The Executive Board agreed to adopt the Natural Environment Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (Agenda frontsheet 12th-Dec-2024 18.00 Executive Board). The Board also approved an early implementation of a food waste collection pilot service in specific areas of the borough, and approved an additional capital funding package of £6 million for two growth projects - the redevelopment of St John’s Church and the Blackburn Skills and Cyber Campus.

Natural Environment Supplementary Planning Document

The Board agreed to adopt the Natural Environment SPD (Natural Environment SPD), following a 6-week public consultation, which received 16 responses. The SPD provides guidance to support the environmental-based policies of the Council’s Local Plan (Public reports pack 12th-Dec-2024 18.00 Executive Board), including its strategy for nature recovery.

Representations were made through the consultation by GeoLancashire, the local geodiversity group, who pointed out that no reference had been made in the SPD to geodiversity, despite a requirement in Policy CP6 of the Local Plan for new development to conserve geodiversity.

You have omitted Local Geodiversity Sites, previously known as RIGS. They are all on Mario and should be included in your document. They are a level below SSSI but consultation about potential damage to them, such as from development, is required.

A new section (Section 15) has been added to the SPD to provide guidance on geodiversity.

Food Waste Collections

The Executive Board agreed to the introduction of a pilot food waste collection service, from April 2025, for specific areas of the borough, to enable the Council to learn from the implementation of the service before introducing a borough-wide service in 2026.

The Board noted that the Council had received capital funding of £1,157,421 from the Government to assist with the costs of buying equipment and vehicles for the service, but that this is likely to be insufficient. They also noted that additional revenue funding, referred to as New Burdens Funding, is expected to be made available by the Government to contribute to the running costs of the service.

As such, given the perceived gap in capital funding, there is doubt that the New Burdens revenue funding provided will cover the operating costs, since the same organisation, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, is working on providing the details to Government for both the capital and revenue payments.

A budget of £223,200 has been approved to meet the costs of implementing and running the pilot scheme for a 12-month period. This is likely to need to be funded by the Council’s Budget Strategy Reserve, since it is not clear that the New Burdens funding will be made available to fund a pilot service.

Major Growth Programmes and Initiatives Update

The Executive Board received an update on the Council's Growth Programmes and Initiatives, noting in particular the Government’s decision to extend, by 12 months to March 2027, the delivery deadlines for three key projects:

• the Darwen Town Deal
• the Blackburn Skills and Cyber Campus
• the J5 M65 Growth Axis Programme.

The Board also noted that the Government's Long Term Plan for Towns Programme, which had identified Darwen as a place eligible for up to £20m in new public funding, is to be retained and refocused to link with Government Missions, with further guidance to be issued.

The Board approved an additional capital funding package of £6 million for two projects - the redevelopment of St John’s Church and the Blackburn Skills and Cyber Campus. This funding package is part of the £20 million in Capital Projects Programme funding, awarded to Lancashire’s three upper-tier authorities, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire County Councils, in advance of establishing the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA).

The Board also agreed to two additional capital funding packages:

• £1.5 million in additional Council capital funding for the Council’s Youth Investment Fund (YIF) Programme, which is currently delivering two new youth centres in the Borough – Darwen Youth Centre and Audley Youth Centre.
• £1 million in additional capital funding for the King George’s Hall Upgrade project.

To enable the Council to afford this additional spending commitment, it was agreed that a virement of £2.5m would be taken from the capital budget for the former Thwaites Brewery site development.

As Councillor’s may be aware, the current Capital Programme includes £10.750m as the Council’s contribution towards the project for the redevelopment of the Morrisons on the Thwaite Site. Of this amount, as reported to the Executive Board in November 2024, £1.5m is to be used to pay Maple Grove Developments for their share of Maple Grove Blackburn. And, as the project is no longer progressing, it is proposed that the following amounts are re-directed to meet the budget variations as follows: - King George’s Hall Refurbishment - £1.0m; - Blackburn with Darwen Youth Investment Fund Programme - £1.5m.

