Agenda Item No: 14 CABINET 4 SEPTEMBER 2012 DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMERS, COMMUNITIES AND LEARNING: ALEX HOPKINS CABINET MEMBER WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN, LEARNING & SKILLS: COUNCILLOR ANDREW GRANT CABINET MEMBER WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR LGSS: COUNCILLOR ANDREW LANGLEY Subject: Purchase of property to convert into additional primary school places in Northampton to meet statutory requirement to provide school places Recommendations: Cabinet is asked to: 1. approve the purchase, subject to heads of terms conditions being met, of a commercial property of approx 14,000 sq ft in Cliftonville, Northampton 2. agree the capital project scheme associated with the conversion of the property into additional primary school places so it can proceed to the construction phase within available and agreed financial resources 3. delegate authority to the Director of Customers, Communities and Learning in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holders to approve, accept, award and appoint the preferred bidders and to execute or authorise the execution of all the necessary documentation to facilitate the property acquisition and the tendering of construction works 1. Purpose of Report 1.1 The Council is facing unprecedented demand for primary school places in Northamptonshire, particularly in Northampton town. This is a well publicised national issue that in the context of Northamptonshire combines the national rise in the birth rate with high levels of in-migration to the county, plus some in-fill housing development in advance of the larger sustainable urban extensions planned for the town’s outskirts. The recently released 2011 census data indicated that the county’s under fives population was the highest in the East Midlands along with Leicester City. 1.2 The Council needs to make provision to add 15 forms of entry (15 classes of 30 Reception children, taking the total to 3,150 primary places) of permanent capacity for September 2013 into Northampton schools. This report relates to the acquisition of additional accommodation in the town centre that can be aligned to an existing school to provide an additional form of entry of permanent capacity. 2. Relevant Priority Outcomes The content of this report supports the delivery of the following corporate outcomes: Perspective Outcome Customers & Community - to A cleaner, greener and more prosperous county achieve our vision, what will Active, safe and sustainable communities our customers see? Ambitious Young People Process - to satisfy our Contract & performance management customers, what processes Commissioning outcomes must we excel at? Building social capital & community wellbeing Shaping our growing county Managing customer expectations Using business intelligence to segment customers and predict demand Finance – to finance our Maximised income and new funding vision, what must we do mechanisms efficiently, effectively and Exploited fixed assets economically? Targeted spend and investments 3. Background 3.1 The greatest pressure on primary school places in the town is in the vicinity of the town centre. The nearest schools (Vernon Terrace, Stimpson Avenue, Barry Road, Castle) are all on restricted sites or are already proposed for extension. Cabinet will be aware of previous reports regarding school expansions in Northampton and another report on this agenda where approval is sought for the expansion of Earl Spencer Primary. A Cabinet Member decision this month will also be sought for approval to start consultation processes on the expansion of a further seven Northampton primary schools. Current projections are that further places will be required for September 2013 onwards. 3.2 The Council has considered a number of strategies to deal with this unprecedented level of expansion and is now looking for additional measures. Like many other authorities, and as discussed in recent articles in the national press1, the County Council is exploring the option of converting alternative premises such as offices, shops and warehouses as an opportunity to secure additional school places in the heart of local communities. With the assistance of Property and Asset Management, the Strategic Planning Team has been assessing commercial accommodation that is currently on the market in Northampton town. 3.3 This report concerns the proposed acquisition of a property on Cliftonville Road. The property was a former office block and provides approx 1,300 m² (14,000 sq ft) of accommodation, which equates to one form of entry of primary education for a total of 210 pupils. Negotiations with the vendor have secured a purchase price of £1.6m. An independent valuation undertaken by the District Valuation Service confirms that this purchase price is compatible with the property value. It is a condition of sale that planning permission must first be granted for change of use. 1 “Warning over acute shortage of primary school places” Telegraph 12.3.12; “Population rise will force schools to use empty shops and warehouses” The Guardian 21.7.12 3.4 The scope of this project is to create a learning environment that is high quality and creative, through the appointment of an architectural practice that is at the leading edge of innovation in the best use and design of educational premises. The “Learnspace” facility in Corby, which is attracting national and international interest for design innovation in education, will be a catalyst in the space planning and layout of the conversion. Architectural services have been procured via ‘Source Northamptonshire’ and it is intended that a planning application will be made later this month. The specification for the scope of works is provided as Appendix 1. 3.5 Instead of operating as a separate school, it is intended that the new facility will be an annex to an existing primary school in the town, where there is already strong leadership, a suitable staffing structure and curriculum plan in place. It is proposed to align the new facility to Abington Vale Primary, an outstanding school in OfSTED terms, although this expansion is subject to statutory consultation processes and further Cabinet approvals. Abington Vale is currently seeking Academy status and any transfer agreement involving the property would be on a short-term basis, rather than the usual 125 year lease, so that the Council retains some flexibility in its pupil place planning. 3.6 The timescales associated with this project are: September 12: submission of planning application December 12: acquisition of property subject to planning being granted; procurement of contractors January 13: start of conversion works; Cabinet approval of expansion proposals August 13: completion of works September 13: building ready for pupils 4. Consultation and Scrutiny 4.1 Educational personnel have been involved in discussions regarding the proposal including the Head of Abington Vale Primary, school improvement advisors in Learning & Achievement, and the Directorate Management Team. 4.2 Consultation with neighbouring residents and the general public will be part of the planning process, as well as the statutory consultees such as Highways, the Environment Agency and Sport England. 4.3 The proposal to expand Abington Vale Primary School by aligning the new property to it as additional capacity will be subject to separate consultation processes and Cabinet approval in January 2013. 5. Alternative Options Considered 5.1 The Council has considered a number of strategies to meet the need for additional primary places and has used a variety of options to secure the necessary capacity in both the town and its surrounding areas: filling up surplus places, building extensions, and installing temporary classrooms. Additional provision is still required, hence the need to purchase new accommodation. 5.2 If the Abington Vale expansion proposal is not approved, it is assumed that the acquisition of the property can proceed on the basis that it is either aligned to another existing school, or could open as a separate Academy institution. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 The capital budget for this project is £2.9m. This compares favourably with the cost of c £6m plus site costs for a new build one form of entry primary school. The budget is made up of £1.6m for the acquisition and £1.3m conversion and fit-out costs. The anticipated profile of expenditure is provided in the table below: Current Forecast year 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 & beyond £000 £000 £000 £000 Capital Expenditure Profile Acquisition Cost 1,600,000 Conversion and Fit Out Costs 410,000 867,500 22,500 Total Capital Cost 2,010,000 867,500 22,500 - 6.2 NCC was awarded an additional Basic Need allocation of DfE capital grant in April 2012 totalling £1.9m to reflect the county’s growing demand for primary pupil places. It is proposed to use this extra grant for the purchase of the property. The balance of the funding for the project £1.0m will come from the grant allocations currently earmarked in the Capital Strategy. 6.3 The increase in revenue costs that will result from the property, predominantly staff salaries and running costs of the building, will be met from the individual school budgets funded by the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) if the school remains maintained. If linked to an academy (such as Abington Vale Primary pending consultation) the budget will be provided by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), although in this situation Northamptonshire’s DSG would be reduced by a corresponding amount. What benefits will the proposal Provision of permanent additional school