Content

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.