For information: To receive the Quarter 4, Year 2023/2024 progress report for the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and endorse any amendments to the programmes of work as necessary.
Minutes:
The Partnership considered a report which provided an update on progress and spend for the remaining programmes included as part of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal as of Quarter 4, 2023/2024. Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance, Oxfordshire County Council introduced the report to the meeting and highlighted the following matters:
· The Housing from Infrastructure, (HfI) Grant and Housing and Growth Deal Net Capacity Fund remained.
· Oxfordshire County Council was the responsible and accountable body for the two remaining programmes. It was also responsible under the terms of the agreement signed with HM Government in 2022 for taking all decisions on the allocation of the remaining HfI grant funding, in consultation with other partners. It also held all the risk associated with the programme.
HfI expenditure as of the Quarter 4 was £20.5m, taking overall spend up to £86.5m.
· To utilise all the remaining grant budget, a further £56.3m would need to be spent during the 2024/2025 financial year. Due to this tight deadline, HfI funding had been prioritised towards schemes entering the construction phase that could meet the deadline and which had other sources of funding that could be utilised after the deadline.
· The overall HfI programme remained over profiled by £1.6m against available grant funding with the aim of maximising the use of funding by the deadline.
· Paragraphs 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of the report set out details in respect of ongoing schemes under construction or where construction contracts had been agreed. A correction was noted to para 3.2.3 in that construction for Abingdon Lodge Hill was anticipated to begin in October 2024 and Steventon lights in October 2024.
· It was important that the remaining schemes entered the construction phase as soon as possible.
· Other funding sources including S106 funds would be utilised to complete schemes beyond March 2025.
· Remining recycled funds were £26.2m which had to be utilised before the final £30m of grant funding could be requests which meant the allocation would need to be claimed retrospectively.
· A planning decision on the Watlington Relief Road scheme was expected later in 2024, potentially in October or November. Work was ongoing to assess the impact of this on the Housing and Growth deal funding and the ongoing deliverability of the scheme, considering the need to maximise use of grant funding by March 2025.
· An update on schemes that would be funded from the Housing and Growth Deal element would be included in the Quarter 1, 2024/2025 report to the Partnership.
· The total original Housing and Growth Deal Net Capacity budget had been £5m. Up to Quarter 4 spend in 2023/2024 had been £115,000 with a total of £1.2m of the budget remaining. It was expected that this budget would be nearly completely utilised if all of the anticipated business cases for use of the funds were agreed.
The Chair referred to the representation submitted from Shirburn Parish Council in respect of the Watlington Relief Road, (WRR). Kevin Jacob responded that the letter referred back to a question asked by the parish council to the Scrutiny Panel and also expressed concerns about the relief road scheme relating to the planning application and appointment of contractors. He suggested that a written response be given.
RESOLVED: That the financial position of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal as at Quarter 4 2023/2024 be noted.
Supporting documents:
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Vale of White Horse District Council
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