Torbay Council lease
Brixham Heritage Museum, Bolton Cross, Brixham to the Brixham
Heritage Museum and History Society on a 30-year lease. This full repairing lease was granted in 2009 on a
peppercorn rent.
In April 2025, Torbay
Council’s Strategic Lead for Culture & Heritage
contacted the Asset Management Team seeking advice on the process
of transferring the lease to a newly formed Charitable Incorporated
Organisation (CIO). By way of
background an independent review of the existing Brixham Heritage
Museum was undertaken in autumn 2024, funded by the Association of
Independent Museums and Museums Development South West. The review
highlighted the Brixham Heritage Museum Trust’s constitution needed
to be updated for effective governance of the Museum or good
charitable practice.
In addition, the
review also recommended the collections and lease for the building
be transferred to a newly formed Trust with the recommended Charity
Commission Constitution forming the governing document. This has now happened, and the new CIO received
formal confirmation from the Charity Commission on 23rd April 2025
that they are able to register the ‘Brixham Museum Trust CIO’ as a
charity and it has been entered onto the Register of Charities with
the registered
charity number 1213037.
Strategic Lead for
Culture & Heritage is in full support of the lease being
transferred to the new CIO, as she was until recently Acting
President of the Brixham Museum CIO.
With the new CIO, the Board (with new members) and the curator are
free to focus on developing and enhancing the museum.
It is considered the
best approach to document this change is to seek a surrender of the
existing lease and to grant a new lease with the Brixham Museum
Trust CIO directly, on the same/similar terms as the existing
lease. Given the asset is leased
on a peppercorn rent the Council will restrict future assignments
and use, to that as found in existing lease.
There will be an
expectation the CIO will give an undertaking to cover the legal
fees drafting the legal documents.
Brixham Museum Trust CIO
have agreed terms for a new 15-year lease.