CABINET
Minutes of a meeting held on 5th
November, 2008.
Present: Councillor G.C. Kemp
(Chairman); Councillor T.H. Jarvie (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. J.E. Charles, P. Church, G.A. Cox, A.M. Ernest, A.D. Hampton,
H.J.W. James, R.L. Traherne and Mrs. D.M. Turner.
C208
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 22nd October, 2008 be approved as a correct
record.
C209
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
Councillors A.D. Hampton, R.L. Traherne,
H.J.W. James and Mrs. J.E. Charles declared prejudicial interests
in Agenda Item No. 9, 'Council Tax - Unoccupied Dwellings' in that
they each made use of this provision. Each Member vacated the
room whilst this item was under consideration.
Councillors G.C. Kemp, T.H. Jarvie and G.A.
Cox declared a non-prejudicial interest in Agenda Item No. 12 in
that they were Governors of Cowbridge Comprehensive School.
C210
VOLUNTARY ACTION SCHEME PRIORITIES FOR FUNDING 2009/10 (REF)
-
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee,
on 15th October, 2008, were advised of the arrangements
and priorities for funding in 2009/10 which were considered by the
Committee on 22nd July, 2008 and approved by Cabinet on
1st October, 2008. As part of the mechanism for
consideration of applications it was the practice of the Committee
to seek the views of various Council partnerships appropriate to
the applications. Some of the partnerships had revised their
priorities in line with the new strategies for April 2008 for
example the Children and Young People's Plan 2008/11; the Health,
Social Care and Wellbeing Strategy 2008/11. The new key
themes in these Plans provided the priorities for the Council's
work in 2009/10. It was appropriate that the Council funded
the voluntary sector projects which met these priorities and which
furthered the work which would benefit Vale residents under the key
themes. The partnership co-ordinators had proposed that
prospective applicants for funding made contact with the most
appropriate co-ordinators prior to completing their
application. This would help the applicants to apply for
funding for projects inline with the Council's key priorities for
funding. It would ensure that the Council funded projects
from the scheme which were in keeping with its 2009/10 key themes
to develop services.
The Voluntary Sector were concerned that the
closing date for the receipt of applications under the scheme in
December would leave too little time for organisations to receive
confirmation about future funding. It was suggested that a
closing date for applications of 21st November, 2008
would be welcomed. Following receipt of applications under
the scheme it was usual practice for a working group comprising
Members of the Committee, officers and representatives of the
voluntary sector to prioritise applications and report these to
Committee as soon as possible. If the process did not start
until December it could be well into January before voluntary
sector organisations would know whether or not their application
under the scheme had been successful.
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee
had
AGREED -
(1) T H A
T Cabinet be requested to approve the priorities for funding
2009/10 as amended in line with the new strategies.
(2) T H A
T the Working Group for the consideration of applications received
under the Voluntary Action Scheme comprise of the Chairman and
Vice-Chairman of the Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee,
appropriate officers and representatives of the voluntary
sector.
Cabinet, having considered the views of the
Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee,
RESOLVED - T H A T the views of the Voluntary
Sector Joint Liaison Committee be endorsed.
C211
SOCIAL CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (REF) -
On 15th October, 2008, the
Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee were advised that Social
Care Workforce Development Partnerships (SCWDP) were established in
each local authority area following the Welsh Assembly Government
guidelines and had a responsibility for developing and producing
annual training and development plans for all staff employed in
social care, irrespective of whether they worked in the voluntary,
statutory or private sectors.
A sub group of the Vale Providers Forum - The
Social Care Workforce Development Sub-Group - had been very
proactive with bi-monthly meetings to ensure plans and objectives
were delivered, reviewed or adjusted. Membership of this
group was made up of the Local Authorities Social Services Training
Manager and Workforce Development Officer, three representatives
from the private sector (Residential, Nursing and Domiciliary),
three representatives from the voluntary sector and two staff from
Barry College. The Local Authority Workforce Development Team
worked closely with the Commissioning Team. Workforce
development was reported as an area of strength with many examples
of good practice in the 2006 Vale of Glamorgan Social Services
Joint Review. The Partnership had been working with key
partners for two years to develop and pilot a new work-based
learning pathway as a way to address the need to attract young
people into jobs and careers in social care.
