Cabinet - Wednesday 17 April 2024, 5:00pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

Cabinet
Wednesday, 17th April 2024 at 5:00pm 

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  1. Slide 1Slide 1
  2. Cllr Jim Martin
  3. Ms Jemma West
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  1. Cllr Jim Martin
  2. Cllr Adrian Lockwood
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  1. Cllr Tim Prater
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  1. Cllr Adrian Lockwood
  2. Cllr Jim Martin
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  5. Cllr Rebecca Shoob
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  7. Cllr Jim Martin
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  10. Cllr Jim Martin
  11. Cllr Adrian Lockwood
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Slide selection

Thank you very much, good evening and welcome to the meeting of the Cabinet.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:06
This meeting will be webcast live to the internet. For those who do not wish to be recorded or filmed, you will need to leave the Chamber for members officers and others speaking at the meeting. It is important that the microphones are used, so viewers on the webcast and others in the room. I hear you would anyone with a mobile phone, please switch it to silent mode as they can be distracting. I would like to remind Members that, although we all have strong opinions on matters under consideration, it is important to treat members officers and public speakers with respect
so welcome everyone.
we are going for the world record of the shortest cabinet meeting this evening, but if we could start with apologies for absence, thank you,
Ms Jemma West - 0:01:03
leader, we've received an apology from Councillor Holgate.

1 Apologies for Absence

2 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:10
okay, jolly good, when it's noted, and moving on to declarations of interest, is there anyone who would like to make a declaration of interest?
Councillor Lockwood, welcome, thank you, leader, I'm not officially
Cllr Adrian Lockwood - 0:01:23
part of this meeting, but just on to air on the side of caution I'm going to declare an interest against point number five in the past.
Many years ago I was professionally engaged by East Kent Spatial Development company and paid for work.

3 Minutes

Thank you very much less, thus duly noted thank you, no other
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:48
declarations can I say okay, jolly good, so now we can move on to the minutes.
The minutes of the
Last meeting on the 20th of March.
2024 does anyone have any issues or concerns with those minutes, happy to move you, Councillor Pryor, is happy to move, can we have a
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:02:10
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:02:12
seconder Councillor Blake more second in all those in favour please indicate
thank you very much, everyone are on asylum minutes.

4 Infrastructure Funding Statement 2023

Well, thank you very much.
Everyone.
So item agenda item 4, relating to the infrastructure funding strategy 2023 will not be considered at this meeting this evening it has been deferred for consideration at a future meeting of the Cabinet.

