Venue: Council Chamber, Runnymede Civic Centre, Addlestone

Contact: Mr B Fleckney 

Items
No. Item

140.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 246 KB

To confirm and sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 23 June 2022 (To follow).

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2022 were confirmed and signed as a true record.

141.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

None received.

142.

Declarations of Interest

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable and non-registrable interests in items on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

None declared.

143.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Community Services advised that the Council had long been committed to supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of residents through the range of services it provides, much of which was discretionary. 

 

The draft Health & Wellbeing strategy, one of the five strands of the corporate plan, allows the Council to create a vision and forward plan for improvement, development and doing more to support the needs of residents.

 

There were three elements to the strategy:

 

1)     Focus and the shift to prevention to support the wider determinants of health to reduce health inequality, which in turn would have a positive impact on the wider health system.

The wider determinant of health was therefore the focus of the strategy as opposed to making unrealistic commitments to tackling areas of ill health.

 

2)     Data.  A strong dataset had been compiled from Public Health colleagues to underpin the strategy, which would play a far more prominent role when planning services or discussing opportunities.  The areas of focus and the associated action plan that would be available ahead of final approval of the strategy.

 

3)     Delivery.  What the Council intends to do, where its focus would be, how it ensures the strategy remains a live document and how it would work with others to achieve its goals.

 

The Corporate Head of Community Services added that the strategy was closely aligned with the corporate Organisational Development Strategy and was committed to putting measures in place that would help the Council, its staff and Councillors to be more understanding of the health and wellbeing needs of residents.  This would ensure it was able to tailor services, approaches and behaviours to benefit residents.

 

A Member asked what the ward-based task groups would look like and how they would be measured given the dichotomy of the demographic of the borough.  The Corporate Head of Community Services advised that membership would be key, as would engaging with organisations who support residents and making sure their voice was heard.

 

Furthermore, some of the indices of deprivation related to measures that were out of the Council’s control, such as proximity to a post office, so it was unrealistic to expect to address all instances of deprivation.  Therefore, it would be key to understand local needs and formulate an action plan that was deliverable and met the needs of those residents.

 

The Corporate Head of Community Services confirmed that the data set would drill down into information such as educational attainment, and acknowledged that working alongside the County Council would be vital to the long-term success of the strategy.  It was also acknowledged that the health & wellbeing of the Gypsy & Traveller community would need to be addressed within the strategy given their large population in the borough and below average life expectancy.

 

The Leader confirmed that the strategy’s accompanying action plan would reflect Member feedback and be reported to September’s Committee alongside the final strategy and wider corporate plan.

 

Members were keen for there to be a section  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143.

144.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund pdf icon PDF 229 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive explained that the Council had been allocated £1m through the UK shared prosperity fund, for which a range of objectives set out by the Government had to be met in order for the fund to be unlocked.

 

The funding was spread over three years, with the majority positioned into year three, which meant the phasing of the allocation would need to be met to access the full fund.

 

Bids and proposals would have to be submitted by the end of August.  A shortlist of projects had been compiled, and whittled down by the Council’s Bids Officer based on the objectives within the Corporate Plan.  An indicative list of projects had been included within the papers, however given the tight turnaround to submit bids it had not been possible to provide a full list of projects.  Therefore, the final submission would be refined and developed, with one of the recommendations involving delegation to the Chief Executive to submit the final bid, with consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee.

 

A Member expressed disappointment that the prospect of a Joint Enforcement Team had been shelved from the initial list, and was advised by the Leader that the fund was for one-off payments, whereas the Joint Enforcement Team would require annual funding, which was therefore being sought through other means.  He added that the creation of a Joint Enforcement Team remained highly desirable. 

 

The Leader added that suggestions from Members for bids would be welcomed, particularly from the areas within the borough that did not feature on the indicative list.

 

Whilst acknowledging that the Council had to work at pace with the bids, another Member was disappointed with the lack of information on the bids.  The Leader pledged to circulate more detailed information on final bids once submitted.

 

Resolved that –

 

1.            Committee approved and adopted the projects and high-level budgets for submission toLUHC for 1 August 2022 to unlock RBC’s £1 million allocation.

 

2.            Delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee to make any changes to theproject package, if required by changing circumstances.

145.

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan pdf icon PDF 240 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Planning, Policy and Economic Development advised that the report provided an update on phase one to develop the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, and sought approval for the release of funds for the feasibility work.