Members of the Partnership had been part of a
Care Council for Wales National Steering Group for the project and
following agreement with the NAfW and the Care Council for Wales,
the local further education provider in the Vale (Barry College)
would be commencing the pilot in September 2008. The new
award programme would be based on the Welsh Baccalaureate and an
NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care. The five terms would
include a series of placements that gave a wider range of
experience in social care that would assist successful students to
look to the job market with confidence in obtaining early
employment in the sector.
The Operational Manager for Corporate Policy
and Communications indicated that information about the Social Care
Workforce Development initiative would be a good news item for Vale
Waves which would reach all households. In addition it was
proposed that an article would also be submitted to local
newspapers via the Council's Communications Team.
The Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee
had
AGREED - T H A T the report be referred to
Cabinet with a request for endorsement of the excellent cross
agency work that had been achieved.
Cabinet, having considered the views of the
Voluntary Sector Joint Liaison Committee,
RESOLVED - T H A T the views of the Voluntary
Sector Joint Liaison Committee be endorsed.
C212
TIDY TOWNS GRANT EXPENDITURE 2008/09 (DEER) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
Agreement was sought for the allocation of the
Tidy Towns Grant for 2008/09.
WAG notification of the award of the Grant had
been received on 6th August, 2008 with the initial
payment of £55,257.50 made in September 2008. The remaining
2008/09 allocation of £55,257.50 was to be made before the end of
the financial year.
To ensure that the Tidy Towns funding was
spent in accordance with WAG grant conditions and to provide
maximum benefit to the Council and its community partners, the
management of the grant would be carried out by a Tidy Towns
Steering Group comprising Council Officers, representatives of Keep
Wales Tidy and community groups.
The priority works identified by the Steering
Group for the first year of the Tidy Towns initiative were as
follows:
|
WORK
|
DETAIL
|
|
1. Cleansing of
litter hotspots
|
(i) Cleansing of
high profile sites identified by residents deemed to be unsuitable
for volunteers.
(ii)
Specialist cleansing equipment to clean difficult hard
surfaces.
|
|
2. Environmental
Improvements
|
(i) Community
Groups support to carry out environmental work to improve a
neglected area.
(ii)
Improvement works including planting and landscaping.
(iii)
Access improvements or other amenity improvements.
|
|
3. Transformation
of neglected areas and larger scale enhancement projects
|
(i) Transformation
of existing areas into valuable community areas.
(ii)
Creation of community gardens.
(iii)
Habitat/biodiversity enhancements.
|
|
4. Waste
amenities
|
(i) Provision of
Refuse Collection Vehicles in pre-selected locations for
householders to deliver household items.
(ii)
Payment of specialist contractor to collect and dispose of
household hazardous waste.
|
|
5. Provide
financial support for community groups
|
(i) Provide small
grants to community groups for the purchase of equipment and hire
of skips.
(ii)
Capacity to cover costs of volunteer expenses, room hire, publicity
material etc.
|
|
6. Involvement of
disengaged young people
|
(i) Provision of
PPE paint and equipment for Youth Offending's 'Visible Crew'.
(ii)
Work with schools to clean up in and around school premises.
|
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the proposals for spending
the 2008/09 Tidy Towns Grant allocation be endorsed.
Reason for decision
To ensure that Cabinet are in agreement with
the 'Tidy Towns' work planned for 2008/09.
C213
PRECEPT PAYMENT DATES 2009-10 (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES) -
Approval was sought for the precept payment
dates for 2009-10.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T payments due to the South Wales Police Authority be paid in 12
equal instalments on the last working day of each month.
(2) T H A
T payment due to Town and Community Councils be paid in 3 equal
instalments on the last working days of April, August and December
2009.
Reasons for decisions
(1-2) The dates are
determined to optimise the Council's cash flow in line with the
regulations. The Council was required to determine its
precept payment dates each year and inform the authorities
concerned in line with the regulations.
C214
COUNCIL TAX UNOCCUPIED DWELLINGS (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES) -
Approval was sought of the policy to be
adopted for Council Tax on unoccupied dwellings for 2009/10.
A billing authority may decide to give a
discount of between 10% and 50% on unoccupied, furnished
dwellings.