5 East Kent Spatial Development Company Update

so we will go straight on if that's OK to agenda item 5, the East Kent Spatial Development company update now I'm sure you, you've all read your pack with interest.
I certainly did, and
Sorry, the East Kent Spatial Development company is a local authority control development company operating across East Kent and the surrounding area.
I think.
it's important to note the,
the partners are Canterbury City Council, Dover, District Council, Folkestone and Hythe District Council, Thanet District Council Kent County Council, the University of Kent and locate in Kent it's an interesting report and on are delighted to welcome and Councillor Lockwood, who is here this evening to take us through the report so over to you Councillor Lockwood,
thank you, Leader, as to just say.
Cllr Adrian Lockwood - 0:04:01
Give a bit of background on my declaration, in early August I was professionally engaged to project manage as as as a building surveyor, the development of the Romney Marsh enterprise hub, so I literally know that building inside out and it was behind the walls above the ceilings etc.
and then I was very lucky to be
able to visit recently with Councillor Cooper arranged by
Debbie, who's hated that the the the the Director?
to meet the cite the Bill business manager there, Damien Price, who I've had, who have worked with in the creative course of many years before that, so my my connection to this project goes back at least 12 years.
I have
a good acknowledge of that site and and I was very thankful.
Leader for your invite to become a director of this was curious to know what was happening at Bouverie House, which is the other folks, Folkestone and Hythe district.
Council project and we've had three four meetings since then, and it's a wonderful project and Debbie will expand more across the other sites, but we have a wonderful opportunity here
Between this, I think, seven partners.
We have one of two or possibly three that has more than one site within the within the district, but what I would flag and not keep this very brief, so you hit your world record, is that Bouverie House sits between Foca and the bus station and this is this is critical.
part of the LDF development, so please, any questions from herself or Debbie or the team around Dufy House.
We would welcome your ideas about getting more occupancy in that building, it's the lowest occupancy across all of the East Kent Spatial Development sites.
It's struggling a bit with its location because.
Look out the window and it needs focus to be developed and it needs the bus station site to be developed so that, thankfully, there's a plan for that in place, so I'll leave it there, we'll take any questions if there are any and handover.
To talk about the sites around Canterbury and and Whitstable, don't think there are in planning other now so so Folkestone HIV to fan it, Neil.
Jolly good.
do you want to come in
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:07:16
you will know the market, yeah so Debbie, would you like to expand a little on what Adrian has given us?
Microphone A - 0:07:29
yes, I am pleased, or if I do go on a little bit, please feel free to stop me because I've lived and breathed the K sdc since about 2002 and I can talk about it for England and I can see everyone's eyes glaze over, so please feel free to stop me but just in summary and I won't go too much about one about the
formation of the companies in the report, but in terms of business centres, our first business centre, we did developed in conjunction with the University of Kent at Canterbury, and it was really in Susan will remember the days of
the South East England Development Agency and then moving away and being closed down, and the UK SDC took on the Canterbury Innovation Centre.
which is a large sort of architecturally designed building on the University of Kent campus, and it really gave us a really good basis for the company in terms of income generation and really a major say or a forward thinking, sustainable company. Following on from that, we developed further office space and workshop units in the outcome area, which is obviously a Dover. Well, the Dover District Council area, they've always been very successful, they're managed by the ocean trust there, so it's sort of give them back at a little bit to the community, we we we let that on a profit share basis
in terms of e k SDC then reinvested funds we purchased Clover House in Whitstable, which was a building that had been empty for approximately three years, had previously been occupied by the Kent County Council.
And whilst a structurally sound building, it was nothing short of a wrecking turn lay here, as you can imagine, a building that had been empty for that period of time and but also been sort of phased out over a period of time even before that we completely gutted that building refitted it into modern we're office space and that has been,
in support of the Council Innovation Centre, a very, very successful project, so they're there that they're the main buildings outside of the Folkestone High Vern District Council area.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:09:59
OK thanks very much to be so members, do we have any questions for her guests?
A councillor should.
Thank you just wondered if there's anything on the horizon the it was
Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:10:13
mentioned, I think the reserves are looking quite healthy, going forward, so I just wondered what sort of future plans are our most
Microphone A - 0:10:24
imminent project is we're looking at and working with Dover District Council on the
does a beacon project,
which is a building, that's been developed, using them levelling-up funds, and it's a free stage building, so there's a business centre, a creative centre and college, total free, free, separate entities encased in in one building that's due to be opening in 2026.
and whilst the board haven't made a formal approval of yet there, we have had approval, in principle of being involved in the business centre side of that project in terms of in terms of what else is coming through the pipeline there isn't anything, obviously there's lots of discussions that always go on for days and anything sort of security at this time so open to options
Councillor Procter.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:11:22
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:11:25
Thank you, Jim sorry, I am mindlessly parochial, so I'm going to go with a Bouverie house at Romney Marsh because that's where we are, that's where we are.
Reading the appendix to the report, obviously it's clear that proofread house doesn't have the occupancy that you'd hope it would.
and understood I, I can see that the report says that there is no single reason, but I'd be grateful if you'd give us expand a little bit on what you think the multitude of reasons might be, that I hear what Adrian says, it doesn't have the outlook at the moment and hopefully the yeah but the new,
Town Square effectively will give it that outlook. Equally, we're doing our best to make sure we provide you with neighbours as soon as we can have all to our focus, but it's put here it can't just be that can it so it would be interesting to hear your feedback as to where that is good good, to see that
