Further to Minute No. 117 and the Cabinet’s request for all the information required for the second stage submission by 17 September 2010, a report by the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management advised Members of the current position of the proposed Community Asset Transfer of Byrne Avenue Recreation Centre to the Byrne Avenue Community Trust (BACT) and sought instructions on the way forward.

Ben Harrison of BACT was in attendance at the meeting and addressed the Cabinet. He informed that this project was an excellent example of the Government’s “Big Society” initiative.  The trust was confident that it would be able to refurbish the Recreation Centre and had made grant applications to the Community Builder Fund and the National Lottery Fund.

Councillor Green informed that the Cabinet appreciated the work that had been put into this project by BACT and was impressed by the quality of the team that the Trust had working on it. It was noted that the information requested had been received by the deadline set.

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet

(1)  notes the considerable work that has been undertaken to date by Byrne Avenue Community Trust in pursuit of asset transfer;

(2)  is of the view that further information needs to be provided by the group to enable a final decision on its application to be taken, particularly in respect of works to be undertaken, timescales, the availability of funding and the sustainability of its business plan;

(3)  notes the continuing cost of retention by the Council of this surplus asset, the potential to achieve a capital receipt from its sale and the need to come to a decision on its future in the shortest possible timescale;

(4)  considers in all the circumstances that the group should be afforded a final opportunity to submit a transfer proposal which demonstrates the availability of funding to refurbish the facility within a reasonable timescale and contains a sustainable business plan for its future operation;

Cabinet resolves that:

(5)  Byrne Avenue Community Trust be thanked for its efforts to date in pursuing an asset transfer of this facility;

(6)  BACT be granted a further period expiring on 31 March 2011 to allow it to satisfy officers on the programme of works to be undertaken to the building, the timescales for those works which should contain specific milestones against which performance will be judged, the availability of all necessary funding to complete those works and the existence of a sustainable business plan for the future operation of the facility;

(7)  officers be requested to earmark a maximum sum of £350,000 within the overall provision to support Community Asset Transfer through the Community Fund as the Council’s contribution towards the overall scheme, with that sum to be made available only when the total funding package is confirmed and the group’s business plan is agreed;

(8)  upon the successful fulfilment of these conditions a report be submitted to Cabinet on 14 April 2011 on the finally agreed terms for asset transfer; or

(9)  if BACT fails to satisfy these conditions by 31 March 2011 the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management be authorised, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to dispose of the property on the open market in accordance with Option 3 of the report.