Agenda item

The Chairman noted that the report had been brought forward under Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution: Access to Information Procedure Rules, Point 15: General Exception, and Point 16: Special Urgency.

The Portfolio Holder for Area South and the Yeovil Refresh thanked the officers for producing the report at very short notice.  The report asked that the scope of the Yeovil Refresh be changed to enable all stages to be completed except for Wyndham Street.  There was a need for urgent action due to constant price inflation and the works to Wyndham Street would only be paused.  He asked that Members accept the proposal.

The Regeneration Programme Manager said the construction industry was experiencing high levels of inflation caused by many factors.  The pre-tender estimates were based on prices in September 2021 which had subsequently increased, and it was no longer possible to complete all areas of the public realm within the agreed budget. The Programme Board had concluded that in order to secure the project, it must either be reduced in scope or they submit a request for additional funding from the corporate contingency fund.  They had concluded to reduce the scope of the project to allow two remaining contracts to be signed.  This would also allow some work on the issues encountered in the Wyndham Street proposals to be re-worked and a report would be presented to District Executive in August on these proposals.

In response to questions from Members, the Regeneration Programme Manager and the Acting Director for Place and Recovery advised:- 

·         There were a number of highway related issues in Wyndham Street and contract negotiation had not yet taken place so it was possible some costs may be reduced, therefore a request for funding from the corporate contingency fund was not felt appropriate at that point.

·         At the current moment further work was required to specify the funding required to complete the works in Wyndham Street and a report to clarify this would be presented to the Executive in August 2022.

In response to questions from the Scrutiny Committee, the Regeneration Programme Manager and the Acting Director for Place and Recovery advised:- 

·         The impact of delaying the works in Wyndham Street would be minimal as they were scheduled for a later phase.

·         The corporate contingency fund was available as a source of funding and there were Section 106 contributions tied to the Wyndham Street area.  Officers would continue to seek other sources of funding as well.

·         There would always be a risk that costs would escalate for the phases 1 – 4 as contractors said the price of steel was rising but signing the contracts would give the contractors confidence to order materials.

·         Due diligence was undertaken on all significant contracts as standard and the procurement team received a weekly update on the state of the significant suppliers.  In addition the regeneration project accountant had undertaken a thorough analysis of the preferred contractors finances and had produced report to confirm they were solvent and sound.  This was no guarantee of failure as they were national companies but due diligence had been done.

The Vice Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee thanked the Regeneration Programme Manager for answering their questions.  She concluded that one member had expressed concern with the urgent  request, but had concluded that it was sensible to finish as much of the refresh work as possible within the current budget.

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development said it was important that the Wyndham Street part of the project was completed with possible funding from the corporate contingency fund and he welcomed the report to be presented at the August District Executive meeting.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members voiced their support for the project and for the completion of the Wyndham Street part of the project at a later stage.  The recommendations were proposed and seconded and unanimously agreed by Members.