Issue - meetings

This item was considered following item 14 (Work Programme).

Jonathan White (Project and Operations Manager) was in attendance for this item.

1.    Miss Carey introduced her proposed decision to deploy up to £878,000 of additional funding to cover the increase in costs including risk contingencies to complete the Kings Hill Solar Park project.  She reminded the committee that the original decision (21/00034) to construct the solar park had been funded through Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant funding received from government, which set particularly challenging deadlines. She explained that due to the condensed timeframe and several issues, that the additional allocation was required to complete the project. She reassured the committee that the solar park would have a £13.2m cost benefit to KCC over its lifetime and reduced carbon emissions by 633 tonnes per year.

2.    Mr Rayner stated that a lack of project preparation was link directly to the project’s overspend and that provisions should have been made for unexploded ordnance surveys, in the original project costings, given the location of the site on a former military airfield. In relation to the unexploded ordnance (UXO) surveys, Mr White confirmed that there had been an allocation in the original plan and that surveys and investigations had been carried out.

3.    Mr Hood commended the projects long term environmental and financial benefits. He asked whether the site could be used to farm livestock, as had been possible with other KCC owned solar farms. Mr White confirmed that the site could be grazed by sheep.

4.    Mrs Dean commented that whilst the project had been well designed that it was not overlooked by residential properties, that it had no immediate benefit for the local community and asked if there was any way that a community event, related to the environment, could be held.

5.    Mrs Hudson commented that other options, including scaling back the project to deliver it within the original budget, should have been explored further.

RESOLVED to endorse the Cabinet Member for Environment on the proposed decision to deploy up to £878,000 of additional funding to cover the increase in costs including risk contingencies to complete the Kings Hill Solar Park project.