Riverside Community Hub in Towcester, home of the food larder and food bank, is to get a lease of up to 32 years. Its charity plans more than £1m of grant-funded repairs.

The building that houses Towcester’s food larder, food bank and community café has a long-term future. West Northamptonshire Council’s Cabinet agreed on Tuesday 10 November to lease Riverside Community Hub on Islington Road to South Northamptonshire Volunteer Bureau for up to 32 years.

The charity has been there on a temporary basis. The council had originally planned to sell the building, a former adult social care day centre, once that service moved to The Forum.

The lease is recorded in the council’s decision notice.

What happens at Riverside

The council’s announcement describes the hub as it is now:

  • the Towcester Food Larder, which welcomes 350 to 400 visitors a week
  • the Towcester Food Bank, open two days a week
  • a community café
  • more than 200 volunteers working for the bureau across its services

The bureau also runs a food larder in Roade and a volunteer car service in Brackley.

Why the lease is so long

The council’s own policy for voluntary groups usually caps leases at seven years. The Cabinet paper says most grant funders want 21, 25 or 30 years left on a lease before they will pay out.

The bureau took the building as it found it, and the council will not pay for improvements. The charity plans to bid for grants instead. The paper says the works “could potentially exceed £1m” and include:

  • new windows and doors
  • roof work
  • replacing major plant and equipment

The final rent, the works programme and break clauses are still to be agreed by council officers.

Before the bureau took over, the paper says, closing the building “would likely have resulted in the closure of the Food Larder”.

What it means for you

Nothing changes at the larder, food bank or café for now. The bureau plans meeting rooms, hall space and a boardroom for local groups, plus case workers based at Riverside. Renew169 Wellbeing is among the organisations due to move in.

Helen Barrett, the bureau’s chief executive, said: “This long-term lease gives us an exciting opportunity to invest in the building, attract vital funding, and create a modern, sustainable hub for local people and community groups in South Northamptonshire.”