Issue - meetings

SHDC lettings policy industrial unit update

Meeting: 28/02/2023 - Policy Development Panel (Item 68)

68 Industrial Units Letting Policy pdf icon PDF 343 KB

To inform the Policy Development Panel of the update to the policy on letting of the industrial units within SHDC (report of the Assistant Director – General Fund Assets enclosed).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director - General Fund Assets which informed the Panel of the update to the policy on letting of the industrial units within SHDC.

 

The Strategic Property Manager introduced the report which outlined proposed revisions to the Industrial Units Letting Policy and encompassed planning legislation changes effective from September 2022. The following changes afforded SHDC greater flexibility with new tenants prior to the granting of longer leases:

  • updates had been made to the service charge, Tenancy At Will, marketing and vetting of applicants;
  • the addition of the waiting list; and
  • the stipulation that the utilisation of units for storage would not be permitted and that units were required to be used for the creation of employment.

 

Appendix A detailed the revised Industrial Unit Lettings Policy which outlined the following areas:

  • the key points of the policy;
  • marketing;
  • new applicants;
  • rent and incentives;
  • agreement of a new lease;
  • yield up;
  • rent arrears; and
  • implementation and review;

 

The Strategic Property Manager stated an addition of ‘B class’ to Key Point 3 of Appendix A, which was not included within the report:

‘Tenants can only use in line with the user classes act and the following amendment in 2020. The defined use of the Council’s estates will fall under the B or E class g i, ii, iii may in some cases be permitted to apply to widen the planning use of a unit to F2 (b) local community use…’

 

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

 

  • Members requested that the first sentence of point 4 of the Key Points on Appendix A be clarified.
    • The Strategic Property Manager agreed that this would be amended as follows: ‘tenants must employ eligible local people to work in the units or from the units in order to promote the local authority’.

 

AGREED:

 

That following consideration of the key points, rent incentives and rent arrears of the amended Industrial Units Letting policy, the comments of the Panel be noted.