Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment which provides a further update on the progress of the Leeds PIPES district heating network. The report also details the Council’s successful application to the Green Heat Network Fund for the next phases of network extension, focussing upon the areas of Wellington Street and South Bank, and seeks approval to progress both schemes.

(Please note that Appendix 1 to this report is designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (3))

Further to Minute No. 28, 26^th July 2023, the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment submitted a report presenting a further update on the progress of the Leeds PIPES district heating network and which also provided information on the policy context being developed around Heat Networks nationally. In addition, the report provided an update on the Council’s successful application to the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) for the next phases of network extension, focussing upon the areas of Wellington Street and South Bank, and sought several approvals from the Board to progress both schemes.

In presenting the report, the Executive Member provided an overview of key points within it, including the recommended next steps for the scheme together with an update on the positive impact which it continued to make. In addition, the Executive Member extended their thanks to all officers involved in progressing the scheme to its current position.

Responding to a specific enquiry, the Board was advised of the actions which would be taken to minimise the level of disruption in the city centre arising from the proposed works, with the collaborative approach being taken with Highways around issues such as timeframes and routes being noted.

Following consideration of Appendix 1 to the submitted report designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(3), which was considered in private at the conclusion of the public part of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the entering into Grant Funding Agreements with the Green Heat Network Fund for both Wellington Street and South Bank schemes, be approved, with the related resolutions and approvals referenced below being noted;

(b)  That authority to inject £1.15m of commercialisation funding from the Green Heat Network Fund into the Capital Programme to support the development of the Wellington Street and South Bank schemes, be approved, and that authority to spend this same amount be approved, with it being noted that this is 100% grant funding;

(c)  That authority to award, including authority to procure, a contract for technical, commercial, and financial consultancy support to AECOM Ltd, to support the South Bank scheme, be approved, and in doing so,  noting the justification outlined in the submitted report and in Appendix 3 (Procurement Strategy);

(d)  That authority to procure a legal contractor to support the South Bank scheme, in line with the procurement approach as outlined in Appendix 3 to the submitted report, be approved;

(e)  That the contract award decisions for the legal procurement be delegated to the Director for Communities, Housing and Environment;

(f)  That authority to award a contract to Vital Energi Utilities Ltd for the design and build of the Wellington Street extension, be approved;

(g)  That in noting the contents of exempt Appendix 1 to the submitted report, authority to spend of £6,755m from the Capital Programme be approved, which is funded by £2.561m of GHNF grant and £4.194m of borrowing, with it being noted that a decision on how the borrowing is funded will be taken by the S151 Officer;

(h)  That it be noted that an extension to Whitehall Road will be deferred, pending signed agreements being received from prospective customers on Whitehall Road, and further approval from Executive Board;

(i)  That it be noted that a further report will be submitted to Executive Board in due course specifically on the South Bank scheme, when sufficient work has been undertaken on the scheme to present the Board with a robust business case, to enable further investment decisions;

(j)  That authority to inject a maximum of £2,750,000 into the Capital Programme, funded with 100% grant funding from GHNF, be approved; and that authority to spend of this same amount for early construction works on the South Bank scheme in the Clarence Road area of the city, be approved.