Meeting documents

To approve the minutes of the Resources Overview Committee meetings held on 25 April 2018 and 15 May 2018.

The minutes of the Resources Overview Committee meeting held on 25 April 2018 were approved subject to an amendment to minute item 33 Performance Report Quarter 2 2017/18 in relation to the timing of data received by Members.

The minutes of the Resources Overview Committee meeting held on 15 May 2018 were approved.

Councillor D Varley declared a personal in agenda item 6 Redevelopment of Chiltern Pools and adjacent community facilities. Nature of interest - Councillor Varley is a member of the Chiltern Pools leisure centre.

Members asked that the 28 Day Notice for Cabinet be amended in order that the item Chiltern Pools Redevelopment - Procurement be considered at the Resources Overview Committee meeting 4 December 2018. It was then

RESOLVED:

That the 28 Day Notices for the meetings of the Cabinet and the Chiltern and South Bucks Joint Committee be noted.

The Committee agreed to consider the redevelopment of Chiltern Pools and adjacent community facilities at item 5 of the agenda.

Members received a report on the design, cost plan and business case for the redevelopment of the Chiltern Pools project at supplementary agenda 1. It was noted that a structural survey undertaken in 2015 which indicated that the current centre had a lifespan until 2020; and addressing the structural issues would have significant financial implications for the Council.

Two public consultations undertaken by the Council found strong local support for a redevelopment of Chiltern Pools, and for the bringing together of leisure and community facilities. Two key areas of concern were raised during the consultation and would look to be mitigated, namely the preservation of the barns and the need for adequate parking on the site. It was reported that Amersham Town Council had agreed to the disposal of land to the Council in return for the transfer of the green at Woodside Close and edge of Chiltern Avenue. Further, that the stage 2 designs were being finalised ahead of the detailed design phase.

A presentation relating to the financial and business plan options appraisal was given to Members by Managing Director of Knight, Kavanagh and Page, David McHendry. Members were advised that pursuing option 1 would allow a higher net benefit to the Council. The centre would attract over 800,000 visits per annum with the health and fitness facility accounting for 40% of the total income. The facility mix would enable all identified needs to be addressed with the Health and Fitness Centre sufficiently sized to accommodate over 4,400 members.

The total scheme including; library, community centre, nursery, swimming pools, sports hall, dry diving, fitness studios and spa was projected to cost £34m. Further key points from the business plan were highlighted:

·       The base business plan was anticipated to generate £1.2m benefit to the Council providing a £32m borrowing capacity, leaving a funding gap of circa £2 million; assuming the Council would invest the current £200k subsidy for its leisure management contract in the new development.

·       Applying a pricing structure that recognises the investment in the facilities, (option 1) would increase the financial return to the Council, and was anticipated to generate £1.475m/annum, giving the Council a borrowing capacity of circa £38 million over 45 years.

·       It was expected that a ‘do nothing’ scenario would see an increase in the subsidy from 200k to 700k per annum from 2021-2031 to undertake a backlog of maintenance required to keep the facility safe and operational.

The Committee raised the following key points:

·       Impact on the usage and client base of the other centres as this could impact on financial performance.

·       That the risk be recognised of not being able to attract bidders for the management contract of the new facility who would be prepared to take on the hoped for income risk. The structural survey was important in this context.

·       Members raised that testing with a lower level of investment,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Members received the refreshed Joint Business Plan 2018-2019 at Appendix 1. A verbal amendment was made to the role of Head of Planning and Economic Development (page 41).

Members expressed their thanks to the Performance and Policy Officer for the new user friendly presentation of the business plan.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report outlining the annual performance of Council services against pre-agreed performance indicators (PIs) and service objectives for Quarter 4 (end of year 2017-18).

The Quarter 4 Priority and Corporate PIs were at Appendices A and B respectively. Members noted that priority PI relating to household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting was slightly under the target of 53% at 52.7%. Further, that the long-term absence cases detailed at 4.2.1 had been resolved. A query was raised relating to the parking and cleanliness at Chesham leisure centre and it was reported that the operator had been challenged to improve cleanliness standards at the centre. Members were advised that parking issues can arise on the site due to the site sharing parking provision with the school. Members enquired as to the number of vacant properties regarding PI CdHS4 (page 56), and were informed that the majority of long term vacant properties were second homes. The Council would intervene where properties were deliberately vacant, however, there was a very low number of deliberately vacant properties within the District.

The Committee were advised that following the previous meeting it was being proposed that Members would receive the performance reports informally prior to committees to ensure that they received the figures in a more timely manner.

Members were pleased to note the new format of the Annual Report at Appendix C.

RESOLVED:

That the performance reports be noted.

The Committee received the Capital and Repairs and Renewals Outturn Report for 2017/18. The Director of Resources advised Members that the tables at Appendices A and B provided information on the budget, actual variance and proposals to carry forward any unspent monies.

The carry forward amount for potential works on Mill Meadow Bridge was questioned. Members were advised that it was recommended the amount be carried forward as the project was currently under review, and would be considered at a future Member meeting. Members enquired as to why no money was spent on cleansing services for the replacement of dog waste bins and it was noted that this budget was specifically for the new installation of bins and not the maintenance of bins.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report on the Treasury Management performance of the Council for 2017/18.

RESOLVED:

That the Treasury Management performance for 2017/18 as required by the Code of Practice on Treasury Management be noted.

The report set out the final position for write offs for the full year 2017/18. Members noted that the number of write offs had increased but the write off amounts had decreased in comparison to the previous year. The write offs were detailed at Appendices 1 - 5.

Members expressed thanks to the Head of Customer Services for a comprehensive report.

RESOLVED:

That the write offs for 2017/18 be noted.