Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - The Guildhall, Marshall's Yard, Gainsborough, DN21 2NA

Contact: Ele Snow  Senior Democratic and Civic Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

27.

Public Participation Period

Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was no public participation.

 

 

28.

Minutes of Previous Meeting/s pdf icon PDF 295 KB

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members noted there were two sets of minutes for approval with each set taken in turn, it was

 

RESOLVED that: -

 

(a)    the Minutes of the Meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee held on 28 July, 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record; and

 

(b)    the Minutes of the Concurrent Meeting of the Prosperous Communities and Corporate Policy & Resources Committees held on 7 July, 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

 

 

29.

Declarations of Interest

Members may make declarations of Interest at this point or may make them at any point in the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made at this point in the meeting.

 

 

 

30.

Matters Arising Schedule pdf icon PDF 157 KB

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 21 September 2022

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In respect of the black action entitled “Uniform Approach to Review of Policies”, the Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee provided Committee with a further update of work recently agreed through his briefings and which related to the action. It was intended to undertake work with Members regarding their needs in relation to the style of written reports presented to Committees.

 

With no further comments or questions and with no requirement for a vote, the Matters Arising were DULY NOTED.

 

 

31.

Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund (3b) - Funding Bid for Guildhall Improvements pdf icon PDF 352 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members gave consideration to a report which sought to inform Members of a high-level bid that was to be submitted, seeking funding from Round 3b of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).  The report condensed the facts of the current PSDS bid application process, outlined the rationale and reasoning for pursuing the Bid and detailed the next steps.

 

The Authority had previously benefitted from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), which funded low carbon heating projects in public sector buildings, with WLDC having received £68k in 2021 to fund solar PV and battery storage at the new depot.

 

In presenting the report, Members were advised Phase 3b of the Scheme had recently been announced and applications were invited from 1 October.

 

Having worked with Midlands Net Zero Hub to examine various options, a project had been identified which would meet the criteria of the Scheme, namely to upgrade the current gas-powered boilers at the Guildhall with new air source heat pumps and the installation of additional Solar PV to generate electrical power and help reduce running costs.  Allowing for suitable contingencies, the work had been estimated to cost within the region of £330k.

 

Officers highlighted to Members how the current round of PSDS differed from previous rounds, in that it required an element of match-funding from the Council. The criteria as to how the match-funding element was calculated was further explained within the report, but for this bid, Members noted the match- funding amount required was equal to the cost of replacing the current boiler with a ‘like for like’ system.

 

This work was currently estimated at £60k within the approved Medium Term Financial Plan for 2024/25 and Members were being requested to approve that this money be re-profiled and brought forward to 2022/23 support the Bid.

 

Current boilers at the Guildhall were coming towards the end of their recommended life and a ‘like for like’ fossil fuel replacement, as was currently scheduled for 2024/25, would not be in line with WLDC’s Net Zero carbonisation ambitions.  The climate risks and opportunities section of the report further highlighted the environmental benefits.  

 

Officers stressed to the Committee the imperativeness of being ready with a Bid as soon as the application portal opened, as the monies would be awarded, subject to bids meeting the criteria, on a first come first served basis and was expected to be well over-subscribed.  

 

Whilst the initial bid contained comprehensive technical detail, only a high-level bid was required at this stage, with a detailed investment grade proposal having to be worked up and formally assessed prior to the award of any grant funding (estimated to be in or around January 2023).

 

Members were offered reassurance that the whilst the Scheme required evidence of a commitment to match-fund from the Council, it did not require the Council to enter into an agreement to accept grant funding, even if the Bid was successful. 

 

A final decision to accept the grant funding would be brought back to the Committee in due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

Levelling Up Parks Fund pdf icon PDF 313 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members gave consideration to a report which sought approval to make a submission to the Levelling-Up Parks Fund to deliver new and improved green space in Gainsborough.

 

Members were aware, the District Council had been successfully awarded Levelling-Up Funding for project activity which was now taking place in Gainsborough.  An additional top-up fund had been awarded to selected local authorities that met certain criteria, which included West Lindsey, the Fund was known as the Levelling-Up Parks Fund.

 

Members were advised the primary purpose of the Fund was to provide a one-off grant to local authorities to support them in creating a new or to significantly refurbish an existing urban park space.

 

Section two of the report detailed the “eligible places” criteria and outlined the measures, data, and indicators the Government had used to identify priority categories, these were detailed in Section 2.3 of the report and all were within Gainsborough.

 

As a result, the report proposed that the primary location to target the funding allocation should be the site known commonly as the Scouts Hill site.

 

In presenting the report, it was stressed that the funding was not intended to replicate the facilities previously on the Site, which were outlined to Members. It was fully acknowledged that the location had a number of challenges, in terms of the levels of anti-social behaviour, crime and one’s sense of safety and security. The Funding provided an opportunity to try and address some of the local issues and concerns and improve the feel and security of the site.

 

A total of £85k was available to spend prior to 5 April 2023, resulting in an extremely tight turnaround, with the bidding deadline being 3 October 2022.   The Authority, by this date, was required to submit at least a high-level outline plan of how and where it intended to spend the grant allocation.  As such, seeking Committee approval to submit a bid and increase the capital budget for delivery was time sensitive.

 

Officers advised how they were then committed to undertaking retrospective work around engagement, both with the community and with Elected Members, Colleagues and Partners to ensure that whatever actions the Council sought to undertake with the grant allocation, they would meet local needs and have longevity.

 

It was again stressed spend needed to be completed by the end of the financial year and as such Officers considered the proposal to be realistic.

 

Discussion ensued and a number of Members welcomed the opportunity to improve the site and create a much-needed local facility that people felt safe to use, indicating their support for the Bid to be submitted.

 

In responding to Members’ comments, Officers advised that the high-level business case had not yet been developed so could not be shared with Members, as a number of workshops which supported the bid submission had yet to be undertaken/ completed.

 

Assurance was offered that an element of the Bid would focus on improved security, examples being the inclusion of CCTV and designing out crime measures, engagement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Committee Work Plan pdf icon PDF 116 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman took the opportunity to remind Members that suggestions for inclusion could be made and would be considered.

 

With no comments, questions, or requirement for a vote, the Work Plan was DULY NOTED.