Agenda item

To update on the progress of the Canal Project, to reaffirm the support of the Council for the project as accountable body, and to allocate an additional resource towards the project.

The Canal Project Manager announced that since writing the report they had been awarded the Institute of Civil Engineers award for the Ocean Bridge and that it was due to be renamed the Jubilee Bridge. The Committee extended their congratulations to the whole team. The Canal Project Manager highlighted key information contained within the report including:

·         The restoration of the canal would bring significant economic, environmental and community benefits to the local area.

·         The project budget was set in early 2020 prior to the start of the Covid Pandemic and was based on a completion date of the end of 2024.

·         Following the first lockdown in May 2020 a Covid Impact Assessment was drafted which stated that the situation could change if there were further impacts of Covid-19.

·         There had been an impact on both project delivery and costs.

·         Rising inflation had impacted energy costs and the cost and availability of materials. Costs had been outlined in Appendix A.

·         A gap of approximately £10m had been identified.

·         They were applying for £2.2m from National Highways and between £2m and £2.5m from the National Lottery Covid Fund.

·         The remaining funds would be made up from other partners, fundraising and the sale of materials.

·         If the Committee agreed to additional funding it would not be drawn down until after full Permission to Start was awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In response to Councillor Hurst it was confirmed that there would be a significant amount of soil and clay removed which would be sold on for projects, they had already received requests from contractors for the materials and have provided quotations. The Canal Project Manager advised that the materials may be exchanged with a contractor for reduced rates.

Councillor Pearson asked how many people were employed by the Council on the project team. The Canal Project Manager advised that there was 17.3fte accounted for within the budget and that the main reason for the cost increase was due to extension of contracts for 13 months.

The Strategic Director of Resources confirmed in response to Councillor Craig that if the additional £1m wasn’t used then it would remain in the council reserve.

Councillor Laurie Davies raised concerns regarding allocating a £1m during a cost-of-living crisis and asked whether there would be other projects that would require capital spend. The Strategic Director of Resources advised that there were a few largescale Capital Projects including Brimscombe Port but they were not seeking any additional funding for those projects at this time. He also confirmed that there were other projects within the HRA programme however these projects would not be eligible to use this fund as it was held within the General Fund not HRA. He further confirmed that there were not any currently identified Capital Schemes around the cost-of-living-crisis that the fund could be used on.

Councillor Stephen Davies stated that the lottery bid confirmed that the Councils ambition was to get from the Severn to the Thames and asked for this to be confirmed to the Lottery as the Canal Strategy didn’t include the statement. The Canal Project Manager confirmed that it was a wider aim of the Cotswold Canal Trust and they were discussing the vision with all of the councils along the canal to see what the position was.

Councillor Pearcy asked that the proposal to put a group together to consider ongoing costs was implemented to ensure that they keep within the parameters of the revised budget. The Canal Project Manager confirmed that they were looking at where cost savings and efficiencies could be made. Councillor Pearcy requested that the Committee had ongoing visibility of how the project was being managed financially and the schedule. The Chair confirmed that regular updates would be brought to the Committee.

Proposed by Councillor Braun and seconded by Councillor Pearson.

Councillor Pearson advised that he would continue to support the Canal project knowing that it would be monitored closely.

Councillor Stephen Davies offered support for the project and stated that it had real potential to provide benefits to communities within the district.

Councillor Turner confirmed that the additional funding was vital to deliver an extremely strategically important project.

The project was further endorsed by Councillor Cornell, Ross, Hurst, Pearcy, Craig, Bennett and Braun.

Councillor Laurie Davies advised that she understood the benefits that the Canal would bring to the district however advised that she was unable to vote in favour of additional funding during the difficult time.

On being put to the vote, the Motion was carried with 11 votes in favour and 1 against.