Agenda and minutes

Combined Strategic Scrutiny and Customer Focus Scrutiny Committees - Wednesday 27th April 2022 5.30 pm

Venue: Guildhall, High Street, Exeter

Contact: Sharon Sissons, Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01392 265115 or email  sharon.sissons@exeter.gov.uk

Note: Due to the current social distancing restrictions brought about by the corona virus outbreak, any members of the public wishing to attend the meeting please contact the Democratic Services Team committee.services@exeter.gov.uk in advance as there is limited capacity for public attendance. if you have an enquiry regarding any items on this agenda, please contact Howard Bassett, Democratic Services Officer on 01392 265107. 

Items
No. Item

12.

Appointment of Chair

Minutes:

RESOLVED that Councillor Vizard be appointed Chair of the meeting.

 

13.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 489 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Combined Strategic Scrutiny and Customer Focus Scrutiny Committee held on 30 March 2022.

 

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Combined Strategic Scrutiny and Customer Focus Scrutiny Committees held on 30 March 2022 were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct.

 

14.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of discloseable pecuniary interest by Members were made.

 

15.

Exeter Development Fund Overview

Scrutiny is being asked to perform a critical friend role for the Council’s Executive in examining and highlighting the merits and risk associated with the City Development Fund ahead of the full Business Case being presented to the Executive for consideration later this year.

 

The planned Sessions are as detailed below.

 

Session 1        Introduction – 30 March 2022

Session 2:       What is the economic case for pursuing a City Development Fund to support delivery - 27 April 2022

Session 3:       Governance/Fund Management/Governance and Risk – 6 June 2022

Session 4:       The Business Case in Detail - (Date TBC) 

 

Minutes:

Members noted that Scrutiny is being asked to perform a critical friend role for the Council’s Executive in examining and highlighting the merits and risks associated with the City Development Fund ahead of the full Business Case being presented to the Executive for consideration later this year.

 

The planned sessions are as detailed below.

 

Session 1        Introduction – 30 March 2022

Session 2:       What is the economic case for pursuing a City Development Fund to support delivery - 27 April 2022

Session 3:       Governance/Fund Management/Governance and Risk – 6 June 2022

Session 4:       The Business Case in Detail - (Date TBC) 

16.

Exeter Development Fund - Session Two - The Economic Case pdf icon PDF 3 MB

What is the economic case for pursuing a City Development Fund to support delivery?

 

Introduction and Summary

(Roli Martin, Elaine Anning, Kathryn Whitaker – Exeter City Futures Team)

 

The following external witness has been invited to the meeting -

 

Frazer Osment, LDA Design, who will be able to offer a high level observation on the viability challenges and constraints in delivering the vision.

 

Outcomes:

·         An understanding of the scale of the financial challenge in supporting the Liveable Exeter Programme.

·         An appreciation of the benefits captured through the appraisal process

·         A good understanding of options and potential scope to modify the scale of the fund.

·         An understanding of the implications and options for public sector partners in relation to their assets

·         The beginning of an understanding of the structure of the fund

 

Key issues Members may wish to explore with witnesses –

 

·         What are the critical success factors as set out in the City Development Fund business case? And are they appropriate to the task ahead of the City Council in delivering Liveable Exeter?

·         Is there a viability gap based on business as usual approach to delivery?

·         How is viability challenged by demands on the development programme?

·         What are alternative options to setting up a city development fund to implement the Liveable Exeter Programme?

·         What are the assumptions built into the model of the fund?

·         What does the economic appraisal say is the scale of the financial ask required to deliver the entire programme?

·         Are there options for reducing the financial demands, for example could the programme be limited in scope to a few strategic sites like Marsh Barton?

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Diana Moore attended the meeting having submitted a number of questions under Standing Order 44.

 

The Chair welcomed Roli Martin, Project Manager and Elaine Anning, Operations Director of the Exeter City Futures Team (ECF) who would set out the economic case for pursuing a City Development Fund to support delivery, along with Frazer Osment, Chair of LDA Design, who also attended as an external witness.

 

Frazer Osment offered a high level observation on the viability challenges and constraints in delivering the vision. He provided a brief background of his experience of development work within the private and public sector, working with major developers and public sector bodies who wished to achieve significant change. The many projects undertaken by LDA, included the design and delivery of the 2012 Olympic Park, the complex renovation of the Battersea Power Station and Millbay docks in Plymouth.

The presentation (attached to the minutes) sought to highlight the viability challenges in bringing forward large scale change in the urban environment and specifically in respect of Liveable Exeter. The challenges faced by society has stimulated an alternative development approach in respect of the response to matters such as climate change and improving social equity. The vision and aims at the heart of Liveable Exeter included levering the value and assets of the city to provide quality neighbourhoods, deliver affordable homes, a renewed infrastructure, and investment in services with wider benefits for residents, businesses and visitors of Exeter alike.

 

Frazer referred to the following challenges from a viability perspective :-

 

·      securing quality - large scale developers selecting projects based on profitability, the quality of the homes, including room sizes, may be compromised;

·      type and tenure - house builders being profit led often at the expense of the range of tenure offered which may not always match need;

·      delivering benefits beyond the site - the value of a development should extend beyond the immediate site boundary. One local example of a Liveable Exeter site at Water Lane included enhancements at the Riverside Valley Park;

·      timing and phasing - land ownership by developers can delay development in response to economic downturn or scheduling to maximise profit, and

·      capturing the value generated - profit maximisation could be at the expense of capturing the site value.

 

He also set out the portfolio approach:-

 

·      master developer perspective – addressing the challenges of realising the type of change relating back to fundamental viability. Whilst an initial site may not return profit, success can be where there is local authority/public sector involvement providing a holistic approach, creating momentum across the wider city by bringing forward a number of sites;

·      setting the benchmark and brand identity - setting quality standards across the city meeting environmental considerations, and achieving buy in from other developers. Cambridge, a city similar to Exeter, has achieved a significant transformation in the quality of development in and around the city over the last 20 years due to the wider and strategic vision;

·      upfront infrastructure and long term value creation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.