 

The primary objective of the Plan was to increase the volume of people cycling and walking in the borough.  The tasks undertaken within phase one included targeted stakeholder engagement, as well as a two-stage assessment process for the number of walking and cycling routes.  The second stage involved the development of a shortlist of options of prioritised routes, resulting in in four cycle route and three walking zones.

 

The next stage of the implementation is to advance the design concept to a feasibility level of design and assessment, allowing a more detailed review.  Public engagement would be a key element of the process.

 

The Leader added that the delivery of active travel infrastructure a vital element of delivering on the Council’s climate change strategy and improving the health of residents.  Additionally, the funding was an earmarked reserve rather than a new request.

 

A Member was keen to ensure that infrastructure was joined up with neighbouring boroughs where appropriate to enable residents to gain access to cross-border amenities such as train stations.  The Corporate Head of Planning, Policy and Economic Development confirmed that the consultants were working with a number of neighbouring boroughs also involved in phase one so felt confident of a joined up approach, and the document would be a living document and updated as circumstances change.

 

Members were supportive of the report, but a number stressed the need to ensure that existing infrastructure was not overlooked.

 

The Chief Executive advised that the County Council would be bidding for national resources as part of the scheme, but the Council would also need to set aside a capital commitment for any schemes that come through the feasibility stage.  These bids would need to be affordable within the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

 

Resolved that –

 

The release of £161,000 revenue funding (held in the Council’sSurrey Future Feasibility Fund) as match funding was approved to enable completion ofphase 2 of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.

146.

Treasury Management Annual Report 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 457 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive advised that the report set out the treasury performance of the Council during the last financial year, adding that the Council’s underlying need to borrow was known as the Capital Financing Requirement and represented the level of unfinanced capital expenditure.  Part of the Council’s treasury activity was to address the funding requirements for this borrowing need and organise the Council’s cash position to ensure that sufficient cash was available to meet capital plans and cash flow requirements.

 

During the year the Council repaid a £40m loan to the PWLB and replaced it with the prearranged £40m annuity loan at 2.88% with Phoenix Life as agreed by Corporate Management Committee in 2018.  This represented the Council’s first and only Annuity loan which repays an element of the principal sum borrowed each year rather than repayment of all the principal at the loan maturity date.

 

Investment balances had been kept to a minimum through the agreed strategy of using reserves and balances to support internal borrowing, rather than borrowing externally from the financial markets.  Such an approach had provided benefits in terms of reduced interest payments and reducing counterparty risk exposure, by having fewer investments placed in the financial markets

 

The Council’s interest rate performance during last year, was 0.36% which compared favourably with the Council’s benchmark rates, and was largely thanks to investment in its two Pooled Funds.  These funds were long-term in nature and over long-term horizons they provided investors with strong levels of interest in the form of dividends

 

Investments to the value of £229m were made during the year with a year-end balance of £77m.

 

The Assistant Chief Executive concluded that last year could be considered a good year, with the Council operating within the boundaries set out in the Treasury Strategy, and investment returns and borrowing rates were better than anticipated with no additional risk to the Council.

 

Two Member training sessions had been arranged for October on Treasury Management, and the Leader stressed that these sessions should be compulsory for Members of the Committee.

147.

Annual Appointments to Outside Bodies pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

As part of a Council’s function to interact with its wider community, the Corporate Head of Law & Governance explained that a number of entities within the wider community allowed Councillors to appoint individuals to its membership.

 

Following the second canvas for outside bodies, Committee was being asked to make appointments to four organisations.

 

The Committee confirmed its approval for a third canvas to fill the remaining vacancies, whilst the Vice Chairman of the Committee was keen for Members to take a proactive approach to any remaining vacancies to ensure the roles were filled.

 

Resolved that –

 

Committee approved all nominations:

·         Councillor S Jenkins was appointed to Addlestone Chamber of Commerce.

·         Councillor M Cressey was appointed to Ashford & St. Peter’s NHS Trust.

·         Councillor S Saise-Marshall was appointed to Chertsey Chamber of Commerce.

·         Councillors C Howorth and J Hulley were appointed to Virginia Water Community Association.

148.

Standing Order 42 - Urgent Action pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader advised that the SO42 was raised at the previous meeting and related to the appointment of two additional staff members on temporary contracts to support the delivery of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.  The Chief Executive added that the recruitment process was well underway and there had been much interest in the roles.

 

Furthermore, an additional SO42 was signed last week to create a household support fund to help Runnymede residents affected by the cost-of-living crisis.  Details of the SO42 would be presented at the next Committee.

149.

