The Executive Director Communities and People has submitted a report which seeks project approval and delegation to award the construction contract for the refurbishment of  the East Oxford Community Centre building and extension of  it with a new and highly efficient building. The project will include the provision of 26 housing units situated across two sites.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.    Grant Project Approval in line with the planning approvals of December 2020, to refurbish the existing East Oxford Community Centre building and extend it with a new and highly efficient building and 26housing units that will be situated across Princes Street and Collins Street and to demolish the four existing buildings that are no longer fit for purpose to enable this;

2.    Grant approval to dispose of the land at Catherine Street for the purpose of an external housing development which will contribute to the business case for the community centre;

3.    Delegate agreement to the sale of the Catherine Street site to the Executive Director for Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management as long as the sale price (reflecting any conditions) fulfils the requirements of s123 of the Local Government Act 1972;  

4.    Recommend to Council the appropriation of the land being developed for housing at Princes Street and at Collins Street from the General Fund into the Housing Revenue Account at the equivalent loan debt value of £1.491m;

5.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with Executive Director Communities and People, the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management and Inclusive Communities the authority to award and enter into the construction contract for the Community Centre refurbishment and new build to Oxford Direct Services Ltd subject to the full tender submission being within the agreed budget and an independent quantity surveyor demonstrating that this is value for money and ensuring unlawful subsidy is avoided;

6.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with the Executive Director Communities and People, the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management, Affordable Housing, Housing Security and Homelessness the authority to award and enter into the construction contract for the new build Housing scheme subject to the full tender submission being within the agreed budget and a legally compliant procurement process being followed;

7.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Head of Corporate Property, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management and Inclusive Communities, the authority to agree new terms for the community group leases which may include a letting at below market value in exchange for social value; and

8.    Note the intention to work with community groups within the locality to explore the feasibility and viability of future management arrangements for the Community centre. With the intention that any potential change of operation be implemented a minimum of a full year after the completion and re-opening of the centre.

The Executive Director Communities and People had submitted a report seeking project approval and delegation to award the construction contract for the refurbishment of  the East Oxford Community Centre building and extension of  it with a new and highly efficient building. The project will include the provision of 26 housing units situated across two sites.

Cllr Shaista Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities, was pleased to introduce the report which brought forward proposals for this exciting development at the centre of multicultural Oxford and which aligned with the Council’s environmental strategy. It was hoped that the new centre would become home, not just to those community groups which have used it before but to new ones  too.  Central to the scheme was the welcome provision of 12 social rented homes  and 14 shared ownership homes.

Douglas Kerrigan, Development Team Leader PMO, said an important element of the scheme had been the work invested in seeking to secure a sustainable building. 

The hoped for engagement of Oxford Direct Services Limited (ODSL) in elements of the scheme would have the added benefits of a return to the Council as well as giving ODSL a useful opportunity to develop its expertise in this area.

While the scheme had taken several years to reach this point the Chair said this had not been for want of trying and was in no small part due to the welcome and extensive engagement local communities  and groups.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Grant Project Approval in line with the planning approvals of December 2020, to refurbish the existing East Oxford Community Centre building and extend it with a new and highly efficient building and 26housing units that will be situated across Princes Street and Collins Street and to demolish the four existing buildings that are no longer fit for purpose to enable this;

2.    Grant approval to dispose of the land at Catherine Street for the purpose of an external housing development which will contribute to the business case for the community centre;

3.    Delegate agreement to the sale of the Catherine Street site to the Executive Director for Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management as long as the sale price (reflecting any conditions) fulfils the requirements of s123 of the Local Government Act 1972;  

4.    Recommend to Council the appropriation of the land being developed for housing at Princes Street and at Collins Street from the General Fund into the Housing Revenue Account at the equivalent loan debt value of £1.491m;

5.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with Executive Director Communities and People, the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management and Inclusive Communities the authority to award and enter into the construction contract for the Community Centre refurbishment and new build to Oxford Direct Services Ltd subject to the full tender submission being within the agreed budget and an independent quantity surveyor demonstrating that this is value for money and ensuring unlawful subsidy is avoided;

6.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with the Executive Director Communities and People, the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management, Affordable Housing, Housing Security and Homelessness the authority to award and enter into the construction contract for the new build Housing scheme subject to the full tender submission being within the agreed budget and a legally compliant procurement process being followed;

7.    Delegate to the Executive Director Development in consultation with the S151 officer, Head of Law and Governance, Head of Corporate Property, Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management and Inclusive Communities, the authority to agree new terms for the community group leases which may include a letting at below market value in exchange for social value; and

8.    Note the intention to work with community groups within the locality to explore the feasibility and viability of future management arrangements for the Community centre. With the intention that any potential change of operation be implemented a minimum of a full year after the completion and re-opening of the centre.