The regulations allow authorities to reduce or
discontinue the 50% discount on dwellings which were unoccupied and
substantially unfurnished and had been for more than six
months.
The Welsh Regulations prescribed three classes
of dwellings for which Welsh Local Authorities would have
discretion to consider the discounts allowable:
Unoccupied furnished
dwellings
The regulations prescribed two classes of
unoccupied and furnished dwellings for which Welsh Local
Authorities would have discretion to consider the discounts
allowable of between 10% and 50%:
·
Class A related to dwellings with a restriction on occupancy by law
which prohibits their use for a period of at least 28 consecutive
days in any 12 month period.
·
Class B related to dwellings that have no such restriction on
occupancy.
Unoccupied unfurnished
dwellings
The regulations prescribed a class of
unoccupied and unfurnished dwellings for which Welsh Local
Authorities would have discretion to consider the discounts
allowable up to a maximum of 50%:
·
Class C related to long term (more than six months) unoccupied and
substantially unfurnished dwellings.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T 50% discount be allowed in
2009/10 in respect of Class A, B and C dwellings.
Reason for decision
The Council is required to determine its
policy on discount on unoccupied dwellings each year.
C215
TRANSFER OF UNHYPOTHECATED SUPPORTED BORROWING INTO THE HOUSING
REVENUE ACCOUNT 2009/2010 (DFICTP) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES)
-
Endorsement was sought for the Director of
Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with the Cabinet Member
responsible for finance, to use delegated powers to transfer
£450,000 Unhypothecated Supported Borrowing (USB) from the General
Capital Funding (GCF) allocation for 2009/2010 to the Housing
Revenue Account allowing for support via Housing Revenue Account
(HRA) subsidy.
The General Fund Disabled Facilities Grant
(DFG) budget of £1.5 million provided grant to both Council and
privately owned properties. Previously the DFG budget had
been part funded by the Housing Capital Programme to the sum of
£240,000 per annum with the remainder being met from the General
Capital Fund. The General Capital Fund was, in turn funded by
Supported Borrowing along with other resources.
Because DFG works formed part of the Welsh
Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), £450,000 of the DFG budget had
been incorporated into the latest Housing Business Plan as forming
part of the Housing Capital Programme for 2009/2010 and successive
years, consequently any corresponding Supported Borrowing should
also be transferred.
Cabinet, on 13th February, 2008,
agreed that the Director of Finance, ICT and Property, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member responsible for finance, be
given delegated authority to transfer supported borrowing between
General Fund and the Housing Capital Budget as appropriate.
This recommendation was subsequently approved by Council on
20th February, 2008.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the transfer of £450,000
from the General Capital Funding supported borrowing allocation of
£6,151,000 for 2009/2010 to the Housing Revenue Account be
approved, in order to meet the Assembly deadline of 18th
November, 2008.
Reason for decision
The transfer of £450,000 from General Capital
Fund to the Housing Revenue Account will support the latest Housing
Revenue Account Business Plan which was submitted to the Assembly
in April 2008.
C216
GTCW REGISTRATION FEE - REQUEST FROM NASUWT (DLD) (SCRUTINY -
LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Cabinet considered an application from the
NASUWT that the Council fund the £12 additional GTCW registration
fee for each teacher, following the increase in Wales.
Currently, teachers receive an allowance of
£33 in their pay award to cover the costs of registration to the
General Teaching Council (GTC) in England and General Teaching
Council in Wales (GTCW).
GTCW increased the fee to £45 in Wales
effective from April 2008. There was no increase in England
and the national pay award had not been amended to reflect the
increase in Wales.
The Minister of DCELLS agreed to the proposed
increase with teachers expected to meet the shortfall of
£12.
The Council currently paid registration fees
for staff where professional registration was required.
The increase in GTCW fee had been agreed on
the understanding that the shortfall would be funded by
teachers.
A recent survey had identified that within
Wales, 19 authorities had decided they would not fund the
shortfall, with responses not having been received from two other
authorities.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the request of NASUWT to pay the £12 shortfall in GTCW fee be
refused.
(2) T H A
T the Council make representations to the Welsh Assembly Government
to fund the shortfall, possibly through increasing the teacher's
pay increase.
