Orkney Islands Council Community Asset Transfer HIE Asset Transfer Workshop, 15 June 2017 Orkney Islands Council Community Asset Transfer OVERVIEW ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL

ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL The Team Requests are managed through the Estates Team, part of the Corporate Services Directorate Head of Service: Hayley Green x2309 hayley.green@orkney.gov.uk Estates Manager: Graeme Christie x2303 graeme.christie@orkney.gov.uk ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL

Where to find what you need All information is available on the Council’s website: http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/P/asset-transfer-requests-community-empowerment.htm Expression of interest in an Asset Transfer Asset Transfer Request Form Orkney Islands Council Property List – Feb 2017 ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL

How would you make an application? Community bodies are encouraged to discuss their ideas at an early stage: ‘pre-application’. Easiest way – phone us or send an email. We are happy to meet with you well in advance of any application. An Expression of Interest Form is available from the 'Related Downloads' section of this page. Completing this early on helps us understand what you need. The application itself should be submitted using our Asset Transfer Request Form, which is also available online. The Scottish Government guidance should be followed in any application submitted, including supporting and detailed information where this will be essential to the Council’s decision making process.

What happens then? Your application will be reviewed. We will check to see if we have all the information that we need in order to accept the application as valid. If we do, we will let you know and the clock starts ticking – we have six months to make our decision unless we agree a later deadline with you. If we don’t accept your application as valid we will get back to you with feedback. We’re happy to meet with you if that would be helpful. To be able to give you the best advice it will be helpful if you can describe all aspects of your project – this will make it easier for us to understand your objectives and provide you with the best advice we can.

Once the application is validated The full application will be published online and community feedback invited within 20 working days of publication. Any feedback received will be sent to the applicant and will be published online along with the applicants response (if provided) - personal details will be removed. Team formed within the Council to process the application - includes Estates, Finance, Legal, Community Development and Service representation. A date will be set for Elected Members to make the decision within six months. Scottish Government Guidelines will be followed. The review of the application will be ongoing and you may be asked to provide additional information about your proposed project.

Who makes the decision? At the end of the review process, Officers will submit a report with a recommendation to the Asset Management Sub-committee. At the sub-committee meeting Officers will present their report and the Asset Management Sub-committee will be asked to make the decision. Assumption that the decision will be yes unless there is a good reason for the decision to be no – in line with the Scottish Government Guidelines. Sub-committee meetings may be able to be held in public, but this will be at the discretion of the Asset Management Sub-committee. The applicant will be formally advised of the decision following the meeting and a Decision Notice will be issued. If the request is agreed, the applicant must submit their formal offer within six months of the Decision Notice.

What if we didn’t agree with the request? If the application is refused, or if it is agreed on different terms than those contained in the original request, there is a right of appeal to the Community Asset Transfer Review Sub-committee. This is made up of seven Elected Members who were not part of the original decision making process. Applicants must request a review within 20 working days of the date of the Decision Notice issued by the Council. If the applicant is still unhappy with the decision, then there is a further right of appeal to the Scottish Government. The Council is not able to dispose of the requested property by sale or lease to any other party whilst an application, review or appeal is being processed.

Will the Council apply any conditions? Each application will be considered on its own merits. Community feedback, and other factors may influence whether there is a benefit to apply conditions. Conditions will be considered by the Asset Management Sub-committee when making the decision. Conditions could relate to the price to be paid by the applicant, the terms of any sale or lease, or any other matter considered relevant by the Council.

Legal Costs and any other costs? The Act recommends the applicant and the Council jointly instruct and pay for a valuation report. The joint valuation report can be used freely by the applicant in funding applications to support their project. If a request is agreed, the Council may require our reasonable legal costs to be paid by the applicant. Applicants should ensure they have sufficient funding in place to cover all property costs from the date of transfer – this may include electricity, insurance, rates and maintenance costs, in addition to any improvements or alterations that form part of the project.

Support available to Groups?

Feedback from the process so far… The Council needs to be able to robustly assess and challenge any proposals submitted, therefore it is crucial that applicants have a well defined project with clear objectives, risks and outcomes and can demonstrate this at an early stage. The bigger the “ask” the bigger and better your supporting information needs to be. Financial sustainability of a project is crucial – if it isn’t sustainable for the long term then it is unlikely to be supported. Community bodies are encouraged to work collaboratively with their peers and like minded partners to produce viable projects that will deliver significant community benefits – “going it alone” may make a project less viable and therefore it may be harder to obtain support. The Council doesn’t have all the answers!!

Other help available? Any Community Group that is interested in acquiring an asset from the Council has a number of ways in which it can do that. Making an Asset Transfer Request may not be the best choice at the time. LEASES - Some of our property is already available to lease. Leases can be a very flexible way to try running an asset but without a long term commitment, a ‘toe in the water’. LEASES BELOW MARKET VALUE - OIC supports a number of organisations with a lease below market value. Less common than it was due to financial pressures, a Council Service needs to make up the difference in rent. SALE – A commercial arrangement which can be progressed at any time.

Participation requests? Participation requests are an opportunity for communities to establish formal dialogue with public service authorities. They are not intended to replace good quality existing community engagement or participation processes, nor are they intended to be an extension of complaints procedures. The Council is currently putting in place a policy and procedure for handling participation requests along with a locally-adapted version of the Guidance. Anna Whelan, OIC’s Strategy Manager is the first point of contact with backup from the Marie Love, our Community Planning Business Manager. They will offer support to potential community participation bodies before and during the submission of a request.

Participation requests? The Regulations set out a timetable which public service authorities must follow in processing a participation request – a flowchart has been developed for the Council and another version is being prepared for Partner organisations. To avoid duplication of effort the Council will be happy to share resources and make capacity available to partner agencies to handle initial enquiries and validate information supplied, up to the validation date stage.

ANY QUESTIONS ?