Agenda item

At its meeting on 29 November 2023, the Executive Committee considered the Tewkesbury Garden Town Programme Delegations and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive to:

i)               prepare bids for external revenue funding to support the delivery of the Garden Town programme;

ii)                accept grants of external revenue funding of up to £50,000 and agree any terms and conditions associated with those awards;

iii)              seek specific Council approval for the acceptance of grants of external revenue funding of over £50,000 and any terms and conditions associated with those awards;

iv)              deploy the revenue resources in line with the funding bids and the Garden Town programme following the Council’s normal procedures for procurement and the appointment of staff;

v)               ensure continued stakeholder engagement related to the programme takes place informed by production of a Tewkesbury Garden Town Charter for subsequent, specific approval by Council in February 2024;

vi)              undertake activities to progress the Garden Town programme, including sourcing potential partner capital funding, whilst seeking specific Council approval for:

·      acceptance of any partner grant for capital works; and

·      acting as lead for delivery of infrastructure elements of the programme where necessary; and

vii)             in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Built Environment, provide quarterly update reports to Council on progress with the Garden Town programme. 

74.7           At its meeting on 29 November 2023, the Executive Committee considered the Tewkesbury Garden Town programme delegations and recommended to Council that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive to prepare bids for external revenue funding to support the delivery of the Garden Town programme; accept grants of external revenue funding of up to £50,000 and agree any terms and conditions associated with those awards; seek specific Council approval for the acceptance of grants of external revenue funding of over £50,000 and any terms and conditions associated with those awards; deploy the revenue resources in line with the funding bids and the Garden Town programme following the Council’s normal procedures for procurement and the appointment of staff; ensure continued stakeholder engagement related to the programme takes place informed by production of a Tewkesbury Garden Town Charter for subsequent, specific approval by Council in February 2024; undertake activities to progress the Garden Town programme, including sourcing potential partner capital funding, whilst seeking specific Council approval for: acceptance of any partner grant for capital works and acting as lead for delivery of infrastructure elements of the programme where necessary; and in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Built Environment, provide quarterly update reports to Council on progress with the Garden Town programme. 

74.8           The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 51.54.

74.9           As Chair of the Executive Committee, the Leader of the Council proposed the recommendation of the Executive Committee and it was seconded by the Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment.  The Leader of the Council indicated that Members would be aware that delegations had been brought back to Council following the gateway review of the Garden Town.  Since that time, a significant amount of work had been undertaken as part of the Council’s new approach, with community engagement at its heart; the Garden Town team was now reporting to a new Executive Director: Place and there was a new governance structure, which gave openness and transparency to the key stakeholders, including the local Parish Councils. Community groups and landowners/developers were also represented via specific liaison groups.  He was pleased to report there had been a huge amount of work undertaken by the team, led by the Chief Executive working closely with the Associate Director: Transformation, and he thanked them for their hard work on this.  The Assurance Board and the Oversight Board had both had their first meetings and the new draft charter outlining Council and community expectations of any new garden communities was now out for consultation.  The Charter was an important part of creating a vision and set of expectations that could be measured against any proposals brought forward by developers.  It was a positive sign of the renewed confidence from Homes England that it had recently awarded the Council £214,000 which would continue funding the project at its current capacity until March 2024.  This recent progress stood the Council in good stead for future funding but, to ensure it was prepared for all outcomes, as Lead Member he had asked that Officers bring a paper to Members setting out the options post-March to debate at that point.  Homes England had recently met with the Garden Town team, senior Officers, the Lead Member for Built Environment and himself as Leader where they had expressed their support and acknowledged the significant positive changes in the project.   The work to build trust and confidence was an ongoing process and he accepted that some Members may have continued concerns about aspects of the project and the challenges around infrastructure and the Council’s housing position.   Those challenges remained but the Council was now on a firmer footing to be able to face them.  Tonight Members were being asked to approve the delegations to the Chief Executive in order that the project could continue to progress.  The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment pointed out that the Garden Town Member Engagement Forum was being held the next evening and would be an opportunity for Members to raise any questions so far regarding the Garden Town.

74.10         A Member noted that the recommendation on the Agenda was slightly different to that outlined in the Executive Committee report and sought clarification on this.  In response, the Chief Executive advised that an additional delegation had been included at the request of the Executive Committee to ensure that specific Council approval was sought for the acceptance of grants of external revenue funding of over £50,000 and any terms and conditions associated with those awards in order for all Members to determine how that was spent and it was now proposed for the quarterly progress reports to Council to be done in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Built Environment.  Another Member drew attention to Page No. 52, Paragraph 1.1 of the report which gave a definition of a Garden Town and he asked where that was taken from as there was no footnote to that effect.  The Leader of the Council confirmed this was the Homes England definition.  In response to a question as to how Members would debate the options paper regarding future financing of the Garden Town and if that would be taken in separate business at Council, the Leader of the Council indicated it was too early to say – all that had been done to date was to request that the options paper be brought forward for Members in order to avoid a situation where funding ran out and there was a risk that the project could not continue.  The Chief Executive explained that work had been undertaken looking at a range of options for further external funding; Members needed to know how it was intended to maintain momentum depending on the level of available funding.  The message from Homes England was positive as it was not awarding funding across the board, only to those projects moving forward at pace, so he did not believe the risk was high; however, it would be remiss not to furnish Members with all options depending on the level of funding available.  The Leader of the Council indicated that he had requested this paper prior to the Homes England meeting and whilst it may not get to that point, it was prudent for Members to have the information necessary to make that decision if necessary.

74.11         Upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED          That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive to:

i)          prepare bids for external revenue funding to support the delivery of the Garden Town programme;

ii)         accept grants of external revenue funding of up to £50,000 and agree any terms and conditions associated with those awards;

iii)       seek specific Council approval for the acceptance of grants of external revenue funding of over £50,000 and any terms and conditions associated with those awards;

iv)       deploy the revenue resources in line with the funding bids and the Garden Town programme following the Council’s normal procedures for procurement and the appointment of staff;

v)         ensure continued stakeholder engagement related to the programme takes place informed by production of a Tewkesbury Garden Town Charter for subsequent, specific approval by Council in February 2024;

vi)       undertake activities to progress the Garden Town programme, including sourcing potential partner capital funding, whilst seeking specific Council approval for:

·        acceptance of any partner grant for capital works; and

·        acting as lead for delivery of infrastructure elements of                                      the programme where necessary; and

vii)   in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Built Environment, provide quarterly update reports to Council on progress with the Garden Town programme.