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Answer:

The council charges a ‘market’ rent for its premises which, for those in its community portfolio, is currently standardised to £14 per square foot.  CBRR is the council’s scheme for providing a rent subsidy to organisations leasing premises in the community portfolio that provide a wider community benefit through their use of the buildings.  The rate of subsidy is usually 80 per cent.

Full details can be found on the voluntary organisations page.  The leases for the community hubs will be eligible for CBRR and the lessee will be granted CBRR.

Answer:

The council decided initial period of the lease arrangements will be for 3-5 years. However, we may consider granting a longer lease where appropriate before the initial lease ends, particularly where the initial period has been successful, and where this may affect longer term funding arrangements and bids for capital funds.

Answer:

The Fire Safety Act (2021) received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, though it is still to come into force. You can read about the Fire Safety Act on the government website.  The Building Safety Bill, in its current form, was introduced to the House of Commons on 5 July 2021. 

Both the Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Bill intend to make sure that residents of high-rise buildings feel safer in their homes by significantly reducing fire risks. They are a response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy – to stop such an event from ever happening again and minimising fire risks to make sure that high-rise buildings are managed properly.

Answer:

It will be up to leaseholders to determine the appropriate charges to set for each hub with an expectation by the council that the charges will be reasonable in all cases.   

Answer:

The agreement with leaseholders will include a mechanism for monitoring rates charged and it is expected that there will be differences between hubs in different areas reflecting local circumstances including the costs of other facilities.

Answer:

Hubs will not be leased to organisations just to deliver their core services or provide exclusive use. The assessment criteria set out in the information pack for the proposals submitted by prospective leaseholders focus on meeting local need, diverse user base, supporting smaller community groups and local community involvement. These will be built into the performance agreement. 

Answer:

An outcomes framework and performance agreement based on the proposals submitted will be linked to each lease. We anticipate this will be the basis of ongoing discussion and annual review to ensure the hubs are developing in line with the agreed proposals or, if there is any variation, this is done by mutual agreement. If there are significant concerns or that cannot be resolved the council reserves the right to terminate the lease.

Answer:

The property particulars for each of the hubs sets out the current or most recent usage and indicates whether there are any contractual arrangements or other expectations relating to existing use. Currently, there is a contractual commitment for the provision of youth services at Christian Street.

Granby Hall is expected to have a Somali focus.  Existing users are likely to be a significant benefit to the new Leaseholders, providing a basis on which to build a diverse user base, an initial income stream and, in many cases, solid local connection.  The council would not want to see established users displaced.

Answer:

Community stakeholders are drawn from the local area, for example with groups that run existing facilities or represent communities in other ways.

Community stakeholder identification is ongoing. It has been a difficult area to progress during the pandemic as priorities have been focussed elsewhere and potential stakeholders have had little time to engage effectively.

Answer:

The council is not able to provide details of potential bidders to others unless they specifically give consent. However, organisations are also free to form consortia in order to submit proposals if this is mutually beneficial and the lead organisation meets the criteria.

Tower Hamlets Homes (THH) is willing to engage with parties interested in running the hubs in areas where there is THH housing stock (all of the hubs except Bow).

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