Declarations of interest:
None
Officers:
Jane Lovett, Honorary
Treasurer, Hampshire County Council
James Taylor, Strategic
Manager, Basingstoke Canal
Key
points raised during the discussion:
1.
The Honorary Treasurer introduced the report and
provided members with a brief summary. It was highlighted that
overall the current forecast showed that the Canal would need to
make a draw from its reserves of £94,000 rather than the
planned balanced budget. Members noted that the budget produced for
2020/21 suggested a draw on reserves of £36,000 which related
to tree works which were being rescheduled from 2018/19. Members
were pleased to hear of a £30,000 saving in the budget
resulting from the good performance of the Local Government Pension
Scheme (LGPS) fund which had led to
past pension costs now being fully funded. They agreed to use the
saving in the budget for the next three years to fund a part-time
Canal Project Officer on a three-year fixed term contract. The
position will be reviewed in three years’ time and hopefully
the saving can at that point be permanently repurposed. Members
noted that currently staff did not have the capacity to fully
support the capital programme and the potential campsite scheme
therefore the proposed post would help address the staffing aspect
of the delays in delivering the capital programme. Officers
concluded by stating that the overall finances of the Canal were
currently acceptable but that it would become more strained going
forward. There was ongoing work to find alternative sources of
income which would be essential to relieve some of the
pressure.
- A
representative from Fleet Town Council raised concerns that Surrey
Heath Borough Council and Runnymede Borough Council were not
contributing the full amount to the funding formula. The
representative from Surrey Heath explained that this was a long
standing issue and that there was an appetite at Surrey Heath
Borough Council to support the Canal in the best way it could. It
was stated that the upcoming General Election was restricting the
amount of work being done but that it was likely a meeting to
discuss the situation would take place with Surrey Heath
Councillors in the new year.
- In
regards to A3/19 of the previous
meeting, Members noted that the Leader of
Surrey Heath Borough Council had not yet responded to an invitation
to visit the Canal Centre. The Committee agreed to resend the
invitation as an email and include Cllr Paul Deach and Cllr Sarah
Jane Croke.
- Members noted that Scotland Bridge car park had not been
refurbished yet and had remained on the capital programme for some
time. Officers informed the Committee that this was due to the lack
of staff resource already noted, but highlighted that once the car
park was operational there would be an opportunity to implement
parking charges for its use as previous agreed. Officers noted that
Runnymede Borough Council had offered to pay for parking meters to
implement parking charges which would more than make up for the
shortfall in their contribution.
- Members also questioned whether Surrey County Council would be
paying the rental income from the houseboats and canal cottages to
the Canal Partnership in future. Richard Parkinson, Environment
Delivery Group Manager, Surrey County Council, highlighted that,
due to Surrey County Council’s financial situation, the
income accumulated from the canal estate would likely only be
allocated to the Canal Partnership to replace the County
Council’s current contribution and not in addition to it.
This way the Canal Partnership would have more control over how the
canal estate generated income. Officers also noted that a decision
was required as the matter had been outstanding for some
time. The Committee requested that
confirmation be provided on this before the next meeting. Various
members of the Committee expressed concern that Surrey County
Council had no justification to receive the revenue that the Canal
generated. The Chairman highlighted that the Canal relied on the
goodwill of councils to contribute funding and that it was not a
statutory duty.
- Members of the committee stressed the importance of investing in
incoming generating opportunities for the Canal.
Actions/ further information to be provided:
-
In regards to A3/19 of the
previous meeting, Members noted that the
Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council had not yet responded to an
invitation to visit the Canal Centre. The Committee agreed to
resend the invitation as an email and include Cllr Paul Deach and
Cllr Sarah Jane Croke.
-
Officers highlighted that the income accumulated
from the canal estate in Surrey would likely not be paid to the
Canal Partnership in addition to its existing funding but in place
of it. The Committee requested that confirmation be provided on
this before the next meeting.
Resolved:
The
Basingstoke Canal Joint Management Committee:
1.
reviewed and agreed the revenue outturn forecast for
the year 2019/20; and
2.
reviewed and agreed the revenue budget for 2020/21;
and
3.
reviewed and agreed the proposed scheme of charges
for 2020/21 set out in Appendix D.