Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the minutes from the meeting of Cabinet on 9^th January 2018

(b)  Matters arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 9^th January 2018 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet agrees to exclude the press and public under Sections 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the following private reports on the grounds that the reports involve the likely disclosure of information defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as they contain information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the cases, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information:

Minute No.  Report title

  123  London Road Cemetery – Application for Heritage Lottery Funding

  124  Coventry Station Masterplan Land Acquisition

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which set out the forecast outturn position for revenue and capital expenditure and the Council’s treasury management activity as at the end of December 2017.

The Cabinet noted that the report was also to be considered by the Audit and Procurement Committee at their meeting scheduled for 19^th February 2018.

The headline revenue forecast for 2017/18 was an overspend of £1.8m.  This had decreased since the Quarter 2 position, when it stood at £3.1m.  At the same point in 2016/17, there was a projected overspend of £4.8m.  Notwithstanding the relative improvement since Quarter 2, and the equivalent position last year, the reasons for the overspend represented some concerning trends for the Council.  At a time of continued tightening of local authority resources, the current position still represented one that demanded a strong focus on addressing the underlying issues.  However, it was still anticipated that tight budgetary control and utilisation of any one-off areas of flexibility would reduce the projected overspend and achieve a near balanced position by year-end.

The current position continued to reflect areas of budgetary overspend reported previously, including services for looked after children and the costs of homelessness.  In addition, a shortfall existed in delivering savings targets set in previous budgets.  Where relevant, the likely anticipated cost of these pressures would be incorporated into the forthcoming 2018/19 budget report.

The report indicated that it was proposed to allocate a 2017/18 windfall Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company dividend of £1.8m to Council reserves to part meet the Council’s commitment to fund UK City of Culture 2021 costs.

The Cabinet were advised that the Council’s Capital spending was projected to be £121.0m for the year, a net increase of £1.1m on the position reported at Quarter 2.  Appendix 3 of the report submitted provided an analysis by directorate of the movement since Quarter 2.

The report also set out the current position in relation to treasury management activity in 2017/18, including interest rates; long term (capital) borrowing; short term (temporary) borrowing; external investments and the prudential indicators and prudential code.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Note the forecast revenue overspend at Quarter 3.

2.  Approve the revised capital estimated outturn position for the year of £121.0m incorporating £10.7m net increase in spending relating to approved / technical changes as set out in Appendix 2 of the report; £10.0m of expenditure rescheduled into 2018/19 as detailed in Appendix 4; and an overspend of £0.4m as set out in Appendix 5.

3.  Recommend that Council approve the use of a windfall dividend of £1.8m from the Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company as detailed in Section 5.1 of the report, to fund commitments including those set out in the City of Culture 2012 report to Council on 5^th December 2017.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought approval to sell a C class share in the Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company Limited to Leicestershire County Council.

The Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company Limited (CSWDC) was jointly owned by Coventry City Council, (66 Class A Shares), Solihull Borough Council (33 Class B Shares) and Warwickshire County Council (1 Class C Share).  It was noted that the Class A and Class B Shareholders were entitled to dividends from the Company, whilst C Class Shareholders were not.

As well as providing the primary waste treatment capacity for Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, CSWDC also obtained considerable revenues from the sale of electricity, heat and waste treatment capacity to other local authorities.  Over the last seven years, this has helped CSWDC to return significant levels of dividends back to Coventry and Solihull Councils.

A challenge for CSWDC was securing a mixture of long term and short term waste contracts to fill the waste treatment capacity not used by Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire.  Currently, Leicestershire County Council supplied waste to CSWDC through an existing medium term contract.

It was proposed to sell an additional C Class Share in CSWDC to Leicestershire County Council for £50,000, to be split by the three existing Shareholders, thereby securing their tonnage input for the next 25 years.  As with the existing C Class Share, this additional share would not attract the payment of dividends.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Delegate authority to the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and the Legal Services Manager to agree detailed terms of the transaction.

2.  Delegate authority to the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and Legal Services Manager to enter into the relevant legal agreements and associated documents necessary to complete the transaction.

3.  Approve the issues of one Class C share in Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company to Coventry City Council for the immediate forward sale to Leicestershire County Council.

4.  Approve the immediate forward sale of one C Class share from Coventry City Council to Leicestershire County Council, allowing them to become a shareholder in the Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive, which sought approval of proposals to ensure that the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) would be able to raise income via a Supplementary Business Rate scheme to assist in funding its Investment Programme.

