SB Inspire LLP - a new Borders council business venture?

SPECIAL FEATURE by DOUG COLLIE

Scottish Borders Council is set to launch a new arms length business in part of a £5.8 million office complex it developed for its external IT consultants CGI who have not, it is claimed, recruited enough people to occupy the entire workspace. It is a claim the council disputes.

The creation of a council controlled company - a so-called Limited Liability Partnership [LLP] named SB Inspires - has been kept a closely guarded secret by the authority since the firm was registered at Companies House last November. It is unclear at this stage whether the LLP will oversee the so-called Inspire Academy which is expected to have 15 employees. 

Meanwhile SBC has, in effect, lodged a planning application with itself in a bid to secure change of use for part of the ground floor of the new property, located on the Borders Innovation Park at Tweedbank, and which offers 1,500 square metres of office space. The application seeks to partially change the current designated use of the building (Class 4, Business) to educational use (Class 10, Non-Residential Institutions).

CGI, who will hold the lucrative £90 million council IT contract until 2040 told us in July 2021 that SBC had confirmed in 2019 it was proposing to build a new office for the company in Tweedbank with 152 seats, to open in 2021. But the building project was delayed by Covid-19, and the original job numbers outlined by CGI have yet to materialise.

A source commented: "As CGI staffing numbers remain low, they wanted to mothball the ground floor space at the council's further expense as then rates, insurances etc all become the council problem. This they have managed to achieve and the council have decided to use the space as an opportunity to inspire people into jobs for coding and computers etc. 

"Just another example of CGI taking advantage of the council commercially: a get out of jail free card for the consultants. The whole Tweedbank justification thing is also an excuse to put it there. With CGI finally moving out of council HQ this function could easily have been accommodated and the ground floor of the new building let out to a commercial company generating rental income for the council instead." 

When details were announced in 2020 for a Borders Innovation Park with a total spend of £29 million it was explained the funding would include a £15 million investment from the Edinburgh & South-east Region City Deal with cash also to come from Scottish Enterprise and the Borders Railway Blueprint Programme.

A full description of the new Inspire venture is included in a Planning and Design Statement which accompanies the change of use request. But there is no specific mention of SB Inspires LLP, a similar vehicle to SB Cares, established by the council when it transferred home care services to an arms length organisation.

Unfortunately SB Cares ran into difficulties while operating separately, and the entire service had to be taken back in-house before SB Cares LLP was dissolved.

There is no public minute showing when Borders councillors sanctioned the incorporation of SB Inspires LLP which occurred on November 3rd 2021. But according to a record of a private item on the agenda of a full council meeting held a few days earlier on October 28th: "Inspire Academy - Building on Success: Minutes - Members approved a report by the Director of Education & Lifelong Learning on the Inspire Academy. Councillor Tatler left the meeting during consideration of the above item".

The Design Statement lodged by council architects with their planning colleagues states: "The Building is 2 ½ Storey and forms an ‘L’ shape in plan. The steel building has a traditional end gable form and is prominently clad in grey zinc. The Buildings core has a reception area, accessible entrance, accessible (Equalities Act Compliant) toilets and services suitable for office accommodation. The building met the requirements of the SPZ [Special Planning Zone] document for business use, did not require planning permission and was complete in January 2022. The Building is current unoccupied. A tenancy has been agreed on the first floor and will be fitted-out this coming year (2022)."

It goes on to say The proposal is to occupy one area of the ground floor with 'a private commercial enterprise'. 

"The business is an LLP and is a partnering project between Scottish Borders Council and Inspire. The purpose of the business is to equip their clients with digital skills to enable them to fortify their digital business abilities, personal software skills and teach others how to use this technology. Their demographic includes: local businesses, teachers and people who wish to expand on their personal abilities to use digital solutions for everyday activities.

"It is proposed that clients may access the space with pre-agreed booking. The business will be set up to enable research by the clients into new products and provide them with instruction in a workshop type environment. The proposed layout of the space will include a workshop area, a meeting room, focus area and exhibition space."

The design statement makes it clear the business is of a commercial nature, and is "profit making". 

"There are several elements which make up the business including: research, workshops and teaching. The sole purpose of space is not for Academia or Educational purposes, it is to provide a service which supports a broad demographic. Parts of this commercial enterprise is similar to IT providers, website designers and technology suppliers. It is anticipated the maximum number of occupants within the area will not exceed 80 and would typically be around 45 (including 15 staff members)."

Why Galashiels?, asks the statement. It continues: "  A recent study of Galashiels has revealed that it has the highest levels of unemployment in the Scottish borders. Nearby Langlee has the highest levels of deprivation within the Galashiels area. Whilst it is difficult to speculate the reasons for this it is evident that providing a place where people can learn new digital skills could open additional career opportunities. Providing digital skills to local people is part of the business strategy for the Inspire. Placing the Learning Academy within walking distance of one of the most deprived areas of the Scottish Borders will have regional benefits."

And the planners are also told: "The unit fit-out will be undertaken to a very high standard which reflects the forward thinking nature of the business. It is important that this supports the building's identity and makes clear the nature of the business: to provide a service supporting businesses and individuals with digital skills. The fit out will feature multiple lighting features large screen TV’s and workshop areas."

A spokesperson for Scottish Borders Council said: “The Tweedbank development is one of our key strategic sites providing an opportunity to set the tone and standard of future development in the area.

“The new office development at Tweedbank was never intended to be fully occupied by CGI, accommodation was provided as part of this building for other occupiers.

“The pioneering Inspire Learning programme seeks to transform learning in the Scottish Borders and provide a physical base for the Inspire Learning team, enabling the programme to grow and expand its horizons. The vacant space within the new office building provides an exciting opportunity for this.

“The LLP has been created in a pre-emptive move as we consider potential ways that the Inspire Learning Programme might expand geographically and beyond its educational boundaries.”

SBC was also asked for information about the cost of the venture and the expenditure required for the high quality Inspire office fit-out. No figures were included in the response.