The Director of City Development and the Director of Resources and Housing submitted a joint report on the proposed acquisition of land to facilitate the delivery of an alternative fuelling station to serve the Council’s and the city’s vehicle fleets.
Members welcomed the proposals detailed within the submitted report. In noting the strategic location of the site, the Board acknowledged the significant potential that the project had in terms of being an alternative fuel filling station not solely for the Council’s fleet, but also for other vehicle fleets.
Members also highlighted how the proposals would positively contribute towards the improvement of the city’s air quality.
Following consideration of Appendix 2 to the submitted report designated as 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 meeting, it was
RESOLVED –
(a) That the draft Heads of Terms, as set out within the exempt Appendix 2 to the submitted report, be agreed, and that the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of City Development to enable the acquisition of the site to be progressed on these or amended terms, should it be commercially acceptable and to protect the Council’s interest, in order to facilitate the delivery of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project;
(b) That should the CNG project not proceed for any reason, it be noted that the site acquisition will have strategic value in the future reconfiguration and use of Council assets within the area;
(c) That the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Resources and Housing to enable the Director to sign off the lease or alternative arrangement negotiated with the selected station provider through the competitive process, in order to ensure that it provides value for money to the Council;
(d) That the injection of funding into the Capital Programme and the related ‘Authority to Spend’ as set out in Appendix 2 to the submitted report, be agreed;
(e) That the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Resources and Housing in order to enable the Director to inject and approve ‘Authority to Spend’ for any additional funding required to acquire the site, so long as this can be demonstrated to be commercially acceptable.