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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Executive |
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Date |
26 November 2020 |
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Present |
Councillors Aspden (Chair), Ayre, Craghill, Cuthbertson, D'Agorne, Orrell, Runciman, Smalley, Waller and Widdowson |
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In Attendance |
Councillor Myers |
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Part B - Matters Referred to Council
67. Update on the Asset Management Strategy 2017-2022
[See also under Part A]
The Interim Director of Place presented a report which set out progress on delivery of the Asset Management Strategy for the period 2017-2022, and set out proposals for revisions to the Strategy, and a series of business cases for lease disposals and acquisitions to deliver further strategic benefits to the council.
Progress to date had exemplified progressive cross-public sector working and success in delivering the One Public Estate objectives. Revisions were proposed to objective 2 and principle (h) in the Strategy, as indicated in paragraph 7 of the report, to ensure alignment with the council’s net zero carbon target. Paragraphs 15-128 reviewed the delivery of the Strategy, examining the council’s operational estate, community assets, assets for housing delivery and commercial assets in the light of the potential future impact of Covid-19 and other considerations.
In supporting the proposals, the Executive Member for Finance & Performance indicated that he would be receiving reports to future Decision Sessions on asset management, to promote a better understanding of the operation of the estate as a whole. Having noted the comments made under Public Participation, and taking into account the recommendations of the Customer & Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee following consideration of the report at their meeting on 23 November, it was
Recommended: That Council approve:
a) the establishment of a capital budget of £3.9m, to fund the acquisition of the Head leasehold interest of the Eco Centre, Amy Johnson Way;
b) the investment of a further £100k to fund green infrastructure improvements to the building, providing an increase in revenue funded from the One Planet York budget; and
c) the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Economy & Place, in consultation with the Director of Governance, to complete the purchase once all due diligence has been satisfactorily conducted on the property.
Reasons: a) To establish clear principles to guide and shape future use of the council’s assets and to continue to carry out a programme of proactive work to shape the commercial and operational property portfolio further.
b) To support the ongoing economic vibrancy of the city while increasing the income from the council’s commercial property portfolio.
68. Capital Programme - Monitor 2 2020/21
[See also under Part A]
The Chief Finance Officer presented a report which set out the projected out-turn position of the capital programme for 2020/21, including any under-spends, over-spends and adjustments, along with requests to re-profile budgets to and from current and future years. The report did not reflect the capital schemes in the Asset Management Strategy update at Agenda Item 9; these would be included in the Monitor 3 report in February.
A decrease of £36.538m on the current approved programme was reported, resulting in a revised programme for 2020/21 of £144.683m. Variances against each portfolio area were set out in Table 1 at paragraph 11 of the report and detailed in paragraphs 12-42.
As reported on 1 October, work had been carried out to review the programme in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the financial assumptions for all schemes would continue to be closely monitored. Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, progress had still been made in a number of areas, including purchase of land for the Northern Forest, roll-out of ICT for home working, and reservations of 20 of the 24 new build properties at Lowfield Green.
The Executive Member for Finance & Performance highlighted significant progress made on schemes within the programme, including school improvements, the Centre of Excellence for Disabled Children, housing at Duncombe Barracks, the Guildhall, and the Community Stadium.
Recommended: That Council approve the adjustments resulting in a decrease of £36.538m, as detailed in the report and in Annex A.
Reason: To enable the effective management and monitoring of the council’s capital programme.
Cllr K Aspden, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.33 pm and finished at 8.24 pm].