Agenda and minutes

At this point, members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Barbican Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee held on 28 May 2008.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the Barbican Ad-Hoc Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28 May 2008 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is Tuesday 15 July 2008 at 5.00 pm.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To consider the final report of the Barbican Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee.

Members considered the final report of the Barbican Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee.

Members discussed the final report in detail and made amendments to the wording of the report. The final report (incorporating amendments) is appended to these minutes as Annex A.

Members agreed that:

(i)                 It was realistic to take two years to formulate a proposal

(ii)               It was not unreasonable for a new administration to exercise its democratic right and change the proposal, taking into account the associated risks.

(iii)             Although each decision taken in relation to the sale had been taken in good faith, the delays in making those decisions, the longevity of unforeseen legal action and the shift in land values had resulted in a significant reduction of capital receipt to the Council.

(iv)              Best value was not achieved taking the project as a whole, even with recognising the reasons outlined in paragraph 23 of the report.

(v)                There might have been a more effective way of dealing with pressure groups,

RECOMMENDED:

(I)         That the Executive should commission an officer report which sets out a corporate approach for the Council when dealing with pressure groups.

(ii)        That all future projects should have a robust system of Risk Management which is regularly reviewed and updated throughout the period of the project.

REASON:                  To ensure that any future projects are managed effectively and take into account lessons learnt from this review.