To consider a report by the Leader of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.
Minutes:
(Note:
Cllr Tony Ferrari indicated at the beginning of the debate that he would not
speak or vote on the report.)
Members considered a report on the Peninsula Regeneration Scheme as a
five part development to contribute to reimagining of Weymouth. The plan had been developed over a number of
years to bring together the regeneration proposal and further reports would be
considered in due course. The report
related to the first of five phases to provide a sustainable self-financing
model which would bring £300k for the Dorset Council in the future.
The Committee spent considerable time discussing the legal remit and
accountability of the Strategic Harbour Authority (SHA), the role of the
Harbour Management Board, and ownership of the peninsula site. It was confirmed that the site would be owned
by the Dorset Council, and it would be responsible for it as the SHA when the
new council was formed, and would therefore be responsible for the future of
the site which would include the potential to exploit funding opportunities to
be ring-fenced for harbour use. It was
also noted that this would include harbour wall repairs and ongoing
maintenance.
A range of views were expressed in relation to the merits and caution
regarding the Regeneration Scheme. Strong support was expressed by a number of
members whilst reassurance was sought by others specifically in relation to the
ongoing delegation of authority to progress actions within the scheme, which
were likely to be different for the new Dorset Council. It was clarified that the delegations would
be adjusted to reflect the delegations put in place by the new authority,
including those where authority would be placed with Executive Portfolios.
A further view was expressed regarding the opportunity cost of the
scheme and whether borrowing the funding to spread across many other areas in
Dorset may have a greater positive impact on communities, and whether this
would create a greater financial and community return on investment. Clarification was provided that the scheme
was self-financing, and had been recognised as acceptable by the Treasury as it
would fund repayment of debt and create a future surplus of £300k.
Clarification was provided by the Interim Monitoring Officer that the
Shadow Executive Committee had been invited to support the decisions that had
already been made by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council which was needed
prior to implementation and if no support was given the Council would not
proceed.
Some views were shared with the Committee about the need for appropriate
gateways to be in place throughout the scheme regarding draw down of finance,
which linked to the delegation arrangements and the evaluation processes that
would be in place. It was noted that
tests were included within the financial risk mitigation part of the report
which required capability to progress to be demonstrated clearly and
robustly. It was further added that the
governance and programme controls would be implicit for the Dorset Council in
taking forward the scheme.
Decision
1. That the decision
of the Weymouth & Portland Borough Council be supported.
2. That the future arrangements regarding delegations be noted, in that they would be updated to fit the accountability and delegation arrangements for Dorset Council from 1 April 2019.
Supporting documents: