Longstanding dispute between The Beehive charity and Honiton Town Council reaches resolve

Honiton Town Council and Honiton Community Complex (The Beehive) have reached an agreement about how service charges are calculated.

Service charges, paid by the council, contribute towards the operating of the building and ongoing maintenance. The previous system had resulted in disagreement in the way the two parties interpreted the lease agreement.

Now that a variation has been made to the lease, Honiton Town Council will pay a fixed quarterly sum to Honiton Community Complex, the charity that runs the The Beehive for the community.

Serena Sexton, Chair of HCC, said: "I am glad that this period of tension between the two parties is at an end."

Councillor Zarcynski agreed that this is "a significant step forward and I am hopeful that we can work positively together in future for the benefit of the town."

Alongside the agreed changes to the lease, the council have also paid a one-off grant of £15,000 to support the charity following the impact of Covid-19 and the required closure of venues.

The Beehive will reopen for some activities this month in line with the Government's staggered approach to easing lockdown restrictions.