(3) T H A
T the position be reviewed following receipt of a response from
WAG.
Reasons for decisions
(1-3) To maintain
consistency with other Welsh authorities and to avoid incurring
associated costs for the Council.
C217
COWBRIDGE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL RE-DEVELOPMENT: ENABLING WORKS (DLD)
(SCRUTINY - LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Approval was sought to undertake enabling
works at Cowbridge Comprehensive in order to facilitate the
development of the school.
It was hoped that the planning application for
Cowbridge Comprehensive School redevelopment would be presented to
the Planning Committee on 13th November, 2008.
The Council's design team were currently
finalising two delivery options. The recommended option was
to deliver the new school as a single project within an estimated
budget of £21.5 million. As an alternative, there was the
option of phased delivery of the project with the first phase being
delivered within an estimated budget of £16.5 million.
Irrespective of which option was approved by
the Council there were a number of key enabling packages common to
both options, which would accelerate delivery of the redeveloped
school and ensure improved cost effectiveness.
The estimated cost of the enabling works was
up to £500,000. The works included:
·
purchase and erection of temporary sports hall
·
mobilisation of site accommodation and safety hoarding
·
access arrangements from Aberthin Road for the new bus bay and the
creation of access for the main contractors compound
·
provision of Multi Use Games Areas
·
provision of permanent bus drop off/pick up.
Prior to the planning application being
approved, a number of minor enabling works costing up to £25,000
maximum had been scheduled for the end of October/beginning of
November. These minor works would facilitate the larger
enabling works package. They included ensuring safe access
across the school site.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the enabling works be
approved, including:
·
purchase and erection of temporary sports hall
·
mobilisation of site accommodation and safety hoarding
·
access arrangements from Aberthin Road for the new bus bay and the
creation of access for the main contractors compound
·
provision of Multi Use Games Areas
·
provision of permanent bus drop off/pick up.
Reason for decision
To ensure the Cowbridge School redevelopment
is delivered as quickly and therefore as cost effectively as
possible.
C218
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SOCIAL SERVICES (DSS AND DFICTP) (SCRUTINY -
SOCIAL CARE AND HEALTH) -
Endorsement was sought for proposals to
improve further resource management practice in the Social Services
Directorate.
Improvements had been made in managing
resources in the Social Services Directorate which were felt to be
of great credit to the staff who had been engaged in bringing about
the changes. It was reported, however, that there was still
much work to be done, i.e.
·
As yet, budget setting procedures and budgetary control were not
operating as well as intended in some parts of Adult Services.
·
In respect of longer-term financial planning, the Directorate did
not understand service needs and demand well enough to predict the
implications for service delivery or required budget savings of
£2million year on year in circumstances where demand was
increasing. Unless a better understanding was developed, the
anticipated savings were likely to result in client groups not
receiving the service to which they were entitled and which the
Council wished to provide or to the budget overspends or to
misdirected savings which ran counter to the Council's long-term
policy objectives.
·
The Council needed to pursue as vigorously as possible a policy for
moving to new forms of care and support that promoted independence
and care in the community. This programme had started with
the development of different services models such as telecare,
extra care and reablement but the pace of change must be
increased.
It was proposed, therefore, that the Social
Services Directorate and the Directorate of Finance, ICT and
Property would work together on a programme of work to ensure
that:
·
future budgets were allocated across client groups to reflect more
closely Council priorities
·
budget allocation and saving decisions take into account
legislative requirements for client groups and information about
need and demand
·
options for longer term structural changes to the pattern of
resource allocation are identified.
This programme would involve:
·
comparing the spend on social services in the Vale of Glamorgan
with comparator local authorities in Wales
·
reviewing the balance of funding from various client groups to find
further evidence about whether the budget for the Directorate was
allocated in a fair, sustainable and efficient way across all the
Social Services functions and service users categories
·
developing commissioning strategies in respect of services for
older people, for people with a learning disability and for people
with physical disabilities and sensory impairment
·
assisting moves away from spot purchasing to block contracts,
volume discounts and service level agreements
·
providing additional capacity and financial expertise to help in
the programme of service reconfiguration and to model the impact of
increasing demand for social care
·
supplying the financial information needed to underpin any changes
proposed in the structure of fieldwork services
·
building upon the current multi-disciplinary teams in Learning
Disability and Mental Health to develop a cost effective and more
integrated approach to service delivery with partners (including
joint commissioning and pooled budgets)
·
ensuring that all spending pressures are accurately reflected in
the Medium Term Financial Plan and in service plans
·
linking budgets to levels of service activity through the business
planning process
·
ensuring service monitoring reports link both finance and service
performance, to determine the reasons for financial variations.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the proposals for further work by the Social Services Directorate
and the Finance, ICT and Property Directorate to improve resource
management in social care services be approved.
