Cabinet - Tuesday, 23rd August, 2016 7.00 pm - Agenda and minutes
Venue: Concorde Room, Council Offices, Farnborough
Contact: Chris Todd, Democratic Services on 01252 398825 or e-mail: chris.todd@rushmoor.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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To confirm the Minutes of the
Meeting held on 26th July, 2016 (copy attached). Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet
held on 26th July, 2016 were confirmed and signed by
the Chairman. |
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FINANCIAL MATTERS Presented By: Leader of the Council |
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Revenue Budget Monitoring and Forecasting 2016/17 - Position at July, 2016 PDF 426 KB To consider the Head of Financial
Services’ Report No. FIN1615 (copy attached), which sets out the Council’s
anticipated financial position for 2016/17 based on the monitoring exercise
carried out in July, 2016. Minutes: The Cabinet considered the
Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1615, which set out the anticipated
financial position for 2016/17, based on the monitoring exercise carried out
during July 2016. It was explained that the final
outturn position for 2015/16 had shown a marked improvement in the general fund
balance of over £0.5 million, which had taken the balance from £1.492 million
as shown in the budget to £2 million, which was at the top of the range set out
in the Medium Term Financial Strategy. The Report explained that the Directors’
Management Board had carried out a budget challenge exercise to identify
ongoing, permanent reductions in net spend. This exercise had identified a
total of £357,000 of net reductions, which was made up
of reductions in expenditure and increases in income. The Cabinet was informed that the operation of the Business Rate
Retention Scheme had caused large variances between accounting years and this
unpredictability represented a risk to the Council. Significant adverse
variances in the current year had occurred in respect of the operation of
markets and car boot sales, parking penalty charge income and car parking
income in general. The Report set out the reasons for these shortfalls. Members considered the
Report and expressed satisfaction with the improved revenue budget position and
the measures put in place to ensure further progress in the future. The Cabinet RESOLVED that the latest Revenue Budget monitoring position,
as set out in the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1615, be noted. |
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Capital Programme Monitoring and Forecasting 2016/17 - Position at July, 2016 PDF 129 KB To consider the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1616 (copy attached), which sets out the Council’s position regarding the Capital Programme for 2016/17 based on the monitoring exercise carried out during July, 2016. Minutes: The Cabinet received the
Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1616, which
provided the latest forecast regarding the Council’s Capital Programme for
2016/17. The Report advised that the approved Capital Programme for
2016/17 totalled £30,183,000. This figure included several significant property
acquisitions, purchased as part of the Council’s sustainability plans, which
would start to generate additional revenue income for the Council within the 2016/17 financial year and in future years. It was also reported that the Council would need to borrow
money to finance part of its capital programme and that borrowing rates were
very low at the current time. The recent monitoring exercise had identified
that, due to a number of slippages and underspends, the forecasted outturn was
approximately £27,388,000, with a forecasted net reduction in spend of
£2,795,000 against the approved Programme. The identified areas of slippage
included works at Aldershot Railway Station, under the Activation Aldershot
scheme, and works at the new Council depot site. The Cabinet RESOLVED that the latest Capital Programme monitoring
position, as set out in the Head of Financial Services’ Report No. FIN1616, be
noted. |
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RUSHMOOR GOOD CAUSES LOTTERY PDF 95 KB To consider the Corporate Director’s Report
No. CD1603 (copy attached), which
seeks approval in principle to the establishment of a local good causes
lottery. Presented By: Concessions and Community Support Minutes: The Cabinet considered the
Corporate Director’s Report No. CD1603, which set out a proposal to establish a
local good causes lottery. The Report explained that the provision of a
local lottery would support the Council’s voluntary and community sectors,
whilst moving the Council away from being a direct funding provider to the role
of enabler. It would also allow the voluntary and community sectors to access
lottery funding that was designed for them and at no
cost to them. It was explained that Aylesbury Vale
District Council had launched the first online local authority lottery in
November 2015 and this was, currently, well established. It was
proposed to design the Rushmoor delivery model on the successful scheme
at Aylesbury but with changes, where necessary, to take account of local
circumstances. The potential delivery model was set out in the Report and, as
part of the process, the Council would have to procure
an External Lottery Manager for the scheme. Members were supportive of
the suggested approach and it was agreed that, in due
course, all local charities would be contacted in order to promote the lottery.