The WMCA was required to develop funding plans through new financial mechanisms to the value of £3 billion to support £2 billion of investment and associated debt finance costs within the £8 billion Investment Programme agreed as part of the first Devolution Deal for the West Midlands.

The report set out how the new funding mechanisms intended use by the WMCA Board were planned to contribute to the overall funding of the Investment Programme.  In a number of cases, the securing of these income streams were based on the WMCA working together with Constituent Authorities to obtain or exercise new powers, including Business Rate Supplement.  It was noted that specific sources of income had not been allocated to each scheme and so all projects were, to some degree, exposed to risks around the WMCA not being able to generate the required level of income.

The Business Rates Supplement Income, totalling £900m, was initially intended by Central Government to be obtained through powers extended to elected Mayors of Combined Authorities to raise funding of up to an additional 2% on businesses to fund infrastructure investment through a new power contained in the draft Local Government Finance Bill of 2016/17.

A planned implementation date of 1^st April 2018 was set out in the first Devolution Deal.  However, due to the lead time to implement the charge, the date could no longer be achieved and work was being undertaken to confirm the impact that the delay may have on the Investment Programme’s Funding Position if a replacement scheme could not be put in place for a 30 year period a envisaged in the original modelling.

The Local Government Finance Bill 2016/17 was drafted to provide Mayoral Combined Authorities with two potential routes to generate this funding, the first of which being a Supplementary Business Rate (i.e. a scheme which is equivalent to existing powers which Local Authorities possess) and a Mayoral Infrastructure Supplement. The Mayoral Infrastructure Supplement was essentially similar to a Business Rates Supplement but with a small number of key differences, which were outlined in the report.

It was intended for these new powers to be provided to Mayors following the passing through Parliament of the Local Government Finance Bill 2016/17. Around the time of the General Election in 2017, however, the Bill fell.  As part of the discussions relating to the proposed second regional Devolution Deal, the West Midlands Combined Authority set out to Central Government the potential impact that the withdrawal of the Local Government Finance Bill would have on the West Midlands Combined Authority’s ability to fund and deliver the Investment Programme. During these discussions, it was suggested that a possible solution would be to simply extend to the West Midlands Combined Authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought approval for the submission of a bid for European City of Sport 2019.

ACES Europe, the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation, was a non-profit association based in Brussels, had since 2001 awarded each year the titles of European Capital, City, Community and Town of Sport.  Winning the European City of Sport title could bring high visibility to a city’s sporting offer, support access to external grants and open access to a network of cities in sport across Europe.  Coventry had, for the first time, been nominated to bid for European City of Sport 2019 by a UK delegate of ACES Europe.

It was reported at the meeting, that the bidding for the title of European City of Sport required a fee of 1,800 Euros rather than the 1,600 Euros indicated within the report.  The Council would also be required to enable and host a visiting judges delegation.  If successful, the City would be required to contribute 10,000 Euros to support marketing of the programme across Europe.  With regards to delivering a City of Sport programme, the City Council and its partners were already investing significantly in sate of the art sports and leisure facilities, several of which will open for the first time during 2019, the proposed year of the European City of Sport title.  This investment was closely aligned to the Council’s existing Public Health investment programmes and as such a number of the most significant investment plans that would be aligned to the bid were already resourced and in, or close to, delivery stage.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet approve the submission of a bid of a European City of Sport Bid File and to host the associated delegates’ visit, in order for Coventry to be considered for the award of European City of Sport (UK) 2019.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which set out proposals for the installation of 39 rapid charging point for electric and hybrid taxis and private hire vehicles in the City.

The Cabinet noted that Coventry was at the cutting edge of the automotive industry and a leader in innovation and that electric vehicles lay at the heart of this development and, following a successful bid, there was the opportunity to promote a move towards electric taxis.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) had £500m available to grow the market for ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) from 2015-20 and had offered grants to support the wider use of electric and hybrid vehicles.  The Coucnil submitted a bid to OLEV in December 2016 and were successful in securing £1.2m funding in March 2017 to install 39 rapid charging points for taxis and private hire vehicles.

The priority of the project was to encourage existing taxi drivers to purchase an electric taxi and establish an accessible charging infrastructure within the City to support the use of electric taxis.  OLEV would fund 75% of the cost of a charge-point and 25% match funding would be required.  This match funding could be invested by the Council or by service provider/consortiums.  Market testing had shown a keen interest from sever service providers/private consortiums for the 25% investment in this project.