(2) T H A
T Cabinet receive regular update reports on the progress made with
this programme of work, as part of its role in monitoring the
Change Plan for Social Services.
(3) T H A
T the Director of Social Services and the Director of Finance, ICT
and Property submit further reports on those areas requiring
Executive decisions with recommendations for change, timescales and
the action needed to pursue the changes.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that Social Services meet the corporate responsibility to
provide best value in the provision of social care services and
deliver efficiency savings, without adverse effects upon service
users and their carers which can be avoided.
(2) To
enable Cabinet to exercise effective oversight of the
programme.
(3) To
deal with the policy implications that may emerge from the
programme of work.
C219
MATTER WHICH THE CHAIRMAN HAD DECIDED WAS URGENT -
RESOLVED - T H A T the following matter which
the Chairman had decided was urgent for the reason indicated be
considered.
C220
SICKNESS ABSENCE TARGETS - APRIL 2008 - MARCH 2009 (DFICTP)
(SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES)
Urgent by reason of the need to
determine sickness absence targets for the current financial
year
Cabinet received a report which provided
provisional sickness absence targets for the current financial year
for application throughout the Council.
In accordance with the resolution of the
Cabinet, the Corporate Management Team through the Management of
Absence Steering Group had identified provisional targets which
were set out within Appendix A to the report. The overall
target for 2008/09 was to reduce sickness absence by 10% of 2007/08
actual. The targets had been calculated on the basis of the
available data for the last financial year and Quarter 1 of this
year, with an allowance to reflect seasonal variations commensurate
with absence outturns in previous years. For Directors
Offices which were not included within individual service plans a
nominal target of 5 days was proposed.
There had been a number of establishment
restructuring exercises which did not wholly impact on 2007/2008
and so it had not been possible to make a valid comparison between
the 2007/08 Actual and 2008/09 Target. For example, the Chief
Executive took over responsibility for the YOS and additional
services were transferred to the Call Centre within Customer
Relations.
The projected figures for short and long term
for 2008/09 had been based on the 2008/09 target pro-rata'd on the
basis of the 2007/08 actual. Because of the establishment
restructure and other factors this split was indicative at present
and would be revised as the year progressed.
Actual performances against target would be
monitored throughout the year by Departmental Management
Teams. Quarterly reports would be presented to Cabinet and
Scrutiny Committee showing progress against target and the actual
breakdown over short and long term absences.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
Having considered the report, Members were of
the view that the methodology as proposed did not, in all cases,
require a reduction in the sickness absence target, and it was
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the sickness absence targets be set at 10% below last years
overall figure.
(2) T H A
T the report be referred to Scrutiny Committee (Corporate
Resources) for comments.
C221
BARRY HERITAGE RAILWAY PROJECT (DEER) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES AND ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet received a report which:
-
advised of the results of the marketing exercise carried out to
find a new operator for the Barry Heritage Railway Project
-
Recommended that the proposals submitted by Cambrian Transport
Ltd., as the preferred bidder, be approved and appropriate lease
arrangements put in place.
-
Recommended that the separate proposals submitted previously by
Traditional Traction Ltd. for the use of the small Drop Wheel Shed
building on the Barry Railway Centre site be approved and lease
arrangements put in place.
-
Recommended that no further sponsorship funding be provided to the
Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company and that their request for
additional funding be refused for the reasons set out in the
report.
Cabinet, in December 2007, had resolved
that:
(1) That
delegate authority be granted to the Director of Environmental and
Economic Regeneration, in consultation with the Director of
Finance, ICT and Property, and with the agreement of the Leader of
the Council and the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Tourism and
Leisure to develop and approve arrangements in respect of the
proposals contained within the report. Such proposals being
to:
(a) Lease
the Heritage Skills Training Centre and associated track, under
terms to be agreed, to the Breco Group for the purpose of providing
a restoration/rail/heritage training facility providing appropriate
NVQ courses.
