Agenda item

The Sub-Committee is asked to approve the terms for the tennis courts lease.

It was noted that to commence the refurbishment of the tennis courts, the Trust must enter into a lease, with a nominee, appointed by the Council, who will then assign the lease to the Council.  The Sub-Committee considered a report which outlined the process for the granting of the lease and the reasons why a nominee is required.

Graham Page raised a query regarding the long-term management of the tennis courts and the income generated to improve the tennis facilities at Alice Park.  He was concerned that the Trust would not receive this income.  He also had concerns about the liability of the Trust if the tennis courts did not make a profit or if terms of grant funding applications were breached.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services explained that the Council is the sole Corporate Trustee.  If the tennis court operator does not make a profit, provided the Sub-Committee has taken reasonable steps to deal with this issue, then members would not be liable for any losses incurred.

The Team Manager, Leisure and Business Development, explained that the application for grant funding is being made by the Council and not by the Alice Park Trust.  If the funding has conditions attached to it then the Council would follow these and responsibility for any non-compliance would lie with the Council and not the Trust.

Cllr Myers queried whether the Council would indemnify the Trust if no profit was made as the Council would be managing the tennis court operation on behalf of the Trust.

Cllr Appleyard explained that the Trust would be leasing the space to the Council to provide a tennis facility.  He was satisfied that this would not create a liability for the Trust and that this would be written into the lease agreement.

In light of the concerns expressed by some members the Director of Legal and Democratic Services suggested wording that could be included as part of the resolution to ensure that there would be no liability for the Trust if a loss was made on the tennis court operation, or in the case of any disagreement between the parties.

RESOLVED, subject to approval by the Charity Commission and subject to the Council securing grant funding from the Lawn Tennis Association and Sport England, to:

(1)  Approve the terms of the draft lease on the basis that these are the best terms that can reasonably be obtained.

(2)  Approve the grant of the lease (set out in Appendix 3 of the report) to the nominee and consent to the simultaneous assignment of the lease to the Council in its corporate capacity.

(3)  Authorise the clerk to submit the application (set out in Appendix 5 of the report) for Charity Commission consent to the lease on behalf of the Trust subject to the inclusion of the following wording as an addendum:

“The basis for entering into the lease by the Alice Park Trust Sub-Committee is that there will be no liability between them, the lessee and any third-party operator in relation to any grant funding.”