Decision details

In accordance with Cabinet Decision 33/11 of the report ‘Revision to Service Tenancy Agreement within Learning and Culture Directorate’, March 2011, the Children and Education Directorate no longer offers service tenancies to site managers: and

Any vacant service tenancy accommodation should be disposed of where it is deemed that the property is surplus to Council requirements.

Cabinet Decision 49/12, (recommendation 2.2), resolved that subject to the Director of Homes and Communities confirming that a property is suitable to be utilised as part of the Council’s existing housing stock, any future caretaker properties no longer to be occupied by virtue of a service tenancy agreement be appropriated from Education purposes to Housing purposes.

A Housing Management and Maintenance Surveyor inspected the property and following discussions at Housing’s asset management meeting colleagues agreed in principal to the property becoming part of the housing stock. A report was submitted to the Land and Asset Management Officers Group in March 2023. The Group agreed that an appropriation to Housing purposes would be the most appropriate use of the property.

Department / Secretary of State for Education consent to the appropriation is required under paragraph 6 of Part 1 Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010; local authorities must seek the Secretary of State’s prior consent to appropriate of land they hold where it has been used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a school or 16-19 academy in the last eight years, whether still open or now closed.

Following clarification from the Land Transaction team at the Department of Education an application must be submitted using Form L to the Secretary of State for Education. This has been drafted with letters from the Trust and the Academy confirming its understanding of the intention to appropriate and that it does not have an educational need for the property.

That approval be given to the Chief Finance Officer to appropriate 62 Lower High Street, Wednesbury WS10 7AL from Education purposes to the Housing Revenue Account, subject to receipt of the Department for Education’s consent under paragraph 6 of Part 1 Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010.

62 Lower High Street, Wednesbury (the property), was leased to St Chad’s Academies Trust (the trust) in December 2014 when St John’s C of E Primary School (the academy) converted to academy status.

The authorised use in the lease was as a principal residence for the caretaker at St John’s Church of England Primary Academy and their family for the better performance of the caretaker’s duties.

The site manager has since resigned and vacated the property. The Academy no longer requires its site manager to live on site and as per the termination clause in the lease the Trust gave 7 days written notice confirming that the property is no longer required for the authorised use.

The school had no requirement for the property to be used for education space due to financial implications. The Children and Education Directorate does not have a need for the residential property, or funding to manage the asset.

The property would provide much needed accommodation for social housing.

The property is a four-bedroom detached house with a large garden. The potential to use the property as a nursery was considered. The property is located on the back of a public footpath with no parking. Road markings in front of the rear school pedestrian access restricts parking on the highway. Lower High Street also has single yellow lines with no parking Mon to Sat, 8.00am – 6.00pm in parts. The property would also need a lot of investment to make it suitable for early years education.

Photographs and a description of the property were presented to officers at the Land and Asset Management Officers Group. No other department expressed an interest in the property.