CD159 New Office Accommodation for OPDC at Brent Civic Centre, Wembley

The GLA is relocating City Hall from its existing building by Tower Bridge to The Crystal at the Royal Docks. It is also, as part of the move, taking up additional space for its staff at 169 Union Street. This will result in a significant reduction in overall office space for GLA staff. OPDC will therefore be both giving up its base at Union Street, where it has been located since 2015, and not taking up space at The Crystal.

In this content, OPDC has, since the end of 2020, been engaged in a search for a new base with the aim of securing accommodation in Q2 2021; when OPDC must exit Union Street.

The search has been guided by the criteria set out at 3.1, covering cost, quality and location considerations, as well as flexibility of tenure. A guiding principle has been that the new space must support both modern, hybrid working and staff preferences to combine home and office-based working/collaboration. The criteria were also informed by a staff survey.

The proposal and how it will be delivered

Officers began the accommodation search with wide parameters, not least to get a good feel for the market. Having been distilled, a shortlist of emerging options was included in an update to OPDC's Board at its January meeting. Since then, a more detailed options appraisal has taken place, including site visits of four offices. One of these options - Brent Civic Centre - emerged only after the report to Board;

• Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square (TfL) - acceptable value for money
• Palestra, Southwark (TfL) - poor value for money
• Shortlands, Hammersmith (LBH&F) - good value for money
• Brent Civic Centra, Wembley (LB Brent) - good value for money

A summary of the options appraisal is included below:

Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square

Sole occupancy of the 4th floor, c.2,967 sq. ft

Officers discounted Cranbourn Street because it would not support OPDC's commitment to being an inclusive employer; disabled access to the building is reliant on a manual ramp and the 4th floor would be inaccessible to those using a wheelchair.

TfL Palestra, Southwark

24 desks on the 7th floor.

Palestra was discounted primarily on cost grounds and because Shortlands and Brent Civic Centre provide better support for collaborative working. The results of the staff survey showed that collaboration space was among the most important criteria for team members in any new office. Furthermore, Palestra does not move OPDC any closer to site.

Shortlands, Hammersmith

25 desks on the 6th floor (part of a 'wing') with the option to extend this to 30 desks.

Shortlands offers fully serviced, high-quality accommodation, available immediately, with little or no space planning required to meet OPDC's needs. The space would, however, be sublet to OPDC by LB Hammersmith & Fulham under a lease running to 2024, with a break clause early in 2022. LB Hammersmith & Fulham intend to exercise the break and relocate to a new office campus nearby. This provides for uncertainty. OPDC would, at that time, need to renegotiate its terms of occupancy; and the benefit of co-location with borough colleagues would be lost. For these reasons Shortlands has also been discounted.

Brent Civic Centre, Wembley

25 desks on the 1st floor (part of a 'wing'), c.2,100 sq. ft

Brent Civic Centre is the recommended option. It is the least costly of the four options and offers security and flexibility of tenure. Brent Council is the freeholder and OPDC would be able to benefit from 'in-and-out' terms, keeping open the option of a move onto or closer to site; OPDC's medium term aspiration. Furthermore, the space is of exceptionally high-quality, fully serviced and with first-class amenities, meeting rooms and collaboration space.

The Civic Centre is the closest option to OPDC's site (two Bakerloo Line stops from Wembley Central) and although some distance from GLA colleagues at Union Street and the Crystal, Wembley Park is on the Jubilee Line so has a direct link to Southwark and Canning Town. It would also put us side-by-side with Brent colleagues, supporting joint-working, and close to Brent's own major regeneration site at Wembley Park, thereby providing opportunities to share best practice.

Exiting Union Street and relocating to Brent Civic Centre

OPDC occupies Union Street under the umbrella of a licence agreement between the GLA and the London Fire Commissioner. It is therefore free to exit without the need to serve notice and there are otherwise no contractual obligations to honour.

A programme of work has been undertaken, closely linked to the GLA's own relocation programme, to clear out the existing Union Street space. In addition to the removal of personal possessions, papers records are being rationalised in line with the GLA 'records management for relocation' guidance. Most paper records have been recycled or destroyed and will not be retained by OPDC.

OPDC's move to the Civic Centre will form part of the GLA's overall relocation project; which means that any documentation and/or office equipment that needs to be moved to the Civic Centre will be included in the relocation programme.

It is important to note that OPDC remains committed, in the medium term, to finding a base within the OPDC area. The licence arrangement with the London Borough of Brent will provide for flexibility to pursue this ambition at the most appropriate time.

OPDC's office search has been guided by the following criteria:

• ideally to take space in a building owned by Transport for London, to keep any rental income within the GLA Group - or failing that, to keep rental costs within the public sector;
• to be sited within easy reach of the OPDC area and our local partners;
• accessible, flexible and modern office space that supports hybrid (home and office) working and collaboration;
• a place staff will enjoy working - bright, safe and secure, in good condition and well maintained, and with amenities on site and nearby;
• value for money, including by reducing ratio of workstations to staff as part of the shift to hybrid working; and
• flexible terms to avoid long lease obligations, given OPDC's medium term ambition to locate within the Mayoral Development Corporation boundary (or within proximity).

The move is seen as an opportunity to support new ways of working and ultimately to deliver better regeneration outcomes for the OPDC area and its residents.