(b) Lease
some office space and the main Hood Road Goods Shed storage space
at the Hood Road Goods Shed, under terms to be agreed, to the Breco
Group.
(c)
Lease the BRD Drop Wheel Shed building and the BRD Mess Building to
the VRGC acting on behalf of themselves and the Traditional
Traction/D9521 Group and Barry Railcar project Groups.
Cabinet, on 5th March, 2008 had
agreed:
(1) That
the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration, in
consultation with the Director of Finance, ICT and Property and the
Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing, market the
opportunity to run the Heritage Railway at Barry on the basis of
the terms contained in the Draft Service Plan attached to this
report.
(2) That
officers prepare a further report to Cabinet indicating the results
of this exercise.
(3) That
officers meet with the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company to explain
the proposals and to request a current report on their financial
and trading position and that officers indicate that the Council
are willing to allow the Company to continue its events through the
2008 Summer season whilst the marketing operation is
undertaken.
The Heads of Terms for the lease to the Breco
Group had been agreed and, subject to agreement by the Welsh
Assembly Government, this business could shortly start
operating. Some interim arrangements for track access had
been agreed over the previous few months to enable Breco to start
its business and meet training needs.
It had not proven possible to take forward
element (c) of the December 2007 resolutions as the bidding
consortium relating to that element had not managed to produce a
sufficiently robust Business Case to support lease options.
However, Traditional Traction had indicated it would still like to
progress the matter on its own and discussions with officers had
continued over the past few months. Traditional Traction was
a company formed for this purpose and had three Directors all with
heritage rail links. Mr. Steve Madge was an engineer and
engine owner, Mr. Martin Nixon was an IT specialist and engine
owner and Mr. Andrew Goodman was an National Railway Museum
benefactor, custodian of the MRM mainline steam engine 'City of
Truro' and engine owner and Managing Director of Moveright
International, a haulage firm that in 1998 had been responsible for
movement of George Stephenson's 'Rocket' steam locomotive from the
Science Museum, London, to Japan where it formed part of an
exhibition. The company were prepared to enter into a simple
lease agreement and pay an agreed rental for the use of this small
shed. Their operation could be seen to support the business
proposals put forward by Cambrian Transport Ltd. and the Breco
scheme.
The marketing in respect of the operation of
the Heritage Railway was carried out over the summer with a tender
deadline of 26th September, 2008. Six parties
requested information relating to the operation of the railway but
only three bids were received as follows:
(a) Barry
Railway Company. A consortium bid submitted on behalf of
Barry Railway Ltd., the Barry Diesel Group, Barry Railcar Project,
Barry Railway Engineering, Barry Railway Signalling.
Traditional Traction with the Barry and Penarth Model Railway Club
as an associated group.
(b)
Newco. A bid from Mr. Thompson and Mr. Lee who were two
businessmen with heritage railway and commercial interests.
(c)
Cambrian Transport Limited. A commercial company with
heritage interests. The Director of Cambrian Transport
Limited is Mr. John Buxton who had also set up the Breco
organisation mentioned earlier in the report.
Evaluation of the bids submitted had been
undertaken, based upon the questions posed through the tender
documentation. It had become apparent that the Newco bid had
failed to meet the requirements of the bid guidance, and having not
provided the business case required, it was agreed that their bid
was invalid.
The bid by the Barry Railway Company on behalf
of its consortium members did meet the requirements for information
and proposals. The bids sought to utilise the main shed at
the Barry Railway Centre for commercial purposes with the intention
that any profits would be utilised to fund the larger operation of
heritage events and services. Their bid developed the vision
as set out in the 2002 Connor Report with the aim of providing
museum and café uses at Barry Island but assured public sector
support for such future developments. Their bid also made
assumptions that the Council would, in addition to a peppercorn
lease arrangement, continue to meet service costs and rates over
the first three years of operation reducing in percentage terms
until year 6 of the operation. The bid also assumed that a
loan would be made available to cover insurance costs over year 1
and meet any relocation costs associated with moving the Barry Ten
engines from the Depot to the Plymouth Road Shed. Given the
lack of revenue funding available to meet such assumptions, the
lack of depth in respect of the experience of the Group in
operating a railway and concerns over the viability of the
financial plans put forward by the Group it was agreed that this
bid would not meet the Council's requirements.
