Management Company Case Study:
Cranbrook Town Council, Exeter, Devon
(Yes, this has been done before!)
Hunts Grove Parish Council Clerk, Mrs. Julie Shirley, had an online meeting with the Clerk of Cranbrook Town Council in Devon on November 4th, 2021. Cranbrook Town Council is thought to be one of the first councils to successfully negotiate taking over from a management company and varying the Section-106 agreements for the new-build village.
Timescale
Cranbrook Town Council was created in May 2015 and very quickly decided it wished to take over management of the community assets and public open spaces. In the case of Cranbrook, it took two and a half years from the first discussion to the completion of the transfer of the assets in April 2018.
Why Did Cranbrook Wish To Abolish The Management Company?
The new Town Council took the view that the management company arrangements lacked accountability and transparency for residents.
There was also a financial imperative; the council business case satisfied councillors that considerable annual savings for residents could be delivered by removing the "double taxation" of council tax plus service charges. The council has the benefit of being a not-for-profit organisation, steered by the locally elected residents themselves, hence eliminating the agents' fees element of profit and overhead.
Yes, the council tax would increase with the added management costs, however, the increase was more than offset by the savings delivered by residents not having to pay the management company. The average saving per year for Cranbook residents is around £64