Agenda and minutes

There were no delarations of interest.

a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 June, 2020

b)  Any matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 June, 2020 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

NOTE: In accordance with the Constitution, Councillor R Brown, Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, has been invited to attend the meeting for this item of business to agree the need for urgency such that call-in arrangements will not apply. The reason for urgency is that the tender deadline expires on 17 July, 2020. To delay contract award risks the project having to be retendered and the capital costs increasing.

The Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services which indicated that the Cabinet approved the provision of a new welfare and administration building at the City Council’s depot in Whitley in 10 April 2018 (Their Minute 154/17 refers). Following detailed design work, a submission for planning permission and tendering of the building construction contract, the project costs have risen to £5.07m compared to the original estimated costs of £4.35m, leaving a funding gap of £0.72m.

The report outlined proposals to reduce the funding gap by reducing the overall size of the building by 10%, predominately removing administrative office space and, in consultation with colleagues in the planning and highways teams, the external finishes to the proposed building have been downgraded. This has reduced the funding gap to £0.48m.

The report sought approval to the allocation of an additional £0.48m funding for the project as abandoning the rebuild project would leave the existing mix of temporary and permanent buildings that are beyond their economic and practical life. The proposal also continues to offer a revenue saving to the City Council of £270kper annum compared to continuing to maintain and heat the existing building stock at Whitley Depot and Jackson Road.

In accordance with the Constitution, Councillor R Brown, Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee attended the meeting for this item and agreed the need for urgency so that call-in arrangements would not apply. The reason for urgency was that the tender deadline expires on 17 July, 2020 and to delay the contract award would risk the project having to be retendered and the capital costs increasing.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration approves the allocation of an additional £0.48m of capital money from corporate resources to the rebuild of the Whitley Depot welfare and administration building.

There are no outstanding issues.

There were no outstanding issues.

There were no other items of urgent public business.