Granting a charity a long-term lease, enabling them to secure funding for investment

The Harington Scheme is a charity providing opportunities for young adults with learning disabilities and/or difficulties. It has occupied this land (mostly garden/allotment space) for approx. 30 years, on a short-term contract. This short-term contract made it difficult for them to secure the funding they needed to invest and improve the site.

NHS Property Services (NHSPS) wanted to support this whilst also retaining ownership of the land, in case there was a healthcare need (or development opportunity to look after the NHS asset) in the area in the far future.

NHSPS Transactions and Town Planning teams assessed options for the site, considering the planning constraints and future uses.

As a compromise, NHSPS has granted The Harington Scheme a 50-year lease. We jointly appointed a valuer with the charity to facilitate an open conversation on the true financial value of the site providing the charity with two options for either a one-off premium or annual rental.

This long-term lease will enable the charity to secure the funding they need for investment on the site, upgrading buildings and better serving their community. This also means we have secured a consistent income on a site for the NHS, on land that currently doesn’t have any healthcare requirements, and have retained our ownership on the site to allow any value to be realised for the benefit of the NHS in the future.

We signed the new lease in November 2019 and look forward to seeing the improvements onsite when funding is secured.