1. Why are you doing this?

We are cutting the number of offices we run from 14 to just two to save £4.5 million a year in running costs. That’s the equivalent of a £15 a year saving for every Lambeth resident.

By creating a new enterprise area at the centre of the borough and reinvesting any money, used previously on buildings we no longer need, we will create a number of exciting opportunities. In essence these opportunities are:

• cheaper, more efficient, more productive and more sustainable buildings
• the opening up of civic space to share with local people and businesses
• improvements to staff working conditions and environmental surroundings that will help our staff to work efficiently.

2. Why now? Why are you spending money on refurbishing council offices when you are cutting services?

This is not about spending more it is about saving more. We estimate a reduction and rationalisation of our office accommodation could result in up to £4.5 million in savings in running costs every year.

It is not about decorating either, it’s about maximising our office space, enabling us to work more flexibly and efficiently, so we use less space which saves money. We have dramatically reduced the number of staff that work at the council and without making the proposed changes, the council would end up paying millions in rent or maintenance for buildings that are sitting half empty.

A key driver for the accommodation changes is to reduce the amount of money the Council spends on office accommodation. This investment will enable the Council to maximise the efficiency of the remaining offices and provide significant savings on our annual property costs.

This project also demonstrates Lambeth’s cooperative vision and it will give community groups new space to use and help residents get involved in decisions about their communities.

3. Which buildings are included in the project?

The core site is roughly the triangular area adjacent to the Town Hall between Acre Lane and Brixton Hill in Brixton. Buildings included within this core site include Lambeth Town Hall, Hambrook House, Ivor House, and Town Hall Parade.

A number of other buildings currently used by the council could also be affected by the move to the SW2 Enterprise Centre. These additional buildings are International House, Olive Morris House and Phoenix House. See Question 12 for further details.

4. Who is the development partner on the project?

We are currently in a competitive dialogue process with three developers. We expect to choose a preferred bidder in Autumn 2013.

5. What is the schedule for development?

As we are in competitive dialogue with three developers we have three different timescales at present but roughly speaking we are aiming to proceed as follows:

• Autumn 2013 - Selection of preferred developer
• Autumn 2013 - Conditional agreement signed with preferred developer
• Winter 2013 - March 2014 - Workshops and activities for local people and businesses with preferred developer
• April 2014 - Planning application submitted
• April 2014 - April 2015 - Planning process including public consultation
• April 2015 - Works start (this is still to be confirmed as it is dependent on the preferred bidder’s programme)
• Winter 2017 / 2018 - New SW2 Centre complete

The timescale above is very likely to change and is included at this point as a guide only. Once a preferred bidder is selected this timescale will be updated and will become more fixed.

6. Who makes the final decisions on the project? Who chooses the developer? Who makes the decision on the final proposals?

There is an Office Accommodation Strategy project board that meets frequently to discuss key decisions on the project. All recommendations from the board must be agreed by the Council’s Cabinet.

7. Will you be using ‘big name’ developers?

We went to the open market with our brief and we have selected the three most viable developers for the competitive dialogue process.

8. How is the community involved with the development?

We aim to involve the community wherever we possibly can in the process leading up to the creation of the SW2 Enterprise Centre.

We have already started to collaborate with the community. In December 2012, we held an event for the community at Lambeth Town Hall. This event involved local people and businesses defining their ambitions for new civic or community space within the proposed SW2 Enterprise Centre.

The key criteria for suggestions made were that they must be:
• commercially self-sustaining
• co-exist positively with businesses and other organisations in the area
• co-produced with the community, and
• tested and validated to ensure economic viability and proven market demand.

An exciting set of ideas and suggestions emerged. You can read more about the Town Hall for All event here and in Question 9 below. These ideas will be taken forward with developers and there will be an on-going programme of further community involvement going forward.

Once a developer is chosen there will be more opportunities for community involvement and co-production of the SW2 Enterprise Centre in Autumn 2013 onwards. See timeline which is part of answer to Question 5 above.

See Question 16 for further information on how to get involved.

9. What are the plans for community space?

Currently these plans are undetermined but we have already started to engage with the community on what type of community space is needed. A community event in December 2012, took place at Lambeth Town Hall where local people and businesses defined their ambitions for new civic or community space within the proposed SW2 Enterprise Centre.

An exciting set of ideas and suggestions emerged from enterprise and employment and training space, to space for events, exhibitions and community initiatives. ‘Making’ spaces for arts and crafts, a community cafe, a crèche, a community radio project were all ideas that were discussed along with suggestions for how we could open up and use space now in the Town Hall and on other sites to trial ventures and projects at affordable rates.

While we cannot confirm that all ideas proposed will be included as part of the final scheme, we will work with the community to ensure ideas are thoroughly tested, costed and balanced against other needs of the scheme.

You can read more about the Town Hall for All event here.

10. How much will this cost?

Current estimates vary as the total cost depends on the type of partnership formed and what our potential agreement could be with the three potential developers.

However, as part our strategy to co-locate the council’s services around the Town Hall we will be vacating many of our existing offices, which are then surplus to our requirements. The value of those surplus sites will off-set the costs of creating the Enterprise Centre while helping create much needed residential accommodation and affordable housing.

This investment will enable the Council to maximise the efficiency of the remaining offices and provide significant savings on our annual property costs.

There are many different permutations to our partnership agreement with the potential developer. These specifics are being discussed as part of the competitive dialogue process which is currently underway, and we will receive final bids towards the end of Summer 2013. When we have chosen a developer these specifics will be communicated. See timeline above which is part of the answer to Question 5.

11. What are your plans for Lambeth Town Hall? Are you selling the town hall?

Lambeth Town Hall will be retained and will remain a core council building. However, the way the building is used is likely to change.

The town hall will sit at the centre of the Council’s new office accommodation facilities. The physical feature, together with its iconic status as the hub of local democracy, means it will continue to have an on-going role.

12. Will you be selling any land and / or any offices to developers? Couldn’t some or all of the spare offices be donated to the community?

Some buildings are occupied on a lease arrangement and will be vacated and returned to the Landlord on expiry of the lease. Any money generated from disposals of leases will be crucial to ensuring that the project pays for itself.

This investment will enable the Council to maximise the efficiency of the remaining offices and provide significant savings on our annual property costs.

As part of our strategy to co-locate the council’s services around the town hall we will be vacating some of our existing offices that we own, which are then surplus to our requirements. These surplus sites could pass to the developer. The value of those surplus sites will help us to develop our remaining sites as a self-financing scheme.

There are many different permutations to our partnership agreement with the potential developer. These specifics are being discussed as part of the competitive dialogue process which is currently underway. When we have chosen a developer these specifics will be communicated. See timeline above as part of the answer to Question 5.

13. Will there be any affordable homes on the site, if not why not?

Yes, it is very likely there will be affordable homes as part of the scheme. The detail however is difficult to confirm at present as it depends on the type of partnership formed and what our agreement is with the chosen developer. Residents and staff will be kept informed about this element of the scheme in good time.

14. What percentage of affordable homes is there likely to be on the site?

Council policy is for a high proportion of new homes to be affordable. This requirement is subject to an independently validated assessment of viability.

15. How much space does the Council anticipate it will need in the new centre?

We estimate that we will require 14,000 square metres.

16. What’s happening next and how can I keep involved?

There will be many opportunities to get involved once a developer is chosen in Autumn 2013. Details will be made available on this website first.

To join our mailing list and to be kept informed about regeneration in Brixton including the SW2 Enterprise Centre send an email with ‘subscribe’ in the subject bar to [email protected].

The SW2 Enterprise Centre is one part of the wider Future Brixton regeneration programme.