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16
Feb 2023
County council to set up new estates company
North Yorkshire County Council looks set to establish a new property company to look after its estate.
Under plans outlined in a report due before the council’s executive, the new firm would be established with £200,000 working capital backed by a loan.
It would also see the authority’s current estates company, Align Property Partners Limited, operate on a commercial basis.
The new firm would be wholly owned by the council and would transfer to North Yorkshire Council from April 1.
As part of the plan, the company would adhere to “teckal” exemptions - meaning the council could directly award it contracts without open procurement.
Vicki Dixon, assistant director for strategic resources, said in a report that the current firm, Align Property, was “well-placed” to operate commercially.
She said:
Read more:
- Harrogate’s Royal Baths: the council’s under-performing ‘trophy investment’
- Council’s Brierley Group reports £327,000 loss
Ms Dixon added that the new company’s function would be to “continue providing high quality property, highways and estates services to the council and associated bodies, while being Teckal compliant”.
Senior councillors will discuss the plans at a meeting on Tuesday, February 21.
The move comes as the new North Yorkshire Council is set to take control over a host of district-council run companies.
Brimhams Active, the arms-length leisure firm, and Bracewell Homes - both of which are owned by Harrogate Borough Council - will transfer over to the new authority on April 1.
The county council has previously been criticised for the performance of its own companies after its Brierley Group of firms reported losses in recent years.
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