Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of 26 June 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of 26 June 2023 were confirmed and signed.

To provide an update to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel of the work of the Investment Board from April 2022 to March 2023

Members considered the Commercial Investment Strategy and Investment Board Update report presented by Councillor Boden. 

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Hay noted the Council is only receiving a return on one of its investments in Wisbech and it would be useful to know what that investment is. Councillor Boden stated a press release was published on 24^th March 2021 reporting the investment Fenland District Council had made in the Millennium Works in Enterprise Way, Wisbech. He added this was a good first investment and the yield at this time is 6.2%, this should increase over time following further rent reviews. There are long established tenants in the premises and the Council has a twenty-three-year lease left on the property.

2.    Councillor Hay said the report shows there are five projects in progress, and asked if there is an expected completion date for these investments. She added that it would have been useful to have a timeline in the report showing this information for the panel to keep track of these. Councillor Boden stated that two projects are on FDC owned land, Chatteris The Elms and Wisbech Nene Riverside but with no fixed date for completion. The Elms is still at planning committee stage but the Nene Riverside site is more complicated due to a variety of factors, with some developments that will materialise earlier than others. Two other projects in progress are 24 High Street and 11-12 High Street Wisbech. Some projects will fall under Fenland District Council and others will be transferred to the local authority trading company, Fenland Futures Limited depending on what is most advantageous to FDC. The fifth project which is residential commercial cannot be discussed at this time due to ongoing commercially sensitive negotiations. Councillor Hay thanked Councillor Boden and said that she appreciated that these items would not be set in stone.

3.    Councillor Hay noted there were items that were rejected and asked if this is because they did not meet the criteria, one of which she would expect to be the amount of return on the investment. She also asked if it would be possible to know what the minimum returns are expected to be depending on the investment. Councillor Boden answered that the return is just one of the things that the Council is looking for and there is no fixed figure in mind, however the Council would never be expecting to break even as that would be a waste of time and would not help support the Council in providing its services.

4.    Councillor Hay asked if the Council will only invest in Fenland or would consideration be given to investing outside the area and if are there any other restrictions on the type of investment that the Council can look at. Councillor Boden stated that the commercial investment strategy currently restricts the Council in respect of boundaries, and this will be looked at in the commercial strategy review which is taking  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC11/23

Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report reflects what has been undertaken and achieved by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel during 2022/23 and takes a forward look at the programme of work and challenges in 2023/2024. 

Members considered the draft Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2022-2023 presented by Councillor Davis. 

Councillor Davis recognised the work of Overview and Scrutiny under the previous administration and thanked the preceding panel for their efforts.

Councillor Miscandlon stated that as a previous Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Panel, he would like to express his thanks to the Corporate Management Team and all the officers for their work, particularly those involved in several Task and Finish groups, during his time as Chairman.

Members approved the draft Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for forwarding to Council. 

Members to receive an update on the previous meeting’s Action Plan.

Members considered the update on previous actions.

Carol Pilson stated that an update will be circulated to the Panel following this meeting in relation to an outstanding query raised by Councillor Booth, which should then see the query marked as complete. Secondly, in respect of the item under review concerning an invitation to the Mayor of the CPCA to attend a panel meeting, the mayor has suggested that he is willing to attend an all-Member Seminar as he did at South Cambs recently. Therefore, all members will be contacted on behalf of Councillor Davis as Chairman to invite questions and comments that members would like the mayor to address, and a date will be arranged for this. 

To consider the Draft Work Programme for Overview & Scrutiny Panel 2023/24.

Members considered the Future Work Programme.

It was noted in response to some earlier questions from Councillor Nawaz that additional items for the Future Work Programme be added in respect of housing and S106.