Purpose

The report to Cabinet is to
ratify the decision made by the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board on 12
December 2025 to grant fund Pie Factory Music, using the Pride in
Place Programme Funding, to secure the Ramsgate Youth Centre in
perpetuity for youth related services.

Decision

Cabinet agreed the following:
 
1. 
Ratify the decision by the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board to allocate
£535,000 from the Pride in Place Programme Funding to secure
the ownership of the Ramsgate Youth Centre;
 
2. 
Approve the forward funding of the grant, repayable from the
Ramsgate Pride in Place Programme, as set out in the table at 5.5
to the Cabinet report;
 
3. 
Delegate authority to the Director of Place, in consultation with
the Interim Chair of the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board to finalise
the terms of the grant agreement, including detailed grant
conditions and clawback arrangements, in line with the issues
raised in section 5.9 to the Cabinet report.

Reasons for the decision

The grant from the Pride in Place Programme
will secure the freehold ownership of the site for Pie Factory
Music and ensure the sustainable provision of youth services from
the site. 
 
Investing in Our Young People (Raise It Up) is
a key theme in Ramsgate’s Pride in Place Programme
10 year Vision and Regeneration Plan
submitted to central government in November 2025. The grant will
safeguard an existing service that is aligned with the delivery of
Ramsgate’s priorities.
 
Thanet District Council is the accountable
body for the Pride in Place Programme, and due to the timescales of
the funding for the programme starting in April 2026, the council
is forward funding the grant, with repayment from the grant funding
when it is received over the first two years of the programme.

Alternative options considered

A number of alternatives were considered
including:
 

Do nothing - The Ramsgate
Neighbourhood Board leaves Pie Factory Music to secure funding from
elsewhere to secure a lease/purchase of the Ramsgate Youth Centre.
This is unlikely following a year worth of fundraising, and most
funders require an agreed long lease before providing funds. If the
site is sold at auction and Pie only has a tenancy at will, their
security at the site is not guaranteed, and there are few
alternative options available. Due to the challenges that Pie would
face in trying to secure the funding from elsewhere, in such a
short period of time, this option was not recommended.

 

The Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board
grant fund Pie Factory Music to lease the Ramsgate Youth Centre. A
£120,000 grant could allow Pie Factory Music to secure their
home for the next three years, and continue their services.
Enabling Pie Factory Music to agree a lease with KCC by the end of
the calendar year could secure their future over the next three
years in their current site. However, it is clear that KCC would
still take the site to auction and therefore Pie would have an
unknown landlord. There could also be challenges to raising their
rent, and to pay for the works that are required to the building.
Due to the future challenges that a short term lease payment could
create, this option was not recommended.