Thanet council is planning to sell the leasehold for Nethercourt Touring Park in Ramsgate due to it being handed back to the authority this month by the current tenants.
The campsite has been run by Dr Emma Barrowcliffe and partner Mark Salter for some 20 years and has been in Emma’s family for almost 30 years.
The couple and their son relocated from Yorkshire to take over the business in the early 2000s but Thanet council says it is now being returned to the authority, which will leave the site vacant.
An asset disposal report to councillors says: “Nethercourt Touring Park is approximately 1.77 acres located in Ramsgate and is accessed from Nethercourt Hill.
“The site comprises an open green space for parking as well as a singular building containing various campsite facilities.
“The property has been occupied by a tenant for a number of years with its primary use being a touring / camping site open to the public.
“However, the property will be handed back to Thanet District Council (TDC) in September and the site will become vacant.
“Given its longstanding use as a touring park / campsite and the recognised benefits of this use to the district, it is proposed that the property will be offered to the market as a leasehold opportunity for the same use. This approach offers a fair chance to the market and will determine if there is still interest in this type of use at this location.
“The proposals received during the marketing process will be evaluated individually on their own merit before any further decision is taken or recommendations are made as to the site’s strategy and potential future uses.”
The report says that once the campsite is handed back it will become a liability for the council financially due to business rates, maintenance and safeguarding costs. There are also concerns that because it is accessible to the public anti-social behaviour could become an issue.
Palm Bay Avenue shelter
There are also proposals to sell the leasehold for the Palm Bay Avenue shelter.
The report says: “There is an opportunity to increase the benefit to the general public by offering the property as a leasehold opportunity to the market. The intention is that it could be repurposed into an alternative use that would be more beneficial to the local communities who regularly pass by this area.
“Also, if the shelter has a specific use or operator then it should help mitigate anti-social behaviour. It is proposed the property is brought forward as a leasehold disposal, with any interest received being appraised on their own merits. Consideration should be given to factors such as proposed use (and) duration of use.”
A leasehold disposal means the council retains overall freehold ownership of the property.
The council says the shelter currently attracts anti-social behaviour and that it is likely to persist if no alternative use is established.
Land at Millies bar
A plot of land outside Millies Beach Bar & Restaurant in Westgate is also likely to be sold to the business.
Millies currently uses the council owned plot via an annual licence for tables and chairs. It is proposed to offer the land to the business on a longer term formal lease.
The report says: “This would offer both parties a more secure arrangement as a licence should not be used on a long term basis for the purpose of providing occupational rights. A lease would allow specific rights and duties to be made clear and fully exercisable for both parties.”
Thanet council needs to generate a minimum of £1.35 million per year through disposals in order to fund other TDC assets.
The report says: “ If they are not sold at best value, it will leave a significant funding gap in the council’s General Fund capital programme. As a result, other key operational buildings that may be critical for delivery of statutory services or those that generate essential revenue will be left with outstanding repairs or maintenance.
“Over time, this neglect will cause them to deteriorate to the point of becoming uninhabitable, which would lead to the loss of that much-needed revenue.”
The council’s scrutiny committee will discuss the disposals before a report goes back to Cabinet members on September 17 for approval.
So the council has stopped campers using the seafront in various areas,(which for various reasons is understandable) however there is no other provision for campers. It’s being given the opportunity to provide that facility but is looking gifting horse in the mouth.
Is this not a little short sighted? Why on earth have they willingly put themselves in the financial position they have?
You say there are no other provisions for campers.
I thought there were a number of camper sites in Thanet. However, you have to pay for those rather than parking up for free at the roadside.
Historically, TDC used to run the Nethercourt site itself – until it was leased out and operated privately.
Who would want to lease a public shelter up Palm Bay? It would be better for the public if TDC maintained it or gave it to a local area group to look after. I haven’t come across vandalism as they say, just neglect.
I smell houses being built in Nethercourt park. I wonder who will profit ??
If sold on leasehold for same use, no too likely
Not much left off to sell now.
They’ll keep finding bits to sell, need every penny they can scrape up in the pursuit of the politically ideological goals they have, desire to leave nothing once we become a unitary authority and having no care for the vandalism they do to the isle.
Would make a great spot for the proposed travellers site. Just saying.
Would’nt be a surprise if that’s who buy it. Though you’d hope the councils lease would exclude longterm stays.
Never had you down as being an advocate for minority groups.
I AM a minority group, 88.
When did TDC get notification of site being handed back? How long have they sat on it and not put it back on the market? More cost to the tax payer while they look for a new tenant…
Almost comical that tdc talk of “best value” yet have effectively given away the wintergardens for nothing on ,what is also effectively a freehold basis , a 999 year lease. Pretty sure it’d have made a couple of million plus on the open market.
Questions need to be answered over Nethercourt Touring Park
TDC says Nethercourt Touring Park is being handed back by its long standing tenant this month. The site will then sit vacant whilst it is re-marketed, leaving Council Tax payers to pick up the bill for business rates, maintenance and security while a new operator is sought.
I will be asking why the site has not already been marketed.
If the Council knew the lease was ending or had received notice from the tenant – then why wait until the property was about to become vacant before beginning the process of finding a replacement operator?
We need a clear chronology:
When did TDC first know the tenant intended to leave?
Was the tenancy ending naturally, or did the tenant exercise a break or termination clause?
What notice period did the lease require?
Was this the original lease or a later renewal?
If it was renewed, why did TDC not negotiate a commercially sensible notice period allowing enough time to remarket the site?
How much rent will be lost, and what will the empty site cost taxpayers each month?
When will it actually be advertised?
We deserve proactive asset management from the Council – not whack a mole and when readily foreseeable problems arise.
I previously asked TDC for a schedule of its leases and key terms but was refused on grounds of commercial confidentiality. This raises an uncomfortable question: was the information withheld because it was genuinely commercially sensitive or because the Council does not have a firm grip on the basic heads of terms of its own lease portfolio?
TDC needs to manage its substantial property estate with normal commercial discipline. That means knowing when leases expire, monitoring break clauses and notice periods, and marketing properties early enough to avoid unnecessary vacancies and lost income.
Council Tax payers should not be funding the consequences of poor forward planning.
Have they even caught up with the back log of maintenance and checks required by legislation. It was’ t that long ago that the commercial property deprtment was shown to be a complete circus.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2022/12/03/two-hundred-council-owned-commercial-properties-without-current-leases-and-more-than-1million-needed-for-huge-repairs-backlog/
Bit longer ago than i thought, but no reason to believe they are anymore efficient now.