Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Corporate Director of Resources, Richard Ennis

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note that BBB has not needed to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within July 2021 Cabinet Report.

2.    Note that the Council has now shared a draft Protocol with Brick by Brick on the disposal of 5 out of 6 sites that were approved for disposal in the July 2021 Brick by Brick Cabinet report and this is close to being finalised so that the assets can be progressed to be marketed. Details are provided within section 4 of the report.

3.    Note the change in consideration on the Belgrave & Grosvenor site, as detailed in Section 4 of the report in order that a detailed due diligence and assessment of regeneration opportunities for the site can be carried out for the benefit of the Council. Further approval will be sought from Cabinet in the event that the outcome of the assessment favours development rather than disposing the site.

4.    Note the progress being made on repayment of the loan as advised within the confidential Part B, Appendix 1, of the report. As at end of August 2021, it is envisaged that the Company will pay £139m back to the Council against an outstanding loan balance of £161m.

5.    Note that, in accordance with the February and July Cabinet reports, sales receipts have been recycled by Brick by Brick and to total of £17.18m

6.    Note that (if approved) the Governance and Performance monitoring of Brick by Brick will be carried out under Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) as advised by the Governance of Brick By Brick Croydon Ltd report also being presented at the same Cabinet as this report.

The Leader (Councillor Hamida Ali) introduced the report which outlined the progress update for Brick by Brick, in relation to papers previously considered by Cabinet earlier in the year. These progress updates would also be monitored monthly by the Croydon Companies’ Supervision and Monitoring Panel (CCSMP).

Cabinet Members noted the following:

·         The expertise of recent officer appointments was positive for the organisation.

·         The case for the Belgrave and Grosvenor site would need to be compelling, supported with evidence, for the use if not a disposal. This site would be discussed in detail at the next Advisory Board, as detailed in the report.

·         It was positive that the council did not need to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within the July 2021 Cabinet Report.

Shadow Cabinet Members stated the following:

·         The loan figure in the report of £161 million did not include that associated with Fairfield Halls, which the Member claimed would reflect an actual figure of £240 million.

·         Confirmation was asked if any of the Brick by Brick sites in the report were sold to the company for a profit and not given for free or essentially no cost.

The Leader confirmed that any transfer of land was only completed on the basis that the land did not hold positive value. The Interim Director of Commercial Investment added that on previous land transfers to Brick by Brick the sites were aiming to deliver 50% affordable homes, adding that was a packaged approach to transfer value.

In response to Members, the Monitoring Officer (John Jones) stated that commercial sensitivity was determined ahead of report publication and Cabinet could later decide if any information could be openly released.

The Cabinet moved the recommendation to Exclude the Press and Public (minute no. 161/21) to discuss the Part B report. The Cabinet made the decisions below in Part A following the discussion in Part B.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.    Note that BBB has not needed to call upon the additional £10m working capital facility that was requested within July 2021 Cabinet Report.

2.    Note that the Council has now shared a draft Protocol with Brick by Brick on the disposal of 5 out of 6 sites that were approved for disposal in the July 2021 Brick by Brick Cabinet report and this is close to being finalised so that the assets can be progressed to be marketed. Details are provided within section 4 of the report.

3.    Note the change in consideration on the Belgrave & Grosvenor site, as detailed in Section 4 of the report in order that a detailed due diligence and assessment of regeneration opportunities for the site can be carried out for the benefit of the Council. Further approval will be sought from Cabinet in the event that the outcome of the assessment favours development rather than disposing the site.

4.    Note the progress being made on repayment of the loan as advised within the confidential Part B, Appendix 1, of the report. As at end of August 2021, it is envisaged that the Company will pay £139m back to the Council against an outstanding loan balance of £161m.

5.    Note that, in accordance with the February and July Cabinet reports, sales receipts have been recycled by Brick by Brick and to total of £17.18m

6.    Note that (if approved) the Governance and Performance monitoring of Brick by Brick will be carried out under Brick by Brick Shareholder Cabinet Advisory Board (the “Advisory Board”) as advised by the Governance of Brick By Brick Croydon Ltd report also being presented at the same Cabinet as this report.