Meeting documents

To consider the attached report.

Contact Officer:  Nuala Donnelly (01296) 585164

The Council’s Capital Programme was reviewed annually with the current programme being last approved and adopted at Council in February 2018.

Cabinet had considered a report on 18 December 2018 on the capital programme for the current year, as well as for the updated programme for 2019/20 onwards.  The report provided an updated position with respect to forecast receipts and the position with regards to current and future major investment projects. It also incorporated changes made since February 2018 and reflected these in the overall resources projections.  The full details of the capital programme and background were set out in the minutes of that Cabinet meeting.

Cabinet had approved the updated Capital Programme for the purposes of scrutiny.  Any feedback from scrutiny would be considered by Cabinet on 16 January 2019 in making final recommendations to full Council.

The Cabinet report made reference to an additional request for funding from the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone Board for an investment proposal at Westcott. Additional information had now been received in respect of this scheme and the business case presented to the Enterprise Zone Board was summarised at paragraphs 3.4 to 3.25 inclusive of the scrutiny report.

The investment proposal related to £1.2m of funding for a Space Catapult Innovation Centre, comprising a £600,000 loan and a £600,000 grant.  As its Accountable Body, the Enterprise Zone Board was seeking for AVDC to borrow the £1.2m funding and to recover this (plus any interests costs) from the EZ retained business rates.  Details of how the repayments would be made was set out at paragraphs 3.17 to 3.19.

An independent business case appraisal had been undertaken in November 2018 by Hewdon Consulting and had concluded that the project was robust and that the Innovation Centre as now proposed would be a positive addition to the Westcott Space Cluster.

The Scrutiny Committee considered the 18 December 2018 Cabinet report and the scrutiny report.

The following changes in anticipated resources would need to be factored into the programme:-

·                    Revenue Contribution – a proposed £400,000 contribution from revenue to supplement existing capital resources.  The removal of the Negative Revenue Support Grant was also expected to benefit the Council by approximately £700,000.  It had been recommended to Cabinet that the funding be ring-fenced to support likely and known pressures during 2019/20, specifically £0.4m to meet the costs of the car park changes detailed in the Car Park Strategy.

·                    Reserve utilisation of £4.5m for the Town Centre Regeneration.

·                    £8m borrowing to support spend on the Silverstone Enterprise Zone and also Pembroke Road.

·                    Share of house sale receipts from VAHT, although the number of residual RTB house sales had consistently fallen over the last couple of years.

·                    Asset sales – no asset sales had been assumed for 2019/20, although it was forecast that £440,000 would be received from AVE for loan repayments.

It was noted that the available resources as at the beginning of 2018/19 and the projected resources during 2018/19 and 2019/20 before any expenditure had been taken into account were as follows:-

The capital programme was attached as Appendix A to the Committee report and was split into three sections, Major Projects, Housing Schemes and Other Projects.  Information on these areas was covered separately.

Listed under the Major Projects section was information on the Pembroke Road depot, Silverstone Heritage Centre, Silverstone Enterprise Zone, Westcott Innovation Centre and the Town Centre Regeneration.

The man element of the Housing Schemes related to the Council’s housing enabling function.  The programme presented proposed that all receipts from RTB and the affordable housing element of New Homes Bonus were ring-fenced for the purpose of affordable housing investment.

A number of new projects were included in the ‘Other Projects’ section, as well as information on schemes that had been delayed for reasons outside of the Council’s control.  Notable Other Projects included £1.25m for the purchase of new vehicles to support bring the provision of the Street Cleansing and Horticultural Contract in-house, capital funding to upgrade payment equipment in AVDC owned car parks, and expenditure on Community Centres renewals.  This last expenditure would be funded by the receipt from the sale of the Elmhurst Community Centre.  No further expenditure was expected for the Exchange major development.

Members were informed that work was ongoing to establish a timetable for the Commercial Property Strategy that had been approved by Council.  No expenditure had been incurred against the Strategy and was now unlikely to happen given the unitary decision.

The 2019/20 programme also included provision for a payment to be made for the transfer of deferred developer sums to Coldharbour Parish Council for the maintenance of the Fairford Leys Riverine Corridor.

The Scrutiny Committee was lastly informed that the report contained information on the Capital Strategy and the Treasury Management Strategy for 2019/20, although this would be the subject of a separate agenda item considered at the meeting.

Members requested further information and were informed:-

(i)            that all of the £2m loan to the Silverstone Heritage Experience, that was due to open to the public in April 2019, had been drawn down.  An explanation was also provided of the arrangements in place for repaying the loan.

(ii)           with details on the proposed £1.2m (split into a £600,000 Loan and a £600,000 grant) funding to be provided to the Space Catapult Innovation Centre at the Westcott Enterprise Zone.  The loan would be recovered (plus any interest costs) from the EZ retained business rates.

(iii)          that the £341,000 for Community Centre improvements represented monies from the sale of the Elmhurst Community Centre.  Improvements would be made to Alfred Rose park and the Alfred Rose Community Centre, although it was also anticipated that some of the monies would be used for maintenance of other Community Centres in the Aylesbury Special Expenses area.

(iv)         that the Aylesbury Vale Estates (AVE) Business Plan for 2019-22 would be submitted to Cabinet on 16 January, 2019.

(v)          that the information and forecasts for Housing Schemes and right to buy receipts were based on receipts received during the past few years.

(vi)         that the information at paragraph 7.2 of the Cabinet report (Capital Strategy) related to maintaining and improving Council owned properties.  The Council only owned one residential property.

During discussions Members commented that they were supportive of the use of residual Right to Buy capital receipts and nominal sums from New Homes Bonus for affordable housing, to fund new affordable housing schemes.  They were also supportive of the funding proposal for the Space Catapult Innovation Centre at the Westcott Enterprise Zone.

RESOLVED –

That the updated capital programme for the period 2019/20 to 2022/23, as set out in Appendix A of the Cabinet report, be endorsed.