The Cabinet were advised that the Council was also preparing a further bid to OLEV for residential on street charging points for delivery in 2018/19 and 2019/20.  A residential on street charge point survey would be published online to identify general locations of interest and it was intended to submit the bid by March 2018.

It was noted that electric car charging infrastructure could also help support future development opportunities in Coventry, including provision of charging points at park and ride sites to provide a more convenient way of travelling into the city centre and key employment sites.  This would allow drivers to park their vehicle on charge and finish their journey by foot, cycle, bus, or potentially in the future Very Light Rail.  Electric charging points would also be required to be installed in 5% of all new car parking spaces in Coventry, as set out in the Council Plan.

Coventry was the centre for electric taxi manufacturing, with London Electric Vehicle Company, Frazer Nash / Metrocab and Dynamo Motor Company all building vehicles in the city.  The Council was working with the companies to identify how to incentivise the uptake of electric taxis on the city’s streets, including potentially increasing the number of licenses for electric taxis. 

The project would ensure that the charging infrastructure was in place to support electric taxi growth in the City and it was acknowledged that the work would also form an important element of the Council’s desire to improve air quality in the City.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Approve that the Council acts as accountable body for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought approval to submit an application for Heritage Lottery Funding in relation to London Road Cemetery.

A corresponding private report detailing confidential aspects of the proposals was also submitted to the meeting for consideration.

The London Road Cemetery is a Grade 1 Listed Historic Park and Garden, designed by Sir Joseph Paxton in 1845 at the height of his career.  Paxton was commissioned by the Council to create one of the first municipal cemeteries in the country.  It was Paxton’s only Cemetery and was recognised as one of the most significant in the country.

The Council secured Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) in 2016 to develop a proposed detailed scheme to restore the Cemetery as a visitor attraction, park for local people and education resource.  The project would be delivered in two phases to reinstate elements of the original landscape design, repair major features including the listed Anglican Chapel and Promenade and grave monuments.  The project would include community engagement alongside education and training to increase participation volunteer activities.

It was proposed that an application be made on 28^th February 2018 to the Heritage Lottery ‘Parks for People’ Stage 2 Phase 1 funding.  If successful, an award would be made in June 2018.

The Cemetery’s considerable potential was heightened further by its close proximity to the Charterhouse, which was also the subject of a Stage 2 application to secure Heritage Lottery funding for the restoration of the building and gardens.  The two schemes were designed to complement one another and provide an enhanced offer for the City.  Dependent on securing the funding for both projects, the Council were committed to funding a crossing point to link both sites.

The report indicated that, if the Cemetery bid were successful, the funds would be used to appoint an external professional team and specialist consultants to deliver the following proposals as part of a phased programme of works:-

·  Restore the Grade 1 listed landscape and where feasible reinstate Paxton’s original design to facilitate use as a public park.  This would include improvements to the path network, improved horticultural features and seating.

·  Restore the Anglican Chapel, including repairs to stonework, floors and windows, and the Chapel would also have significantly improved visitor facilities with improved lighting, heating and other facilities to support a wider range of uses.

·  Restore the elevated Promenade as a key feature of the original design, with works to open up the former mortuary chapels beneath, providing spaces for exhibitions and interpretations.

·  Initially restore 20 of the key monuments, including the Paxton Memorial, with additional external funding to be sought to restore additional monuments.

·  Works to safeguard and extend the life of the notable veteran and mature trees, including the characteristic ‘candelabra’ limes.

·  Measures to interpret and celebrate the heritage of London Road Cemetery through improved signage, interpretation panels, exhibition space using the bier store, mortuary chapel and Anglican Chapel.

·  To make a step change in education  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which set out proposals to secure land required to complete the Coventry Station Masterplan.

A corresponding private report detailing confidential aspects of the proposals was also submitted to the meeting for consideration.

The Coventry Station Masterplan programme was set to deliver transformational improvements to Coventry Railway Station.  The £82m scheme was approved by the Council in January 2017 and the procurement strategy for the scheme was approved by Cabinet in November 2017.

The scheme was designed to minimise the extent of third party land required.  Much of the land required for the Masterplan proposals was within the ownership of Network Rail.  However, some of the land required for the scheme was also subject to leases or other interests, or owned by various third parties.  The scheme would benefit the land owners affected, through introducing new road links and improving highway capacity alongside the wider improvements at the railway station.

