Decisions

To approve the grant of the lease of Unit 19 Slyfield Enterprise Estate, Moorfield Road to Jonathan Findeis t/a First Class Flooring Limited, in line with the following terms and conditions:

For the grant of a new lease the rent will be £8,000 per annum (from £7,500 per annum) exclusive of business rates and service charge.

The agreed term is 3 years

The rent will be payable monthly in advance.

If you have any queries, then please contact Chris Bedford who will be happy to provide further information.

Purchase a Vixen 24V self-propelled pedestrian sprayer at a cost of £8950.

Purchase Japanese lanterns for Stoke Park Gardens at a cost of £8665.83.

Procurement of Cryoserver licences to replace the Council's existing expiring agreement for email archiving functionality.

Parks require the survey of OPM nests in oak trees so that we can identify where the nests are to enable us to have them removed so that we avoid the human health hazard and comply with our duty of care.

We undertook a closed tender and Martin Townsend, the winning supplier, not only provided the best value for money, they were also the most experienced supplier in the field of work we were procuring.

The tenant of the property has confirmed that they wish to proceed with the purchase of the property in accordance with the right to buy legislation and at the purchase price set out in the offer notice dated 12th February 2025.

1. The government extended the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme for another year.
This is an extension of previous year retail schemes. It is for one year only and gives a reduction of 40% business rates to ratepayers meeting all the criteria including a financial cap of £110,000 and subsidy control rules.

Guildford Borough Council will grant Retail Hospitality & Leisure Relief in the form of discretionary rate relief under S47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, in accordance with the criteria that the government has set out at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-relief-202526-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-scheme

2. in 2024 we amended our Discretionary Rate Relief Scheme Guidelines to reflect a change in legislation and to point applicants to the latest version of the Council’s strategic framework. For 2025 we are adding clarity around the granting of discretionary relief for CiCs and any organisation where it’s charitable status or entitlement to mandatory rate relief has changed. This is to help potential applicants, and to reduce enquiries. Applicants are also pointed to the latest version of corporate strategy.
The underlying guidelines on amounts of relief available remain unchanged.

Quotes were obtained from three market research companies. Following procurement rules, the decision to award the contract to Acuity Research to conduct the TSM transactional and perception surveys was based on the quality and pricing and previous year’s work as detailed below.

Acuity Research conducted the TSM perception surveys for 2024-25. They used proven methodologies to gather feedback, improving response rates and data reliability.

The Council’s proposed tenant of the above property has requested that they be given licence to allow them to carry out the following alterations at the above property as part of their initial fit out.

The letting of this unit to Style Di Vita Ltd was approved by the Executive on the 26 February 2025. The in-going tenant has now provided the details of their fit out which involves the installation of a new larger mezzanine and a fire-retardant suspended ceiling.

The works have been considered by the Building Surveying team who are satisfied with the proposals therefore it is recommended that approval is given to ensure that the new letting completes.

The licence will include a reinstatement clause ensuring that the Council has the option to require the tenant to remove these alterations when they vacate.

If you have any queries, then please contact Emma Guy who will be happy to provide further information.

The current contracted out lease expires on 23 March 2025.

The tenant is Surrey County Council.

In order to protect the Council’s interests, the proposal is to grant a tenancy at will to cover the period following expiry whilst the terms of a new lease of the above premises are negotiated.

If you have any queries, then please contact Charles Wood who will be happy to provide further information.

The tenants of the property have confirmed that they wish to proceed with the purchase of the property in accordance with the right to buy legislation and at the purchase price set out in the offer notice dated 08 January 2025.

The tenant of the property has confirmed that they wish to proceed with the purchase of the property in accordance with the right to buy legislation and at the purchase price set out in the offer notice dated 16th December 2024.

