Decision details

Purpose of Report: Members have previously approved the procurement of a care home developer to take on the operation and transformation of the Haxby Hall care home.

To update the Executive on the progress of this work and present recommendations which will allow Haxby Hall care home to be transferred as a going concern, and modern care home facilities to be developed from the south of the site. To enable the residents of Haxby Hall to remain in their home during the development.

The Executive will be asked to note the appointment of a preferred bidder for the Haxby Hall care home, agree to the purchase of a parcel of land to enable the development of the site in two phases and agree to grant a long lease of the combined site to the preferred bidder to enable the development of modern care accommodation.

Resolved:  (i)      That the appointment of Yorkare Homes Ltd (Yorkcare) as Preferred Bidder to be the new residential provider for Haxby Hall Care Home which, when transferred as a going concern, will enable uninterrupted care for the residents and continued employment for the staff working there via a relevant transfer, be noted.

                   (ii)      That approval be given to acquire from Yorkare two adjacent properties on York Road, Haxby at an agreed combination purchase price of £500,000, providing access for the re-development of Haxby Hall.

                   (iii)     That approval be given to grant Yorkare a long lease of the Haxby Hall site, and of the two adjacent properties, for a term of 125 years in return for the council receiving payment of a premium of £450,000.

                   (iv)    That, should it become available for sale within two years of the transfer of Haxby Hall, approval be given to purchase the existing Haxby ambulance station at a cost to the council of £150,000.

                   (v)     That, should the purchase of the ambulance station proceed, Yorkare be granted a lease of that site (for a term equal to the then remaining period of the lease of the main care home site) in return for Yorkcare paying a premium to the council; that premium to be an amount equal to any costs incurred by the council in purchasing the freehold of the ambulance station site that are in excess of £150,000.

Reasons:   (a)     To enable Haxby Hall Care Home to be transferred as a going concern and modern care home facilities to be developed from the south of the site.

                   (b)     To enable the residents of Haxby Hall to avoid the upheaval and uncertainty of what, for some residents, would be a second home move in a relatively short time frame following the closure of their previous home(s) earlier in the programme.