Agenda item

Roger Parkin, Director, Customer and Community Services, introduced a report, providing Members with an update on the SBC Accommodation Strategy, including detail on the impact on services and stuff during and after the various office moves.

The Committee was advised that since 2008, the Council has transformed the way assets were used and substantial savings had been achieved, since the closure of the The Town Hall.  The number of desks had been reduced from 1400 to 800 in St Martins Place. The Director discussed a number of initiatives introduced to support new ways of working, which had received very positive feedback from staff. These included the opening of  a Business Suite on the 1^st floor west at St Martins Place  and a number of informal meeting spaces enabling staff to have informal discussions awys from the desk area.  Another improvement was an increase in the number of meeting rooms, therefore reducing the councils spend on hiring space.

It was also noted that Video Conferencing had been installed in the CMT meeting room and this would reduce the need for people to travel elsewhere to attend meetings. Wi-Fiwould be installed as part of this project and working space at Chalvey Community Centre, Britwell Centre and Manor Park Centre, would enable staff to log in there for short periods away from the office between meetings.

The Director advised that an Asset Challenge Project would support the objectives of the Accommodation Stratey Project Board and Corporate Landlord.  All three projects had been set up to support each other while achieving a similar objective, i.e. financial savings for the council.

The Committee was advised that from the feedback available there had been minimal impact to staff in view of the extent of the work that was  being undertaken to upgrade the mechanical and electrical equipment during working hours.  Staff in general had welcomed the new office environment, finding it airy, with a more open and less congested feeling.  No negative feedback had  been received regarding the smaller desk space apart from tall members of staff regarding the desk bar located underneath the desk.  The supplier had changed the bars where requested.  Chairs had proven to be a  little problematic, with so many people having different requirements and preferences, preventing a standard chair for all.  The majority of staff were satisfied with the new chairs, and the supplier had again been very helpful in  resolving any issues.

The Director advised that unfortunately the office temperature would not be  consistent throughout the building until all the mechanical upgrading work was complete.  Where possible windows would be opened if the temperature was too warm.

Members raised a number of questions/ comments in the ensuing discussion:

·  What were the specific problems around office temperatures?  The valves in the system opened and closed to regulate temperature but at the moment these could not be fully controlled. The Director confirmed that the system would operate successfully when the system works were completed.

·  When would the work be completed and could an assurance be given that the system would work correctly? The ground floor would be finished for the return of staff on 19^th April. It was confirmed that the system would be sealed, balanced and would work correctly.

·  Did the system circulate fresh air? It was confirmed that  this was the case.

·  Was there flexibility in the accomodation strategy and were there any areas of concern?  The future desk policy would allow 6 desks for 10 staff. The wiring was completed in the building and the new Air Con system would be guaranteed for 10 years. Some issues remained around roof repairs and it had been necessary tosubmit a capital bid to remedy this. 

·  Was there any correlation between the levels of sickness and the accomodation strategy? None were identified but an Ofsted inspection had identified that there were a lack of meeting rooms in the building and this had been improved through further provision.

·  The number of desks had reduced from 1400 to 800. Did this reflect the reduction in actual staff numbers?  In part there had been a reduction but also a number of staff worked part time so there had not been a reduction of 600.

·  What was the cost of the refurbishments to St Martin’s Place? The works in the current phase cost £3m. Reduced maintenance costs would result in substantial revenue savings. £1.2 m had been spent since the move to St Martins Place but there would be considerable savings going forward.

·  It was suggested that the murals that had been placed on several walls were not attractive. Why had scenes of local interest not been used instead? The murals were inexpensive ‘ off the shelf’ additions to provide feature walls. To commission bespoke scenes of local landmarks would have been too costly.

·  When would the Accommodation Strategy be completed? The current phase would be completed on 16^th April 2016.

·  When the Town Hall was vacated, there was an understanding that the Council Chamber could be used in future for meetings.  Why had this materialised? It was thought that there were issues around disabled access as the school had no lift. The Chief Executive advised that she would investigate this matter and report back to Councillor Dhaliwal.

Resolved-  That the report be noted.