To review and agree the policy for dealing with the Council’s leased hotels.

(i)        That authority be delegated to officers to negotiate the surrender of existing hotel leases drafted on internal repairing terms and the grant of new Full Repairing and Insuring replacement leases of sufficient duration to enable private sector investment in the individual businesses, underpinned by robust individual business plans;

(ii)       That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the Briefholder for Assets and Finance and the Section 151 Officer, to review the Council’s hotels and to instigate appropriate action to diversify and improve the overall tourist accommodation offer in the borough, including taking back leases and/or changing use where appropriate, undertaking or enabling capital investment, re-letting or disposal;

(iii)      That a suitable mechanism be put into place to report back to the Management Committee or Scrutiny & Performance Committee as appropriate, on any decision relating to taking back leases/changing use, re-letting or disposal.

(iv)      To otherwise retain the current hotel policy in respect of the remaining hotels subject to amendments listed at paragraph 14 set out in the report to Management Committee on 19 September 2017.

(v)       To permit flexible use of existing budgets to achieve accommodation stock improvements.