Neil Wood
Council: Fareham
Committees:
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
33 meetings · Page 1 of 7
SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 25th September, 2025 4.30 pm, NEW
14 attendees, 10 documents, 0 media files
Executive - Monday, 1st September, 2025 6.00 pm
15 attendees, 26 documents, 0 media files
Decisions from Meetings
97 decisions · Page 18 of 20
Melvin Jones House
From: Executive - Monday, 4th November, 2024 6.00 pm - November 04, 2024
To obtain approval to include Melvin Jones House and St Marys Road Flats as a new and additional appendix (Appendix A to the report) to the Fareham Housing Regeneration Strategy. To approve in principle the redevelopment of the Melvin Jones House and St Marys Road Flats site, having regard to the options and estimated costs cited in Appendix B to the report. The Regeneration Strategy was adopted at the March 2021 Executive meeting and details the factors that will be considered when identifying and progressing housing regeneration opportunities. Appendix C (Appendix A to the report) is the third of the individual site-specific appendices produced for Executive approval. Melvin Jones House and St Marys Road Flats is a Fareham Borough Council owned sheltered housing scheme constructed in 1972. Due to its age, many of the major structural elements of the building are nearing the end of their life, resulting in increased and more lengthily maintenance. Internally, the accommodation consists of small, poorly designed units which fall short of modern standards of living. Regeneration options have been explored, and the recommendation is to replace the existing buildings and garages with new, energy efficient, affordable homes.
Recommendations Approved
Capital and Treasury Management Monitoring 2024/25
From: Executive - Monday, 4th November, 2024 6.00 pm - November 04, 2024
The report summarises the Council’s General Fund capital expenditure and treasury management activity up to 30 September 2024. It also provides information on the performance against the Treasury and Prudential Indicators. A summary of the capital programme expenditure against budgets in the current year, is set out in the following table:- Capital Programme Revised Budget 2024/25 £ Budget to 30 Sep 24 £ Actual to 30 Sep 24 £ Variation £ General Fund 18,064,500 9,436,900 8,825,039 -611,861 During the first half of the year the Council operated within the Treasury and Prudential Indicators. The overall treasury position is set out in the following table:- 31 March 2024 Actual £’000 30 Sept 2024 Actual £’000 Total borrowing 64,589 63,256 Total investments (13,588) (13,398) Net borrowing 51,001 49,858 The Council’s net interest budget for 2024/25 is £468,400 with an actual of £241,078 at the end of September (£701,320 actual in 2023/24). With the Bank Rate currently at 5% and expected to reduce this year, the budget will be reviewed during the budget setting period to reflect the latest capital programme spending plans.
Recommendations Approved
Vehicle Replacement Programme Annual Review 2024
From: Executive - Monday, 4th November, 2024 6.00 pm - November 04, 2024
To review the Council’s five -year rolling Vehicle Replacement Programme (VRP) and make recommendations for capital expenditure to continue to move to a modern fleet of commercial vehicles and ensure that the Council has a resilient and cost-effective fleet, as well as reducing its carbon emissions. In May 2023, the Executive approved a £3.8M rolling five-year Vehicle Replacement Programme for the Council’s vehicle fleet, to be updated each Autumn to inform budget setting for the following year and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy. The 2023 Programme proposed the replacement of 57 vehicles over the five years to 2028. To date, 19 vehicles have been replaced at a cost of £845,000. Eight were new vehicles, with the remainder used. As at the end of September 2024, two of the replacement vehicles were electric and HVO is used in around one third of the vehicle fleet. The 2024 Annual Review proposes a new rolling five-year Vehicle Replacement Programme to 2029/30, estimating that 50 vehicles will need to be replaced at an estimated maximum cost of £4.68M. All available replacement vehicle options will be considered and assessed against estimated whole life costs, impact on fleet carbon emissions and availability of capital budget. The lifetime cost analysis, which takes account of capital purchase and running costs over a 10-year period, highlights that diesel vehicles remain the cheapest vehicle type at present for most of our fleet. The recommended Vehicle Replacement Programme will reduce the carbon emissions of the Council’s fleet in line with the Council’s aspiration to become net zero by 2030. Subject to other decisions, the five new food waste vehicles will be duelled with HVO when the service commences in March 2026, which will effectively negate the carbon impact of these additional fleet vehicles. The use of HVO in the whole diesel fleet to reduce carbon emissions needs to be balanced against the additional cost.
Recommendations Approved
Housing Revenue Account Monitoring 2024/25
From: Executive - Monday, 4th November, 2024 6.00 pm - November 04, 2024
The report provides comparative information on the Council’s Housing Revenue Account income and expenditure for the period for the first half of the financial year. Members are invited to consider the financial performance and any corrective action that may be deemed appropriate. The report provides summary information on the overall spending position against the Housing Revenue Account budgets in the current year. Revenue spending plans are currently showing a net overspend for the first half of the financial year. This is expected to continue for the rest of the year and the proposed payment into the prepayment of debt reserve is unlikely to be possible. Actions are being taken to try and address the trend with the HRA which is an issue across the country, not just in Fareham. However, the effect of these will take some time to show in the figures. It therefore remains appropriate to continue to monitor financial performance closely over the remainder of the financial year to ensure that any pressures do not adversely affect the services provided to residents and customers, and the Council’s obligations to tenants.
Recommendations Approved
Hook Lake Coastal Management Study
From: Executive - Monday, 7th October, 2024 6.00 pm - October 07, 2024
The report summarises the key findings of the Hook Lake Coastal Management study, undertaken by Coastal Partners, Fareham Borough Council’s Coastal Team. As sea level rises, important intertidal habitats along the coast will be lost as they are constrained by hard sea defences and are unable to migrate landwards as they would naturally do. Replacing and recreating the habitat that is lost is a legal requirement that will help to offset these losses both today and in the future from new defence schemes. Without a clear plan for compensatory habitat in place for the future, regulators may be unable to consent any new flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) works in the Solent. The Hook Lake Coastal Management Study, the first stage in the potential delivery of a habitat creation scheme at Hook Lake is now complete. The study has shown that the site has many of the characteristics which are needed for the development of a successful intertidal habitat creation scheme and has the potential to create 45ha of intertidal habitats (saltmarsh and mudflat) in the short term and up to 60ha of intertidal habitat in the longer term (100 years). In addition to establishing that a technically feasible scheme is possible, the study has also identified some key challenges that significantly impact the financial viability of a scheme at Hook Lake, including compensation for freshwater habitat losses, biodiversity net gain requirement and mitigation for increased flood risk to Hook Park Bridge. The Hook Lake Project Board has overseen the progression of the project to date and comprises all relevant stakeholders including Hampshire County Council (HCC) and the Environment Agency (EA). Given the findings of the first stage Study, the Project Board has now recommended that the project is not moved on to the next stage of detailed design until and unless it is understood if these challenges can be resolved. On the 09 April 2024, Storm Pierrick caused significant damage to the embankment wall at Hook Lake. The Environment Agency have identified they are likely to notify of their intent to withdraw their long-standing maintenance of the embankment and to not repair the sluice if damaged because it is unaffordable and technically unviable. Consequently, the embankment will be increasingly vulnerable to breach over time. To communicate the Study findings, outline responsibilities and explain potential next steps for managing the site, Coastal Partners have developed a position statement in collaboration with HCC and the EA which will be made available on the Coastal Partners website (see Appendix B).
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 33
Average per Month: 1.5
Decisions Recorded: 97