The Board noted progress on two other projects that are part of the Council’s Growth Programme:

• the King William Street High Street Accelerator
• the Blakey Moor Cultural Quarter.

Childcare Sufficiency

The Executive Board noted the findings of the Council’s 2024 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (Childcare Sufficency Annual Assessment 2024V3). This annual assessment is a statutory requirement of the Childcare Act 2006, and informs the Council of any gaps in the childcare market to help them fulfil their duty to secure sufficient childcare for families in the borough.

The Assessment found that there is currently an oversupply of childcare places across the borough, and whilst this may be attributable to a falling birth rate, it could also lead to some instability in the childcare market, with childcare providers potentially experiencing financial difficulties as a result. The report recommended that the Council should continue to undertake a termly review of vacancy levels to help them monitor for any significant changes in the market.

Fostering and Adoption Reports

The Executive Board noted two reports relating to statutory services for Children looked after:

• Fostering Report, Quarter 1 2024/25.
• Annual Adoption Report, 2023/24.

The Fostering report outlined the service priorities for the next quarter, which were:

• Quality Assurance.
• Placement Sufficiency.
• Recruitment.
• Mockingbird Family Model.
• Workforce.

The Annual Adoption Report provided a review of adoption activity for 2023/24, with the Council confirming it remains a member of Adoption Now.

Council Fleet Vehicle Replacement

The Executive Board approved the Vehicle Replacement Programme for the Council’s fleet. This includes the purchase of new refuse and recycling vehicles, as well as electric vehicles, in line with the Council's pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The Board noted that, in addition to a budget allocation of £1.7 million, the Council had received £716,100 from the Government to assist with the purchase of new refuse and recycling vehicles, needed to introduce a new food waste collection service in 2026. This followed a Government mandate under the Environment Act 2021 for all Councils in England to introduce separate, weekly food waste collections. However, it was also noted that there was likely to be a shortfall in this funding, and this would need to be met by the Council’s Asset Management Strategy Fund in the Capital Programme.

Household Support Fund

The Executive Board agreed to the distribution of the Household Support Fund, Round 6, in line with a 6-month support package announcement by the Government in September 2024.

The total funding allocation for the Council is £1.619 million, which is to be distributed across five key areas:

• Residents support given out through the resident application process, including support with utility bills, winter fuel payments, crisis food, emergency white goods and advice services.
• Subsidised school meals.
• Council Tax support.
• Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance Sustainable Food Hub model.
• Third sector partners to provide support.

Tier 4 Substance Misuse Services

The Executive Board approved the procurement of Tier 4 substance misuse services, across three key ‘Lots’ or areas:

• Lot 1: Inpatient Detoxification.
• Lot 2: Inpatient Residential Rehabilitation.
• Lot 3: Direct Access Beds.

Five tenders were received for Lot 1, from:

• Adferiad Recovery
• Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH)
• Kaleidoscope Project
• Mersey Care NHS Trust
• Turning Point Services Ltd.

These were all approved.

However, there were fewer tenders submitted for Lot 2 than existing current arrangements, with only one in the Blackburn with Darwen area. As a result, it was agreed that Lot 2 would be subject to a waiver until June 2025, and then put out to tender again with a wider market engagement exercise to secure a more geographically balanced pool of service providers.

No tenders were submitted for Lot 3. As such, it was agreed that the existing service, provided by THOMAS, would be subject to a 6-month extension until November 2024, and then crisis pathway services would be provided either through those services procured through Lot 2, or by Tier 4 framework providers commissioned by the Council.

Asset Transfer of Statutory Allotments

The Executive Board approved the asset transfer of the management and maintenance of 8 allotment sites to formal, structured community groups. This will be undertaken by way of a long leasehold to groups with existing links to each specific allotment:

• Broadfold Allotments
• Ewood Allotments
• Feniscliffe Allotments
• Leyburn Road Allotments
• Queens Park Allotments
• Sunnybank Road Allotments
• Teak Street Allotments
• Witton Park Allotments.

