Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all those in attendance to the meeting, including partners and members of the public participating via YouTube.

Apologies for absence were received from Deputy James Thomson. Apologies for lateness were received from Alderman & Sheriff Alison Gowman.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 27 April 2022.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 27 April 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Matters Arising

The Board resolved a vote of thanks to Alderman & Sheriff Alison Gowman for serving as Deputy Chair of the BHE Board and the Grants Committee from January 2022 to April 2022, also paying tribute to her commitment to the charity and considerable expertise on City Bridge Trust and BHE matters.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Board received a list of outstanding actions for July 2022 and noted the updates provided.

RESOLVED – That the list of outstanding actions be noted.

Report of the Managing Director of Bridge House Estates (BHE)

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing an update on key areas of activity across the whole charity since the Board last met in April 2022 and outlining upcoming activities for the Board to note. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the key points, including the positive performance of the visitor attraction at Tower Bridge. The Board was reminded that a training session on the City Bridge Trust (CBT) grant application and assessment processes would precede the September Board meeting.

The Chair advised that he would seek expressions of interest from Members for their participation in workshops to take forward the Brand Positioning Project following the meeting, adding that part of the Board’s Strategic Away Half-Day would be allocated to this work.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, in the discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (charity no. 1035628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Endorse the approach and next steps to the Brand Positioning Project as outlined;

ii)             Agree that the Chair shall seek expressions of interest or nominations from the Board to support with the next phase of the Brand Positioning Project through their participation in a series of workshops; and,

iii)           Note the further contents of the report.

Report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth

The Board considered a report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth reporting the progress of Climate Action Strategy (CAS) actions at Quarter 4 of Year 1 in relation to BHE activities, summarising the plans for the upcoming year and requesting confirmation of funding needed for implementation. The Executive Director of Innovation and Growth introduced the report, presenting the CAS update and drawing Members’ attention to the key points. The very ambitious approach of BHE was highlighted.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, in discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (Charity no. 10345628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Note the progress made in year 1 of the CAS programme as of Q4 results;

ii)             Note the overall achievement of the targets remains on track;

iii)           Note a total budget of £442,000 is required for the year 2 revenue expenditure requirements in the 22/23 financial year. £319,000 has been included in the 22/23 BHE budget, including £153,000 carried forward from 2021/22; and,

iv)           Approve the additional £123,000 of revenue funding for 22/23 from CAS contingency funds (funded by the CAS designated fund) to ensure adequate resources for planned work for BHE.

Report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director

The Board received a report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director providing a financial update on BHE activities to 31 May 2022.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director

The Board received a report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director providing the BHE Board with an update on the BHE Central Contingency balances held for 2022/23 and providing detail of new requests being made against these balances.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, in discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (charity reg. no. 1035628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Note the BHE Contingency budgets currently held for 2022/23; and,

ii)             Note that £123,000 is requested from the CAS Contingency Fund, presented in Item 6 on the agenda to enable delivery of the revised Year 2 Programme.

Report of the Executive Director of Environment

The Board considered a report of the Executive Director of Environment regarding the parapet refurbishment and repainting of Blackfriars Bridge. The Chair thanked officers for facilitating an interesting site visit, which had illustrated the significant detail involved in a highly-skilled project on this Victorian bridge, and encouraged other Members to visit the site. The Executive Director of Environment then introduced the report, outlining the key points for Members and providing an update on the project. The Executive Director of Environment confirmed that an open invitation was extended to Members for site visits.

In response to a question from a Member, the Executive Director of Environment advised that inflationary pressures had been factored into the proposals, with Costed Risk Provision also requested to cover specific additional risks. The Executive Director of Environment confirmed that officers were confident that the work could be completed within the budget range. A Member suggested that the work could be filmed for promotional purposes and published online. The Executive Director of Environment responded that this had been considered, but would be challenging due to the nature of the work. However, officers would explore the best way to document and demonstrate the project. The Chair endorsed this and suggested that other promotional work for the projects and bridges be considered, such as a time capsule.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board:

i.              Note the £415,892 saving made in the Value Engineering process;

ii.             Approve the increase to value of the Costed Risk Provision by £200,000 to allow for changes in the law, the full impact of which is still being quantified;

iii.            Approve the replacement of the existing Navigation Lights be added to the scope of the project, increasing the expected project cost by £50,000 (funding identified in the existing 50-year BHE Bridges Maintenance Plan budget); and

Report of the City Surveyor and the Managing Director of BHE

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor and the Managing Director of BHE regarding the refurbishment of the High Voltage (HV) and Low Voltage (LV) electrical infrastructure at Tower Bridge and increasing its power resilience (i.e., the secondary source of power in the event of a power failure).

