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Crawley Innovation Centre - Draft Towns Fund Business Case

Meeting: 02/02/2022 - Cabinet (Item 12)

12 Crawley Innovation Centre - Draft Towns Fund Business Case

Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

 

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

 

To consider report PES/395 of the Head of Economy and Planning, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 31 January 2022.

Additional documents:

Decision:

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RESOLVED

 

That Cabinet, subject to confirmation of approval by the Coast to Capital LEP Board of £8.4 million of Getting Building Fund monies for the Crawley Innovation Centre project,

 

a)         approves the Towns Fund business case for the Crawley Innovation Centre project (Appendix A) of report PES/395, and

 

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to

 

              i.          to make any technical modifications required to the wording and content of the business case.

 

             ii.          to produce a summary version of the business case and to submit that summary version to the government.

 

 

That Full Council be recommended to approve the following items:

 

a)         the addition of a new capital scheme to the capital programme for the Innovation Centre of £8.4m funded from the Getting Building Fund (subject to LEP board approval).

 

b)         to increase the capital programme budget for the Innovation Centre by £900,000 of Towns Fund monies subject to a viable business case that satisfies the s151 officer being received on the revenue financial implications to the Council of the project and receipt of approval from Government.

 

c)         to allocate £1.6 million of Towns Fund revenue funding to the Crawley Innovation Centre project subject to a viable business case and receipt of Government funding.

 

d)         to authorise the Council’s S151 Officer to request the Local Enterprise Partnership’s powers of flexibility in order to ensure the Getting Building Fund (GBF) monies are defrayed in 2021-22 in accordance with the LEP’s requirements by spending any residual GBF monies on the new Town Hall capital scheme and then rolling forward the equivalent sum from the Town Hall scheme into 2022-23 to ensure delivery of Crawley Innovation Centre project”.

 

Reasons for the Recommendations

 

To enable the Council to finalise and confirm approval of the business case for £2.5 million of Towns Fund monies to be allocated to the Crawley Innovation Centre project, as co-financing alongside the £8.4 million of Getting Building Fund monies from the Coast to Capital LEP.

 

To enable the Council to submit a summary version of the business case to the government in order to confirm that the project has been approved by the Council.

 

To enable the allocation of £900,000 of Towns Fund monies to the CBC capital programme, subject to:

 

·         LEP approval of the Getting Building Fund monies;

·         Full Council approval

·         The viability of the business case satisfying the Council’s s151 officer

 

To enable the allocation of £1.6 million of revenue finances from the Towns Fund to the Crawley Innovation Centre project.

 

In order to roll forward Getting Building Fund finances into next year to ensure delivery of the Crawley Innovation Centre project.

Minutes:

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

 

The Cabinet considered reports PES/395 and PES/398 of the Head of Economy and Planning.  The original report (PES/395) documented the draft business case seeking Towns Fund monies for the Crawley Innovation Centre project, following endorsement and support for the project from the Crawley Town Deal Board and sought Cabinet approval for the Towns Fund business case for the Crawley Innovation Centre and for a summary version to be submitted to the government. 

 

The supplementary report (PES/398) included revision to a figures contained inthe recommendations and also added a further recommendation, which was proposed in order to be able to roll forward Getting Building Fund finances into next year to ensure delivery of the Crawley Innovation Centre project.

 

Councillor Khan presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 31 January 2022, which included Commission’s support for the Innovation Centre’s business case.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That Cabinet, subject to confirmation of approval by the Coast to Capital LEP Board of £8.4 million of Getting Building Fund monies for the Crawley Innovation Centre project,

 

a)         approves the Towns Fund business case for the Crawley Innovation Centre project (Appendix A) of report PES/395, and

 

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to

 

              i.          make any technical modifications required to the wording and content of the business case.

 

             ii.          produce a summary version of the business case and to submit that summary version to the government.

 

 

That the Full Council be recommended to approve the following items:

 

a)         the addition of a new capital scheme to the capital programme for the Innovation Centre of £8.4m funded from the Getting Building Fund (subject to LEP board approval).

 

b)         to increase the capital programme budget for the Innovation Centre by £900,000 of Towns Fund monies subject to a viable business case that satisfies the s151 officer being received on the revenue financial implications to the Council of the project and receipt of approval from Government.

 

c)         to allocate £1.6 million of Towns Fund revenue funding to the Crawley Innovation Centre project subject to a viable business case and receipt of Government funding.

 

d)         to authorise the Council’s S151 Officer to request the Local Enterprise Partnership’s powers of flexibility in order to ensure the Getting Building Fund (GBF) monies are defrayed in 2021-22 in accordance with the LEP’s requirements by spending any residual GBF monies on the new Town Hall capital scheme and then rolling forward the equivalent sum from the Town Hall scheme into 2022-23 to ensure delivery of Crawley Innovation Centre project”.

 

 

Reasons for the Recommendations

 

To enable the Council to finalise and confirm approval of the business case for £2.5 million of Towns Fund monies to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12


Meeting: 31/01/2022 - Overview and Scrutiny Commission (Item 9)

9 Crawley Innovation Centre - Draft Towns Fund Business Case

Exempt Paragraph 3

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

 

To consider report PES/395 of the Head of Economy and Planning.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Exempt Paragraph 3

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

 

The Commission considered report PES/395 of the Head of Economy and Planning.  The report presented the draft business case seeking Towns Fund monies for the Crawley Innovation Centre project, following endorsement and support for the project from the Crawley Town Deal Board and sought Cabinet approval for the Towns Fund business case for the Crawley Innovation Centre and for a summary version to be submitted to the government.

 

The Commission was advised of 3 amendments to the recommendations set out in section 2.2 of the report:

 

The Cabinet is recommended to

 

1)    amend the following wording of recommendation 2.2 and in recommendation 2.2(d) as follows:

 

Amend ‘£8.6 million’ to read ‘£8.4 million’

 

2)    add the following recommendation to Crawley Innovation Centre – Draft Towns Fund Business Case FIN/395 before consideration of the report:

 

2.2(g)         “‘Authorise the Council’s S151 Officer to request the Local Enterprise Partnership’s powers of flexibility in order to ensure the Getting Building Fund (GBF) monies are defrayed in 2021-22 in accordance with the LEP’s requirements by spending any residual GBF monies on the new Town Hall capital scheme and then rolling forward the equivalent sum from the Town Hall scheme into 2022-23 to ensure delivery of Crawley Innovation Centre project”.

 

The Reason for Recommendation was further amended and a supplementary agenda would be published to document the changes.

 

During the discussion with the Head of Economy and Planning, the following comments were made:

·         Recognition that the option proposed enabled the Council to acquire a suitable property should one become available to enable delivery of the Crawley Innovation Centre project.

·         Acknowledgement that the option proposed enabled the Council to deliver on opportunities, whilst protecting, consolidating and enhancing economic diversity.

·         There was overall support for the proposal which was poised to play a key and interesting role in delivering on aspirations, investment and future needs within the town.

 

RESOLVED

That the Commission noted the report, amendments, additional recommendation and requested that the views expressed during the debate, were fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission’s Comment sheet.