Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY - FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held at The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Eastleigh on Wednesday 23 April, 2003.

PRESENT:

Councillors: P.A. Heath (Chairman); M.F. Cartwright; Mrs. P.G.E. Holden-Brown; Mrs. A.M. McNair Scott; R.H. Price; R. Smith; M.J. Woodhall.

44 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs E.S.M. Barron, P.R.C. Hutcheson and J. Stocks

45 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 January, 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Matters arising thereon:

Minute 41 - Budget Monitoring 2002/03 (3) - The Treasurer reported that he was in the process of finalising the accounts for 2002/03 and that he anticipated some under spend based on current information. The Committee also discussed funding implications associated with the reform and modernisation of the Fire Service. The Chairman referred the Committee to a letter dated 3 April 2003 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), together with Fire Service Circular 7/2003 setting out requirements for Fire Authorities to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans as part of the reform and modernisation of the way the Fire Service operates. It was noted that a report on the consultation document would be submitted to the HFRA meeting on 29 May 2003.

46 HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTRE - ACCOMMODATION RATIONALISATION

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Fire Officer (Item 3 in the Minute Book) about the future development of the Headquarters site.

The Committee was advised of the possibility that the Authority may receive some additional funding from the ODPM for accommodating four specialist vehicles under the "New Dimension" project. The Committee considered that the possible injection of additional funding could provide the catalyst for the Authority to proceed with a development scheme based on development options previously considered, but rejected owing to insufficient capital funding/borrowing powers.

      The report set out the potential Capital Programme and anticipated that a capital sum, and/or SCA in the range £0.3m to £0.5m would be allocated to fund the accommodation of the specialist vehicles. On this basis, the Committee was asked to approve recommendations for a further feasibility scheme to be produced recognising that current maximum resources likely to be available to support it would be in the order of £2.1M., although it was apparent in discussion that they would prefer a

      £1.8 M target figure.

      Given the implications of the "New Dimension" project, it was suggested that a training and awareness session be arranged for Members of the Authority to inform them about the aims of the project and implications for the future use and development of accommodation at the Headquarters site.

      RESOLVED:

      (i) That the Chief Fire Officer be authorised to produce an updated feasibility scheme for the rationalisation and improvement of buildings at the Headquarters site to include vehicle and equipment accommodation for specialist vehicles allocated to the Authority by the ODPM for dealing with "New Dimension" incidents.

      (ii) That professional fees associated with the production of an updated feasibility scheme and eventual project appraisal be approved and be met from the capital programme at a cost not exceeding £25,000.

47 SECOND REPORT OF THE ASSET MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP

The Committee received a report detailing the items considered by the Working Group at its meeting on 21 February 2003 (Item 4 in the Minute Book). The items considered included

        · Asset Register

        · Garages adjacent to Gosport Fire Station

        · Second Fire Station at Basingstoke

        · Housing at Winchester

        · Replacement of Cosham Fire Station

    RESOLVED

      (i) That the report be noted.

      (ii) That the (domestic) garages to the rear of the Gosport Fire Station be formally declared surplus to operational requirements and disposed of on terms to be agreed by the Chief Fire Officer in conjunction with the Treasurer and Authority's Estates Adviser by the most financially advantageous method.

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