Exclusion of Press and Public pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Minutes:

By resolution of the Committee, the press and public were excluded from the remainder of the meeting during the consideration of the remaining matters under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the discussion would be likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information of the description specified in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Part 1 of the Act.

150.

Consultancy Support - Boroughwide Climate Change/Net Zero Study

Minutes:

The Local Plans Manager advised that the report requested a supplementary revenue budget to allow the services of a specialist consultant to be procured for a borough-wide climate change study.

 

Part of the Council’s Climate Change Strategy related to establishing a baseline against performance for reducing carbon emissions could be measured, and the

study would also establish whether net zero carbon emission would be met by 2050 in a business-as-usual scenario.

 

The second part of the study would provide the necessary evidence base to underpin the 2040 Local Plan, establishing different types of policy interventions which could be incorporated into the Local Plan, which would further bolster the Council’s response to Climate Change.

 

However, no services or departments within the Council had planned budgetary provision to carry out this work.  It was considered vital to progress the study at the earliest opportunity, and without the work carried out it would be difficult for Councillors to make informed decisions about the interventions which would form part of the Local Plan, the elements of which were due to be chosen by Councillors in spring 2023.

 

A Councillors emphasised that whilst the work was ongoing, the climate change strategy and actions within it would carry on in parallel.

 

Resolved that –

 

A supplementary revenue budget was approved to allow
the services of a specialist consultant to be procured to allow the production of a Borough wide Climate Change/net zero study.

151.

Addlestone One Cladding

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Law & Governance reported that following the Grenfell disaster various landlords were required to review the cladding on their buildings.  Subsequently, the Council had undertaken a review of the Addlestone One development.  This Committee received a report in July 2021 advising the outcome of that review and as a result of the decisions made at that meeting  three different workstreams have been undertaken.

 

The first was a procurement exercise to engage a contractor to carry out remedial works.  Members were informed that this exercise had recently concluded and the Committee were invited to recommend the appointment of that contractor to Full Council.

 

The second strand was in relation to the cladding crisis and the prospect of tenants of high-rise buildings contributing to the cost of remedial works.  A government scheme had stressed that developers and manufacturers should take responsibility for the safe removal of cladding materials, and around forty had so far signed up to a government levy scheme. 

 

Furthermore, the Building Safety Act 2022, enacted this year, would also require future developers paying into the levy, and brought about the introduction of a legal prohibition on landlords charging tenants for remedial works if an individual lives in a block over 11 metres in height.  The Committee noted that this would ensure residents of Addlestone One would not be required to pay for remedial works.

 

The final workstream involved the Council exploring its legal options for the construction of the cladding.  The Head of Law & Governance confirmed to a Member that the Council had been advised by an independent expert that undertaking the remedial works would not have a detrimental impact on litigation proceedings.

 

The Leader added that progressing and resolving the issue remained his highest priority.

 

A Member asked about the prospect of utilising a government scheme that paid for the cost of remedial works, however the Corporate Head of Law & Governance explained that the purpose of this scheme was a last resort and intended for where a developer could not be traced.  However, the option would be kept under review.

 

The Corporate Head of Law & Governance confirmed that sign off of actions would be through Corporate Management Committee.

 

Resolved that –

 

1. The Committee recommended to Full Council that a contract to undertake cladding remediation works to the residential blocks which form part ofthe Addlestone One development be awarded to the recommended contractor

2. The Committee recommended to Full Council that the cladding remediationworks be delivered under a JCT Intermediate form of contract withcontractor’s design which will be executed on the Council’s behalf byCorporate Head Law and Governance in consultation with the ChiefExecutive, Assistant Chief Executive and the Corporate Head of Assetsand Regeneration.

3. Full Council be asked to note the proposed programme of works butbe aware that this may be subject to change following clarifications andfinal interview with the intended contractor.

4. The Committee recommended to Full Council that the leaseholders whomeet the qualifying criteria  ...  view the full minutes text for item 151.

152.

Fusion 21 Framework - Bellrock FM Ltd

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration advised that the report related to the Council’s Facilities Management across its operational and commercial estate.

 

All tenants within its commercial properties paid an annual service charge for the maintenance of the property.  A variety of arrangements were currently in place, some of which were not delivering value for money, therefore a comprehensive Facilities Management Contract was required, and to achieve this approval was requested to procure through a framework created by an organisation called Fusion 21 a contract to deliver Facilities Management services to reduce the number of contracts, achieve value for money and provide better financial outcome for tenants.  It would also provide a local supply chain to enhance the local economy.

 

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration confirmed that final costs were not included within the report, but the matter would come back to Committee should costs be higher than anticipated.

