Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance and Assets

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    A rent support grant of 90% of current market rent totalling £27,720 per annum to the Playhouse Cheltenham be agreed;

2.    Authority to agree the terms of a rent support agreement with the applicant be delegated to the Participation and Engagement Team Leader, in consultation with the Director One Legal and the Cabinet Member Finance and Assets. 

The Cabinet Member Finance, Assets and Regeneration introduced the report, explaining that as part of the council’s wider ambitions to support a thriving voluntary and community sector, it enabled VC groups to rent its properties through offering a rent support grant scheme. An application for a rent support grant had been received from The Playhouse Cheltenham, with the proposed level of rent support grant set out in the report. 

Under the rent support grant process, an 80% discount could be applied, with an additional 10% at the discretion of Cabinet in exceptional cases. Given the Playhouse’s aims and aspirations with the work they had underway, along with what was planned (as set out in the assessment document in Appendix 2), he believed this met the threshold of an exceptional case, and recommended that Cabinet apply the additional 10% discount.

The Leader added that she had received a really positive email from the chairman of the Playhouse thanking them, and that she looked forward to seeing what they did with the money they raised. The voluntary sector was a key part of the town, and the Playhouse attracted thousands of visitors, so they needed to do what they could to support it.

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    A rent support grant of 90% of current market rent totalling £27,720 per annum to the Playhouse Cheltenham be agreed;

2.    Authority to agree the terms of a rent support agreement with the applicant be delegated to the Participation and Engagement Team Leader, in consultation with the Director One Legal and the Cabinet Member Finance and Assets.