To receive questions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 33.
1. Question from Councillor David Turner to Councillor Lynn Lloyd, Cabinet member for Community Services
Residents of Didcot have contacted the local ward councillor, Councillor Mocky Khan, to understand where the £100k worth of works for The Wave was spent as they could not see any improvements apart from new shower heads. Can the Leader explain where the £100k was spent, which company / contractor did the work, was it value for money and are there procedures in place to check quality?
2. Question from Councillor David Turner to Councillor Tony Harbour, Cabinet member for Didcot Garden Town
Will the Cabinet member please provide an update setting out what funding is currently available to secure the infrastructure needed to support the Didcot Garden Town project? What progress has been made in the last 4 months? Is the expansion of Didcot being delayed and if so is this harming the reputation of this council?
Minutes:
A. Question from Councillor David Turner to Councillor Lynn Lloyd, Cabinet member for Community Services
Residents of Didcot have contacted the local ward councillor, Councillor Mocky Khan, to understand where the £100,000 worth of works for The Wave was spent as they could not see any improvements apart from new shower heads. Can the Cabinet member explain where the £100,000 was spent, which company / contractor did the work, was it value for money and are there procedures in place to check quality?
Answer
Councillor Lloyd responded that the majority of works were undertaken in areas that are not in the public domain or associated with major plant or building structure that effect the continued functionality of The Wave rather than necessarily the overall appearance (refurbishment of roof gullies and drains to prevent water leaking into the gym, replacement of guttering around the building and new air conditioning units).
Given the specialist nature of the works it has been necessary to procure a number of individual contractors to provide the works required.
The quality and the standards of the works has been managed by the leisure facilities team.
She offered to meet Councillor Khan to provide him with more detail on the individual projects.
B. Question from Councillor David Turner to Councillor Tony Harbour, Cabinet member for Didcot Garden Town
Will the Cabinet member please provide an update setting out what funding is currently available to secure the infrastructure needed to support the Didcot Garden Town project? What progress has been made in the last 4 months? Is the expansion of Didcot being delayed and if so is this harming the reputation of this council?
Answer
Councillor Harbour responded as follows:
“A substantial amount
of revenue grant funding has already been received from the
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to develop
projects included in the Garden Town Delivery Plan.
Additionally, a £6.2 million capital grant has recently been
received to help fund Phase 3 of the Didcot Northern Perimeter
Road, delivery of the road is a county council responsibility, and
our Officers are currently in discussions with county council
officers to produce a funding agreement that will enable the work
to commence as soon as possible.
At the same time, senior council officers have worked with
colleagues across Oxfordshire to secure the prioritisation of
several Didcot Garden Town infrastructure projects within the list
of projects included in the Oxfordshire Growth Deal. In
partnership with Oxfordshire County Council and the Growth Board,
we have also applied for a £250 million grant from the
Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund to support Didcot Garden
Town linked infrastructure.
I can therefore confirm that, in the last four months, we have done
everything possible to secure sufficient funding to support the
Didcot Garden Town project and that a considerable amount of
progress has been made.
I can also categorically confirm that the expansion of Didcot is
not being delayed, it is a long term agenda and the funding and
partnerships needed to achieve it will need to grow and sustain
over many years – the short termism and lack of appreciation
of these facts, amply illustrated by the question, remains the most
serious risk to the Garden Town project.
Didcot has never been in better position to secure the
infrastructure investment needed to support the Town's future
growth in a sustainable way that benefits all of its resident, and
I am committed to working with all partners, particularly the
county council, to secure the funding required to deliver
this.
Given there is no delay, and Central Government are recognising the
progress we are making far from harming the reputation of this
council, the effort put into developing realistic plans for Didcot
as part of the long term Garden Town project have in fact greatly
enhanced the reputation of the Council and has put us in a much
better position to secure more infrastructure funding - not just
for Didcot, but for the district as a whole."
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