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Environment

The Board received a report of the Executive Director of Environment regarding the weekday timed closure (7am – 7pm, except buses and cycles) on Bishopsgate and Gracechurch Street to prevent their use as a through route for general traffic. The Board noted that the Experimental Traffic Order could have an impact on traffic across and around Tower Bridge and London Bridge, and that BHE could feed into the ongoing consultation in the usual way and as necessary to ensure the charity’s interests are represented.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted as relevant to the Board’s terms of reference.

To note the draft public minutes and draft non-public summary of the Grants Committee of the BHE Board meeting held on 20 June 2022.

RESOLVED – That the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Grants Committee of the BHE Board meeting on 20 June 2022 be noted.

The Board congratulated Deputy Nighat Qureishi on her appointment as Deputy Chair of the Committee, before the Deputy Chair of the Board advised that Board Members were welcome to attend Committee meetings.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE requesting funding of £5 million to be awarded to London Legal Support Trust (LLST) [charity no: 1101906] over five years towards onward grant making under the Advice Skills Development Fund (ASDF) and towards the process of co-designing a funding programme, including overall administration costs of both activities (co-design and onward grant making) The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and presented the application.

The Board was advised that the Grants Committee of the BHE Board had agreed to recommend a grant of £6 million to the Board for approval, rather than the £5 million originally recommended by officers, having concluded that this would be of substantive benefit. The Deputy Chair explained that the original application request had been for £7.5 million, with a £5million grant having been initially recommended by officers. However, the Grants Committee assessed the structure of the grant and the administrative costs and had concluded that an extra £1 million would facilitate £5 million in distribution of actual grant-funding.

A Member voiced their concern regarding proportionality, and the sustainability of awarding sums of this size. Another Member sought clarification as to whether the grant would leverage additional funding from the rest of the sector. The Managing Director of BHE responded that the proposal was one part of the wider Alliance programme for which an allocation of £15 million of funding had been agreed, with this proposal being the largest grant over the longest period, and the amount per year therefore within the expected range. The Managing Director of BHE added that it had been communicated that the Alliance partnerships were one-off programmes, but were likely to leverage funding from elsewhere as part of the Collaborative Action Recovery (CAR) work.

In response to a question from

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Board considered a report presenting for approval to the BHE Board the proposed Terms of Reference of the Investment Working Group (IWG), as endorsed by the IWG. The Chair introduced the Item and congratulated Deputy Henry Pollard on his appointment as Chair of the IWG. The Board was advised that the IWG wanted BHE to demonstrate leadership in green and impact investing, and that funding was available should consultancy be required on investment matters.

A Member commented that the relationship with the wider City Corporation would be important in this area. The Board noted that representatives from relevant areas of the wider organisation would be invited to work with the IWG as necessary, and that it was hoped substantive recommendations could be brought to the Board before March 2023.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, in the discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (charity no. 1035628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Agree the BHE Investment Working Group Terms of Reference as set out at Appendix 1; and

ii)             Note the proposed direction of travel to be adopted for the revised Investment Strategy Statement (ISS).

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor summarising the progress of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) & Net Zero Carbon Action Plan for the Investment Property Portfolio.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board:

i.              Note the progress made with surveys, green leases and the recruitment of resource in support of the CAS Investment Property Group (IPG) project plan; and

ii.             Note the intended recruitment under officer delegated authority, in accordance with the budget already approved, of Capital Project Management Resource to ensure smooth progress of a pipeline of projects to achieve Energy Performance Certificate Grade B and “Carbon Net Zero”.

There was no other business.

MOTION – With the Court of Common Council for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (Charity No. 1035628) having decided to treat these meetings as though Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 applied to them, it now be moved that the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that their consideration will in each case disclose exempt information of the description in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A, being information relating to the financial and business affairs of any person (including the City Corporation as Trustee of the charity) which it would not be in the charity’s best interests to disclose.

RESOLVED – That with the Court of Common Council for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (Charity No. 1035628) having decided to treat these meetings as though Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 applied to them, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that their consideration will in each case disclose exempt information of the description in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A, being information relating to the financial and business affairs of any person (including the City Corporation as Trustee of the charity) which it would not be in the charity’s best interests to disclose.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2022.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Report of the BHE Chief Operating Officer

The Board considered a report of the BHE Chief Operating Officer.

Report of the Comptroller & City Solicitor

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

Report of the Director of Tower Bridge

The Board received a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

To note the draft non-public minutes of the Grants Committee of the BHE Board meeting held on 20 June 2022.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the Grants Committee of the BHE Board meeting on 20 June be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Board considered a report of the Chamberlain.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Board received a report of the Chamberlain.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board considered a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board considered a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board considered a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board considered a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the City Surveyor

The Board received a report of the City Surveyor.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk.

There were two items of other business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2022.

RESOLVED – That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2022 be agreed as a correct record.