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STRATEGIC POLICY & RESOURCES COMMITTEE
Subject:
Asset Management: i) Percy Street Community Centre – Lease Renewal ii) 10-18 Cromac Street and 33-37 Market Street, Belfast – Disposal of Ground Rent Interest iii) Stewart Street – Proposed Agreement for Easement with Northern Ireland Electricity at Stewart Street
Date: 16 December 2016 Reporting Officer: Gerry Millar, Director of Property & Projects Department Contact Officer: Cathy Reynolds, Estates Manager, Property & Projects Department
Is this report restricted? Yes No
Is the decision eligible for Call-in? Yes No
1.0 Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval from Members to asset related disposal, acquisition and lease matters.
2.0 Recommendations
i) Percy Street Community Centre – Lease Renewal Committee is recommended to approve the renewal of the Lease for Percy Street Community Centre for a further 5 years with the Trustees of Lower Shankill Group Welfare Committee.
ii) 10-18 Cromac Street and 33-37 Market Street, Belfast – Disposal of Ground Rent Interest Committee is recommended to approve the disposal of the Council’s ground rent interest in land at 10-18 Cromac Street and 33-37 Market Street, Belfast.
iii) Stewart Street – Proposed Agreement for Easement with Northern Ireland Electricity at Stewart Street Committee is recommended to grant approval to enter into an Agreement for Easement with
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NIE in respect of land at Stewart Street (location edged red on map in Appendix 1) for the purposes of facilitating development of a community garden and to provide potential pedestrian access to the Council’s Gasworks Estate.
3.0 Main report
(i) Percy Street Community Centre – Lease renewal Key Issues In 1982 the Trustees of the Lower Shankill Group Welfare Committee were granted a month to month Licence to occupy the Percy Street Community Centre. This arrangement continued until 2011 when the Development Committee (11 June 2011) and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee (23 September 2011) agreed to change the licence agreement to a lease similar to other independently managed centres. A 5 year Lease was granted from 1st^ April 2011 at a yearly rent of £1,550.
It has now been agreed with the Trustees that the Lease will be renewed for a further 5 years from 1 April 2016 on the same terms as present including the rental amount of £1,550 per annum.
Financial & Resource Implications Staff resources from the Estates Management Unit and Legal Services Department will be required to finalise the renewal documentation. This Lease agreement is covered by the committee decision of 7 March 2006 to include the rental cost of independently managed premises leased from the Council within the annual Council grant.
Asset and Other Implications None
ii) 10-18 Cromac Street and 33-37 Market Street, Belfast – Disposal of Ground Rent Interest Key Issues The Council hold the reversionary interest in a Fee Farm Grant dated 1 July 1916 for land located at 10-18 Cromac Street and 33-37 Market Street, subject to a non-reviewable annual rent of £120.00, collected half yearly. The land has since been developed in recent times with an office building known as Forsyth House.
The Council’s interest in the premises is historic and non-functional and the Development Committee on the 18 August 2004 approved a number of recommendations regarding the collection of ground rents relating to this and other similar properties. One of these
(MDA) for the abandonment of land on Stewart Street (location edged red on map in Appendix 1) and this request was formally noted at the Council’s Planning Committee’s meeting of 17th^ May 2016. Formal abandonment is a necessary step required in order to facilitate the proposed installation of planters and artwork on the land as a community garden.
NIE own an adjoining site on Stewart Street (identified on map in Appendix 1) which has its sole access over this land which TransportNI are seeking to abandon; NIE also have existing in-ground electricity cables that traverse the subject land. Given the pre-existing NIE requirements to have access over this land they have formally objected to its abandonment.
Upon completion of any formal abandonment procedure full control of the land would revert to the Council as the legal landowner.
In addition to providing scope to develop a community garden, by regaining control of this portion of land the Council is presented with an opportunity to establish a pedestrian access from the Markets through to the Council Gasworks Estate thereby facilitating more direct access for the community to the riverside walkway.
In order for NIE to withdraw their objection and thereby progress the abandonment procedure the Council, as effective landowners, have been requested by NIE to enter into an easement with them so as to retain appropriate accesses as required by NIE over the land. However, until such time as abandonment has formally completed, and full control regained, the Council are not at liberty to grant such easement requested. Therefore the Council’s Legal Services have advised, and NIE agree, that an Agreement for Easement (which is in effect a precursor to an agreed form of Easement, which would be appended) would provide sufficient legal comfort sought that would permit NIE to withdraw their objection to formal abandonment proceeding.
Further reports will be brought back to this Committee with more detail in respect of the community garden and the Gasworks pedestrian access in the context of the Gasworks Northern Fringe Masterplan.
Financial & Resource Implications There are no finance or resource implications at this time associated with progressing the Agreement for Easement beyond Estates and Legal Services input.
There are proposals by the MDA to develop a community garden but details of this will be
brought back to Committee in due course.
As part of their planning consent for the Council’s Maysfield site Allstate is committed to providing £15,000 towards the cost of providing a community garden on this land in Stewart Street together with 100 hours volunteer time for its development. The creation of a pedestrian access from the Markets though to the adjoining Gasworks Estate is also referenced in the commitment made through Allstate’s planning consent.
4.0 Appendices – Documents Attached
4.1 Appendix 1 – Map identifying location of proposed Easements at Stewart Street
