Agenda item

The Director of Finance submits a report, which shows the position of the capital programme for 2015/16 at the end of the financial year.

The Director of Finance submitted a report which showed the position of the capital programme for 2015/16 at the end of the financial year.

Members discussed the report and a query was raised in relation to the Anchor Centre. The City Mayor stated that the Council owned the site but the building needed major refurbishment. There had been a number of interests expressed in the site and the Council needed to consider careful how they could dispose of the property subject to an alternative site for the Anchor Centre being located.

It was noted that Extra Care had been granted planning permission for two new-build extra care facilities but the schemes had been put on hold pending an announcement from the Government on whether rents eligible for housing benefit would be capped. If this happened the scheme would become financially unviable. In response to a query, the meeting heard that this was a national issue and schemes across the country had also been put on hold. It was an issue that was causing concern and which the Local Government Association was taking very seriously.

A query as raised as to whether the capital monies set aside for flood management was sufficient. The City Mayor responded that this reflected the Council spend, but the bulk of the money came from the Environment Agency, with whom the Council had an excellent working relationship. Recent work on the main river, where a wider flood plain had been developed, had been of a very high standard. There were parts of the city where there was a risk from pluvial flooding; the Knighton area presented a particular challenge because of the Holbrook. Officers were very aware of these issues and a recent patch walk had taken place.

It was noted that there was slippage of £283K for the improvement works to a property on New Walk, to be leased to IBM, and the reason for the slippage was queried. Members heard that there was a need to meet some exacting specifications required by IBM and their Parent Board. It had taken longer than anticipated to complete the work.

A query was raised in relation to a proposal for a specialist dementia care centre which had been put on hold pending further analysis of the service needs.  The City Mayor explained that discussions were being held as to whether this was the best way forward and the best use of resources for a very small percentage of service users. Consideration was being given as to whether there were more effective ways of providing general support for a wider group of people. The Chair of Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission reported that this item was already on their work programme and added that the best place for people with dementia was in their own home, supported

with good service provision.

It was noted that slippage had incurred on the Haymarket Bus Station and Waterside projects. The City Mayor responded that the Haymarket development had taken longer than planned due to the discovery of underground cellars. The spend on Waterside mostly reflected land acquisition; however a report on this project would be submitted to Council in July where an update would be given. The City Mayor added that the project had attracted considerable interest from three potential developers.

A Member commented that previously a commitment had been made to bring a condition survey of the city’s leisure centres to scrutiny, and he questioned whether this had happened. The Director of Finance reported that the surveys were ongoing and were a fundamental part of the Sports and Leisure Spending Review Programme. As part of the Sports and Leisure offer, it was necessary to understand the state of the buildings and the first phase of this work would be brought to the Executive in the autumn.  Scrutiny would also be included in the process. The Member commented that it was time that the Scrutiny Commission had sight of this survey.

It was noted that Heritage Interpretation Panels had been installed around Leicester and a request was made for an additional panel to be installed on the old Thorn / GE Lighting site on Melton Road, to provide information about the industrial heritage of the site. The City Mayor responded that more panels were being planned, including one for the old Thorn Lighting site.

Concerns were expressed relating to the plethora of parking problems outside schools.  A Member asked when the Parking Strategy would be implemented and stressed the need to promote the message that people needed to park responsibly. The City Mayor responded that a strategic document which took into account a whole range of parking issues would be put out for consultation in the near future. This was an overarching strategy which might be something that the Economic Development, Transport and Tourism Scrutiny Commission, and possibly the Overview Select Committee may wish to consider.

AGREED:

that the overall position of the Capital Programme for 2015/16 be noted.