Agenda item

Colin Knight presented a report which sought £31.6 million of WMCA Devolution Deal funding to help deliver the city centre infrastructure programme. He advised that the investment would contribute to the delivery of the five strategic packages and prepare the city for City of Culture 2021. He explained that the majority of the works were planned to be delivered by the end of 2020 ahead of UK City of Culture 2021 and that it was crucial that the funding was secured as soon as possible to enable programme certainty and for construction to commence.

He reported that the City Centre First programme consisted of five strategic packages of public realm and infrastructure works that were currently at a variety of design and development and delivery stages. In order to deliver the majority of works by 2021, which was a key programme objective, scheme development and procurement was intended to continue in parallel to the Full Business Case going through the WMCA’s assurance process, so that if funding was secured successfully the schemes would be ‘shovel ready’ for construction to commence in summer 2019. In accordance with a request from the Technical Appraisal Panel (TAP) details of the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) for each scheme were detailed in an appendix to the report.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle reported that the £31.6 million had been approved previously by the WMCA for schemes in Coventry and that the request was a change control of funds of £11.6 million and an additional £20 million to be re-allocated from the Walsgrave and Binley development schemes. This was necessary as at the time of the original allocation the city had not been awarded the City of Culture status. The proposals were linked to a number of key strategic aims of the WMCA.

The Chair sought an Assurance that funding for the Walsgrave development would not be the subject of a further request to the Board. Colin Knight confirmed that the Binley development would now be funded by Highways England and that work on the funding for the Walsgrave development was the subject of discussions with both Midlands Connect and Highways England. He confirmed that there were no proposals to seek further funding from the WMCA for that development. Councillor Jim O’Boyle reminded the Board of the benefits the proposals would bring to the West Midlands metropolitan area and Warwickshire and the contribution to the WMCA SEP outcomes.

Councillor Robert Hulland enquired as impact on the overall Investment Programme of the request. Linda Horne reminded the Board that it received regular updates on the position with the Investment Programme and that as with any allocation it would affect the amount of finance available for other schemes. The £20 million was a re-allocation of funding scheduled to be drawn down in 2022.

Nick Abell commented that schemes linked to either the Commonwealth Games and the City of Culture had a time limited opportunity to benefit and, on that basis, he supported the proposal. He reminded the Board of other instances in which it had exercised its powers in a flexible manner.

The Chair sought confirmation that the proposal had been considered by the Investment Advisory Group. Sukhy Dhanoa confirmed that the matter had been considered by the Investment Advisory Group and the Technical Appraisal Panel. It had also been endorsed by the Senior Leadership Team. The Chair asked whether it fulfilled the change control criteria. Linda Horne confirmed this to be the case.

Councillor Tristan Chatfield referred to the appendix to the report and suggested that the comments with regard to ‘Inclusive Growth’ needed to be strengthened. Colin Knight explained that the City Council was working closely with the Culture Trust and was looking at the design and re-purposing of the city centre. He assured the Board that ‘Inclusive Growth’ was an integral part of this work and embedded in all aspects of the Council’s work. He advised that the measures contained within the monitoring and evaluation framework would be more specific on this issue.

Gary Taylor advised that given the time constraints he supported the proposal but, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the report, he was unsure that any contingency funding not required should be used to extend the quality and extent of the works. Colin Knight acknowledged that this was not normal practice but was an opportunity to maximise the benefits. In response to a question from the Chair, he confirmed that alternative sources of funding for public realm works were being investigated.

Resolved:

That the WMCA Board be recommended to approve the allocation of £31.6 million Devolution Deal funding to Coventry City Centre First City of Culture programme, including a change control of funds of £11.6 million from previously approved schemes and an additional £20 million which was to be moved from the Walsgrave and Binley development schemes.