Last updated at 15:52, Sunday, 17 February 2013

A DISPUTE between a charitable trust and council chiefs that has dragged on for months looks to have been resolved.

Ford Park trustees have welcomed news that Cumbria County Council is willing to renegotiate the terms of its lease agreement with them.

The council uses part of Ford Park House to provide day services for vulnerable adults but Ford Park Community Group, which runs the building, was struggling to cope with the cost of maintaining it.

The Evening Mail reported in September that trustees wanted to raise the rent paid by the council from £15,000 a year to £26,000 – in line with an independent valuation of the space it commissioned.

Jackie Williams, Ford Park centre and development manager, explained at the time: “Our costs have gone up dramatically but we are still getting the same amount of rent.

“The rent they pay is not even covering expenditure.’’

Deputy leader of the county council, Councillor Stewart Young, said : “It has been a bit of a struggle really.

“I went down to Ulverston to meet them in November because it had reached a bit of an impasse.”

Ford Park trustees have been looking to sell the grade II listed building but plans were scuppered by the original lease agreement with the council.

Although the financial details have yet to be finalised, the new agreement will allow trustees to maintain the building in the short-term while giving both parties a six-month notice period to opt out.

This would allow the charity to continue searching for a buyer for the building.

Cllr Young said: “I think they need to sell it actually.

“We have a group of clients there that use the place so we will obviously have to find an alternative and having a six-month period gives us time to do that.

“Hopefully that will allow them to move forward.”

He added that the sharp rise in rent requested by trustees had been a stumbling block initially as the council wanted to be sure it was not wasting taxpayers’ money.

However, he suggested the council was now satisfied with the valuation of the space.

He added: “I am very confident we will get this sorted to the satisfaction of both parties.”

Colin Pickthall, chairman of Ford Park trustees, said: “It puts us all on much stronger footing. This is good news for us.”

First published at 15:17, Sunday, 17 February 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk