Issue - meetings

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement introduced the report and stated that the proposals represented a significant increase in the cost of the capital programme over the next five years. The existing capital programme totalled £130 million, with the proposed affordable housing programme to cost £82 million and the reprovision of leisure facilities to cost in the region of £30 million once the existing contract ended.

The requirement for any capital scheme to be sustainable, through either the returns generated through individual schemes or through revenue budget provisions to pay repay the borrowing undertaken and interest fees generated, were highlighted.

The affordable housing programme was scheduled to take place over a 10-year period, with the £82 million included in the capital programme covering the next five years only.

RESOLVED: That

1.  The Capital Strategy principles, as set out in paragraph 2.6 of the report, be agreed;

2.  The Capital Funding Projection, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be agreed;

3.  The Capital Programme 2022/23 onwards, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report, be agreed; and

4.  In agreeing recommendations two and three above, a prudential borrowing limit of £216.585 million be set over the period of the programme which will be recommended to Council as part of the Treasury Management Strategy 2022/23.

Note: Councillor English left the meeting between 9.24 p.m. and 9.26 p.m. and did not vote on the item.