(a)

the proposal to relocate the Register Office to Pounds House formed part of the second phase of the Accommodation Strategy;

(b)

Pounds House was a Grade II listed building currently used by Children’s Services and previously as an office for the Life Centre project Team and formerly used as a wedding venue;

(c)

relocating the Register Office to Pounds House would be an advantage as it was a traditional building, would provide more office space and provide improved accessibility due to its proximity to the A38;

(d)

the relocation would cost £482k of capital and would create a revenue of saving of £75k per annum. Additionally the Lockyer Street building would be vacant and if sold could potentially raise in excess of £400k which would offset the majority of the initial cost.

(d)

the plans were draft and could be amended, however, they could not alter or hinder the listed status of the building;

(e)

in order to improve accessibility and parking facilities the entrance to Pounds House would be widened and trees, without Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), removed to increase parking spaces;

(f)

following a survey of car users the majority of current users of car parking facilities at Pounds House were visitors of the Doctor Surgery..

(g)

the temporary ramp could not be a permanent feature as it would impinge on the listed status of the building;

(h)

there was a growing list of guests delaying their wedding waiting until the Register Office was relocated to Pounds House;

(i)

rather than being sold Lockyer Street could be used as a corporate facility or be leased out when the relocation was completed;

(j)

a traffic impact assessment had not been completed on Outland Road.

(k)

Pounds House was not completely Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant as the Second Floor, to be used as a storage facility and potentially a staff meeting room, was not accessible by lift;

(l)

the parking spaces proposed at Pounds House were not sufficient as car parking at Lockyer Street was augmented by the amount of available car parking on the Hoe and in the surrounding area;

(m)

the levels of public transport to and from Pounds House were not satisfactory and could lead to increased car users visiting the Register Office.

(1)

an email would be sent to all panel members stating the destination and origin figures of buses going to and from Pounds House; this would be balanced out against bus company figures for the Register Office’s current location on Lockyer Street;

(2)

a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA), to include traffic modelling on the impact of users of Outland Road and Peverell Park Road, to be completed and submitted to the panel’s next meeting on 15 September 2011.