Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain and the Director or Open Spaces.

The Group Accountant introduced a report of the Chamberlain, updating the Committee on Epping Forest’s latest approved revenue budget for 2014/15 and seeking approval for a provisional revenue budget for 2015/16. She added that the recommendation authorising the Chamberlain, in consultation with the Director of Open Spaces, to revise the proposed budgets would be subject to any revisions not exceeding £50,000.

The Superintendent of Epping Forest went on to outline the context of the proposed revenue budget in relation to the City Corporation’s Service Based Reviews, noting that he was required to factor in significant budget reductions of £492,000 over the coming three years. Efforts to achieve this target ranged from applying to The City Bridge Trust for further education-related funding; commercialising the grant of wayleaves; more proactive asset and fleet management; and the introduction of charges for guided walks and educational visits. Other measures included the adoption of a forthcoming Retail Strategy, a Lodge Residency Strategy, car parking charges, and sponsorship.

In response to a question from a Verderer, the Epping Forest Business Manager noted that the £102,000 reduction in the Local Risk repairs and maintenance budget was misleading given that the budget which was reserved for improvement works was reverting to its normal level following an exceptional item of expenditure in 2014/15. The Director of Open Spaces added that the remaining figure did not include the amounts spent of repairs and maintenance separately by the City Surveyor’s Department provided in Table 2. The Verderer responded that he was seeking industry standard indices to determine whether  spend on repairs and maintenance was appropriate.

In response to a question from a Verderer, the Superintendent noted that officers from the Department of the Built Environment would be reporting to the Committee in January 2015 on the proposals for Baldwin’s & Birch Hall Park (Deer Sanctuary) Ponds projects, and that costs would form part of that report.

RESOLVED, that Members:

·         Agree that the provisional 2015/16 revenue budget meets the Committee’s objectives, and that it be submitted to the Finance Committee;

·         Approve the draft Capital budget;

·         Authorise the Chamberlain, in consultation with the Director of Open Spaces, to revise these budgets to allow for any further implications arising from Corporate Projects, departmental reorganisations and other reviews, and changes to the Additional Works Programme, subject to any revisions not exceeding £50,000;

·         Agree that should additional service based review proposals to in addition to those within the report are requested by another Committee, that the substitution of other suitable proposals for a corresponding amount is delegated to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. If the substituted saving is not considered straightforward in nature, then the Town Clerk shall also consult with the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Policy and Resources Committee prior to approving alternative proposals.