Issue - meetings

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought approval to provide a financial facility arrangement to enable the development of an indoor pitch facility at the Alan Higgs Centre, as part of a larger development scheme.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Award Trust (CAWAT) owns the Alan Higgs Centre, and sought a loan of up to £1.5m from the Council to enable them to re-provide the current indoor pitch facility which would be displaced by the provision of the new 50m pool.  The new indoor pitch facility would primarily be for community use.

The Cabinet noted that if CAWAT secured the funding from the Council, this would enable them to begin development of the site in time to ensure that the indoor pitch facility would be ready from September 2018, limiting the period of disruption to community access to the facilities.

It was proposed that the financial facility arrangement would be in the form of a 40 year loan to CAWAT, on a commercial basis and at a fixed commercial rate of interest.  This financial arrangement would be at no net cost to the Council, instead the loan would generate a surplus for the Council, as the cost of borrowing for Council funds were lower than the commercial rate at which the Council would lend.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet recommend that Council:-

1.  Approve in principle the grant of a loan facility up to the sum of £1.5m to the Coventry and Warwickshire Award Trust, at a commercial rate of interest for a period of up to 40 years as detailed in section 5.1 of the report submitted, for the provision of an indoor pitch facility at the Alan Higgs Centre.

2.  Approve the addition of up to £1.5m to the capital programme.

3.  Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services (Section 151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport and the Legal Services Manager, to undertake all necessary due diligence and to finalise the terms and details of the loan arrangement and to thereafter manage the loan facility.  The authority under this recommendation shall include the power to negotiate and agree variations to the terms of the loan facility.