The Council granted a lease of some land at Northside
Court on 21 September 2004 to a Housing Association to
construct a development of affordable housing. Some of
those properties were leased on shared ownership terms.
The lessee’s of 4 Northside Court have staircased to
100% leasehold interest and now have a right under the
Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to purchase the freehold.
The Council and the current Registered leasehold owner
Vivid Housing Ltd, are entering into the transfer,
whereupon both the Headlease and underlease will merge
into the freehold being transferred. The Council and the
Housing Association will be receiving a premium from the
sale.

- Purchase 240L refuse bins for use in our domestic waste service via ESPO.
- Purchase 240L recycling bins for use in our domestic waste service via ESPO.
- Purchase 1100L bins for use in our commercial and domestic waste services vis ESPO.

To approve the grant of the lease of Units 8 and 9 Foundation Units to SAS Guildford, in line with the following terms and conditions:

For grant of a new lease the rent will be £17,000 per annum (from £16,500 per annum) exclusive of business rates and service charge.

The agreed term is 3 years.

The rent will be payable monthly in advance.

The tenant will be placed on a Tenancy at Will in the interim as the lease expired on 24/12/2024.

If you have any queries, then please contact Chris Bedford who will be happy to provide further information

To approve the grant of the lease of Unit 7 Enterprise Estate, Station Road West to Advanced Control Solutions Limited, in line with the following terms and conditions:

For grant of a new lease the rent will be £9,500 per annum (from £9,000 per annum) exclusive of business rates and service charge.

The agreed term is 3 years.

The rent will be payable monthly in advance.

If you have any queries, then please contact Chris Bedford who will be happy to provide further information.

The Council’s tenant of the above property has requested that they be given a licence to allow the assignment of Unit 20, Phase 4, Midleton Enterprise Park.

The current lessee Be Seated Hire Ltd wishes to assign its lease to L & J Interior Design Ltd for the remainder of the lease term which expires on 25/01/2029. The lease agreement is outside the security of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. The assignee’s company accounts have been reviewed as part of the Council’s due diligence process and a 3 month rent deposit of £3,833.25 will be payable by the assignee.

The proposed assignment provides the ‘best consideration reasonably obtainable’ where at the time of assignment the remaining term exceeds seven (7) years.

To procure a specialist valuer to provide a valuation to enable the lessee to extend the term of their lease, following service of a s42 Notice under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

To award Contract to undertake rent review

LSH have been instructed as Marketing Agents for The Billings for the past 12 months. They are therefore familiar with the property and best placed to source new tenants for the vacant suits in Unit 2 and Unit 4.

To award a contract to J Britten Ltd to carry out works on Open watercourses in the sum of £44,462.50.

To award a contract to Traditional Stone Restoration Ltd in the sum of £12,192.06

extend Sybernet until the end of April 2025 to allow for implementation of SP6

to consider a material alteration to value of current void contract.

a) Approve the proposed Alternative Accommodation (Decant) policy at Appendix 1.
b) Delegate any minor amendments to the Policy to the Joint Assistant Director of Housing in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Housing

Recommendation to purchase the long leasehold interest of a flat due to structural defects which, as freeholder of the property, are the Council’s responsibility.

Approve the freehold disposal of garden land known as Land Adjoining Bridgellis, Orestan Lane, Effingham

Authorise the Joint Assistant Director for Assets and Property to negotiate terms for a disposal of garden land known as Land Adjoing Bridgellis, Orestan Lane, Effingham at best consideration and subsequently enter into all relevant legal documentation required to complete the sale in return for a capital receipt

Approve the freehold disposal of garden land known as Land to the rear of 4 Middle Farm Close, Effingham
Authorise the Joint Assistant Director for Assets and Property to negotiate terms for a disposal of garden land known as Land to the rear of 4 Middle Farm Close, Effingham at best consideration and subsequently enter into all relevant legal documentation required to complete the sale in return for a capital receipt.

To determine a 10 year lease to Style di Vita Ltd (interior design and furniture) at a rent of £48,246 per annum.

To adopt a revised Local Development Scheme which includes the intended timetable for producing an updated Guildford borough Local Plan. To endorse a budget allocation to support production of the updated Local Plan.