COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, July 13, 2009
HEADED ITEM NO.16(i)
HEADED ITEM: D. Department
Approval of registration of charge in favour of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism in respect of site at Ballyowen Park, Lucan – proposed lease for all-weather facility to South Dublin Football League Limited.
REPLY:
The Council proposes to grant a 25 year lease of a site at Ballyowen Park, Lucan to South Dublin Football League Limited for the construction of an all-weather facility. A report on this proposal is being presented to the members of the Council for consideration at the meeting of the Council to be held on 14-7-09. The proposed lease is subject to certain terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions provide, inter alia, that South Dublin Football League Limited would be granted a building licence to enter the land and construct an all-weather facility that shall be to the satisfaction of the Council and on satisfactory completion, the Company shall be granted a lease.
The Company has secured funding towards the provision of the facility from the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and a condition of the payment of the grant monies requires the Company to enter into a Deed of Covenant and Charge with the Minister to continue to use the facility for the purpose for which the funds were provided for a specified period of fifteen years and in the event of it failing to do so, to repay all or part of the grant to the Minister. This Deed of Covenant and Charge is to be registered as a burden against the Company’s leasehold interest, once the lease is finalised.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism also requires the Council, as Lessor and freehold owner, of the site to enter into an agreement, undertaking that in the event of the Company ceasing to continue to use the lands for sporting and recreational purposes and the Council, recovering possession of the lands, having exercised its right to forfeiture under the Lease, to ensure the lands are used for sporting and recreational purposes, or alternatively, repay to the Minister the amount of the grant then owing or such sum as the Minister may demand, whichever is the lesser amount.
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism will only release grant funding to the Company once a Deed of Charge and Covenant is in place as a burden on the lease. However as the lease will only be granted once work has been satisfactorily completed, this leaves the Company in a position where it would not be able to draw down funds during the course of the works . In order to assist the Company in availing of the grant funding and to ensure that the facility will be completed, the Council proposes to accept, subject to the requisite statutory approvals, the Deed of Covenant and Charge being registered as a burden against the Council-owned lands in favour of the Minister.
On completion of the lease, the Council will seek to have this burden discharged and the Minister may then register the burden against the leasehold interest of South Dublin Football League Limited.
The terms and conditions of the proposed lease also provide that the Company shall not sell, assign, sub-let, sub-divide, alienate or part with the possession of the subject property without the prior consent of the Council and accordingly the Council’s consent to the registration of a burden in favour of the Minister against the Company’s leasehold interest will be required.
In accordance with Section 66 of the Local Government Act, 2001 the Council may approve the granting of any ‘financial assistance whether by grants, loans, guarantees or other financial aid, lands or other structures etc’ for matters of this nature, such approval to be by way of resolution of the Council. The above definition would include accepting a charge against Council property in respect of funds provided by other parties for facilities constructed thereon.
Accordingly it is recommended that the Council adopt the following resolutions:
“That subject to the provisions of Section 66 of the Local Government Act, 2001, that the Council approves the registering of a charge in favour of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism against the Council in respect of a site at Ballyowen Park, Lucan as outlined in red on Drawing No. PLS 1139-15 to enable South Dublin Football League Limited to draw down Sports Capital grant monies in the sum of €300,000 towards the construction of an all weather facility on the site and that following the grant of the proposed lease in this case, that the Council consents to the registration of the Deed of Charge and Covenant against the leasehold interest.
That subject to the provisions of Section 66 of the Local Government Act, 2001 the Council enter into a Deed of Agreement with the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism in respect of the same site, following the grant of the lease.