A Cambrian Transport Limited bid involved a
very strong team in respect of railway procurement, training and
operational experience. Their bid did not require any
financial support from the Council and put forward proposals for
investment of close to a million pounds in the project over the
first eight years of their Business Plan. The bid made
provisions to extend the track through to the Docks Office and took
forward proposals for a Welsh National Railway Museum based around
the Plymouth Road Goods Shed. It also assumed that
appropriate bids might be made to the various funding bodies in
support of the Museum element but did not rely on any funding
support for the proposed services and events nor the extension of
track proposed. Cambrian had indicated a willingness to work
with a number of the existing volunteers and had made provision to
accommodate some of their activities in the plan. However,
such agreements had yet to be validated and Cambrian had confirmed
that their operations were not dependent upon such
support.
Cambrian had also made the assumption that a
20 year lease would be given at a peppercorn rent and that there
would be no restrictions, other than the standard planning and
legal ones, on the complementary commercial uses they
proposed. It also proposed to take control of the future of
the remaining Barry 10 engines and they set out proposals to
restore some of the ten at Barry as part of partnership
arrangements with other societies and groups.
It appeared that the Cambrian Transport
Limited group was the superior bid with regard to previous
experience, proposals and funding and the Directors had indicated
that they were willing to work alongside the Breco and Traditional
Traction proposals.
The Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company had
continued to struggle this year to make ends meet given the recent
downturn in the economy and the fact that visitor numbers to the
railway had not improved this year. A request for further
revenue support funding to run events up until Christmas had
recently been received but, given the need to move quickly to
accommodate the new operator, it was felt that further funding
which might only extend the occupation of the Vale of Glamorgan
Railway Company in the buildings, would be counterproductive and
would be contrary to the wishes set out by Cabinet in March 2008
that revenue funding of this project should no longer
continue.
Members were advised that officers wished to
give further advice, on the tender process, the details of which
fell into Part II.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to prepare, complete and execute the necessary lease to
Cambrian Transport Limited upon such terms and conditions as they
deem appropriate and subject to the agreement of the Welsh Assembly
Government under the provisions of the various Short Form
Acquisition Agreements relating to the land. Such terms to be
agreed in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for
Economic Development and Regeneration.
(2) T H A
T the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to prepare, complete and execute the necessary lease to
Traditional Traction Limited for the use of Drop Wheel Shed at the
Barry Railway Centre upon such terms and conditions as they deem
appropriate and subject to the agreement of the Welsh Assembly
Government under the provision of the various Short Form
Acquisition Agreements relating to the land. Such terms to be
agreed in consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Member for
Economic Development and Regeneration.
(3) T H A
T no further sponsorship funding be provided to the Vale of
Glamorgan Railway Company and that their request for additional
funding be refused.
(4) T H A
T the Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration advise
the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company of the Cabinet's decision and
that the Director of Finance, ICT and Property in consultation with
the Director of Legal, Public Protection and Housing Services be
authorised to prepare, complete and serve the necessary notices on
the existing operators to enable the change over of operators in
support of the Heritage Railway project to take place.
Reasons for decisions
(1-4) To support the
development of a wider base of heritage and commercially based
activity on the Barry Railway Centre site in support of the Steam
Railway Project.
C222
EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC -
RESOLVED - T H A T under Section 100A(4) of
the Local Government Act 1972 the press and 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 4 Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act, the relevant
paragraphs of the Schedule being referred to in brackets after the
minute heading.
C223
BARRY HERITAGE RAILWAY PROJECT (DEER) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES AND ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) (EXEMPT INFORMATION -
PARAGRAPH 14) -
Officers advised of correspondence received
from two unsuccessful tenderers concerning the tender assessment
process, and provided Cabinet with an overview of the process, and
the reasons why the bids did not meet the Council's
requirements.
RESOLVED - T H A T the information provided be
noted.
Reason for decision
To advise Cabinet.