Meeting documents
Board of Trustees of the Recreation Ground, Bath
Tuesday, 24th March, 2009
BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET
BATH RECREATION GROUND TRUST
Tuesday 24th March 2009
PRESENT -:
Councillor Chris Watt - Children's Services
Councillor Vic Pritchard - Adult Social Services and Housing
Councillor David Hawkins - The Council as Corporate Trustee
71 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE
The Chair(person) drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.
72 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972
There were no declarations of interest made.
73 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR(PERSON)
There were no items of urgent business.
74 QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS
Statements were made by the following people (where provided, copies have been placed on the Minute book);
o Worthy Gilson
o Tony Hooper
75 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 28TH JANUARY 2009
On a motion from Councilllor David Hawkins, seconded by Councillor Vic Pritchard, it was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 28th January 2009,including the exempt minute of the same meeting, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).
76 UPDATE ON GENERAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES (Report 7).
The Chair introduced this report and responded to some of the comments made in the statements. With regard to the trees, he explained that it had been necessary to pollard the trees due to health and safety issues that had been identified, but confirmed that they had asked officers to proceed with re-planting during this planting season. He also asked Bob Calleja to ensure that swift action was also taken with regard to the Horse Chestnut that was within the Rugby Club's responsibility.
With regard to the measures necessary for car parking, the Chair explained that the line marking and the Traffic Regulation Order were both necessary to control and regularise the situation so that the Trust could properly use its assets.
On a motion from Councillor Vic Pritchard, seconded by Councillor David Hawkins, it was
RESOLVED to note the contents of the report.
77 LETTINGS UPDATE (Report 8).
Councillor Chris Watt made reference to the following report (item 9) and the proposed charging structure; the implementation of which might result in some of the lettings qualifying for an increased or reduced rate (notwithstanding any existing contractual arrangements). He welcomed the level of lettings which was higher than last year.
On a motion from Councillor Vic Pritchard, seconded by Councillor David Hawkins, it was
RESOLVED to note the lettings situation.
78 PROVISIONAL OUTTURN 2008/09 AND BUDGET 2009/10 (Report 9).
The report author introduced this report and drew attention to the opportunities that had been presented by the approach from the Medlock Trust and others. He explained that the Charity Commission had given the green light to the Leisure Centre so that issue could be taken forward separately.
The Chair referred to Appendix 2 and stressed that, although it was useful to see the worst case budget in order to focus the mind, it should be recognised that it didn't accurately represent the actual position as further work could be done to increase income.
With regard to the backlog of repairs, Councillor Chris Watt referred to the Condition survey that had been done, and proposed that repairs should be addressed in the following priority order;
a. those which represented a health and safety risk;
b. those which were acting as a barrier to use;
c. those which would be nice to have.
The Chair referred to the figure of £220,000 in Appendix 6 which was the debt outstanding from the Trust to the Council and wanted to make clear the terms of this facility. Contrary to assumptions, this was not a loan but an overdraft facility and any future arrangements would not necessarily be under the same terms.
The Chair explained that the Trust needed to look without delay at the current rate of subsidies and how it could utilise its assets more effectively for legitimate purposes.
With regard to the letting and charging structure, the Chair commented that it was anomalous to have only one set of charges which did not recognise different organisations or types of use. He referred to a draft structure which had been tabled at the meeting which proposed three charging levels;
a. Free or at cost rate for events which meet the Trust's objectives and raise funds solely for charitable purposes;
b. Lower (subsidised) commercial market rate for events which in part meet the Trust's objectives but are run by a commercial organisation or one which charges an entry fee; and
c. Market rate (flexible) for events which do not meet the Trust's objectives and are being staged for commercial purposes, but which would provide an income to the Trust to use towards meeting its objectives.
On a motion from Councillor Vic Pritchard, seconded by Councillor David Hawkins, it was
RESOLVED
(1) To note the provisional outturn position for 2008/09;
(2) Note the priority criteria for repairs and maintenance as detailed in the preamble above;
(3) Note the proposed charging policy that was tabled at the meeting and request officers to update this in line with the comments made at the meeting and bring this back to the next Trust Board meeting;
(4) To approve the budget proposal for 2009/10; and
(5) To note the current spend on the Strategic Review and drawdown of loans.
79 UPDATE ON PROGRESS WITH CHARITY COMMISSION (Report 10).
The Chair introduced this item and explained that there had been no real change since the last meeting. He outlined his assessment of the Charity Commission's view of the detriments as follows;
a. Existing lease;
b. Increased footprint required for enhanced stadium;
c. Longer term sought by the Rugby club;
d. Basis of the lease in terms of the protections afforded by the 1954 Landlords and Tenants Act
Councillor Chris Watt went on to explain how it was difficult to see how the detriments could be reduced but that any benefits available from third parties could be significant in tipping the scales. He reminded those present of the situation regarding further application for a Section 26 Order ie; that the Charity Commission had previously granted temporary leases as it had been considered expedient in the interests of the Trust to do so. However, if there was no prospect of agreement regarding the benefits and detriments, such grounds would no longer exist.
The Trust had until the 9th April to respond and, in order for them to be able to discuss their negotiating position, it was necessary for them to move into exempt session.
On a motion from Councillor Watt, seconded by Councillor Hawkins, it was then
RESOLVED
that, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.
The meeting ended at 2:55pm
Chair(person)
Date Confirmed and Signed
Prepared by Democratic Services