Agenda item

To consider the report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Environment.

A Member commented that the scheme had been subject to a number of cuts, that there appeared to be a lot of bollards and not many trees, and that the two-phase proposal might be more disruptive. The Member also pointed out that the entire scheme was not being presented, and suggested that any change that further reduced greenery should be submitted to the meeting and that further exploration should be undertaken around delivering more greenery. The meeting heard that some technical constraints had prevented further greening (including tree-planting), and that proposals were being submitted at this stage because some work completion deadlines needed to be met, including the placing of orders for materials and labour. Some overlap between the two phases was possible.  

Further designs would be submitted to the Committee in due course.

RESOLVED, That the Sub-Committee

1. Approve delivery of the works in two phases as described in the report (and as shown in Appendix 4);

2. Authorise officers to continue design and engagement work for Area B and utilise the Section 106 budget approved at the previous gateway;

3. Authorise the budget adjustment related to staff costs and fees to be actioned as outlined in Appendix 3;

4. Note the total estimated cost of the project at £2,958,680, with the total estimated cost of Area A Section 278 at £1,508, 680;

5. Authorise transfer of any design & evaluation underspend paid under the 21 Moorfields Section 106 agreement from the previous gateway to the Area A (Section 278) implementation budget;

6. Authorise an increase in scope of the Section 278 works compared to the baseline required through the Section 106 agreement and their implementation, subject to receipt of funds;

7. Agree to delegate the final approval of the design to the Director City Operations in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee, AND: Delegate authority to the Director City Operations, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Streets & Walkways Committee, to permit officers to progress an alternative design should it be required if the outcome of the outstanding surveys does not support the progression of the design in Appendix 5;

8. Authorise a budget setup for implementation of the Area A works at £1,448,680 as set out in section 3 below, subject to receipt of funds;

9. Approve the Risk Register in Appendix 2 and the requested Costed Risk Provision of £50,000; and delegate the drawdown of funds from this register to Executive Director Environment;

10. Delegate authority to the Executive Director Environment to approve budget adjustments, above the existing authority within the project procedures and in consultation with Chamberlains, between budget lines if this is within the approved total project budget amount; and

11. Delegate to the Director City Operations, in consultation with the Chamberlain, authority to further increase or amend the project budgets in the future (above the level of the existing delegated authority) should any increase be fully funded by the Developer.