Decision details

The Combined Authority Committee in December 2020 allocated £2m for a Housing and Regeneration Enabling Fund and delegated the approval of Feasibility and Development Funding applications to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent Councils.

B&NES Housing and Regeneration Enabling Fund

A Feasibility and Development Funding Application has been submitted by B&NES seeking £750k through the HREF. The four areas of focus of the application are Twerton in Bath and the town centres of Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. These regeneration areas relate closely to locations of strategic housing growth and areas of employment growth (including the Enterprise Areas and SDS growth areas) and are all town/local centres that have been significantly impacted by Covid 19 damaging the vitality as places. The expected outputs are Regeneration Action Plans for Keynsham & Radstock Town Centre and Concept Masterplans for Twerton and Midsomer Norton High Street Core (all completed by March 2025) together with business case development.

The Feasibility and Development Funding Application was approved.

Getting Building Fund Change Requests

The following funding swops were proposed:

Weston General Stores

Request to reprofile £450k of funding from 21/22 to 22/23

To swop £450k of GBF for EDF for Weston General Stores with Bath Quays South receiving the GBF for the EDF.

Portway Station

Request to reprofile £600k of funding for Portway Station from 21/22 to 22/23

Reprofiling £210k of funding for the Emerson Green Local Transport Enhancements from 22/23 to 21/22.

To swop £386k of GBF for EDF for Portway Station with Emerson Green Local Transport Enhancements receiving the GBF for the EDF.

To swop the balancing figure (expected to be £214k, subject to full claim by Emerson Green Local Transport Enhancements) of GBF for EDF for Portway Station with Bath Quays South receiving the GBF for the EDF.

Should sufficient claims for Emerson Green Local Transport Enhancements and Bath Quays South not be made to enable the Weston General Stores and Portway Station swops in full, then the balance would be applied to Bath Quays Infrastructure Development Works with this scheme receiving GBF for EDF.

The scheme changes set out above were approved.

The Combined Authority Committee in December 2020 allocated £2m for a Housing and Regeneration Enabling Fund and delegated the approval of Feasibility and Development Funding applications to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent Councils

The Getting Building Fund (GBF) runs to March 2022 and all funds need to be spent by this date. Despite representations, no flexibility on this end date has been provided by Government.

To manage delay and requested reprofiling forward of funding beyond the GBF period for two schemes in the GBF programme and ensure all grant funding is spent and there is no risk of funding having to be returned to Government, a number of swops are proposed between the GBF and Economic Development Fund (EDF). In expectation of this situation arising, a delegation to approve such swops was granted to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent Councils at the Joint Committee in January.

Not applicable.