To recommend to Council for approval the revised capital investment budget and capital strategy for 2026/27 onwards.

Councillor Stoddart, cabinet member for finance and corporate services introduced the report.  It was noted that the capital programme covers investment that provides benefit for more than one year, and that the baseline used was the capital programme approved by Council in February 2025, updated to reflect reprofiling undertaken in line with external audit recommendations.

It was highlighted that fourteen new capital proposals had been identified for 2026/27, totalling £44m.   These proposals support priorities within the Council Plan across People, Place, Growth and Transformation. Key areas of investment included the provision of temporary and emergency accommodation, alternative school provision and Pupil Referral Units, improvements to technology to support service efficiency, infrastructure to support housing growth, resilience measures across school and property assets, improvements to public rights of way, and continued investment in the highway network.

It was reported that £10m had been added to support the delivery of affordable housing, with the intention to fund this through borrowing supported by housing benefit income, reduced temporary accommodation costs, and potential Homes England grants. A further £5m had been allocated to establish an Historic Building Fund to support major heritage assets including the Museum & Art Gallery, Shirehall and Town Hall.

It was noted that a review of the current capital programme had identified projects that were no longer required or that could be funded through alternative sources. As a result, a total of £2.65m had been removed, alongside the removal of additional allocations for employment land, public realm investment, road safety schemes and school transport fleet purchases, now to be funded or managed through other routes.

It was noted that the Government has extended flexibilities allowing the use of capital receipts to fund transformation expenditure to 2029/30. The council intends to make use of this flexibility, with £1m of eligible revenue transformation activity in 2026/27 to be funded from capital receipts, subject to funds being available.

It was emphasised that inclusion in the capital programme did not constitute approval to proceed, and that each scheme will require a detailed business case and separate governance decision. The capital strategy, developed in accordance with CIPFA guidelines, sets out the framework for how capital priorities, borrowing levels and risk appetite are determined.

It was noted that environmental considerations will continue to be assessed during project development, and that monthly budget control meetings and project boards provided assurance regarding delivery, risk management and financial oversight.

In summary it was highlighted that the programme represented an ambitious but deliverable set of proposals aligned to the Council Plan. 

Comments from cabinet members:

Members raised several points in relation to the draft capital budget and strategy.

• It was explained that the capital allocation was intended to address a significant backlog of over 100 public rights?of?way bridges that were currently unusable or in poor condition. Some bridges had been out of action for six to seven years, and the funding will help replace as many as possible.
• It was also reported that £500k from this capital allocation had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58