Coventry City to take control of CBS Arena car park in £1.6m deal
Reform UK members questioned whether the valuation of the site is too low
Coventry City Football Club is to take control of the car park next to the CBS Arena after a £1.6m deal was approved this week.
The city council's Cabinet agreed to grant the club the leasehold of Car Park C.
The club will not make an upfront capital payment of £1.6m.
Instead, it will pay £160,000 a year for 10 years to support local sports and cultural activity in Coventry.
Members of Reform UK on the council questioned whether the arrangement was too low compared with estimated parking revenue.
They also asked whether more valuations should have been obtained.
Why the club wants the car park
Cllr Lynnette Kelly, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, told the meeting the club approached the council about acquiring the site.
The club wants to bring the whole of the arena site under single ownership and control, she said.
A report to the Cabinet explained it was always intended that Car Park C would form part of the wider arena lease.
Financial challenges around delivering the stadium in 2006 prevented that, so the car park stayed in council ownership.
Cllr Kelly said the club is now in a better position and owns the stadium.
She said: "It is used almost exclusively for events at the arena and it just makes sense for it to be managed alongside the other car parks that they have."
Cllr Kelly said: "There will be a return to the council, but what we're doing is something quite innovative, and the money that we get as a council will be totally ringfenced to deliver for the citizens of Coventry. So there will be direct benefits for people that you can see."
She said: "The football club will be held accountable by contract to ensure that it's delivered in the way that we specify. This is really good news for the football club, the council, and the citizens of Coventry."
Questions over the valuation
Richard Moon, the council's director of property services and development, said independent advice from Lambert Smith Hampton confirmed the market value of the car park leasehold is £1.6m.
No explanation was given of how that figure was worked out.
Mr Moon said the club has offered to take on maintenance around the arena, such as mowing and cleaning.
He said this would save the council around £10,000 a year, and the amount would be deducted from the annual sum paid for the car park.
Reform UK councillor Frank Beechey said he thought the deal was a good idea.
He asked whether the accepted valuation was too low, after calculating that annual car park revenue is around £400,000 when combining fees from match days and concerts.
That would add up to £4m over 10 years.
Cllr Beechey said: "On that basis, a £1.6m evaluation is feeling a little on the light side. I wondered if there was any consideration to get a couple of other valuations, rather than just relying on one. In the interests of scrutiny, I would have thought that we would always get three quotes. Surely you should consider having another look at the valuation and see if someone goes a bit higher."
Conservative councillor John Blundell, who represents Wainbody, asked whether the council had factored in inflation and whether it would lessen the value of the annual contributions.
Mr Moon said he stands by the valuation from an independent firm of chartered surveyors and has no reason to doubt it is accurate.
He said that, historically, the car park has not delivered anything like £400,000 in revenue, and that such a figure does not take account of the administrative costs of running it.
Sensible assumptions on inflation suggest the value the council receives over 10 years would exceed the £1.6m figure, he said.
Where the money will go
Of the £160,000 annual contribution, £110,000 will be used by the council to work with Sky Blues in the Community.
It will provide opportunities under the City of Movement Strategy, encouraging more young people and adults in disadvantaged and diverse communities to take part in activities.
The other £50,000 will go towards community cultural activities in line with the Coventry Cultural Strategy, Coventry Creative Industries Strategy and music industry development plans.
Most of that would support Made in Cov community grants, which focus on helping communities access local cultural and music activities.
The rest would support the Coventry music industry, music heritage and local music industry professionals.
It would also boost the visitor economy and give people in Coventry opportunities to access music.