Decision details

As part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund York has been allocated £400k capital from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) to implement an investment plan that was agreed by DEFRA in January 2023. This funding can be spent only in designated rural areas as shown on the DEFRA MagicMap, and only on capital items. In October 2022, CYC Executive gave delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Place to implement this Investment Plan, in consultation with the relevant Executive Members and the York UKSPF Partnership Board. This delegation was reconfirmed in October 2023 when Executive considered the results of a light touch review of the programme. Due to the senior management restructure, the decision has been made by the COO who is able to make any decisions that are delegated to any Directors.

As part of our York REPF investment plan, the Executive Member and Partnership Board agreed to invest £100k in the BioRenewables Development Centre (BDC) at Dunnington, with the objective of providing tangible support to the Bio Yorkshire initiative which is a joint project of the University of York, Askham Bryan College and FERA Science. BDC is a subsidiary of the University of York and would invest the funds in equipment and facilities at their Dunnington site which would enable companies to pilot production of new industrial products utilizing waste from other processes.

Discussions with BDC have led to a final plan for investing this funding in facilities in Dunnington which will expend the capabilities of the centre. Design work has included detailed consideration of the Council’s requirements under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Legal have concluded that the proposed investment is permitted under the Act.

The grant requires completion of a Best Value form as it has not been awarded through a competitive process. This form has been duly completed.

Decision:
To award £100k UKSPF capital funding to the BioRenewables Development Centre for investment to support the Bio Yorkshire Initiative through the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

Option 1: Award £100k funding to BDC

Option 2: Do not award funding to BDC

Option 2: As the Partnership Board and Executive Member have approved the proposal and Legal have advised that the investment is permitted, the option to decline BDC’s proposal has been rejected.