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Council-owned community assets in Camden

Jeff Hopwood, Community Assets Strategy LeadCamden Council

jeff.hopwood@camden.gov.uk

Community centres

Day centres

TRA halls

Children’s centres

Nurseries

Play centres

Voluntary sector

What do we know about what we’ve got?

Commercial / shops

Parks

Libraries

Leisure centres

Schools

The Problems

• 200+ premises• Variety of occupation arrangements• Need for capital receipts • Need for corporate approach• Need to better understand social value• Desire to empower VCS and continue their

independence

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Our approach

• Rent relief – pragmatic application• Work with VCS to develop a new lease• Community Investment Programme• Assessing social value

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Rent relief

• For VCOs occupying LBC premises• If client base is:

– >90% Camden residents = 100% rent relief– 50-90% Camden residents = 50% rent relief– <50% Camden residents = no rent relief

• Awarded from 1st January 2012 to 31st March 2015

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The new VCS lease

• 20 year lease, outside L&T Act• Market rent less 35% - rent relief awarded separately• 3 year’s notice break option where:

1. LBC intends to redevelopment

2. Landlord’s repairing liabilities become excessive

• LBC will use all reasonable endeavours to re-provide suitable alternative accommodation

• Clarifies responsibilities – on both sides• No need for guarantor or surety• Letter of comfort – pledge to support external funding bids

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Community Investment Programme

• 15 year plan to invest money in schools, homes and community facilities.

• £403m capital funding gap – lost over £200m of capital funding from government

• Redeveloping or selling buildings or land that are underused or expensive to maintain

• Objective is to raise £300m to:– Deliver 2750 new homes– Invest £178m in 13,000 existing homes– Invest £117m in 58 schools and children’s centres– Provide 9,000m2 of improved community facilities & space

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Social value assessment modelQuadrant 3 Low LBC cost / low impact

Quadrant 4 Low LBC cost / high impact

Quadrant 1 High LBC cost / low impact

Quadrant 2 High LBC cost / high impact

100%Ext’l £ 50% 100%LBC £

Low impact Camden Plan High impact

Investment

This model correlates the perceived value of the benefits of services / activities provided from the premises against the cost of the premises to the council.

The objective is that premises fall into Quadrant 4 – the greatest impact at the lowest cost.

This can also be applied to 3rd party community premises, enabling a comparison with LBC premises in a neighbourhood.

Links and contact

• VCS investment & support programme and rent relief – www.camden.gov.uk/vcs

• VCS lease - http://democracy.camden.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=4049 item 9, section 5 & appendix 13

• Community Investment Programme – www.camden.gov.uk/cip

• Camden Plan – www.camden.gov.uk/camdenplan • Contact - jeff.hopwood@camden.gov.uk

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