Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment

Recommendations:-

1. That the revised Community Asset Transfer Policy documents appended to this report be approved and adopted.

Consideration was given to the report which sought approval to update the existing Council policy on the Community Asset Transfer process and adopt the revised policy together with a suite of supporting documents.

The existing CAT Policy had the requirement that all agreements should contain a break option in favour of the Council, in the unlikely but possible event that the asset transferred was required for wider community development directly (the asset or surrounding site itself) or indirectly (for the benefit of a capital receipt). However, many community groups now relied on external funding provision for the delivery of their services and were requesting that the break clause provision was removed from their agreement to meet their funder’s requirements. Funders were obviously reluctant to release grant monies for a CAT project if the agreement could be terminated by the landlord.

In these circumstances, where the Council did accept that it was appropriate to remove the break clause, then further approval was required from Cabinet as the proposed agreement was not in line with the current adopted Policy.

It was, therefore, proposed in the updated Policy, that in these circumstances, the decision to agree to any removal of the Council’s break clause provision should fall under the “Property Officer’s” delegated powers under paragraph 41.5.12 of the Council’s Financial and Procurement Procedure Rules.

It was also proposed in the updated CAT Policy that there would now be a Joint Working Agreement (JWA) that would be supplemental to any CAT agreement granted. The JWA would be agreed between the parties and clearly define and document what was expected (from both the Council and organisation) in terms of the services to be delivered from the building (or land) and to provide further surety that the services continued to meet the needs of the local community and the Council’s corporate priorities.

There would also be a break clause provision, in favour of the Council, that if the terms and conditions of the JWA were not being adhered to then the Council have the option to terminate the CAT agreement.

The Cabinet were urged to approve the updated Policy so that it could be used to determine all CAT applications.

Resolved:-  That the revised Community Asset Transfer Policy documents appended to this report be approved and adopted.