Sarah Coles

As a newly established unitary compromised from 4 former districts my role was to ensure Legal Services and its property team provided an effective service in compliance with the law, the Council's Constitution, the Council's Corporate Plan and which supported the Council as a whole in discharging it's functions. This included:

Instrumental in bringing upper tier functions in house and ensuring our team were up-skilled and supported in the new areas of work being undertaken to ensure uninterrupted service delivery, operational resilience and efficiency during the transitional period.

Collaborated with the Director and the Assistant Director of Legal, Legal Services Business Manager and the Senior Lawyers for Planning, Contracts and Litigation playing an instrumental role in shaping and implementing service standards, service charter, new practices, and reviewing and improving existing practices.

Managed the property law team consisting of 1 lawyer, 2 junior lawyers and 2 legal assistants and 2/3 locum lawyers. Responsibilities included recruitment of permanent and locum lawyers, one to one's, performance management, training and development, work allocation, mentoring, day to day requests such as annual leave an sickness absence.

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the team by updating practices and streamlining processes within the team and within the wider authority.

Building strong relationships and good working practices with clients, Corporate Leadership and Members.

Collaboration with fellow senior lawyers to establish more effective joined up working practices on multi disciplinary legal matters.

Identifying risks and updating risk register and relevant officers.

Investigating complaints from internal and external stakeholders and providing advice on options and solutions.

Vetting committee reports to ensure technical accuracy on property matters and governance compliance and to ensure all legal implications have been adequately considered, any risks mitigated and the relevant information forms part of the report to be considered by Members.

Instructing Counsel/external law firms as needed.

Dealt with the more complex property matters or those with a heavy political focus or high risk.

From 2016 until April 2020 I was the sole property lawyer for Corby Borough Council (now North Northants Council) covering both residential and commercial.

Responsibilities included:

Commercial

Drafting and reviewing property agreements such as leases (inside and outside the 1954 Act), 1954 Act lease renewals and terminations, licence to occupy/alter/charge/sublet/assign, tenancies at will, surrender and re grant of leases, wayleave agreements, easements, joint venture, option agreements, overage agreements and clauses, leases and management agreements for leisure and community buildings.

Disposals under section 123 local Government Act 1972.

Drafting easement clauses to go in section 106 agreements.

Community Asset disposals.

Housing and residential

Right to buy sales and post completion matters such as restrictive covenant consent/releases, buyback offers, deeds of postponement, breach of restrictive covenants, repayment of discount, responding to RTB 6 and 8 notices.

Advising and dealing with lease extensions and enfranchisement, section 20 major works, traveller sites and pitch agreements, refugee housing projects, commercial leases and management agreements with third parties for provision of housing for homeless, boundary disputes affecting Council owned land.

Purchase of residential properties for use in housing stock utilising government funding for various homeless projects and right to buy receipts.

Making and defending claims for adverse possession.

Other

Advice on appropriation of funds.

High Street Rental Auctions. NNC is a pilot authority and myself and the team are supporting the Council through this process by giving advice, assisting with committee reports and drafting agreements and correspondence.

Academy conversions - drafting leases and other relevant agreements.

Asset of Community Value. giving advice and registration of asset with HMLR.

Traffic Regulation Orders for car parking.

Stopping Up Orders under s 247 and s 257 applications

Drafting tree preservation orders and giving advice on.

Criminal

Advising on all aspects of quasi criminal matters LA deal with, drafting information/summons, preparing court bundles and advocating on behalf of the Council in the Magistrates Court for:

Littering, fly-tipping, section 34 duty of care, noise nuisance, health and safety matters, building regulation matters, dog fouling, anti social behaviour matters, social security fraud under SSAA and fraud Act, breach of bylaws.

Preparing instructions for Counsel, bundles for matters in the Crown Court, and assisting counsel at hearings.

Training enforcement officers on PACE and investigation of offences.

Training local Police on new legislation where a joint working agreement was in place, such as changes in anti social behaviour legislation resulting in PSPO's etc being implemented.

Attended partnership meetings with the Police and other agencies to give guidance on the law and policy on matters involving liquor licencing and anti social behaviour issues.

Civil

Debt recovery in the County Court. Completing claim forms and particulars of claim, attending hearings on behalf of the Council in the County Court, enforcing judgment in the County Court and High Court.

Assisted the Council's external lawyers acting in the Corby toxic waste case in 2006-2009 in the High Court.

Other

Liquor and taxi licencing - attending sub committee hearings as the legal advisor for the Council, giving advice on all aspects of the law on each area, assisted the licensing team with the implementation of a penalty point system for taxi drivers,

Advising on the implementation of new bylaws or amending existing including the consultation process required. Drafting new bylaws or amending existing.

Alley-gating orders, attending Magistrates Court to obtain gas warrants, dealing with PPL PRS disputes.

Attended Magistrates Court to obtain council tax liability orders for matters that were more complex.