Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Housing

The Cabinet Member Housing introduced the report which outlined the revised budget proposals for transformation improvements to 49 properties on Folly Lane in the context of the significant investment in the regeneration of St Pauls.

He explained that since the budgets had been agreed for the transformation improvements there has been an increase in costs and therefore the existing funding allocated to the scheme was now insufficient to finance the Total Scheme Costs. He reported that Asset Management Working Group had considered the report but could not support the recommendations.

The Cabinet Member Housing, in his view, believed that there had been a lack of information with regard to the project. This was perhaps due to the pressures of the financial crisis and the focus on bridging the gap and sharing services. As a result he proposed that the resolutions laid out in the report were not taken at this time and instead tabled the following recommendations to Cabinet :

1. CBH, in consultation with the Joint Programme Group, reconsider the St Pauls Phase 2 transformation works specificationto enable the project to be delivered within the budgets approved by Council at its meeting on 14 February 2014

2. The Joint Programme Group engage with the Cabinet Member Housing with regard to the re-specification of the project, the estimated project costs and the impact on the overall St Pauls regeneration project

3. With regard to the transformation of the 13 privately owned properties within the St Pauls Phase 2 transformation works project, the Joint Programme Group be requested to provide the Cabinet with a report outlining the options with regard to the funding for these properties together with an assessment of the associated overall impact on the deliverability of the scheme objectives were all or some of these properties excluded from the transformation works.

The Leader added that it was important that the transformation improvements to Folly Lane were undertaken but as the tender process was considerably over budget it was necessary to assess the situation and understand the issues to see if there were alternative options or if it was necessary to revise the budget. The report had therefore been withdrawn from the Council agenda until this piece of work had been completed. The proposed resolutions represented a sensible way forward.

The Cabinet Member Finance acknowledged that this was a difficult issue. Whilst a mandate had been agreed by Council for these works this was in the form of an appendix to the budget papers without bringing to members’ attention to the reasoning behind the project and how private properties are dealt with in this context. He could therefore fully understand that when the report was considered by AMWG it took members by surprise as they did not understand the background nor why it was being taken to Cabinet and Council as an exempt item.

The Cabinet Member Finance also addressed why it was important not to treat the HRA any differently from the General Fund. He supported the new recommendations as it was important to look again to see if the original budgets could be adhered to. This could mean that only the most important part of the project is undertaken.

Members supported the revised recommendations to receive further detail as spending at this level could not be approved with a lack of information.

In summing up the Cabinet Member Housing referred back to the Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment for St Pauls dated 2005 and the 2008 design brief and specification document which were key documents relating to the regeneration of St Pauls. In terms of timeframe to bring a report back to Cabinet CBH proposed February at the earliest.

In response to a question from the Head of Legal Services Cabinet agreed that the revised recommendations and the responses to the member questions for Council should be made public. The Leader informed that under communications at the forthcoming Council meeting he would explain the issue to all Members.

RESOLVED THAT

1. CBH, in consultation with the Joint Programme Group, reconsider the St Pauls Phase 2 transformation works specificationto enable the project to be delivered within the budgets approved by Council at its meeting on 14 February 2014

2. The Joint Programme Group engage with the Cabinet Member Housing with regard to the re-specification of the project, the estimated project costs and the impact on the overall St Pauls regeneration project

3. With regard to the transformation of the 13 privately owned properties within the St Pauls Phase 2 transformation works project, the Joint Programme Group be requested to provide the Cabinet with a report outlining the options with regard to the funding for these properties together with an assessment of the associated overall impact on the deliverability of the scheme objectives were all or some of these properties excluded from the transformation works.