To receive a monitoring report from the Executive Director Resources on the Capital Programme First Quarter to June 2019.  (Report No: 72A)

(Key Decision Reference Number:  KD 4943)

Council is asked to approve changes to the Capital programme.

Cabinet is due to consider this report at their meeting on 11 September 2019. 

The Cabinet decisions will be reported to Council on the green update sheet tabled at the meeting. 

Councillor Maguire proposed and Councillor Caliskan seconded the report of the Executive Director Resources on the Capital Programme First Quarter to June 2019.  (Report No:  72A)

NOTED

1.            Cabinet agreed at their meeting on 11 September 2019 to recommend the report to Council. 

2.            Councillor Maguire in introducing the report highlighted the following: 

·      To acknowledge the good news that the Council had won £156m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund.  The represented a substantial investment in Enfield and would support the Council’s work to build houses in Meridian Water.  Thanks to Peter George (Programme Director Meridian Water) and his officers and to all the councillors who had lobbied and supported the bid. 

·      The report sets out the Council’s current position on capital schemes, the estimated capital spending and required financing.

·      The Council were planning to spend £144m.  £32.4m financed from external grants.  Forecasts are contained in tables 1-5 in the report. 

·      Table 7 shows financing for the Housing Revenue Account.  Loans would only drawn down when required.

·      There are two additions to the capital programme.  Reardon Court and the Capital Condition Programme.

3.            Concern from the Opposition Group:

·         That reprofiling of £63m has been required since the Capital Programme was agreed in March earlier this year, suggesting that previous forecasts had been unreliable.

·         About the lack of building work at Meridian Water and the extra £34m required for decontamination works.

·         That extra items could be charged to the capital fund.

·         About the money being spent on the Council companies including Housing Gateway.  The view that this money could have been better spent on a specialist housing provider. 

·         Queries about the additional monies required for environment schemes including the changes to the waste collection scheme. 

·         The lack of details in the report. 

4.            Comments from the majority group: 

·         This report shows the overall expenditure for the approved capital programme and the increased funding from the GLA for Reardon Court.  The Council is investing in major and minor works to improve the lives of Enfield Council tenants and address fire safety concerns.

·         That the success of the bid for Meridian Water infrastructure shows a confidence in the scheme and in Enfield which will help unlock the huge potential of the project. 

5.            The summing up from Councillor Maguire that the capital programme was for investing in services and should be supported by the Opposition Group.  She suggested that Councillor Rawlings put her queries in writing and these would be addressed.

Following the debate the recommendations in the report were put to the vote and agreed with the following result:

For:  36

Against: 14

Abstentions: 0

AGREED:

1.            To note the additions for the Capital Programme as set out in Table 3 in paragraph 4.9 and approves the addition of the following to the approved capital programme:

i)             Reardon Court

ii)            Corporate Capital Condition Programme (CCCP)

2.            To note the proposed reductions set out in Table 4 in paragraph 4.11 of the report. 

3.            To note the £156m Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) award

4.            To agree the revised four year approved programme totalling £562m as set out in Appendix A of the report.