Is the minimum target of £50k needed as a safety net to ensure that OVPL can maintain payments to the Parish Council and basic running costs should there be a gap between tenants?
Thank you for your question, Richard; the £50k is what we would like to see raised as a minimum because the initial survey of the pub identified a £100k of work that would be needed in the next seven years. We would hope to raise the other £50k through grants. The pub is always going to have ongoing costs; for example, we need to get a tree surgeon to do work on the trees behind the pub for safety reasons and to improve sunlight to the patio. Eventually, we would like to extend and improve the pub as mentioned the more money we can raise the more likely we are to be able to start this planning process.
OVPL has already built a layer of contingency into the lease as future tenants will be required to give six months notice period, A period in which time we believe a new tenant can be found or other contingency measure put in place.
OPC and OVPL will hold a contingency fund in case the pub is vacant at any time. OPC is going to hold the equivalent of 1 year’s cost of the Public works loan and OVPL also has a contingency plan in place, part of OVPL’s contingency will come from the grant that OPC will provide, and over time, the rest will be built up from the difference between the tenants rent and the rent paid by OVPL to OPC.