Strategic fit

Hybrid, collaborative working

OPDC has 50 establishment posts. In line with the GLA's approach, and given extensive and successful home-working over the course of the Coronavirus pandemic, OPDC will reduce to a ration of 0.5 workstations to staff. This is a more modest reduction than that for the GLA, reflecting that a smaller staffing complement carries a need for a somewhat higher ratio.

The Senior Management Team views the move to Brent Civic Centre as an opportunity to support smarter and more collaborative working practices; and the project is being taken forward on that basis, rather that a relatively narrow office move.

GLA Group estates strategy

In line with the GLA Group's estates strategy, officers first considered option within the TfL estate: at Cranborun Street and Palestra. Ultimately, however, neither satisfactorily met OPDC's requirements. This was despite TfL being supportive and flexible in seeking to accommodate OPDC's needs.

OPDC must have 'due regard' to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to the need to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristics and those who do not.

Compliance with the duties in this section may involve treating some persons more favourably than others; but that is not to be taken as permitting conduct that would otherwise be prohibited by or under the Equality Act.

OPDC has undertaken an Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) of the decision to relocate to Brent Civic Centre (Appendix A). The assessment covers the likely positive and negative impacts for staff with protected characteristics. The assessment covers the following groups; Age; Disability' Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief, Sex; Sexual Orientation. The overarching conclusion is that there will be no adverse impacts on those from these groups. The assessment has been developed in consultation with OPDC Staff Networks.

We have taken account of the following additional important considerations:

• accessibility of the building
• safety of the building
• sustainability of the building - BREEAM rated outstanding
• accessibility of the location/travel for staff - noting likely longer commute costs are paired with greater flexibility for home working
• ability to engage with the community and people from different backgrounds.

Project governance and assurance

The Senior Management Team is acting as the sponsoring group for the relocation and wider work to encourage smart and flexible working practices. The Chief Executive is the senior responsible officer. The Director of Land and Property is project lead for the relocation and, linked to this, the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager is leading on ways of working.

The GLA Technology Group and Facilities Management Team have been closely involved with OPDC's move to the Civic Centre; in particular, providing technical support, guidance and assurance for OPDC's preferred IT solution.

Beyond the move, the extend of ongoing GLA IT and FM support is yet to be determined. However, it is anticipated that any necessary costs would fall within the current shared service arrangement and accommodated within OPDC's FY 2021/22 budget.

To secure the accommodation, OPDC will enter into a 24-month licence with the London Borough of Brent; assumed to commence in Q2 2021. The licence will include a tenant break option at month 12; which will provide flexibility if an opportunity arises to relocate within the OPDC area at that time. Under the terms of the agreement, OPDC will be provided with 25 workstations in a fully serviced office environment with access to meeting rooms, event spaces, break-out spaces and on-site amenities throughout the building.

Overall responsibility for the relationship with the London Borough of Brent will be held by the Chief Executive Officer. On an interim basis, day to day office management responsibility will be held by OPDC's Executive PA.

Risks and issues

The main risks associated with the move are:

Other considerations

Engagement and consultation

OPDC has engaged with staff to inform its search for and review of new office accommodation. The key messages from a survey of staff, undertaken in March 2021, were:

• The majority of staff who responded to the survey would like to return to the office 1-2 days a week.
• The team mainly want to use office space for collaboration so it's important to have formal and informal meeting space available.
• It is essential that the IT is set up so that colleagues can join meetings from home and that we think about how online meetings can be held without disrupting other colleagues working in the office.

In the run up to and following the move, there will be further engagement across the OPDC team, consisting of:

• Staff meetings and opportunities for Q&As;
• Site visits - including a tour of the Wembley Regeneration Area; and
• Post occupation surveys - to gauge initial reaction to the move and significant issues with the building and/or hybrid working environment/arrangements.

The GLA's Chief of Staff has been consulted on this proposal and it content with it.

Visitor, public access and formal meetings

OPDC's designated area is at first floor level, very close to the atrium staircase, and provides a 'front door' to the office space. Visitor access to the building will follow current Brent security protocol.

OPDC will have access to meeting rooms of all sizes and configuration including 'The Drum' conference facilities in the Grand Hall, Winter Garden and Olympic View area (first floor) and the Council Chamber and committee/board rooms (third floor).

The committee rooms would provide a suitable venue for OPDC Board and Committee meetings. They are set up for public access, ensuring OPDC can meet its legal requirements for such meetings. Further work is required to investigate the potential to video and web-stream the meetings.

Sustainability

Brent Civic Centre is recognised as the greenest public building in the UK, holding a BREEAM Outstanding accreditation.

Conflicts of interest

No one involved in the preparation or clearance of this Form, or its substantive proposal, has any conflict of interest.

The expenditure proposed in this decision will be contained within the annual Corporate Operations budget.

OPDC will be seeking approval for the appointment of a consultant to support the refurbishment of the office via a Single Source Request (SSR). This will be in place prior to expenditure being committed.

At the end of the 24-month period, the Corporation may be liable for further costs arising by returning the office space to its original state. Approval for any further expenditure associated with this will be required through the decision-making process, along with any extensions and/or variations to the agreement.

Appropriate insurance will be in place at the point OPDC occupy the space, for which budget exists Corporately.

OPDC has powers under Chapter 2, Part 8 of the Localism Act 2011 to hold property which would include the ability to relocate to the Brent Civic Centre, Wembley. It is recommended that TfL Legal or external lawyers appointed by TfL Legal review the documentation prior to completion to ensure that the terms are acceptable, including whether occupation is to be taken by licence or short-term lease.