Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the item and briefed Members on the purpose of the report which was to obtain committee approval to lease Copthall Playing Fields to Camden Community Football Association for sports use.

The Chairman also informed for Committee that he will be moving a motion to amend the recommendations to strengthen the lease arrangements and conditions to reduce any potential risk to the council. He then invited discussion.

Councillors Pauline Coakley-Webb and Geof Cooke queried whether the walking and cycling footpath that runs between the existing CCFA site and the proposed CCFA site will remain open access to the public and sought strong reassurance that it would. Members agreed that the photograph of the site was ambiguous whereas the site plan was clear in its delineation of the of the access footpath outside the red line boundary of the proposal site.

Councillor Coakley-Webb questioned whether the council was sufficiently protected against the potential risk that CCFA would not secure funds to complete the proposed works to the site. Officers from Estates and HBPL advised that the Draft Head of Terms for the lease have been revised to include the provision for the ownership of the site would revert back to the Council should the lessee be unable to fulfil their contractual obligations. Furthermore, Agreements for Lease are not open ended and are closely aligned to a stipulated period of time by which time proposals should have commenced/and or completed. Long stop dates will be built in subject to the usual force majore events.

Following discussion, the Chairman moved a motion to amend the recommendations.  This was duly seconded.  It was RESOLVED:

1.    That Committee authorised the Head of Estates to commence negotiations to agree heads of terms for a proposed lease between the Council and the CCSFA  based on the indicative draft Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 3 and having regard to the best interests of the Council but which must  include the following:

(a)  that the lease terms is for a term of 125 years at a  rent to be agreed such rent to be assessed via the CBAT and any rent subsidy to be applied to the rent payable shall be subject to [ 5 yearly reviews] review in line with the contemporaneous review of the CBAT assessment;

(b)  the proposed lease shall fall outside the protection of the provisions of sections 24-28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Part 2;

(c)  that the legal documents include a provision that in the event that the CCSFA fail to undertake a meaningful start on site within 2 years from the date of completion of legal formalities, the site will revert to the Council.

2.  That Committee authorised delegation of final approval to the Heads of Terms and the entering into of all appropriate documentation to give effect to the Heads of Terms to include an Agreement for Lease and Lease, to the Head of Estates.

The votes in favour of the amended recommendation were unanimous.