Agenda item

The Director of Finance submits a report showing the position of the capital programme for 2020/21 as at the end of July 2020 (Period 4).  The Committee is recommended to consider the overall position presented within this report and make any observations it sees fit.

The Director of Finance submitted a report showing the position of the Capital Programme for 2020/21 as at the end of July 2020 (Period 4), explaining that there was some slippage in the programme due to the Coid-19 pandemic and resulting national “lockdown”.

The Director of Capital Projects confirmed that some sites had had to shut down during the pandemic, due to social distancing requirements.  As a result, it had been necessary to reschedule when various trades could be present on site, so some schemes had slipped.  In some cases, if they were not business critical, schemes had been moved back in the programme.

The Committee received the following responses to questions raised:

·           For which scheme was the Cank Street feasibility study proposed?

Response from the City Mayor:

A very successful link had been created between Town Hall Square and the area in which market Food Hall previously had stood (near Green Dragon Square).  The feasibility study was to consider extending that link through Green Dragon Square to Cank Street.

·           In addressing the city’s declared Climate Emergency, using natural gas was not an appropriate way forward.  Were the old boilers in Council houses being replaced with gas ones?

Response from the City Mayor:

The city had a very extensive district heating network, from which Council housing benefited.

·           The forecast completion date of Haymarket Hotel project appeared to have slipped.

Response from the City Mayor:

Funding for this project was a commercial investment and was considered to be a responsible use of revenue to obtain a good return in the future.

Response from the Director of Capital Projects:

The hotel was due to be completed in November 2020.  The site had been visited and progress reviewed approximately two weeks ago.  The development was on target, so currently there was no reason to think that this completion date would be missed.

·           How were the Jewry Wall Museum improvements progressing?

Response from the City Mayor:

Contractors were due to start on site in October 2020, as a lot of fitting out work needed to be done to the former Vaughn College to make it suitable for its new use as part of the museum.

·           Further information was requested on the funding held for the Waterside Primary School.

Response from the Director of Capital Projects:

Some funding was held by the Council for the purpose of undertaking a feasibility study on the project on behalf of the Department for Education.

·           Further information was requested on the Leicester North-West Transport Scheme. 

Response from the Director of Finance:

Further information was not available at the meeting, but could be circulated afterwards to members of the Committee.

AGREED:

1)    That the overall position of the 2020/21 Capital Programme be noted;

2)    That the Director of Housing be asked to make a presentation to the Committee at an appropriate time on the effectiveness of the district heating network, including the network’s contribution to addressing the city’s declared Climate Emergency and opportunities that could be available to extend the scheme; and

3)    That the Director of Finance be asked to send an update on progress with the Leicester North-West Transport Scheme to members of the Committee.

Councillor Dawood left the meeting during discussion on this item