Decision

In relation to the allocation of funds for year 2 of the High Street Accelerator Fund (HSA), the Leader of the Council agrees the following:
a)To approve the allocation of £30,000 from the High Street Accelerator fund to secure an 18-month lease of a retail property in Dovercourt High Street.
b)To grant a licence to occupy to a new start-up business and fund the project costs including the rent for the duration of the lease including planning fees where applicable, legal fees and minor refurbishments to the unit.

Reasons for the decision

The proposed 18-month lease will enable the Town Partnership, in association with the Council, to introduce a new business to the High Street, enhancing the retail mix and supporting a new or growing business.
The Property is a freehold property and is owned by a private limited company, who was approached via an estate agent appointed by the Council. The Freeholder has agreed to grant the Council an 18-month lease under which the Council will grant a licence to occupy the Property to a new start-up business for a period of 12 months. Two months prior to the expiry of the lease, it will be for the Freeholder to decide if it wishes to grant a new lease of the Property to the new start-up business. If so, upon expiry of the 18-month lease the Council will not request a new lease of the Property and this project will deemed to be completed.
If the business is unsuccessful, the Council will either open the opportunity up to a reserve business or offer the premises for community use until the end date of the lease.
The original deadline for committing these funds was March 31 2025, this was then extended to June 30, 2025 but flexibility on the timeline has now been granted by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). We corresponded with MHCLG recently and received a reply on 15th August 2025 to confirm they are happy for the projects to continue and on the 28th August 2025 a further response was received:
‘Many thanks for your patience and sending through your procurement plans to allocate the remaining programme spend.
I am pleased to confirm that we are happy for you to commit the rest of the funding as long as the work represents value for money and the funding is defrayed in this financial year (ideally this calendar year).’
The Economic Growth and Leisure Team at the Council will monitor that the terms of the lease are complied with, by the Council and the new start-up business, through its licence.

Alternative options considered

To put the funds into alternative projects in Dovercourt High Street that would not be deemed as impactful ongoing.
To return the funds to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and not support the regeneration of Dovercourt High Street.