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Following
consideration of the officer report, appendices, and discussion,
the Executive:

noted the heritage activities
carried out by the Trust during the reporting period 1 November
2023 to 31 October 2024. 

approved that the Council shall
renew its contractual arrangements with the Trust upon same terms
save for those set out below and publish an associated Voluntary
Ex-Ante Transparency (VEAT) Notice to mitigate risks of legal
challenge. Trust New key terms: 

                                
i.        
Contract value to be £1,500,000 per annum agreement to
deliver statutory services. 
                              
ii.        
No contract indexation uplift will be applied. 
                             
iii.        
Agreement for the length of the contract to be until 2044, in
line with the majority of leases, with
the lease on Taunton Castle being the last of twelve leases to
expire in 2056. Reserving the current ability to end contractual
arrangements every 5 years. 
                             
iv.        
A contract review to take place every five years to assess and
adjust where necessary: 
a.   
Service Performance 
b.   
Suitability of the arrangement 
c.   
Service delivery scope 
d.   
Core contract value 
e.   
Or to bring the arrangement to an end. 

delegated authority to the
Executive Director, Community Services to finalise terms and
complete the renewed Grant Agreement contract as approved and upon
the expiry of the VEAT Notice save unless the Council receives a
meritorious challenge whereupon the matter shall be subject to
further report to the Council. 

delegated authority to Executive
Director, Community Services and the Strategic Service Director,
Asset Management, to enter into
negotiations to align relevant property lease agreements dates, and
where appropriate, ensure all terms and conditions are in line with
Somerset Council standard clauses