Issue - meetings

Report DRR14036

Members considered the 2013/14 provisional outturn position for the Renewal and Recreation Portfolio which showed an underspend of £224k.and represented a 2.55% variation against the controllable budget of £8.785m.  This compared with a projected variation of Cr £96k.

Members also considered the level of expenditure for projects within the Member Priority Initiatives.

Approval was sought for the drawdown of the carry forward sums of £60k and £22.5k held in central contingency, to be used to fund the preparation of the Borough’s Local Plan and the Business Support Scheme.

The Head of Finance confirmed that 20% of Building Control staff time/activities could not be charged for and therefore was categorised within the non-chargeable part of the service.  For example, this type of work included the provision of general advice by telephone, the first hour of officers’ time in giving pre-building regulation application advice and dealing with dangerous buildings.

Councillor Tickner referred to the provision of £90k to meet the costs of a potential claim against the Council for repairs in respect of an application to fell a protected tree where permission had been refused (paragraph 5.5).  He considered the Council had a duty to protect trees and in this respect, provision should not be made for every application.  Members were informed that this was the same tree referred to in previous reports and officers had been advised by legal representatives to set aside the stated sum in the event that the insurers won their case. 

Referring to the costs of £100k as a direct result of losing planning appeals (paragraph 5.6), Councillor Rutherford enquired how this compared with previous figures and with those of other Councils.  It was agreed that a detailed report concerning planning appeals would be submitted to the R&R PDS meeting in September 2014.

It was confirmed that the net shortfall in income of £21k, mainly from library fines (paragraph 5.7), was partly attributed to the ease with which books could be renewed on line and the fact that people were borrowing less.

A Government grant of £22.5k was allocated for a Business Support Scheme (paragraphs 5.12-5.14) set up to assist businesses affected by the previous winter floods to recoup uninsured costs.  As the funding had been announced late in the financial year, monies were only now being released to claimants.  A further update would be given at the September PDS meeting.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:-

1)  endorse the 2013/14 provisional outturn for the Renewal and Recreation Portfolio;

2)  note the expenditure for the Renewal and Recreation projects within the Member Priority Initiatives; and

3)  approve the drawdown of the carry forward sums of £60k and £22.5k held in central contingency, to be used to fund the preparation of the Borough’s Local Plan and the Business Support Scheme.