Agenda item

    Report by Corporate Director Terence Herbert.

Cllr Philip Whitehead presented a report which set out proposals received for the sale of the Council’s outdoor education sites and operation at Oxenwood and Braeside, and identified the preferred bidders.

The Leader invited statements and questions as detailed below:

Giles Aspinall, Chief Executive of the Magdalen Environmental Trust, who had submitted a tender for the purchase of Braeside Outdoor Education Centre.  The statement and question from Mr Aspinall was published on the Council’s website prior to the Cabinet meeting. The statement detailed the concerns of Mr Aspinall that the proposed arrangements for Braeside were outside the published parameters of the sale, which was in contradiction to the resolution made by Cabinet on 27^th March 2018. The statement also relayed a concern about the report omitting key information from the Trust’s tender with regard to social value.

Rachael Ross, representing Devizes Labour Party, (i) was pleased to read in the report that the closure of Braeside would be deferred until January 2020 at the latest, although she was unsure about the detail of the proposed move to Lackham College; (ii) asked about increased transparency within the process, since the Cabinet meeting on 27^th March 2018; and (iii) asked for details about the Council’s plans for future consultation on the sale of both Centre’s and the decision process. Ms Ross, commented later in the meeting about the importance of staff consultation and asked that the future of Braeside is considered as a separate entity to Oxenwood.  

In response to the questions from Mr Aspinall and Ms Ross, Cllr Whitehead (i) explained that they key financial information was contained in the exempt report, which would be considered later in the meeting; (ii) commented on the exhaustive consultation already undertaken with stakeholders regarding the future operation of the two outdoor education centres; and (iii) explained that the report proposed to delegate to officers, in consultation with the Cabinet member, negotiations with the preferred bidders and the completion of contracts on terms to be agreed.

Cllr Whitehead reminded the Cabinet that they had considered the review of outdoor education facilities at their meeting on 27^th March 2018 and agreed that both Braeside and Oxenwood would close in August 2018. Following representation from the public and community groups, and organisations expressing interest in continuing the Centre’s operations, an exercise was undertaken to explore the interest further. Cabinet at its meeting on 2^nd June 2018 agreed to keep the Centre’s open until December 2018 and a formal bidding process commenced. Seven proposals were received and evaluated against an agreed set of criteria by officers. In addition to the review and evaluation by officers, the proposals were considered by outdoor education staff, outdoor education specialists and the Traded Services for School Task Group. Cllr Whitehead thanked all involved in the negotiations for their contributions, which were very valuable and assisted in the development of the proposals to be considered by the Cabinet for the future of outdoor education in Wiltshire.

The Leader welcomed John Hawkins, Chairman of the Traded Services for School Task Group, who undertook a review of outdoor education and the evidence previously presented to Cabinet. Mr Hawkins thanked the Cabinet for the opportunity given to the Task Group to be consulted on outdoor education facilities within Wiltshire. He referred to the Task Group report and comments on the proposals, and welcomed the proposals detailed in the Cabinet report. Mr Hawkins explained that the Task Group appreciated that a careful balancing act had to be taken on the bids received and the requirement for the Council to achieve savings.

Mr Hawkins asked the Cabinet not to preclude other bidders at this stage in case negotiations did not come to fruition. Cllr Whitehead confirmed that this would be the case.

Cllr Whitehead responded to questions about staff consultation and the facilities available at Lackham College, compared to those at Braeside, and he indicated that consultation and discussion with staff was very important and would continue, and the Council were considering the long term multigenerational viability of facilities.

Cllr Jon Hubbard thanked (i) Mr Hawkins for his excellent Chairmanship of the Task Group, (ii) Cllr Whitehead and his officer team, for the open and transparent work they have undertaken, which has helped the process to be more productive and ensured targeted comments and feedback had been received. Cllr Hubbard welcomed the preferred bidder for Oxenwood and suggested this be taken forward as soon as possible.  The issues surrounding Braeside would be more difficult to complete, as there needed to be a solution that ensured that a suitable facility was available for future generations.

Cllr Thorn, Chairman of the Financial Planning Task Group, thanked Cllr Whitehead for engaging and taking on board the comments of Task Groups. He also welcomed the outcome for Oxenwood, although still had concerns about the proposals for Braeside.

Cllr Wheeler referred to and welcomed the proposals for Oxenwood including the preferred bidder’s proposal to move the offices to Lackham. He felt that it was an ideal opportunity for the development of an education programme.  He also welcomed the involvement of residents in the east of the county who signed a Facebook petition on the matter.

Cllr Whitehead indicated that if any of the proposals were accepted, the Council could be accepting a ‘less than best financial consideration’ for one or both sites for alternative uses. The decision, would however, be offset by the broader social and economic values which are likely to be delivered through the proposals. He thanked officers for their hard work in generating interest in the future operations of the outdoor education facilities, and the originators of the online petition which generated interest in the matter.

Resolved:

i)     Cabinet delegates to the Director for Children’s Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement, ICT and Operational Assets, the commencement of negotiations with the preferred bidders Wiltshire College and Community First, having regard to the recommendations and advice of the Outdoor Education Scrutiny Task Group.

ii)    Cabinet approves the deferral of closure of Braeside and Oxenwood outdoor education site until at the latest January 2020 to allow for negotiations and successful transfer arrangements.

iii)  Cabinet delegates to the Director for Children’s Service in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement, ICT and Operational Assets the completion of contracts to sell and/or transfer the Councils outdoor education businesses on terms to be agreed, including sale of the asset at less than best consideration providing social value benefit can be demonstrated.

Reason for Decision:

i)      Following the Council’s review of the two outdoor education sites, Braeside and Oxenwood, and the Cabinet’s decision to close both sites, interested parties have come forward through a formal process with viable proposals for the continuation of outdoor education in Wiltshire.

ii)    This report considers the formal submissions received and how best to continue the provision of outdoor education in Wiltshire.