Archived decisions

Contact: Chitra Nadarajah, ext 6771

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That, following the approval of the Interreg IIIB ESPACE bid, authorisation be given for the County Council to enter into a contract with North West Europe, when it is offered.

2. Reason

2.1 Authority is now sought to enter into a contract with the North West Europe Secretariat to implement the ESPACE project. Formal notice of approval has been given and the offer of a contract is expected in the next month. ESPACE focuses on developing sustainable spatial planning policies and guidance which take account of the need to adapt to climate change.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 The County Council's actions as part of the ESPACE project would be undertaken as part of its climate change work programme regardless of EC funding. The EC grant would enable this work to be undertaken at lower net cost to Hampshire County Council and honour the Council's commitment to the ESPACE partnership to undertake this project. Rejecting the EC grant would not lead to any net savings and would add costs to fulfilling the actions in the climate change work programme. It would also cause problems with the other nine partners and with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, who oversee the Interreg programme in the United Kingdom.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or a Member or Officer consulted - None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor K B Estlin

7. During the process of developing the ESPACE bid, all legal issues surrounding the project, partnership and contract have been agreed by the Chief Executive with the aims of quantifying and minimising the County Council's risk. Approval is sought to sign a contract, when offered.

8. The total cost of this project is £3,101,914 of which 50% will be funded by North West Europe.

9. ESPACE aims to:

"Develop sustainable spatial planning policies and guidance which take into account the need to adapt to climate change within the North West Europe region."

This will be achieved by:

(i) undertaking case studies focused on a variety of topic areas to test various measures and their effectiveness in adapting to climate events: and

(ii) generating capacity among stakeholders to influence the integration of these adaptation strategies into spatial planning.

10. The ESPACE bid includes partners in the South East Climate Change Partnership and other organisations within the North West Europe region.

11. Hampshire County Council will benefit from being a part of this work by:

(i) bringing in external funding for its existing work on climate change. Although the County Council's share of the project's budget is £847,694, after contributions from partners, the EC and ODPM, the net cost to the Council is £25,000 per annum over the next four years. This money is allocated in the Department's operational budget. Three full- time posts will be created within the County Council, funded by the project budget;

(ii) informing the County Council's response to climate change;

(iii) expanding the scope of existing climate change work through partnerships within the North West Europe region and lessons learnt as a result of this project; and

(iv) taking a leading role in the response to climate change in South East England.

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