RESOLVED that Cabinet:
a) approves that the operational management of the Sunspot (Jaywick Workspace) is now not outsourced, longer term to a third party but delivered by the Council in-house;
b) approves reliance on the previous exemption to the Council’s Procurement Procedure Rules to proceed with a contract with Colbea together with HAT projects to provide interim management and operational support to the Council for a period of 7 months;
c) delegates authority to the Corporate Director (Place & Economy), in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Housing and Business and Economic Growth, to agree the final terms of the contract;
d) approves an allocation of an additional £80,000 to the year one operational budget and in year 2 an additional £40,000 that is to be met from a corresponding reduction in the current revenue contribution to the HRA Capital Programme in 2022/23.
e) agrees that the operation of the in-house management of the Sunspot be accounted for in the General Fund, with corresponding recharges made to the HRA, as appropriate and all related property transactions including management, maintenance and rental payments being accounted for in the HRA; and
(f) authorises the Council’s Section 151 Officer to undertake the necessary changes to the budget to reflect the approach set out in (e) above within the financial parameters set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report and its appendices.