Agenda item

Consider report by Acting Chief Financial Officer. (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Acting Chief Financial Officer which sought approval for the proposed individual projects and programmes within the various block allocations in the 2023/24 Capital Financial Plan.  Appendices A-R to the report contained proposals for various projects to be allocated from the block allocations.  Those overall block allocations were approved in the 2023/24 Capital Financial Plan at the meeting of Scottish Borders Council on 23 February 2023.   Not all projects had been fully identified at the point of production of the report and as and when this information was available this would be brought to the Committee for consideration as part of the quarterly monitoring reports.   In response to a question regarding electric vehicle charging points, the Acting Chief Financial Officer, Mrs Suzy Douglas, undertook to contact the appropriate service to discuss the proposed locations of points and update members.  In response to a question regarding the proposed spend on Council HQ, the Director – Infrastructure and Environment explained that the proposed works included refurbishment, upgrading the Council Chamber, EV charger installations, and further blended meeting room provision amongst other improvements.  Regarding the merits of undertaking £136k of proposed works to Lowood lodge, the Director and the Chief Executive provided assurance that the works were required to bring the building in to a habitable state as a consequence of damp problems, and were essential to preserve the value of the building.  With regards to play parks, more projects than outlined in the report would be undertaken due to agreements made at a national level.  In response to a question regarding the level of detail provided on the proposed Roads & Bridges allocation, the Director – Infrastructure and Environment outlined that works which were planned 3 years into the future had been shared with Members, and that the full details of the planned works had been held back to allow for the plans to be presented in a more professional form, including using correct road names in place of colloquial or local names.  In response to a question regarding the inconsistent Wi-Fi connections in schools, the Chief Executive provided assurance that there should be no issue with students being connected to the Wi-Fi in any building of the school estate, and that all of the school buildings had been surveyed and no issues had been detected.  Regarding Appendix G to the report, the Director confirmed that the works related to the expansion of facilities to allow the provision of free school meals to a greater number of students.  The Director undertook to investigate whether the works to upgrade windows at Chirnside Primary School involved all of the windows.   Members agreed to defer the decision on approving the works to Peebles swimming pool as it would be discussed in detail later in the meeting. Follow extensive discussion regarding the proposed works to upgrade Council Headquarters, it was agreed that a report would be produced which outlined all of the works to be undertaken, and the benefits which would be realised from the planned spend.  

DECISION

AGREED to approve:-

(a)     the block allocation breakdowns as contained in Appendices A-R to the report, with exception of:

(i)      the £480k Council HQ Building Upgrade Works, which was deferred to allow the production of a strategy report outlining the details and benefits of the proposed spend; and

(ii)     the £500k Peebles Swimming Pool Roofing Upgrade, which was deferred for consideration later in the meeting. 

(b)       the re-allocation of available budget in the Health and Safety Works Block to the Building Upgrades Block of £63k; and

(c)        a timing movement of £440k from 2023/24 to 2024/25 in the Play Areas and Outdoor Community Spaces Block.