Evening TimesLuxury hotel plan for historic Pump HouseA HISTORIC building on the banks of the Clyde could be turned into a luxury hotel and restaurant.
The Pump House, near the SECC in Glasgow, has been run as the museum of the Maritime Trust since 1999.
In 2010, the Trust will move to a new £74million museum of transport, which will replace the Transport Museum at Kelvin Hall.Glasgow Harbour, the organisation behind a multi-million pound riverside development, wants to buy the Pump House building and turn it into a boutique hotel and restaurant.
Item 11Proposed Disposal of the Pump House at SECCPurpose of Report:
To seek authority from the Committee to the proposed method of disposal of the Pump House at
the SECC to Glasgow Harbour Limited.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that the Committee:
a) Authorises the Executive Director of Development and Regeneration Services to dispose
of the Pump House at the SECC to Glasgow Harbour Limited;
b) Agrees to the distribution of the capital receipts between the Council and SEC Limited as
proposed in the report;
c) Notes that outcome of the negotiations will be reported to the DRS Policy Development
and Scrutiny Committee in the quarterly report on property transactions.
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 As part of a programme of initiatives designed to provide financial stability to the Clyde
Maritime Trust the Council purchased the Pump House from the Trust in 2002 granted it a
concessionary lease of the property for the period ending 2010 and agreed to provide an
annual grant towards its operating costs of £450,000 per annum.
1.2 The purchase price paid by the Council was considerably less than the open market value
of the property, and reflected a condition in the sale which limited its use to a Maritime
Museum together with uses which were ancillary to this. This restriction remains in place
and can only be lifted by SEC Limited (which originally owned the building), and which
placed this restriction on the Maritime Trust when it originally took ownership.
1.3 The Maritime Trust will relocate to the new Transport museum site when it opens in 2010.
At that time the museum use will cease and the building will be surplus to the Council’s
requirements. The restrictive conditions will however remain in place, and the Council will
therefore be unable to dispose of the site for any other use without the conditions being
lifted by SEC Limited.
1.4 Glasgow Harbour Limited have requested the Council to dispose of the building on an “off
market” basis given that it is the adjacent owner, and that it is willing to invest a
considerable sum of money in the building to bring it back into use as a potential “boutique”
style hotel and restaurant. Discussions with SEC Limited have resulted in their agreement
to lift the restrictive conditions on the property subject to them receiving an appropriate
share of the eventual purchase price. It is proposed therefore that the site is disposed of to
Glasgow Harbour Limited at its open market value, as assessed by an independent
surveyor (still to be appointed), on the following basis:
a) The Council shall receive a first payment of £450,000 (with interest on this amount
from the period 2002-2009), which represents the price which the Council paid for the
property; and
b) The difference between £450,000, plus interest, and the final gross sales price will be
equally divided between the Council and SECC Limited.
c) The lease which permits Clyde Maritime Trust, and their sub-tenants, to operate from
the property will be extended to coincide with the completion of their new facility at the
Transport Museum.
1.5 SERVICE IMPLICATIONS
Financial: The proposal will generate a capital receipt for the Council.
Legal: The Council will require to enter into a sales agreement with SECC Limited
and Glasgow Harbour Limited.
Personnel: None.
Service Plan: The proposal is in line with the DRS Service Plan priority on riverside
regeneration and tourism development.
Environmental: The proposal will lead to the early refurbishment of a listed building and
prevent it falling into disuse.