Leasing council premises for commercial use

Question

Our council has been approached by a resident who wants a long term lease on a council owned community building to use it for commercial purposes. There had been no indication from the council that they were considering offering the building for that purpose, although the lack of use of the building over recent years had been discussed with some informal discussion about potential community uses taking place during a recent meeting.

Because it is a council owned community facility it doesn't seem right to go ahead with the one proposal received without offering it more generally to see if there are any other interested parties who may offer a higher return for the council, and potentially alternative uses with greater community appeal.
Is there a requirement to consult more widely with residents before offering a lease?

Answer 1

I don't think there is a cut and dried answer to that. It is a matter of judgement, and your auditor might take a view on it if you were to go ahead. If so, you could  be subject to criticism if the auditor felt that you had not handled council assets responsibly.
You could consult initially your internal auditor, and depending on the response, you might consult your external auditor.

At first sight, one would think that looking more widely for options would be the sensible course.

Answer 2

See the answer from DavetheClerk on the thread "Can we give away council assets" and follow it.