The meeting was opened with a prayer.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Barnby, Dart, Foster, Hill, Howgate, Loxton, Manning and John Thomas.

To consider the submitted report and recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Further to the Council meeting held on 13 October 2022, Members received the submitted report setting out the further information requested by the Overview and Scrutiny Board in respect of Harbour View and proposals for increasing the Capital Contingency Fund.  The Overview and Scrutiny Board considered the submitted report at its meeting on 25 October 2022 and made recommendations to the Council (as set out in the Board’s draft minutes circulated on 26 October 2022).

Councillor Cowell proposed and Councillor Long seconded a motion, which was agreed by the Council as set out below:

1.            that the capital contingency budget be increased by £1.4 million to a total of £5.4 million to be funded from prudential borrowing, with the allocation of the same to be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Capital Contingency Fund Working Party be approved. In increasing the capital contingency budget Council recognise that the increased costs of schemes may mean that the revised total scheme costs would be outside of the thresholds set for the Economic Growth Fund at the time of approval;

2.            that, an additional £6.6 million, to be funded from prudential borrowing, be allocated to the Harbour View project, and

3.            that the additional ongoing annual cost (approx. £0.6m) for the additional £8 million borrowing in 1 and 2 above be included in future year budgets.

(Note:  Councillors Johns and Pentney left the meeting during consideration of this item.)