Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

Having declared an interest in this item Councillors McKinlay, Whyborn, Wheeler and Jeffries left the Chamber.

The Cabinet Member Finance, Councillor Rowena Hay, introduced the report and explained that in 1997 Cheltenham Borough Council purchased St Margaret’s Hall and it was re-opened by a consortium of users known as the St Margaret’s Hall Users’ Group who have successfully managed the building and have undertaken a range of projects to improve the fabric of the building. The hall was a popular community facility serving the Warden Hill and Hatherley communities as well as the wider community of Cheltenham. Rental income brought in around £22,000 per annum. She went on to explain that the current lease ran to 2026 with a rent review in 2017. To support fundraising activities associated with the annex project, the Users Group have approached the council with a request to replace the lease with a new 35 year term on the same terms and conditions. To meet increasing demand for space at the Hall, the Users’ Group have drawn up plans for an annex. Details of the proposal were set out in a business plan at Appendix B and she informed Members that planning and building regulation permissions had already been granted. She reported that the Users group have approached the council for a loan of £50,000 which they would repay over a period of 15 years at 3 % interest. They intended to use the offer of a loan from the Council to apply to a range of grant awarding organisations for funding to cover the costs of the building works. The User group had already secured £41,000 and aimed to fund raise the remaining £84,000. Council was therefore being asked to consider an “in principle” loan of £50,000 to the User Group with the following conditions :

·         The offer of the loan in principle will remain open for 12 months from the date of the Council meeting.

·         The offer of the loan in principle is only to be used in connection with the proposed Annex as detailed in section 3 and is to help the User Group secure the additional funds necessary to enable the build contract to be entered into.

·         Subject to the User Group securing the additional funds, a further report will be considered by full council to agree whether the “in-principle” loan should be turned into an agreed loan.

She explained that the proposed development would help meet the growing needs within the south of Cheltenham and support one of the many voluntary sector organisations who the council relied on to help support delivery of the town’s priorities through partnership working.

In discussing the proposal Members made the following comments :

·         St Margaret’s Hall provided a valuable service to local residents and organisations and Members welcomed the proposal and hoped that the facility would continue to prosper into the future

·         The building was one of the Council’s assets and an excellent  example of how the council could influence community activities

·         Members wished them well with their fundraising and looked forward to receiving a further report in 12 months’ time.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    an “in-principle” loan of £50,000 be made to St. Margaret’s Hall Users Group.

2.    this “in-principle” loan be offered for the purposes of enabling further fund-raising to take place in connection with the construction of the proposed annex detailed in section 3.

3.    this “in-principle” loan be offered on a series of conditions set out in section 5.

4.    subject to these conditions being met, a further report will be considered by Council to agree whether the “in-principle” loan be turned into an agreed loan.