ePetition details

Save The Place Activity Centre from closure

We the undersigned petition the council to Review their decision to increase the rent at The Place Activity Centre, Sherwood from a £10 per year discretionary rent to £12,000 per year rising to £20,000 over the next 4 years. The Place operates on a non-profit basis and is considered a vital arts and wellbeing centre for the Sherwood community. As committee members, arts and wellbeing practitioners and members of the community, we are petitioning against this unattainable increase, which would result in the closure of this invaluable community asset

We believe Nottingham City Council should continue to support The Place Activity Centre, not just financially, in its attempt to stay open, but to thrive as a successful community hub, offering a diverse range of vital services which benefits the people and small businesses of Sherwood. And we encourage the local community to support us in our campaign to Save The Place

Started by: Vanessa Gretton-Roche

This ePetition ran from 13/09/2022 to 15/10/2022 and has now finished.

194 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

The ‘Place’ is a building in Sherwood which belongs to the City Council. It houses many community activities, but it is not one of the Council’s community centres. Your organisation has leased the premises from the Council and pay a nominal rent. The lease has now expired, and you have requested a renewal.

One of the actions of the ‘Together for Nottingham’ improvement programme is to carry out a review to ensure robust agreements are in place for all of our leases. The Place is part of that review. Many existing agreements leave the Council receiving only small rents while retaining significant repairing liabilities which is not sustainable. The current agreement for the Place leaves the Council with external repairing responsibility. The starting point for all property transactions has to be market rent in line with the Council’s adopted Disposals Policy and emerging Community Asset Policy. The Council can only consider offering rent reductions for organisations that are not for profit and properly constituted and where they deliver community outputs which meet the council’s priorities, and which have to be monitored for delivery.

The Portfolio Holder for Property has met with your organisation together with officers and the local ward members for Sherwood and it has been indicated that if you can demonstrate that your organisation is not-for-profit and properly constituted you can submit a proposal for a reduced amount of rent offset by quantifiable community outputs for consideration by the Council. It is important to note that this ‘social value’ will have to be in line with the Council’s priorities and appropriate Council officers will be asked to advise in that respect. For the moment any increase in rent is held in abeyance.