Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance, (copy enclosed).

The Council considered the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance seeking the Council’s approval for the allocation of a budget of £100,000 to be taken from New Homes Bonus income, to be utilised for feasibility studies for potential commercial projects.

The report provided background information regarding the Council’s Transformation Project and the Commercial Projects Board formed to analyse and progress potential commercial projects.  It was noted that pre-feasibility reports were presented to the Commercial Projects Board and those considered viable were then progressed to full feasibility studies.  It was often necessary to commission professional assessment etc. in order to fully understand a potential project’s viability and therefore a fund of £100,000 was requested to procure such professional services.  Appendix 1 to the report set out the process flow chart.

The Leader of the Council felt that some checks and balances should be built in and he therefore proposed that recommendation (i) be amended to read “…commercial opportunities, with £40,000 being made available immediately and the balance of £60,000 being made available subject to Council approval of the Commercial Projects Plan at its meeting on 25 July 2019”.  He advised that this would allow the Council to have a Commercial Projects Plan in place and understand where Officers were proposing to spend the monies requested.  The Leader then proposed an amendment to recommendation (ii) adding after £10,000 ‘subject to the details being reported to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee or Strategy and Resources Committee (post October 2019)’ to enable expenditure to be tracked through Committees.  These proposals were duly seconded.

A number of comments were raised by Members at this point and the following information provided by the Leader of the Council, in response:

·                 The Council would be seeking to agree a Commercial Projects Plan (the Plan) which would give all Members the opportunity to come up with ideas which would then added to and looked at through the Plan.  The Plan would look at project costs, feasibility, deliverability etc. along with checks and balances.

·                 Procurement of consultations consultants[1] would be monitored and were likely to be based around fixed prices to identify what the Council would be getting.

The Chairman then put the proposal in the name of Councillor Fluker, which upon a vote being taken was agreed.

RESOLVED

(i)              That a budget of £100,000 be approved and utilised for the development of commercial opportunities, with £40,000 being made available immediately and the balance of £60,000 being made available subject to Council approval of the Commercial Projects Plan at its meeting on 25 July 2019;

(ii)            That the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance be authorised, in consultation with the Commercial Projects Board to approve any spend up to £10,000, subject to the details being reported to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee or the Strategy and Resources Committee (post October 2019);

(iii)          That decisions on spend of over £10,000 be delegated to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee.