Issue - meetings

The Property Manager presented a report focusing on the proposed disposal of a long leasehold interest in 18 – 19 Woodfield Close, Abbeydale Redditch.

Members were advised that the existing tenant, which had a lease with the Council that was due to expire in the 2020s, had requested a long-term lease on the unit.  Officers were proposing that the long lease should be set to expire at a point coterminous with a separate lease for the flat located above the unit.

Following the presentation of the report, Members discussed a number of points relating to this subject:

·       The potential value to the community arising from disposing of Council assets and the need to assess each potential asset on a case by case basis.

·       The market value of the unit.

·       The fact that this was the only retail unit located on the close, which was otherwise surrounded by residential housing.

·       The potential benefits to the local built environment arising from the proposed disposal and responsibility for repair and maintenance of the unit under the leasehold arrangements.

·       The need for all Council assets to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least a grade C by the mid-2020s.

RECOMMENDED that

1)          the Council dispose of the retail unit at 18/19 Woodfield Close, Abbeydale on a long leasehold basis to the current tenant; and

2)          the Council’s budget is augmented by the capital receipt and reduced by the income as described in Appendix 3.

(During consideration of this item, Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to move to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information would be revealed relating to the financial and business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)).