Penrith Town Council’s Finance Committee has voted to approve a proposal that would see five new benches installed on the town’s industrial estates — but no formal agreement has yet been completed.
Members met in Penrith this evening to consider a request from Penrith Industrial BID to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Westmorland and Furness Council which would allow the BID to install five seats on land owned by the unitary authority.
Penrith Industrial BID has been working with Westmorland and Furness Council to obtain consent for the scheme. Officers at the council have indicated they have no objection in principle to benches on their land, but have said the project can only proceed if a Memorandum of Agreement is made with a third party. The council told the BID that, because Business Improvement Districts are time-limited and must stand a renewal vote every five years, the BID itself would not be eligible to hold the agreement.
As a result, Westmorland and Furness Council has asked that the agreement be entered into with Penrith Town Council. Under the terms outlined by the BID and the unitary authority, the town council would be asked to accept responsibility for ownership of the five seats once installed. That responsibility would include keeping the seats in a proper state of repair, indemnifying Westmorland and Furness Council against any claims directly or indirectly arising from the presence of the seats, removing the seats on request, and ensuring installations meet the satisfaction of the Highways Manager.
Councillors were also told that, although Penrith Town Council has an approved style of bench it normally uses across the town, the BID proposes to install a different specification supplied by a local company. The BID has stated that the seats would be constructed from recycled plastic and that the chosen design reflects its budgetary constraints.
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