Agenda item

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Health and Community which provided details of operational information and costs incurred during the six months following the opening of the site on the 10^th February 2009.

            The Board was advised that when setting the £11 per day charge in October 2009 the Board, conscious that many elements of the forecast operational budget were estimates, decided to review the charge after six months of operational experience. Appendix 1 to the report set out the original budget forecast, actual costs incurred during the first six months of operations and a revised budget forecast.

            It was noted that Appendix 2 detailed actual occupancy levels achieved for the first half year, and the revised budget forecast in the final column of Appendix 1 was based upon achieving an occupancy level of 60%, which was more in keeping with experience to date. Some of the costs were still estimated in the absence of bills having been received for certain services and assumptions had been made about the charges over the full year for electricity as winter consumption was likely to be higher than the first half of the year. Nevertheless this budget forecast represented the best estimate that could be made at this stage.

            Given the stated assumptions, the site was forecast to produce a deficit of just £1,723 over a full year, but this should be set in the context of the wider savings achieved in not having to deal with the usual level of unlawful encampments.

            Financial provision for dealing with unlawful encampments had never appeared as an explicit item in directorate budgets but in May 2007 an exercise was undertaken to try to quantify the cost for the period 2005/6 and 2006/7. The combined results from the relevant sections in each Directorate were set out in the report. This also excluded the substantial Police costs involved as well.

In this respect the Sub Committee received an update from PC Hayes, Cheshire Police which gave details of the number of illegal encampments in Halton compared to surrounding areas and the action taken within Halton on illegal encampments.

            The Board was advised that the site had clearly been a success in terms of meeting its original aim of reducing the costly and time consuming problem of unauthorised encampments in Halton. Halton’s new approach to managing Traveller issues had been applauded by Traveller associations, the Police and neighbouring Councils and the reduction in encampments had also been welcomed by local businesses. This meant that Halton had already met its targets for the provision of transit site accommodation proposed in the recent draft figures set out under the partial review of the Regional Spatial Strategy.

A report was presented to the Urban Renewal Policy and Performance Board on 17^th June 2009 outlining how the site had been operating since it opened on the 10^th February 2009 including similar (but not as up to date) information to that included in this report. The recommendations were noted by the Executive Board Sub-Committee on 10^th September 2009.

            RESOLVED: That

(1)       the Board reviews the current charging arrangements in respect of the transit site;

(2)       a feasibility study to extend the site be undertaken;

(3)       a further financial report be submitted to the Sub-Committee when the winter data was available; and

(4)       a further update reports be submitted to the relevant Policy and Performance Board.