Content

On behalf of the Cabinet and using the special
urgency powers, in accordance with Parts 3 and 5.8, the Leader of
the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, in
consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public
Realm, Section 151 and Monitoring Officers agrees:
To authorise a virement of £60,000, to increase the Clacton
Leisure Centre Swimming Pool Heating System Replacement Capital
project budget, funded from within existing Clacton Leisure Centre
revenue budgets, that results in an overall increase in the project
budget from £1,368,729 to £1,428,729.
Note:
In addition, in order to meet the deadline to sign the funding
agreement, permission will need to be granted by the Chairman of
the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee to
exempt this decision from both the Forward Plan and the 5 day call
in period, through the special urgency provisions. This will be
made through using Rule 15 of the Access to Information Procedure
Rules, as set out in Part 5.8 of the Constitution.
As such, consultation has taken place with the Chairman of the
Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and he has
agreed that the Special Urgency Procedure as set out in Overview
and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 15 (Part 5.8) can be invoked in this
instance.

Reasons for the decision

Following completion of the procurement
process to engage an appropriate mechanical and electrical
contractor to complete this project, the best value for money
winning bid resulted in a higher cost than originally budgeted for.
As such, £60,000 additional funding is required to increase
the overall budget.
As all suppliers were requested to include a £100,000
contingency sum into their bids, without this increase, there would
be sufficient budget to meet the submitted cost, with an additional
£40,000 contingency. However, this is not considered
sufficient, and the additional funding from over-achievement of
income at Clacton Leisure Centre will ensure that the contingency
will increase to £107,403. The additional £7,403 will
allow for any potential incidental expense which may occur beyond
the required contingency.
In addition to the links provided to previous decisions, please
refer to the supplementary information provided with this
report.

Alternative options considered

a). To discontinue this project - This would
result in a loss of the external ‘Salix’ funding
associated with this project and the Council would be required to
find the funding in its entirety to urgently replace the heating
system.
b). To continue the project with a smaller contingency sum –
this would increase the risk and may result in further requests for
funding, as the project progresses. £107,403 is considered an
appropriate amount.