Issue - meetings

Background:

This report set out proposals to grant delegated authority to officers to let a children’s nursery at Kingfisher Primary School, Chatham and transfer some of the redundant land and buildings at the former Chatham South School site to Chatham Grammar School for Boys.

Members were advised that the existing tenant’s 5-year lease for the children’s nursery at Kingfisher Primary School was due to expire on 29 January 2014 and they were seeking a purchaser for the business. It was noted that the existing tenant had agreed terms for the sale of the business to another nursery provider and the council had provisionally agreed terms to take a surrender of the existing tenant’s lease and grant a lease of up to 10 years to the new nursery provider.

In relation to the former Chatham South School site, it was noted that some of the land and buildings were not required for the creation of the new primary age Academy. On 12 June 2012 that Cabinet had approved the transfer of part of the accommodation to meet the curriculum needs of Chatham Grammar School for Boys and the school had approached the Council to add these buildings to its existing leasehold interest for use in delivering its curriculum.

The report considered the options available on both these sites.

The Cabinet agreed to accept this report as an urgent item, so to enable officers to progress both of these matters at the earliest opportunity.

Reasons:

In respect of the Nursery at Kingfisher Primary School this decision will provide continuity of the nursery service to local residents and the school and to maintain a revenue stream from the asset.

The decisions will assist Chatham Grammar School for Boys to meet its existing curriculum needs and to enable the School to offer an improved performing arts curriculum for the whole School and in particular for the Sixth Form.