Agenda item - Access York Phase 1 Best & Final Bid submission

This report requests that Cabinet recommends for approval by the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee the submission of the “Best and Final Bid” for the Access York Project to the Department for Transport on 9 September 2011.

RESOLVED: (i) That Staffing & Urgency Committee be recommended to approve:

a) The progression of Option 2b (Askham Bar & Poppleton Bar), with approx. 30% local contribution.

b) The funding approach identified in Option 2b in Table 1 in Annex 2.

c) The allocation of £3.305m from within the Council’s existing capital programme.

d) An increased allocation of LTP grant funding (up to £0.7m) to the scheme as part of the local contribution, with the expectation that additional developer contributions will be used when received.

e) The use of £2.2m from the New Homes Bonus and / or prudential borrowing, with the actual split to be determined at a later date, with a commitment to fund any shortfall in funding prudential borrowing, and to meet any consequent revenue implications that arise.

f) The use of the £350k value of the Sim Hills tip site as part of the Council’s contribution.

(ii) That Staffing & Urgency Committee be recommended to note:

a) the additional risk to the Council, such as funding all cost over-runs, which result from the changes to the DfT funding processes and

b) the increase revenue risk from operating additional Park & Ride services.

REASON: To maximise the likelihood of a successful bud for funds from the DfT.

(iii) That Cabinet record its commitment to achieve the future development of the Clifton Moor site for Park & Ride, separately from the Access York bid process.

REASON: In view of the importance of this site.

Members considered a report which sought approval for the submission to the Department for Transport (DfT) of a ‘Best and Final Bid’ for the Access York Project.

Details of the original Major Scheme Bid and the Expression of Interest / Interim Bid submitted to the DfT were provided in paragraphs 13-14 of the report. Changes to the DfT funding process introduced since the change in government in May 2010 meant that schemes with a reduced overall cost and a reduced DfT funding contribution were more likely to be approved. Work has already been undertaken to ensure the cost effectiveness of the York project. Therefore the only remaining opportunity to reduce costs was to reduce the number of sites in the bid and focus on the highest ranked locations. Poppleton Bar was considered the highest priority site in terms of benefit to cost ratio, followed by Askham Bar and finally Clifton Moor.

In the light of the current situation, the following options for site development, and funding options to meet projected 20% and 30% target local contribution levels, were presented:

Option 1 – develop all three sites, with an additional £6m of Council funding (total £9.7m).

Option 2 – develop Askham Bar and Poppleton Bar, with additional Council funding of £0.7m or £2.9m (total £4.4m or £6.6m).

Option 3 – develop Poppleton Bar and Clifton Moor, with additional funding of £0m or £2.7m (total £3.7m or £5.4m).

The advantages and disadvantages of each option were set out in Annex 1 to the report; provisional funding sources were detailed in Annex 2. Members were invited to decide which option to recommend for approval to the Staffing Matters and Urgency Committee, which would then make a final decision prior to the DfT deadline of 9 September 2011.

Officers provided an update at the meeting on the action they had taken to determine what other local authorities were doing to amend their bids in order to enhance their chances of obtaining funding. Members noted the update and the contents of the report and