Agenda item

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Clare Pritchard, Portfolio Holder for Transformation and Town Centres, seeking approval to continuing the support for market traders decanted into the temporary cabins on the market square through licence fee concessions and continuing the support provided to the Official Accrington Stanley Supporters Trust (OASST).

Councillor Clare Pritchard provided a brief introduction to this report, highlighting that, while construction was still underway at the Market Hall and in the light of competition from on-line shopping, the Council would continue to provide financial support to the decanted market traders and OASST.  Councillors Kimberley Whitehead, Scott Brerton, Melissa Fisher and Zak Khan all spoke in favour of this course of action.

Councillor Khan queried whether the revenue costs of delays to the Market Hall project were sufficiently transparent.  The Leader considered that the Council had been very open about this matter, even in the face of some criticism.  The Market Hall should be completed by the end of the year and the Council wanted the traders to be on a sound financial footing should they chose to return indoors.  Councillor Pritchard commented that the traders were fully on board with the project.  The financial issue for the Council was not about additional costs, but rather about the loss of rental/licence fee income.  Councillor Whitehead added that these costs had been set out in reports published both last year and in the current year.  Councillor Pritchard summarised by noting that although there was a perception of delays to the completion of the project, the end date had never been fixed, as there had always been an understanding that this was on old building and that complex issues (such as asbestos) could arise during the refurbishment works.  Ultimately, the Council wanted to provide a quality facility, not a cheap fix.  Traders and Council staff had been patient and supportive throughout the project and references to ‘delays’ were not helpful.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Council had agreed to support those market traders temporarily relocated on the town square whilst the Market Hall redevelopment works were undertaken.  A report presented in March 2025, had seen Cabinet give approval to provide rent and licence fees concessions for 12 months from 1^st April 2025 or until the temporary cabins were removed whichever came first.

This 12-month agreement was coming to an end and the report proposed the Council maintained its zero-rent lease/fee charge for the temporary cabins with all other charges remaining as per the current concession levels.  If approved by Cabinet, this would maintain the following charges until the cabins were removed from the town square for the Market Hall reopening:

• £0.00 (zero charge) per calendar month for market cabin rent/licence fee
• £9.00 per sqft per calendar month for service charges.
• £25 per calendar month for trader storage units located under the rear pavilion at the Market Hall (no services provided to these storage units).
• £120.00 per calendar month as a combined rent and service charge for the trader who had a dedicated cold room and prep room.

Continuing with these concessions would result in loss of income to the Council of circa £2,930 per month and assumed traders continued to pay the service charge and where applicable, storage unit rent, cold/prep room rent.

If approved, the extension would be given on the same terms as the 2024/25 concession through new leases, and traders would be required to continue to pay all service charges and, where applicable, storage unit rents and any other payments via direct debit.

The Council had also agreed to assist the OASST by meeting the cost of the monthly rent for their unit in the Arndale Centre, which was currently £275.41 (£3,301.68 in total for the financial year 2024/25).  The approval for this arrangement was also coming to an end and the report proposed that the Council should agree to continue meeting the cost of OASST’s rental payments.  If approved this financial support would be in line with the other market traders in the temporary cabins on the town square and the support would continue until the cabins were removed from the town square for the Market Hall reopening.  OASST had confirmed its lease with the Arndale was on a ‘rolling’ 3-month agreement.

State Aid/Subsidy Control

The Subsidy Control Act 2022 would apply, although the individual subsidies were likely to be exempt subsidies on the basis that they represented minimal financial assistance (“MFA”) for the purpose of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.  MFA subsidy could be given without the need to assess whether the subsidy complied with the subsidy control principles provided the amount of subsidy in the current financial year and the two preceding financial years did not exceed £315k per recipient.  In this regard, the Council would be required to serve a pre-award notice on each of the traders before the leases/licences were completed to confirm the amount of the subsidy and seeking confirmation from the traders that the MFA threshold would not be exceeded.  The leases/licences / rental subsidy could only be granted once the traders / OASST had responded and the Council would be required to serve a post award confirmation notice after completion to confirm the amount of subsidy provided by the Council, the date it had been given and that it was minimal financial assistance for the purpose of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

The Council could let the current rent/licence fee concessions expire and revert to the previous levels.  This was not recommended because the Market Hall was anticipated to reopen for the Christmas light switch-on event in 2026 and whilst there was no guarantee all traders would wish to return, these traders could remain until the cabins were removed from the town square and decanted back into the Market Hall.

Resolved                                 (1)   That Cabinet approves the extension of the current 100% reduction of the rent and licence fees payable by market traders in the temporary market cabins on the town square until the cabins are removed from the town square for the Market Hall reopening, as detailed in Paragraph 3.2 of the report.

(2)   That Cabinet approves the extension to the current storage unit rents and service charges for the temporary storage units until the cabins are removed from the town square for the Market Hall reopening, as detailed in Paragraph 3.2 of the report.

(3)   That Cabinet notes that the proposed rent and service charge concessions will reduce income levels for the market budget in the next financial year by circa £2,930 per month and it was unlikely any efficiency or other cost savings within the market service budget would offset this.

(4)   That Cabinet approves the extension of financial support to the Official Accrington Stanley Supporters Trust, (OASST) as detailed in Paragraph 3.4 of the report, in respect of their temporary unit within the Arndal Centre, to continue until the Market Hall reopening.