Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking approval for two Business Cases relating to the Design Phases of Coastal Defence Schemes in Rhyl and Prestatyn costing over £1m (100% grant funded by the Welsh Government).

Vote taken: 7 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approve the design stage of the Central Prestatyn Coastal Defence Scheme, which would be 100% grant funded by the Welsh Government, on the understanding that there was no risk to the Council and that it did not commit the authority to the construction phase and further funding (as detailed in Section 4.2 of the report and Appendix 1 to the report), and

(b)       approve the design stage of the Central Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme, which would be 100% grant funded by the Welsh Government, on the understanding that there was no risk to the Council and that this did not commit the authority to the construction stage and further funding (as detailed in Section 4.3 and Appendix 2 to the report).

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report seeking Cabinet approval for two Business Cases relating to the Design Phases of Coastal Defence Schemes in Rhyl and Prestayn costing over £1m (100% grant funded by Welsh Government).

The report set out details of the two grant funded projects summarised as follows –

·         Central Prestatyn Coastal Defence Scheme – would provide 1 in 200 year standard of protection to 2045 residential and 62 non-residential properties plus additional protection against predicted sea level rise for the next 100 years.  Approval required to commence design and development of scheme at estimated cost of £1,487,180.  A grant submission had been made to the Welsh Government (WG) for that element and it was expected WG would fund at 100%

·         Central Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme – would provide 1 in 200 year standard of protection to 548 residential and 33 non-residential properties plus additional protection against predicted sea level rise for the next 100 years.  Approval required to commence design and development of the scheme at estimated cost of £2,550,950.  A grant submission had been made to the Welsh Government (WG) for that element and it was expected WG would fund at 100%

Both projects had been recommended for approval to the design stage only by the Strategic Investment Group on the basis that there would be no financial risk to the Council and that proceeding with the design phase did not commit the Council to the construction phase and subsequent further funding.  Decisions about future funding would need to be made when the full financial impact of the current coronavirus pandemic became clear and therefore it was important to manage expectations in that regard in terms of the potential to progress the schemes.  Councillor Brian Jones added his support to the report recommendations given the current flood risk and the protection to be afforded to both residents and businesses which he considered provided value for money in terms of the investment required.

Cabinet recognised the importance of the schemes to protect against future flood risk and carefully considered the report recommendations in the present context.

During the ensuing debate Councillor Mark Young questioned whether it would be appropriate to proceed to the design stage at this time given the significant cost of the process (albeit would be met by WG) in the current financial climate with no guarantee of future progression and pending review of the Council’s priorities.  He was also keen to ensure that approving the recommendations would not prejudice any future decision on those priorities.  Councillor Bobby Feeley agreed there may be merit in delaying a decision to proceed given the significant outlay and current deficit position which resulted in uncertainty over future progress.  The Leader responded that the design phase would be fully funded by the WG and there was no commitment for the Council to proceed beyond that stage.  The situation would be reviewed at the appropriate time in terms of future capital investment but given the scale of investment and number of properties that would benefit, if it was decided to progress the schemes, the Council would be well placed to access grant funding which may otherwise be lost.  Councillor Brian Jones added that the WG may be able to fully fund the schemes in future years.  Councillor Thompson-Hill confirmed that the process of reviewing priorities would soon be carried out but for the purposes of the report it had been made clear that approval to the design stage did not prejudge the decision to proceed on that basis and did not assume approval going forward.  There would be no risk to the Council in taking the schemes forward to the design stage and the WG had allocated funding for that specific purpose and approval would ensure the Council was best placed for the next phase in the event that the schemes did progress.  Councillor Tony Thomas also supported the report recommendations highlighting the need to be prepared in addressing flood risk for the benefit of communities.

At the invitation of the Leader Councillor Barry Mellor addressed the Cabinet and spoke in favour of proceeding to the design stage highlighting that lives could be lost if measures were not taken to address the flood risk in those communities at the earliest opportunity.  He was also concerned that any delay to the process may lead to loss of grant funding and result in future increases in project costs.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approve the design stage of the Central Prestatyn Coastal Defence Scheme, which would be 100% grant funded by the Welsh Government, on the understanding that there was no risk to the Council and that it did not commit the authority to the construction phase and further funding (as detailed in Section 4.2 of the report and Appendix 1 to the report), and

(b)       approve the design stage of the Central Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme, which would be 100% grant funded by the Welsh Government, on the understanding that there was no risk to the Council and that this did not commit the authority to the construction stage and further funding (as detailed in Section 4.3 and Appendix 2 to the report).