JMB serves Dispute Notice against Southwark Council
25 October 2009
Leathermarket JMB served a Dispute Notice against Southwark Council on 14 October 2009 in an attempt to rectify the confused and difficult financial interface betwen the Council and the JMB.
The Dispute Notice is, effectively, a formal complaint under the legal arrangement between the JMB and Southwark Council (known as the Management Agreement). JMB members voted unanimously for this action at the JMB AGM on 29 September 2009 after hearing that the lack of clarity about the money that Southwark Council is due to pay the JMB for managing the JMB estates was threatening the ongoing operation of the JMB.
Read more about the AGM and the decision to formally complain to Southwark Council (Please note, although the motion at the AGM voted for a 'Breach Notice', the correct legal terminology should be 'Dispute Notice' because the JMB Management Agreement is based on the older style of agreement)
The Dispute Notice calls on Southwark Council to:
- Resolve the financial position between the JMB and Southwark Council for the financial years 2007/08 and 2008/09 to the satisfaction of the JMB’s independent financial auditors
- Revise and reform the financial interface between the Council and the JMB so that the Board of the JMB can have accurate and timely financial information and this situation does not repeat in the future
Under the terms of the Management Agreement, Southwark Council has until 5 November 2009 (21 days) to inform the JMB in writing what the Council is going to do to rectify the problems. If the Board of the JMB is not satisfied with the Council's action plan, then the JMB can ask for the matter to be referred to a formal meeting of councillors.
The serving of the Dispute Notice does not represent a breakdown in the relationship between the JMB and the Council, however it does represent the seriousness of the problem. The JMB is keen to work with Southwark Council to ensure that these issues are resolved in a sustainable way as quickly as possible.