Decisions

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Whitehead)

Cabinet received a report from the Director of Corporate Services, which provided an update on performance, projects and resources during the first quarter of 2019-20 (April – June 2019.)

It was noted that the report and appendices represented the initial step in aligning performance, project and resource information into an integrated format, to provide members with a comprehensive view of progress against the Council’s agreed priorities.  Officers responded to a number of questions that were asked on each section of the report.

Councillor Whitehead proposed, seconded by Councillor Brookes:-

“That the updates be approved and the report commended to the Budget & Performance Panel.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

That the updates be approved and the report commended to the Budget & Performance Panel.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Director of Corporate Services

Reasons for making the decision:

Performance, project and resource monitoring provides a link between the Council Plan and operational achievement by providing regular updates on the impact of operational initiatives against strategic aims.

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hamilton-Cox)

Cabinet received a report from the Director for Economic Growth and Regeneration to update members on the progression of the River Lune flood defence scheme.  The report reviewed the scheme as it entered the preliminary site preparation and construction phase and provided commentary on the current estimated forecast outturn construction cost and project risks.  Options and recommendations on the need for additional council funding to offset specific scheme scope and specification risks were also considered.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

As officers have identified a risk of future unplanned expenditure Option 1 is not preferred.  If Members wish to proceed the critical question is the affordability and scale of the council’s contribution.  The preferred option is Option 3: Members agree a contribution to cover High/Medium priority implementation and scope risks. 

Option 3 will result in an additional cost of £17K per annum to the council’s budgetprofile but allows officers to bring more certainty in deliverability and ensures further cost mitigation and saving measures can be explored with confidence.

As previously reported, a financial “return” against the council’s total project investment and other benefit are indirect and difficult to assess with certainty. Towards the eastern end of the industrial estates there are significant areas of vacant land. Towards the west of the Caton Road estates are old, low value and redundant property that have received no investment for many years.  It is reasonable to assume that, following flood defence implementation, there will be increased confidence to invest in new commercial property and, over time, the Rateable Value (RV) of the area should increase.  Available industrial land in the district is constrained and there are few options for new commercial industrial development close to Lancaster.

Officers have estimated that within a decade commercial RV in the area will increase by £1.6M with an additional rate take of around £800K per annum attributable to new development. Under the current business rates retention scheme 40% of the increase would accrue to the council’s budget. 

There remains an acute need to promote this scheme to help secure its delivery and the proposed course of action represents the most appropriate route towards achieving a positive outcome, both meeting the council’s regeneration objectives and having wider social, economic and environmental impacts.

Councillor Hamilton-Cox proposed, seconded by Councillor Parr:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1)             That Cabinet agrees a further contribution of £489K towards the critical priority implementation and scope risks identified in the report (with growth of £10K per annum revenue costs).

(2)             That Officers continue to explore and secure all potential additional public and private sector funding contributions to reduce the call on council funding.

(3)             That the Section 151 Officer be requested to update the General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme to reflect the decisions taken.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Director for Economic Development & Regeneration

Head of Financial Services/151 Officer

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision is consistent with the Council’s Corporate Priorities:

A Thriving & Prosperous Economy: Economic Growth is a high level Corporate Priority for the City Council. The flooding risk for this important industrial area undermines business and investment confidence. The emerging Local Plan cannot identify extensive new areas for employment development to replace this area therefore the priority approach should be to increase the level of protection to restore business confidence. 

Clean Green & Safe Neighbourhoods: Walking and cycle paths, will be improved, and the riverbanks will be planted and managed to encourage greater habitat and biodiversity, increasing its amenity value for locals and visitors. The scheme will also deliver water quality including bathing water improvements as there will be reduced likelihood of potentially polluted flood waters from the location running off the industrial areas and into the River Lune and Morecambe Bay.  

Healthy & Happy Communities: A range of leisure and recreational benefits should accrue from the implementation. 

A Smart & Forward Thinking Council: In terms of climate change, the scheme works will be climate change resilient, applying the agreed national climate change allowances to the raised defences to ensure that the scheme is ‘future proofed’.  There is potential to use the infrastructure to secure an early benefit under the council’s approach to implementing a project under the Government’s Local Full Fibre Network funding stream.