Agenda item

Report attached.

Members considered a joint report of Councillor Noordad Aziz, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills, and Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations, seeking approval for increased garage plot rents from 1^st April 2025.

Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the report.  The proposals would see an increase in rental from £102 per annum to £110 across the Borough’s 184 garage plots.  The rental cost was comparable to that in neighbouring East Lancashire authorities.

Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Council completed a garage rent review every 3 years, with the aim of ensuring that the garage plot rents kept pace with inflation.  It was reasonable for the Council to increase the garage plot rents having taken into consideration the annual rate of inflation and rents charged by neighbouring local authorities.

The Council had last increased the annual garage plot rent on the 1^st April 2022.

Allowing for the annual rate of inflation from 2022, and rent comparisons charged by neighbouring local authorities, it was recommended that the annual rent be increased to £110.00 from 1^st April 2025.

The term “garage plot”, for the purpose of the report, meant an area of land owned by the Council roughly equal in size to that which permitted the erection of a 3m x 6m single garage, together with a narrow strip of land around the plot thereby permitting vehicle access and garage maintenance. 

Garage plots were rented to members of the public (the tenants) who might, at their own expense, erect a garage which could be used for parking a domestic motor vehicle.  Some plots were used for parking cars or caravan storage without a garage building.  It was a condition of the agreement that the garage plots were not used for commercial purposes and that the garage itself and the plot were maintained by the tenant.

The Council had 184 garage plots, all of which were tenanted at the time of writing.

The Council’s proposed annual rent of £110.00 was comparable with neighbouring local authorities, as indicated below:-

In reaching the recommended rent, consideration had been given to the annual rate of inflation since 2022 and that predicted from 2025 onwards, which ranged by year from 2.0% to 4.0%.  The recommended garage plot rent increase was 2.5% (year on year from 2022), which was comparable to the national rate of annual inflation.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

No change and continue to charge rents at the existing amount - This option was not recommended as it was likely to mean that a larger rent increase would be required at a future date.  It was reasonable for the Council to review the rents charged every 3 years to ensure that increases were gradual and that tenants did not face significant increases.

Set a lower rent increase - This option was not recommended as the annual rate of national inflation since 2022 and predicted 2025 onwards ranged from 2.0% to 4.0%.  The Council had set the rent increase comparable to that of the national rate of inflation, and to a rate comparable with other neighbouring local authorities.

Set a higher rent increase - This option was not recommended on the grounds that the increase would be greater than the national rate of inflation.

Resolved                                   -    That Cabinet authorises an increase in garage plot rents from £102.00 to £110.00 per annum (excluding VAT) with effect from 1^st April 2025.