 

Resolved that –

 

1. The Committee agreed to procure a contract via a direct awardprocess via the Workplace & Facilities framework agreement established and administered by Fusion 21 for complete facilities management services for the investment properties held by the Council for a period of 5 years with the option to extend for a further2 years subject to performance and meeting the contract criteria.

 

2. The three properties outlined in the report currently under anexisting FM Contract would be moved into the new contract upon expiry, ensuring continuity of service.

3. The Committee further agreed to soft and hard facilities management aspects follow the same process for the operational estate for which there are existing budgets; and a contract amendment to the proposed recommendation highlighted in (1) above also in place through the same framework when the existing contracts before or up to March 2023.

4. To note that RBCS Ltd would holda Board meeting to endorse the way forward with contract documentation.

153.

Proposed Letting of Units in Addlestone One

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration provided information on a start-up company hoping to lease a number of units within Addlestone One for Leisure use.

 

The team behind the concept were keen to brief Members on the proposal, and subject to approval an appointment would be made to allow this to happen.

 

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration also provided a brief update on the existing units within Addlestone One.

 

The Chief Executive confirmed that should there be significant changes to the terms of the arrangement then officers would bring the matter back to Committee rather than execute the delegated authority function.

 

Resolved that –

 

1.  Members approved the terms in the report for the letting of units in Addlestone One, butfinal delegated authority would be given to the Chief Executive and Assistant Chief Executive in consultation with the Chairman and theVice Chairman of this Committee to agree the final costs of theLandlords works.

 

2. Members agreed a capital contribution.

 

3. Members agreed to a supplementary revenue estimate which RBC would need to pay due to the service cap.

 

154.

Barrsbrook Farm - MoU

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration sought Committee approval to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with a local private school to explore the delivery of sporting facilities on the land, whilst ensuring a community benefit was achieved for residents.

 

This would enable both the Council and the school to work together to establish what could be achieved on the land.  The figures provided were very much indicative, and subject to thorough investigations.

 

In response to a Member question about community benefits from other private schools in the borough, the Chief Executive advised that this was a unique arrangement, with a formal agreement in place for public access to those facilities.  The historic upgrading of sports facilities of other private schools within the borough had largely been done on the initiative of the school with minimal input from the Council.  However, a number of Councillors were aware of incidents of private schools engaging with the community to ensure dual use.

 

Resolved that –

 

1.    Members agreed to the Council working with Sir William Perkins School (SWPS) to deliver leisure facilities on the Barrsbrook Open Space which can be used jointly bythe school and the local community.

 

2.    Members agreed to signing a MoU between theCouncil and SWPS to enable both parties to work towards exploring the delivery ofsporting facilities on the site for the school and the community use to be allowed sothat the residents of Runnymede can benefit from the end facility.

 

3.    Delegated authority be authorised to the Corporate Head of Law and Governanceand the Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration in consultation with the ChiefExecutive, Assistant Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chairman and ViceChairman of this Committee, to agree the final documentation.

155.

Property Portfolio Rent Arrears

Minutes:

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration provided details of a commercial tenant seeking a discounted rent from the Council, citing a lack of footfall due to the ongoing construction work in the area.

 

Officers had sought to provide assistance to the tenant, and encouraged deals and promotions, however despite repeated requests, a business plan had not been received.

 

The Corporate Head of Assets and Regeneration acknowledged Members’ concerns about the impact of local road closures due to the building’s ongoing construction and development, but replied that the student occupancy rates and subsequent footfall within the premises remained high.

 

A number of Councillors expressed disappointment that the tenant had been reluctant to engage with officers.

 

            Resolved that –

 

1.     Members did not accept the Tenant’s offer to pay 50% rent

 

2.     Officers should pursue the debt by negotiation and in the event the debtwas not recovered within a reasonable time, to take appropriate enforcementaction as advised by the Corporate Head of Law and Governance in consultation with the Corporate Head of Asset and Regeneration.

156.

HR and Payroll Procurement Update

Minutes:

Item deferred to September’s Committee.

157.

Project Portfolio - Q1 2022

Minutes:

The Head of Business Planning, Projects and Performance, Procurement Manager shared the progress of projects in the first quarter of the year, as well as the June Portfolio Dashboard.

 

Two projects had been delivered within this period, and an additional two had commenced reporting.  Overall 16 projects were reporting good progress and remained on track.  This included the overall Corporate Business Plan, which would be reported to September’s Corporate Management Committee ahead of final sign off at full Council in October.

 

The Committee thanked officers for the good progress made against the objectives.