Decision details

Decision to demolish the Leys Building, acquire land and build new affordable Council housing.

To approve;

1.       The demolition of The Leys building at the earliest opportunity at an estimated cost of £800k.

2.       The acquisition of the John Calvert Court site.

3.       The appropriation of the adjacent open space from the General Fund to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the sum of £65k.

4.       The delivery of a new build council housing scheme which is affordable to the HRA across the sites of The Leys, the adjacent open space land, and the John Calvert Court.

To enable the council to acquire land and demolish The Leys building to take advantage of the opportunity to build up to 52 new affordable council homes across three adjoining sites to support the council in addressing housing need across the city.

Consideration has been given to refurbishing The Leys Building. Consultants have estimated it would cost circa £4 million pounds to bring the property back to a lettable standard. There has been two failed attempts to appoint a contractor due to higher than expected costs related to the rectification of defects associated with the buildings structure and fabric. The building is currently in a dilapidated condition and refurbishment is no longer considered a viable option.

Not to purchase the site John Calvert Court site. This would limit the number of new affordable council homes which could be deliver, the affordability to the HRA and leave the site in the current overgrown state.

Purchasing the John Calvert Court site and demolishing The Leys building makes the best use of the land and resources whilst also supports the council in meeting the housing need for the city.