Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: December 18, 2025

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.

Content: 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.