Decision details

Legal advice is that the Council acting as Charitable Trustee cannot grant a lease to itself acting in its corporate capacity. In order to effect the transaction a nominee can be appointed to take the lease from the Trust and immediately assign that lease to the Council.

A meeting of the APT sub-committee will agree the leases, the process and that these transactions are in the best interests of the Charity. Once this decision is made, the application will be submitted to the Charity Commission for approval of the transaction to the Nominee and from the Nominee to the Council in its corporate capacity.

Under Part 3, Section 4C-1 and s.210 of the Local Government Act 1972:

I, Maria Lucas , Monitoring Officer and Director of legal & Democratic services for Bath and North East Somerset Council, appoint Michael Hewitt, an officer of the Council, to act as Nominee for the purpose of entering into the following transactions:

1 a Lease from the Official Custodian on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) (as Charity Trustee of Alice Park) to Michael Hewitt, as Nominee, in respect of land at Alice Park, Lambridge, Bath for use of a skatepark and the simultaneous assignment of that lease to Bath and North East Somerset Council acting in its corporate capacity.

2 a Lease from the Official Custodian on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) (as Charity Trustee of Alice Park) to Michael Hewitt, as Nominee, in respect of the tennis courts and associated land & buildings at Alice Park, Lambridge, Bath and the simultaneous assignment of that lease to Bath and North East Somerset Council acting in its corporate capacity.

The Nominee will be subject to and benefit from the Statutory Indemnity provided by Section 265 of the Public Health Act 1875 (as amended) and subject to the cover of the insurance held by BANES Council in compliance with the resolution of the Standards Committee dated 23 October 2014.

Option 1 - do nothing - the leases would not be effective