HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

CABINET

MONDAY 21 JULY 2008 AT 2.00 p.m.

WORMLEY JMI SCHOOL

Report of the Corporate Director (People and Property)

Author: Colin Cooper, Principal Estates Officer - Tel: 01992 588114

Executive Members: David Lloyd, Keith Emsall

Local Member: Alan Searing

1.  Purpose of report

1.1 To seek approval to the acquisition of the site of the buildings area of the current Wormley JMI School.

2.  Summary

2.1 Following a review of primary school places in Hoddesdon and Wormley, Cabinet agreed at its meeting on 6 October 2006 to close Ley Park Primary School from 31 August 2008 and to move the establishment of Wormley C of E Primary School on to the Ley Park site.

2.2 The site of the buildings area of the current Wormley JMI School is owned by the church school authority (the St Albans Diocesan Board of Finance) and, under the legislation governing voluntary controlled schools, the site of the buildings on the Ley Park site should be in the ownership of the church school authority once the school is operational on its new site in September 2008.

2.3 When Cabinet took its decision in October 2006 an assumption was made that the County Council would transfer the freehold of the buildings on the Ley Park site in exchange for the church school authority transferring back to the County Council the buildings on the current Wormley JMI site at no capital cost to either party.

2.4 Further discussions have taken place with the St Albans Diocese who has confirmed that it is willing to enter into the land exchange arrangement as envisaged.

2.5 The transfer of the freehold of the current Wormley JMI School buildings will enable the County Council to make decisions on the future of that site, including the playing field which is already in the freehold ownership of the County Council.

2.6 There is ongoing feasibility work to establish the options for re-use or disposal of the site and a further report will be brought before Cabinet in order to agree the future of the site.

3. Recommendation

3.1  That the County Council enters into a land exchange with the St Albans Diocese in order to transfer to the Diocese the site of the buildings area part of the Ley Park Primary School site in exchange for the Diocese transferring to the County Council the freehold of the site of the current Wormley JMI School buildings and the Corporate Director (People and Property) be authorised to agree the terms of such land exchange.

3.2 That the County Council provides a notional capital grant in order to establish the voluntary controlled school on its new site and in order to establish an equality of exchange of the two sites.

4. Background

4.1 At its meeting on 26 October 2006, Cabinet agreed to the closure of Ley Park Primary School, Wormley and to move the establishment of Wormley C of E Primary School from its current site in Laurence Drive on to the Ley Park site with effect from September 2008.

4.2 Works are currently in hand to enable the capacity of the Ley Park buildings to be enhanced so that the relocated Wormley School can be operational for the start of the 2008/9 academic year.

4.3 The current Wormley JMI School is a Church of England, voluntary controlled school where the church school authority (the St Albans Diocese) owns the freehold of the existing buildings area and the County Council owns the playing field.

4.4 The County Council owns the freehold of the whole of the Ley Park site.

4.5 The October 2006 Cabinet decision did not deal with the land transfer issues. It is necessary, therefore, for the County Council to transfer to the St Albans Diocese the site of the Ley Park buildings and for the church school authority to transfer, in exchange, for the County Council’s freehold of the current Wormley School buildings.

5. Financial Implications

5.1 The estimated market value of the site of the existing Wormley Primary School buildings is in the order of £2m. This is on the assumption it is vacant and can be promoted as a brownfield site for appropriate development.

5.2 The estimated market value of the site of the Ley Park buildings is in the order of £2.5m. This is on the assumption it is vacant and could be promoted as a brownfield site for appropriate development, which is not in fact the case as it is to continue to be used as a school site.

5.3  The County Council has powers under the provisions of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to give financial support to the Voluntary Controlled schools in such circumstances and therefore an exchange of land without any financial adjustment can be achieved. It should be noted that the St Albans Diocesan Board of Finance has no free capital resources and therefore would not be able to agree to a land transaction on any other basis.

5.4 The financial adjustment is merely nominal in the circumstances.

080721 wormley jmi school

3