Agenda item - Capital Spending and Project Approvals

(Member lead: Cllr D Jeffery, Director: Melanie Corcoran)

Resolved:

(a) In respect of Rail Parking Package – Normanton –

That following a recommendation from the Investment Committee, the Combined Authority approves:

(i) That the Normanton Rail Car Park project proceeds through decision point 5 and work commences on activity 6 (Delivery).

(ii) That the total project value of £1.987 million is given from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund.

(iii) That the Combined Authority enters into a Section 56 Funding Agreement with Northern Trains Limited for expenditure of up to £1.635 million from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund.

(iv) That future approvals are made in accordance with the assurance pathway and approval route outlined in the submitted report following a recommendation by the Combined Authority’s Programme Appraisal Team. This will be subject to the scheme remaining within the tolerances outlined in the report.

(b) In respect of the Corridor Improvement Programme (CIP): Newton Bar the Combined Authority approves –

(i) That the A650 Newton Bar project proceeds through decision point 4 and work commences on activity 5 (FBC with finalised costs).

(ii) That an indicative approval to the Combined Authority’s contribution of £9.268 million, which will be funded from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund is given, with full approval to spend being granted once the scheme has progressed through the assurance process to decision point 5 (FBC with finalised costs). The total project value is £9.353 million.

(iii) That additional development costs of £145,365 from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund are approved in order to progress the scheme to decision point 5 (FBC with finalised costs), taking the total project approval from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund to £350,165.

(iv) That the Combined Authority enters into an addendum to the existing Funding Agreement with Wakefield Council for expenditure of up to £350,165 from the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund.

(v) That future approvals are made in accordance with the assurance pathway and approval route outlined in the submitted report including at decision point 5 through a delegation to the Combined Authority’s Managing Director following a recommendation by the Combined Authority’s Programme Appraisal Team. This will be subject to the scheme remaining within the tolerances outlined in the report.

The Combined Authority considered a report of the Director of Delivery on the progress and funding for the following schemes through the Combined Authority’s assurance process:

· Rail Parking Package – Normanton

· Corridor Improvement Programme (CIP): A650 Newton Bar

In addition, since the last meeting, a decision on the following scheme have been made by the Investment Committee:

· A647 Corridor, Leeds

Details of all the schemes were provided in the submitted report.

It was noted that the Leeds City Region Future Mobility Zone bid had been unsuccessful. There were however several elements of the bid which already have alternative funding in place to progress and additional funding opportunities that might allow other elements of the FMZ bid to be brought forward are being investigated.

The effect on the level of expenditure on funding programmes for the financial year 2019/20 will be minimal but it is very likely that spend for this financial year (2020/21) will be lower than was originally expected. The support of BEIS and DfT has been sought to help in responding to the challenges posed by COVID-19 in respect of extending reporting deadlines and managing possible delays to the programme.