To review progress on delivery of the projects within the Capital Programme using Red/Amber/Green (RAG) rating.

The Board received a dashboard which set out a summary of the progress of 70 Capital Projects within the Council’s approved Capital Programme.  The projects were all at different phases and with four of the projects due to be considered at the Council meeting on 13 October 2022 where Members were asked to approve additional funding in order for the Council to progress those projects.  It was noted that, whilst the Council was being asked to approve additional borrowing, due to the Council’s cash reserves it was anticipated that the Council would need to start borrowing next Summer when it was hoped that that the financial markets would be more stable and the Section 151 Officer would look at the market to secure the most favourable borrowing rates available at that time.

Members undertook a detailed review into the following projects to understand the likelihood of delivery, any risks and barriers to delivering the projects within budget and on time (e.g. increased costs, supplier or contractor issues), what ongoing discussions were being held with suppliers and contractors and what alternative options had been considered including stopping the project or delivering it in a different way:

·                     Nightingale Park

·                     Old Toll House

·                     Crossways

·                     Torre Valley North

·                     Edginswell

·                     Claylands Cross

·                     Preston Down Road

·                     Harbour View

Members acknowledged that further decisions would need to be made on the other projects as they were developed due to the change in circumstances of the markets and increases in costs for Members to determine, once they had up to date costs and business cases, whether or not to proceed on a case by case basis.

Members requested the Director of Place provide further information to the Board on the details of the long stop and termination agreement for the Old Toll House.

The Board recognised the importance of timely communication and engagement on projects and requested that the Director of Place ensured that this was carried out on the capital projects with all Councillors and the community on a regular basis.

Resolved (unanimously):

1.         that the Council be recommended to defer consideration of the revised Officer Recommendation in respect of the Harbour View project for further information as detailed in the exempt appendix to these minutes and the Directors of Place and Finance be requested to report the further information to an additional Overview and Scrutiny Board and Extraordinary Council, both meetings to be held by the end of October 2022;

2.         that the Head of Legal Services be invited to a future meeting of the Board to consider the inclusion or not of termination provisions in contracts going forward; and

3.         that, Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Board be requested to consider which capital projects they would like to undertake a detailed review upon on at its meeting on 11 January 2023 and that Officers be requested to present key projects to the Overview and Scrutiny prior to Cabinet/Council, where possible, and that the Democratic Services Team Leader be requested to add reviews of capital projects to the Work Programme on a quarterly basis.

(Note:  prior to discussion of the Preston Down Road and Harbour View projects the press and public were excluded from the meeting on the grounds that exempt information (as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) was likely to be disclosed.)