development , planning and legal expertise • Ensure that surplus land and property is sold at the best price reasonably obtainable in the open market. The sale process should demonstrate that this is the case. What could possible go wrong!

• 2010 Trust Board decide ECH services should be relocated, site vacated and sold. • 2014 Disposal strategy confirmed, ECC express an interest in the site, site placed on open market • 2014 Preferred bidder selected and sale price agreed. Relationship soured with ECC • 2015 Negotiations with bidder leading to agreed contract of sale • Contract signed by Trust and at the point of exchange, deal falls through • 2016 Trust Board review disposal strategy having considered remarketing, disposal via the HCA or re-engagement with local public sector organisations. • Support provided by Cabinet office “One public estate” initiative to enable re-engagement with ECC • 2017 Relationships develop and terms of a potential innovative partnership approach to site disposal Partnership Approach

• CHUFT has reached an agreement with Essex Housing (part of Essex County Council) to commission a piece of work to assess a key site’s suitability for future redevelopment.

• The council will work in partnership with the Trust to undertake investigations at the site in Lexden Road, Colchester.

• Some of the buildings at the 4.5 acre Lexden Road site are currently in use but are surplus to the Trust’s requirements and scheduled to become vacant when the Trust transfers the hospital’s services off of the site in 2018.

• This is the first stage of bigger plans for the site and demonstrates the importance of both strong local relationships between health and local government. Why is this way of working good?

• The ethos of one public estate is morally right

• We share the benefits of using the skills already within the public sector (archaeology/ planning)

• If we had sold ECH independently we would not be leveraging the relationship with the local authority – particularly tackling the planning minefield!

• We are not distracted from our core businesses – The NHS priority is treating patients – not managing significant surplus capital estate

• The approach is transparent – open book accounting

• We are able to reinvest capital benefits back into the NHS service

• It builds trust and harvests further opportunities for other capital projects jointly across the public sector