The Cabinet RESOLVED that (i)
the principle of
establishing a Rushmoor Good Causes Lottery, as set out in the Corporate
Director’s Report No. CD1603, be approved; (ii)
the
Corporate Director, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Concessions and
Community Support, be authorised to finalise the details of the scheme; (iii)
the
Borough Services Policy and Review Panel, in consultation with the Cabinet
Member for Concessions and Community Support, be requested to oversee the
development of the eligibility criteria for the good causes wishing to apply to
join the scheme; (iv)
the
commencement of the procurement process to secure an External Lottery Manager
be approved; and (v)
the awarding of the
contract, based on the procurement criteria specified in the tender process, be
approved. |
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WARD COMMUNITY GRANT SCHEME PDF 72 KB To consider the Corporate Director’s Report No. CD1602 (copy attached), which sets out a proposal to develop a Ward Community Grant Scheme. Presented By: Concessions and Community Support Minutes: The Cabinet considered the
Corporate Director’s Report No. CD1602, which set out a proposal to establish a
pilot Ward Community Grant Scheme. Members were
informed that the proposal was to make £6,500 of the current year’s
Community Grant Fund budget available to support the pilot scheme, whereby ward
councillors would play a greater role in sponsoring community and voluntary
groups in their own wards. The total allocation for grants during the pilot
period would be £500 per ward per year and the details of the proposed pilot
scheme were set out in Appendix 1 to the Report. The Cabinet RESOLVED that (i)
the adoption of a Ward
Community Grant Scheme on a pilot basis, as set out in Appendix 1 to the
Corporate Director’s Report No. CD1602, be approved; and (ii)
the Cabinet Member for
Concessions and Community Support be requested to review the effectiveness of
this pilot scheme and report back to the Cabinet by 31st March, 2017. |
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KPI LIMITED - ALTERATION TO DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT PDF 126 KB To receive a report from the Chief Executive, which sets out a request from KPI Limited for an amendment to the development agreement, to enable them to bring forward proposals for the next phase. Presented By: Environment and Service Delivery Minutes: The Cabinet considered
the Chief Executive’s Report No. CEX1601, which provided details
of a request by Key Property Investments Limited (KPI) to amend the existing
development agreement with the Council, in order to enable the company to bring
forward proposals for the outstanding phases of the Farnborough Town Centre
North Queensmead redevelopment. Members were reminded that the redevelopment of Farnborough town
centre had been broken down into four development phases. Phases one and two had been completed but there had been some
delays in completing the remaining two phases, caused in part by the impacts of
the financial recession. The Council, as the freeholder of the site, had
entered into a development agreement with KPI Limited at the outset of the
scheme. This agreement had provided the Council with ‘step-in’ rights at a
certain point in time, should the development be stalled.
This would enable the Council to appoint a new development partner to complete
the scheme. The existing agreement stated a step-in date of March 2017. It was reported that KPI Limited had made a request that the
time before step-in rights became active be extended by five years. The Council
was keen to support the continued implementation of the consented scheme with
KPI Limited as the preferred development partner. It was felt, however, that a five year extension would be too long, particularly given
that the proposal had been with consent for approximately twelve years. It was,
therefore, proposed that KPI Limited should be granted a two
year extension, with the possibility of further extensions being
granted, subject to there being clear evidence of progress being made. The Cabinet expressed
its support for this approach and stressed the importance of good communication
by KPI Limited as the remaining phases were progressed. It was
also agreed that KPI Limited should be invited to sign up to the
Council’s Good Homes Charter, in relation to the provision of the residential
accommodation within the scheme. The
Cabinet RESOLVED
that the proposed amendment to the development agreement between Rushmoor
Borough Council and KPI Limited, to allow an additional two years before the
step-in rights are activated, was approved. |