That the Cabinet Member:

a)    Approves the drawdown and spend of the capital programme for the 3 years from 2025/26 to 2027/28 as set out in appendix A and B within a total budget of £6,019,602; and

b)    Approve the drawdown and spend of the capital programme and implementation of the care facility emergency programme of works as set out in Appendix C within a total budget of £604,000; and

c)    Authorises the Corporate Director – Economy & Environment to take all operational decisions to deliver the projects within the approved separate budgets of £6,623,602.

1.             A lack of investment in capital work to the council’s estate assets would ultimately lead to their deterioration which will eventually make the assets no longer fit for their intended purpose and fail to protect the value of the council’s property assets. In turn this will have an impact on any services located in such properties, to the extent that they may have to be closed and service delivery would be severely impacted.

2.             The absence of capital investment through improvement works to buildings that are leased out by the council would render those properties unlettable because they are either non-compliant or are not fit for occupation which will result in a subsequent loss of revenue to the council and potential breach of statutory and legal obligations.

3.             Not investing capital on council assets means that the Council will not be able to improve the asset or their components and apply new or updated strategies and policies of the Council such as strategic asset planning and low carbon management.

4.             Deferring the capital investment will lead to further deterioration of estate assets which in turn is likely to mean that investment costs will increase over time in line with inflation i.e. building and labour costs. The required improvement works have been assessed and prioritised based upon select criteria which covers health & safety, operational need/impact and lifecycle/value. Investment is therefore targeted and spent on the assets requiring work rather than other property assets that are considered less eligible.

5.             Lack of investment into care facilities owned by Herefordshire Council and operated by Hoople Limited may lead to implications over the required Care Quality Commission (CQC) Registrations and ability to operate these facilities.