Meeting documents

Members are reminded of the need to consider whether they have a disclosable pecuniary, prejudicial or other (personal) interest to declare in any items on this agenda.  Details of any interest must be declared at the start of the meeting or as soon as any interest becomes apparent during the meeting.  The attached form must also be completed. Any advice required should ideally be sought before the day of the meeting.

Councillor Maw declared a personal interest in agenda item 7, Changing Places toilet expansion, in his capacity as Chief Officer of an organisation which was a member of the Yorkshire Coast and Ryedale Disability Forum.

Councillor Donohue-Moncrieff declared a personal interest in agenda item 7, Changing Places toilet expansion, in her capacity as one of the Council representatives on the Yorkshire Coast and Ryedale Disability Forum.

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no public questions.

To review the Cabinet’s Forward Plan (reference 22/239) attached.

The Cabinet considered the Forward Plan (Reference 22/239). 

RESOLVED that the Forward Plan be approved.

To receive an oral report by the Interim Chief Executive.

Members were advised that there had been no call-ins of executive decisions since the last meeting on 18 October.

To consider the report of the Interim Chief Executive (reference 22/237) attached

The Cabinet considered a report by the Interim Chief Executive (Reference 22/237) in respect of works proposed to Scarborough’s West Pier.  Members were advised that regular survey work had identified repairs required to the steel sheet piling of the inner harbour section of the West Pier.  Over the 35 years or so since construction, the piles had suffered corrosion as a result of the harsh salt water environment and a phenomenon known as accelerated low water corrosion.  In anticipation that a major structural repair would be needed in the near future the Council had been increasing the amount of funding in harbour reserves ready for this moment.  The strengthening work was expected to extend the life of this key Council asset by a further ten years and would prevent the need to place additional weight restrictions on the inner harbour pier whilst safeguarding the pier’s buildings.  The budget for the works included a sizeable contingency in light of the adverse marine environment and high rates of inflation within the construction industry.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1.    Approves that a capital budget of £1.35m be established to undertake works to extend the life of the Pier, funded as follows: £900k from Scarborough Harbour Reserves, £150k from a capital budget previously earmarked for Scarborough Piers and £300k from the capital Infrastructure budget identified in the 2022 Financial Strategy

2.    Approves procurement of a design and build contractor from the YORcivil Framework using a two stage procurement process, and provides authority to enter into contract with the contractor offering the most economically advantageous tender.

Reasons

The sheet pile wall supports the inner harbour and any subsequent failure of the structure will significantly impact upon harbour operations. 

The works set out in this report safeguard the harbour facilities and in particular extend the life of the structure.

To consider the report of the Director (PT) (reference 22/238) attached

The Cabinet considered a report by the Director (PT) (Reference 22/238) in respect of the proposed expansion of Changing Places toilet facilities in the Borough.  The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Randerson welcomed this report which in accordance with the Council’s Public Convenience Strategy sought to increase the number of Changing Places toilet facilities to meet the needs of users with profound disabilities.  The schemes in each of the Borough’s three resort towns were part funded by Government grant and a reallocation of the Council’s budget for playground repairs owing to the fact that a number of play areas in Filey were being replaced in their entirety.  Members commended the report noting how these schemes would help address some of the barriers which prevented disabled people participating in society and noting the significant value too of disabled people visitor spend.  In reply to Members’ questions, the Head of Operations, Transport and Countryside Services commented how the Council had worked with local disability organisations to ensure access arrangements were appropriate – passcode on a keypad disseminated through the national Changing Places scheme – but these arrangements would be subject to monitoring and review.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1.    Accepts the £160,000 grant from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

2.    Approves the transfer of £120,000 from the Better Places budget to enable delivery of the project.

3.    Approves exemptions to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules to allow the Council to procure the works required to deliver the Changing Places facilities at Whitby, Scarborough and Filey within this financial year;

4.    Delegates authority to the Director (PT) to enter into the contracts to purchase a modular Changing Places building for Whitby with associated groundworks and the construction of two Changing Places spaces in Filey and Scarborough respectively.

Reasons

Accepting the recommendations will facilitate the creation of three changing places toilets in Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. All three sites should be open for April 2023; once commissioned they will significantly increase provision in the Borough’s most visited locations.

Private and Confidential Appendices

The reports in this section of the agenda have been written so that as much as possible can be discussed in public but it may become necessary to discuss the appendix and therefore the following motion will be considered:

"that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (and subject to consideration of the public interest under Paragraph 10 of Part 2 of Schedule 12A of the Act) the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information (as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act), namely information;

(a) relating to any individual;

(b) which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual; and/or

(c) relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)".

The Chairman noted that the remaining item on the agenda included private and confidential appendices which might necessitate moving into private session should Members wish to discuss the sensitive information therein.  In the event, the item was considered in public.

To consider the report of the Director (RB) (reference 22/232) attached

The Cabinet considered a report by the Director (RB) (Reference 22/232) in respect of the proposed establishment of a Joint Venture limited liability partnership to enable the development of good quality and environmentally sustainable affordable homes in the Borough.  Introducing the report, the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Maw extended his thanks to all involved in bringing this significant piece of work to approval stage which would help address the acute shortage of quality and sustainable affordable housing in the Borough.  The Chair, Councillor Colling echoed this commendation noting the involvement of members from across the Council through both overview and scrutiny and the Audit Committee in shaping the proposals in the report, and the briefings provided to members on the project by the Council’s external legal advisers, Pinsent Masons.  The Project Director, Mr Bradley too expressed his gratitude to all involved noting how the report represented the culmination of two years of detailed and complex work with the extensive involvement of members throughout in agreeing the strategic objectives of the project, undertaking a strategic options appraisal to identify the preferred delivery model (corporate Joint Venture limited liability partnership), commencing a competitive dialogue procurement exercise to identify a private sector entity with whom to form a strategic development partnership, and the in principle approval of the disposal of eight Council owned sites to the Joint Venture.  The Better Homes Programme Manager, Ms Jackson then presented the detail of the report: the compelling case for change; the strategic alignment of the project not only with the Council’s Corporate Plan but with wider sub-regional and county wide plans including the York & North Yorkshire devolution priorities around housing and carbon net zero/negative, York, North Yorkshire & East Riding Strategic Housing Partnership Review 2021-23, and the emerging draft Housing Strategy of the new North Yorkshire Council; how the preferred bidder, Lovell Partnerships Limited’s proposed solution met the Council’s requirements and aspirations; the operation of the partnership model including how future sites may be drawn down and how the Borough Council and successor authority may re-invest all or part of its development returns into the delivery of additional affordable homes; the procurement objectives and process; the financial and legal implications, critically the requirement for the approval of North Yorkshire County Council to proceed in accordance with Section 24 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007; and how the project had been designed specifically with local government reorganisation in mind to give the successor authority an additional tool to deliver affordable housing without losing momentum in this endeavour; and finally, the risks involved in terms of procurement, inaction, and entering into the Joint Venture partnership.  Other Cabinet members then commented and asked questions about the report.  In the ensuing discussion, it was pointed out that 100% affordable housing was not financially viable on all sites because of land values; however the cross-subsidy and mixed tenure offered through the Joint Venture partnership model would optimise the level of investment in affordable housing, notably on smaller sites,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.