North West Leicestershire District Council was scheduled to consider its capital programme and financial updates at a meeting on Tuesday 27 October 2026. The primary focus was a report on capital expenditure and supplementary estimates, detailing proposed adjustments to the council's financial plans.

Capital Update and Supplementary Estimates

The council was scheduled to review a comprehensive report on its capital programme and supplementary estimates, presented by Councillor Keith Merrie MBE, Finance and Corporate Portfolio Holder. This report detailed financial implications and outlined recommendations for the council's consideration.

The report was intended to ensure the council was following good financial governance, in line with its Financial Procedure Rules and capital governance arrangements. It included proposed supplementary estimates and new capital expenditure that had been recommended by the Cabinet since July 2026.

Key recommendations scheduled for consideration included:

• Creation of New Earmarked Reserves:

  • A Planning Application Income Reserve of £0.180 million was proposed to address recruitment challenges within the Planning Service, potentially funding consultancy services for vacant posts such as Planning Enforcement Team Leader and Senior Conservation Officer, and to cover shortfalls in planning fee income.
  • A ICT Cyber Assessment Framework Grant Reserve of £0.150 million was to be used for the council's cyber security obligations, including funding a Security Officer role and investing in advanced antivirus and antimalware solutions.

• Addition to Business Rates Reserve: An increase of £7.309 million to the Business Rates Reserve was scheduled, intended to provide a contingency for future Business Rates Collection Fund deficits or income volatility, and to fund parts of the capital programme.

• UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Grant Funding: The application of £0.984 million of brought-forward UKSPF grant funding was to be considered to support expenditure incurred during the 2025/26 financial year. This funding was related to programmes that had an approved 2025/26 budget of £0.287m, with actual expenditure of £1.271m.

• Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Matters:

  • The use of £1.69 million of HRA General Reserves was proposed to fund the 2025/26 deficit position.
  • The acceleration of the Home Improvement Programme (£1.260 million), Stock Condition Surveys (£0.012 million), and Roofing Programme (£0.988 million) was to be funded through the Major Repairs Reserve. These schemes had exceeded their 2025/26 budgets and were to be met by bringing forward funding from the capital programme.

• Acquisition of Affordable Homes: The addition of £3.7 million to the council's Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme was proposed, to be funded from Right to Buy receipts. This funding was intended for the acquisition of 22 new affordable homes at the Money Hill development in Ashby de la Zouch over the next three years. The homes were expected to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B and include solar photovoltaic panels.

• Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant: The addition of £0.445 million received as a Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant to the general fund revenue budget was to be considered.

• Play Area Grant Scheme: The council was scheduled to consider bringing forward the 2027/28 and 2028/29 play area grant allocations into 2026/27. An additional £0.250 million was proposed to be added to the scheme, funded from the business rates reserve, bringing the total scheme value to £1.000 million. This included up to £0.100 million for project management.

• Air Conditioning Installation: The addition of £0.023 million to the General Fund Capital Programme was required to cover the cost of installing air conditioning in the Customer Centre, which had been funded from the business rates reserve due to heat and lack of fresh air during the summer.

The report also noted that the proposed actions were in line with the Council's Constitution and Financial Procedure Rules, which govern amendments to the Capital Programme and the reallocation of resources. The economic and social impact of the additional properties was expected to be positive, directly addressing the needs of the district. The environmental impact of the new properties was to be mitigated by their EPC rating of B and the inclusion of solar photovoltaic panels.