Options for the remaining council-owned allotment site, at Burnley Road in Blackburn, are still to be determined and will be considered at a later date, once plans for the wider Carl Fogarty Way/Imperial Mill area have been finalised.

Blackburn Town Centre Site Acquisition and Masterplan

The Executive Board agreed to purchase Maple Grove Developments Ltd.’s financial interest in their joint venture company, Maple Grove Blackburn Ltd., for the Thwaites Brewery site. This will enable the Council to have full control over the site and the preparation of a new masterplan following the withdrawal by Morrisons of their plans to relocate their store to the site.

The Board noted that a new Skills and Cyber Campus is proposed on the existing Brown Street car park site, with the first phase of the development planned to commence in 2025, and agreed to appoint BDP Architects to revise the Town Centre East Development Framework to create an updated masterplan.

Treasury Management

The Executive Board approved the Treasury Management Strategy for the remainder of 2024/25, noting that no new borrowing had been undertaken by the Council in the first six months of the financial year.

Corporate Capital Programme and Balance Sheet Monitoring

The Executive Board noted the forecast outturn on the Council’s Capital Programme, based on a budget monitoring exercise undertaken at the end of September 2024.

The Board noted that the total capital expenditure across all portfolios, as at 30th September 2024, was £11.751 million, which was only 10.56% of the revised projected capital spend.

They also noted that, whilst £3.484 million in capital receipts had been expected in 2024/25, only £1.506 million had been received in the first six months.

The reasons for these variances, and the revised Capital Programme, were approved.

Corporate Revenue Budget Monitoring

The Executive Board approved the adjustments made to the Portfolio Cash Limits, as at 30th September 2024, noting a forecast overspend of £2.156 million at the end of Quarter 2.

The Board noted that, if this overspend was sustained for the remainder of the year, it would require an equivalent draw-down of reserves.

They also noted the forecast overspend on the High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant budget and emerging risks around the affordability of High Needs provision from 2025/26 onwards.

South East Blackburn – Active Travel Project Update

The Executive Board approved an additional capital budget allocation of £5.25 million to support the delivery of a series of walking and cycling routes in South East Blackburn – collectively referred to as Project 1.

This followed the approval in January 2023 of the Blackburn Growth Axis Transport Package (South East), which received a £20 million funding allocation from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The following routes are proposed:

• Route 1: Blackburn Town Centre to Guide (3.6km).
• Route 2: Eanam to Walker Park (3.0km).
• Route 3: Ewood to Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital (3.8km).
• Route 4: Greenbank to Copy Nook (1.1km).
• Route 5: Hollins Bank to Royal Blackburn Hospital (2.6km).
• Route 6: Haslingden Road to School Lane (via the Arran Trail) (1.7km).

Insurance & Risk Financing Strategy

The Executive Board approved the adoption of the Insurance & Risk Financing Strategy 2024-2029 (Insurance and Risk Financing Strategy). This strategy sets out the Council’s approach to risk, risk management and the mechanisms and financial arrangements for self-insuring against insurable risks.

The Board noted that an actuarial review had been undertaken in January 2024, which had concluded that an additional £4 million was needed in the Council’s Insurance Fund to meet potential future liabilities and address the potential for claims inflation to be higher than currently expected.

The Board also noted that an emerging risk facing the Council was an increase in claims being pursued under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).

As at 17th September 2024, the Council have made a contribution in 3 separate cases (with 10 claimants across the 3 cases). In addition to these cases there are 8 open cases (with 11 claimants) notified to the Council that have a confirmed, or a potential, HRA element to them. It does not however, naturally follow that the Council will be required to contribute or pay these claims and as above, each case will be considered on its own merits.

The Board noted that the Council would seek to reduce the cost of insurance by exploring opportunities to increase levels of self-insurance in the future. They also agreed that the Council should undertake an annual actuarial review to ensure that its financial arrangements remain robust and prudent.