The Cabinet noted that land assembly would remain a risk to the project until it had been achieved.  In particular, it was necessary to acquire the interests of land owned by third parties in order to deliver the bus interchange, NUCKLE bay platform and western highways elements of the project, which was all critical infrastructure to support the Coventry Station Masterplan.  If the land was not acquired, parts of the project could still be delivered, including the new station building, car park and footbridge, alongside improvements to Warwick Road, and a separate agreement would be required between the land owner and Network Rail to support the delivery of the bay platform, for which a minor part was affected by third party land.  An alternative arrangement for buses and highways arrangement would need to be sought.  However, this was considered to be a low risk given positive negotiations to date with the land owners alongside Counsel advice regarding the case for Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO).

The report indicated that the land required to deliver the bus interchange, new link road and the area at the back of the bay platform was currently used for car parking.  Negotiations had been ongoing with the owners regarding the acquisition of the necessary interests.  Whilst the Council’s preference was to acquire all land by negotiation rather than CPO as this would assist with bringing forward the highways element of the scheme and avoid a costly and lengthy legal process, approval was being sought to the making of a CPO in respect of the acquisition of all interests, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, to assist in the delivery of the Station Masterplan.  Negotiations with landowners would therefore continue in parallel with the CPO process. 

It was noted that the funding package was in place for the CPO, within the £82m programme budget and that the approved scheme funding included:

·  £39.4m West Midlands Combined Authority  Devo Deal funding (subject to Full Business Case Approval due in March 2018)

·  £10.9m prudential borrowing to finance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

To approve the attendance of Councillor Abbott at the LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sports Conference 2018, to be held on the 7^th and 8^th March 2018 in Hull.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet give approval for the attendance of Councillor Abbott at the LGA Annual Culture, Tourism and Sports Conference 2018, to be held in Hull on the 7^th and 8^th March 2018.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that contained a list of outstanding issue items that would be submitted to future meetings of the Cabinet and summarised the current position in respect of each item.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet approves the dates for future consideration of matters relating to the outstanding issue items listed in the report.

There were no other items of public business.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

(Listing Officer: G Hood, tel: 024 7683 2194)

Further to Minute 118 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) that set out confidential aspects of the proposals to submit an application for Heritage Lottery Funding in relation to London Road Cemetery.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Approve the submission of the stage 2 application to Heritage Lottery Fund, “Parks for People” for the London Road Cemetery Project for the sum indicated in the report submitted.

2.  If successful, authorise the Council to act as the accountable body for Stage 2 Phase 1 grant award.

3.  Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) and Legal Services Manager, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services, to finalise and enter into any necessary agreements in relation to securing the HLF funding.

4.  Approve a local contribution, to the sum indicated in the report, from the Council’s existing resources towards the delivery stage to be used in addition to HLF funding.

5.  Approve the Council to underwrite a local contribution, to the sum indicated in the report, from the Council’s own funds towards the delivery stage to be used in addition to the HLF funding subject to other external funds being secured.

6.  Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) following consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Services to make applications to other funding providers to develop a funding package for delivery of a phase 2 submission, subject to such applications not exceeding the Cabinet approval limits under the Constitution.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

(Listing Officer: C. Knight, Tel: 024 7683 4001)

Further to Minute 119 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) that set out confidential aspects of the proposals to secure land required to complete the Coventry Station Masterplan.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Authorise the making of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) under Section 226(1) (a) Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) in order to acquire the interests in the land edged black on the plan at Appendix 1 of the report, including where necessary, the acquisition of new rights under Section 13 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, in order to facilitate the delivery of Coventry Station Masterplan.

2.  Delegate to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) the authority to, notwithstanding the recommendations above, continue to negotiate terms to acquire all interests in land by agreement alongside progressing of a CPO.

3.  Authorise the Director of Finance and Corporate Services following consultation with the Legal Services Manager to finalise the Order Map (within the black line boundary of the Appendix 1 Plan), the Statement of Reasons and the CPO Order and advertise the Order and submit it to the Secretary of State and to take all necessary steps to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the CPO, including High Court Enforcement Officer Notices and (if granted power to do so) to confirm the CPO.

4.  Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration to approve the costs of land acquisition within the Coventry Station Masterplan funding envelope.

5.  Delegate authority to the Director of Transport and Highways to make an application under Section 247 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to stop up areas of highway necessary to implement the proposals.

There were no other items of private business.