Council Capital Spending update

[legalalien]

This document is on the agenda for the next Council Assembly meeting and although it is lengthy provides lots of interesting updates on a range of local issues

https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/b50014035/Supplemental%20agenda%20no.2%20Wednesday%2023-Feb-2022%2019.00%20Council%20Assembly.pdf?T=9

For example

- plans for external borrowing to fund house building programme. As I read it (para 106) the housing investment programme is currently under review, as with various new

building safety requirements, green commitments and other things the forecast cost stands at ?2.5 billion over the next ten years which the council doesn?t have and it can?t afford to borrow that much. The costs of improving existing council stock and pursuing a green heat network strategy also seem to be much more expensive than originally budgeted for and being looked at (paragraphs 107 and 108).

- description of various capital projects on the go and where they are at

- Interesting note that opportunities are being explored to rationalise school buildings to rationalise running costs for schools, given oversupply of school spaces (interesting in light of the recent suggestion that the new Ivydale building would be removed, a proposal quickly removed when the local councillors objected,I do wonder whether it might be revived post local elections. One of the parents at Cobourg I spoke to recently said there was a widely held suspicion that the council were keen to close the school and sell / use the site - no idea if that?s true)

- various line items about expenditure on School Streets, cycle hanger roll out, delays in road works outside Belham and pause of scheme at Cox?s Walk

- a bid for capital to improve library IT infrastructure

Lots of other things.

There?s also a report on the Housing Revenue Account in this pdf document which outlines proposed increases in council rents for the 2022-23 year and associated charges if people are interested in that - around page 34-35. It gives an indication of average rents for anyone interested. Paragraph 19 gives an indication of the big hit that complying with new building / fire safety regs is going to have on Southwark?s finances - it has a lot of housing stock and quite a bit of it is high rise.

All in all quite an interesting read and useful backdrop for assessing all candidates? promises when out canvassing, I think.