In December 2018, full Council had agreed the Property Investment Strategy (PIS), however following Government guidance and legal advice it was considered necessary to revise the PIS, as well as amend the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Property Investment Panel (PIP).

To date, a total of £24.696m (out of £35m), summarised at Appendix 1 to the report had been either spent or approved which had produced a gross annual income of £886,000.  All properties acquired were located within the district and comprised a mixture of retail, industrial and office properties, as well as development sites.

Members were advised that it was unlikely that the Council would be able to meet the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) income targets.  It would continue to focus on acquiring properties within the district however there was a case for broadening the Council’s search area in order to meet the MTFS targets.  This included focus on acquiring commercial properties beyond the district boundaries for investment and revenue generation.  Legal and Government guidance would require the Council to develop a Commercial Investment Strategy which would act as a companion strategy to the PIS.  A revised draft PIS was attached at Appendix 2 to the report which extended the search area to a radius of approximately 40 miles from the Rother boundary.

Following the elections in May 2019 membership of the PIP had changed, therefore it was recommended that the Panel’s composition be made up of three Executive Councillors and three non-Executive Councillors.  A revised draft ToR was attached at Appendix 3 to the report.

A general discussion ensued on the properties that had been acquired since 2018, with particular regard to current decreased values on some, but not all, sites.  The Head of Acquisitions, Transformation and Regeneration advised that this was attributed to a number of factors, namely fluctuations in the current market, change of valuer etc.  It was considered imperative that the Council expanded its investment portfolio to support regeneration within the district and maintain a steady income to deliver services.

Cabinet recommended that the revised PIS be approved and adopted and agreed the revised Terms of Reference and membership to include the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance and Performance.  They were supportive of Internal Audit’s recommendations which included adopting a weighted scorecard system, the production of risks registers and a check list for each acquisition.  It was also agreed that all Members of Cabinet, as well as Members and officers of the PIP received property investment training.

RECOMMENDED: That the revised Property Investment Strategy set out at Appendix 2 to the report be approved and adopted.

AND

*RESOLVED: That:

1)     the revised Terms of Reference for the Property Investment Panel set out in Appendix 3 to the report be approved;

2)     membership of the Property Investment Panel include the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance and Performance; and

3)     all Members of Cabinet and Members and officers of the Property Investment Panel receive property investment training.

*The RESOLVED parts of this minute are subject to the call-in procedure under Rule 16 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

(When it first became apparent, Councillor Dixon declared a personal interest in this matter in so far as he was a Director of Sea Change Sussex and in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct remained in the room during the consideration thereof).