Strategic property policy

Sales and disposal of property

Introduction

Property is one of the Authority’s most important strategic resources. That is why there needs to be a robust approach to the management of its property assets to ensure that they are being used to deliver the best and most cost effective outcomes for the Authority and residents of the Borough.

This Strategic Property Policy Framework (SPPF) provides a pragmatic approach to how the Authority will deliver relevant property activities to support the Estates Strategy and facilitate the most intelligent and informed property decisions.

Property disposals

The Authority will continually review its property assets and seek to dispose of those that are no longer needed for service delivery or for commercial let. This will be through the following disposal routes:-

Sale by competitive tender

This should always be the first choice for disposals to ensure best value. It is accepted that the highest financial offer received for a property asset may not always be the one that delivers the best outcome for the Authority and residents of the Borough. The sale of a residential property for example will usually be based on the highest offer received where the forward use remains the same. However other considerations must be taken into account, for example where the highest offer is part of a chain and is not able to complete within a reasonable timeframe.

Where a property asset has other potential uses then an evaluation and scoring matrix should be used when analysing tenders received. This should take account of the following main criteria where applicable:-

  • Policy objectives of the Authority;

  • Financial consideration;

  • Planning/Highways considerations;

  • Sustainability of the proposal;

  • Deliverability/timeliness, and;

  • Bidder status/standing

The evaluation and scoring matrix should be prepared in advance of each tender so that bidders are aware of the scoring criteria and are therefore able to ensure that their bid meets the Authority’s requirements.

Tender Evaluation

The evaluation and scoring of tenders should be carried out by a panel of officers from relevant services. These can include, but not limited to Strategic Property, Legal Services, Planning, Highway Services and the Finance Team. Once scored and a preferred tender is identified, this should then be reported as a recommendation.

Late Tenders

In a tender situation, a closing date and time for the receipt of tenders will be specified and no offers received after that date will be will be considered.

Non-Compliant Tenders

Any tenders received which are not in accordance with the procedure set down prior to marketing the property asset will be reported to the appropriate committee.

Sale by Private Treaty

To ensure the Authority’s obligation to deliver best value, a private treaty sale should only be considered in circumstances where the purchaser falls into one of the following categories:-

  • They own land or property immediately adjacent to the Authority’s property asset and that by linking the respective assets together this will ensure the best property outcome.

  • The proposed purchaser is in the best position to ensure that the Authority’s property asset is developed or utilised effectively