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Agenda item

Changes to Cotswold District Council's Offices at Trinity Road, Cirencester to Facilitate Agile Working and Increase Commercial Income

Purpose

To seek agreement to the changes to Cotswold District Council’s Offices at Trinity Road, Cirencester to facilitate implementation of the Agile Working Strategy, reducing costs and carbon impact of the Council’s operations and creating lettable space within the building to provide income to the Council.

 

Recommendation(s)

That Cabinet agrees:

 

(a) to support the proposed changes to office layout;

 

(b) to seek tenants to occupy space that will be created in the West wing of the building;

 

(c)  to delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive to agree lease arrangements in consultation with the Interim Head of Legal Services and the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance.

 

(d) allocate funding of up to £975,000 from the Recovery Investment Strategy budget in the Capital Programme to facilitate the changes to the Trinity Road offices and fund structure repairs identified in the building condition survey;

 

(e) The detailed costs to be agreed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance.

 

(f) To note that the gross revenue savings of £202,000 will contribute towards the savings from the Recovery Investment Strategy.

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report.

 

The proposals outlined in the report were based on feedback from staff and the requirements associated with the renting out of office space to external organisations.

 

Cabinet noted that approximately 35% of the office space at the Trinity Road site would be rented out.

 

Cabinet further noted that meeting/collaborative space would be available for Council staff to use. The future arrangements would seek to meet the needs of the Council and its employees based on their roles.

 

Cabinet noted the costs associated with the setting up of the offices to accommodate the future arrangements as outlined in the report. Works had been prioritised based on their urgency.

 

Members noted the forecasted revenue generation following the implementation of the proposed working arrangements.

 

Cabinet noted that staff would be encouraged to minimise their energy usage when working from home to assist in tackling the current climate emergency. Works would also be undertaken at the Trinity Road to improve the energy performance of the building.

 

Due to the increase in energy costs, Cabinet noted that staff and organisations would become increasingly mindful of their energy use.

 

In response to a Member query, the Cabinet noted that Officers would look at using second-hand furniture to avoid procuring new furniture which would assist in reducing the carbon footprint associated with the furnishing of the building.

 

Cabinet noted that planning work had been undertaken to ensure that teams were placed in appropriate areas away from potential tenants to minimise disruption (staff call handling teams being in their own designated areas, along with staff dealing with sensitive information being afforded privacy for example). This work would be continually progressed.

 

Cabinet expressed a view that it would be important to ensure that the new offices were comfortable and modern which would aid productivity and would appeal to internal staff and external organisations looking to rent space within the Trinity Road site.

 

Cabinet were provided with assurance that the gender split in terms of future office space usage would be monitored as well as the gender pay gap.

 

Cabinet noted that provision for staff being able to wash and shower at the office would be included in the future plans. This was particularly relevant for staff who sometimes worked in muddy/dirty conditions off-site but who would often need to return to the office later in the day.

 

As part of these works, Cabinet noted that work would be undertaken to de-clutter the building to increase the amount of usable space.

 

A separate piece of work would be undertaken in the future to determine how the Council’s civic space might be used and utilised.  

 

Councillor Mike Evemy proposed that the final decision on whether or not to proceed with the proposals should be submitted for the Council to take a final decision at the 16 March 2022 meeting.

 

This was seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Cabinet agrees to recommend that Council:

 

(a) Supports the proposed changes to office layout;

 

(b) Seeks tenants to occupy space that will be created in the West wing of the building;

 

(c) Delegates authority to the Deputy Chief Executive to agree lease arrangements in consultation with the Interim Head of Legal Services and the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance. Page 95

 

(d) Allocates funding of up to £975,000 from the Recovery Investment Strategy budget in the Capital Programme to facilitate the changes to the Trinity Road offices and fund structure repairs identified in the building condition survey;

 

(e) That the detailed costs be agreed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance.

 

(f) Notes that the gross revenue savings of £202,000 will contribute towards the savings from the Recovery Investment Strategy.

 

Record of Voting – for: 7, against: 0, abstention: 0, absent: 1

Supporting documents:

 

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