Issue - meetings

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Principal Officer, Transport and Highways Policy that

·    Updated Cabinet on the progress to date in relation to the development and future delivery of the Growth Deal 3 Major Scheme: Oldham Town Centre Regeneration and Connectivity, which is part of the Greater Manchester Transport Capital Programme.

·    Advised Cabinet of the Governance process associated with Growth Deal Major Schemes and the implications this has for Oldham, particularly in terms of resources and funding.

·    Sought delegated approval for a number of matters to ensure that delivery timescales could be met and grant take-up was maximised.

Cabinet were informed that Oldham Council had been awarded a £6 million Local Growth Deal 3 grant by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for a major scheme ‘Oldham Town Centre Regeneration and Connectivity’. The spend deadline for this funding was March 2021.

The scheme had so far been granted Programme Entry status in the Greater Manchester Transport Capital Programme. The Combined Authority’s governance process required the Council to prepare and submit Conditional and Final business cases to TfGM for approval before it could access the grant. Under the GMCA governance process, the scheme contingency

would be held centrally by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) in a single pot, rather than at individual scheme level.

Following submission of an outline programme to TfGM in June 2017, work was now underway to finalise the programme of works that would make up the scheme and to develop the Conditional Business case for submission to TfGM for approval. The programme was being designed to complement a final Town Centre Masterplan once agreed.

Cabinet noted that various delegated approvals were being sought which were intended to ensure that the programme could be delivered within the March 2021 spend deadline and grant take-up was maximised. The options available for procuring the works were also set out in the report.

Cabinet asked that their thanks be passed on to the officers involved in putting the bid together.

Cabinet was recommended to note:

·       That the Greater Manchester bid to the third round of the Local Growth Fund in July 2016 included a £25 million bid for funding towards the Oldham Town Centre Regeneration and Connectivity scheme (1.1).

·       That the Growth Deal 3 Major Scheme Oldham Town Centre Regeneration and Connectivity had been allocated £6 million and gained Programme Entry status in the Greater Manchester Transport Capital Programme on the basis of the Strategic Outline Business Case produced by Oldham Council for the June 2016 bid (1.3).

·       That an outline programme for the £6 million was submitted to Transport for Greater Manchester in June 2017 (1.4).

·       The GMCA governance process and guidance associated with Major Growth Deal funded schemes (2.1).

·       That there were two main gateways to obtaining Full Approval following Programme Entry Status: Conditional Approval and Full Approval and that passing these gateways would be done through the submission of business cases (2.3).

·       That TfGM had agreed that a hybrid governance process was more appropriate for this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8