you were saying that you were having discussions about basically doubling occupancy with quite soon, and especially the ground-floor units, as well as help animation for the area and would be useful. I think that's that's an important thing as it
it currently feels like the bottom of the staircase as you will pass there at the moment because it's the bottom of a staircase and it's not feeling like that would really help the animation of our area I think so yeah I'd be interested to to to know why you feel you're having the range of reasons why you think you're having difficulties around MMA and whether it's just that that's what the market looks like or whether they think there are other things that we should know about in terms of letting space there as well.
and also just slightly to use your business case at this stage, presumably that one's not making as much contribution or any contribution to the UK SDC overall, or is it or does it wash its face anyway at 30% occupancy yeah as a tease out that as well?
The same question the the the the the the same question on the last point to Romney, Marsh business hub, presumably with the pretty excellent
Occupancy that you have there, that one actually is washington's pace, but I just I, I'm making a presumption, and I wanted to do so I'd like to know if that actually is good, you know a positive at place on your
in the investment. Thank you. Do you mind if I work backwards
Microphone A - 0:13:54
So in terms of Birmingham Irish business hub that moved into Porfirio actually last financial year and his antipathy anticipated to remain in profit, I think, at the end of the financial year that has just concluded it made in the region of we still want to tie up the final accounts but in the region of 42,000 pounds so for a centre that's opened opened you know fairly recently it's really fitted its profile profile in terms of occupancy.
In terms of a Bouverie house, Boobbyer House is losing money, so currently the AKA SDC's, if you like, funding it.
I don't believe it'll be a long-term situation, I think the the the centre will move into profit, I still have complete faith in it, I think the feedback from people who do undertake viewings is always it's probably some of the best office space in the area
and I, I think we're property, certainly for the quality of the office, one of the cheapest in the area, so I think we're pitch in PE pitch in the property Rye, I think the probably the main issue or if I could only identify one issue, and I think there are multiple certain in terms of the building it's parking.
and it's not necessarily diagnosed plenty of parking around there, it's not specifically for parking, it's the access to and from the parking, so I had had, for example, one tenant leave who clearly clearly said to us I can't do another will a winter walk in to the car park in the dark, so I think it it's so it's not necessarily the lack of parking, it's the area of around the parking, shall we say,
in terms of other tenants that have left the building. It's generally been are well, I I live in Dover, so I'm now looking for office in Dover, so it becomes very hard to tie down individual circumstances. I think the AKA SDC business model creates churn and that's not true, because this model were easy and easy at terms, people do move move out, but in order to maintain the occupancy you've got to have the people moving in and at all our centres. Since probably about April May last year, when the cost to live in here, we had that churn drop in or that level dropping because whilst we it wasn't this 78 an increase in the number of people that were vacating the building, we weren't getting those levels of people coming through and I believe it was the cost of living that impacted that now, albeit obviously a Bouverie. We were starting at a lower point when that here and I think that's that's the main reason why there is
lower
occupancy than we anticipated, so I think it's it, it's there's some.
some of it involves the building itself where it's located and the parking, but also a large part of it, is the environment, and I say that they destroy the economic environment, and I say that because we are now starting to see an increase across all of assets as an increase in interest.
To
thank you. That's really valuable and the point about parking as well, May who just said, it's not an absence of parking in the local area, there's not an absence of parking within a few them a couple of minutes walk, but it's about walking routes and drawing walking groups and well lit walking route to well lit and dry parking that's helpful feedback for property owners in the area. So yeah, thank you for that taken on board and thank you for the
I really hope that Bouverie house, children we we we don't want you going anywhere and I'm I I'm I'm sure that nobody likes to see a drag on the accounts in terms of austerity, but I've come home all the time those new clients come on board and that ground-floor is animated that it'll be close enough but it will pull through so thank you very much for that.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:18:25
o item, yes, thank you Jim just on the matter of animating the ground
Cllr Adrian Lockwood - 0:18:30
floor, and this is by no means a matter for Cabinet at all, but I have asked if the Council could provide a screen in the ground-floor window whilst it's empty showing the fly through so that people walking past can see.
The big plan that's about to unfold.
Thank you very much.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:18:56
I have a question, you hate me, Philip, it's a balance sheet question, you're your investment property increased substantially between the two years that John 22 and 23.
I was wondering whether you could you could tell us why that why that was you've got almost a 25% increase in that number from at 7,549 up to 9,737, and I'm just wondering if he was there something added to the portfolio that made that jump or was there some kind of substantial revaluation?
Microphone A - 0:19:41
We would have done it at every evaluation in that in that within that time, so we do a revaluation every two years and are in that period that might well be a been the addition of the Romney Marsh business hub.
No one could ask him.
I mean, that would be my assumption, but I could check and come back to you if that's OK, I'll be very grand, but I'm just trying to sneer sorry
no problem, so sorry to put you on the spot, it just caught my eye, I'm sorry, you are okay.
And do any other Members have any questions or queries?
So our recommendations is to receive and note the report to raise matters for consideration of the Council's appointed bulk director and company chief executive, which I think we'd done so is there a necessity to vote on this proposal?
OK, so if I could have a proposal to move the report, happy to do so, thank you very much Tim, could I have a seconder?
Councillor Fuller
thank you very much, all those in favour, please indicate.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:20:53
Thank you very much and probably didn't break any records, but that was it, that was a fairly, fairly brief, early, brief cabinet meeting, so thank you all for your participation, thank you, and now we're going to move on to.