93 Whorlton Road - Disposal [Part A] PDF 357 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Executive Member for Environment and
Finance & Governance and the Director of Finance submitted a report for the
Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to consider the
proposal to dispose of the Council’s freehold interest in Whorlton Road
Industrial Estate.
Shown edged on the plan, attached at Appendix A
of the submitted report, the subject property was situated on Whorlton Road and
occupied a rectangular shaped site measuring @ 2.18 Acres [0.88 Ha] in a
prominent position on Riverside Park.
Whorlton Road Industrial Estate was relatively
modern in its appearance, comprising several terraced industrial units of steel
frame construction with blockwork to the lower sections, sheet metal cladding
to the upper walls and a half pitched roof.
Whilst the Council was the freehold owner of
Whorlton Road Industrial Estate, the property was subject to multiple leases
and the Council currently also leased back the entire estate from Borough
Properties.
In 1982 the Council entered into a 125 year
headlease with Woodhead Construction Ltd, where the Council let vacant land to
Woodhead Construction Ltd for the purposes of developing Whorlton Road
Industrial Estate. Simultaneously, the Council also entered into an underlease
with Woodhead Construction Ltd, agreeing to leaseback the completed development
for a term of 35 years.
Borough Properties subsequently acquired those
leases, and were now held on the headlease as a tenant, which had a term of 86
years remaining, and also on the underlease as the Landlord, due to expire in
2026. The underlease, which held the Council as the tenant to Borough
Properties was due to expire in 2017, but in 2008 the respective leases were
varied, extending the Council’s term as tenant up until 1 January 2026.
As well as the term being extended, other variations
were made to the lease, which with the passage of time had considerably
increased the Council’s liability and would continue to do so up until the end
of the lease term, in January 2026.
An Asset Disposal Business Case confirming the
status of the subject property, as surplus to operational Council requirements,
was attached at Appendix C to Part B of the submitted report.
OPTIONS
Re-use
for operational purposes - No Council operational service requirement had been
identified.
Other
uses - Given the property’s location and make up, no use other than light
industrial would have been suitable.
Do
nothing - The Council would have remained as a tenant under the existing terms,
subject to the full obligations and associated costs of the Underlease until
Jan 2026. Following January 2026, the Council would not have had the benefit of
the asset until the Headlease came to an end in January 2107.
ORDERED
1. That the information contained in Part A of the report be
noted.
2. That the decision be taken once all the financial or exempt
information contained in Part B of the report had been considered.
REASON
In order to meet the Council’s requirements to generate capital receipts, increase annually recurring revenue streams, reduce future expenditure and ... view the full minutes text for item 93