Dear resident,
We are seeking your views on the parish council entering into a long-term lease agreement to run and maintain St Andrews Community Centre.
Background Information
The community centre is built on Saxilby Public Recreation Ground (charity number 521978).
The parish council currently oversees and manages the St Andrews Community Centre.
The centre is a valued community facility used by residents and visitors. It includes two function rooms, a meeting room, a bar, the parish council office, a community library, customer and staff toilets, and changing rooms.
The community centre has a wide range of users including: sports clubs (e.g. tennis, bowls, cricket, and football); library customers; hire groups such as music groups, a toddler group, exercise/sports classes, a networking group, Warm Welcome, one-off hirers; parish council/community meetings; and Sports Hub bar users.
The charity has offered the parish council a long-term lease of the community centre for an annual rent, which has been valued at £18,850 per year.
As part of the legal process, Saxilby Recreation Ground charity has obtained a lease rental valuation of £18,850 per year, which can be negotiated.
The lease would be a full repairing and insuring lease. This means the parish council would be responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the building, inside and out, over the period of the lease.
The average cost to run and maintain the building is currently £47,500 per year. This is around a fifth (21%) of the council’s precept income (which comes from your council tax)[1]. The rest of the precept is spent on other council activities including grounds maintenance and administration.
The current running costs do not include the cost of the proposed annual lease cost to rent the building (which would be up to £18,850).
It does not include the cost of significant works which will be needed during the lease period, including those identified by a chartered surveyor in their condition report. This includes a new roof, and external fire escape(s).
As this is a significant long-term decision about a community facility, the council is keen to hear residents’ views before deciding whether to continue with entering into a formal lease.
[1] Based on the average cost over three years, 2021-24. This includes income and expenditure for the centre. Full community centre costs for 2021-24 are available at https://saxilby-ingleby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/council-business/extra-ordinary-full-council-august-2024 .
Options
a. The council agrees a formal lease for the St Andrews Community Centre
If the parish council leases the community centre, it will continue running the valued facility but will have to spend more money to do this. This money mainly comes from residents’ council tax, as the community centre costs more to run than the income the centre generates.
b. The council does not sign a formal lease for the St Andrews Community Centre
If the parish council do not sign a formal lease for the community centre, services and facilities provided, may be at-risk. The council would locate the parish office to smaller premises.
Saxilby Public Recreation Ground charity would then make the decision on the future of the building