Town Park Budget Transfers.

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A decision made (29/10/2007) regarding: Town Park Budget Transfers.

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2007-0115
Decision Summary Title:	Town Park Budget Transfers		Date of Decision Summary:	18th October 2007
Decision Summary Author:	Ray Foster - Assistant Director - Finance & Strategy		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Town Park Budget Transfers		Date of Written Report:	18th October 2007
Written Report Author:	Ray Foster - Assistant Director - Finance & Strategy		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Town Park Project - Budget Transfers
Decision(s): The Minister approved the following budget transfers (and associated expenditure) to a new capital Head of Expenditure in the Transport and Technical Services Department: £925,000 from Chief Minister’s Department (Business Unit CXP100) £300,000 from Planning and Environment (Business Unit IXB009) £493,201 from Treasury & Resources - Property Holdings (Business Unit FXA007) £400,000 from the Capital Reserve (Business Unit FXN105).
Reason(s) for Decision: To provide the Transport and Technical Services Department with the budget to progress the Town Park project.
Resource Implications: As stated above.
Action required: Treasury staff to action the budget transfers and associated journal transfers.
Signature:		Position: Senator Terry Le Sueur, Treasury and Resources Minister
Date Signed: 29th October 2007		Date of Decision: 29th October 2007

Town Park Budget Transfers.

STATES TREASURY ITEM NO:

TREASURY AND RESOURCES MINISTER

town park project - budget transfers

Purpose of Report
The Minister is asked to approve various budget transfers in respect of the Town Park project.
Background
The (then) Planning and Environment Committee was charged, in 1997, with developing proposals for a park on the site of the Gas Place/Talman car parks adjacent to Bath Street, St. Helier.
That Committee produced a report to the States dated March 2000 (presented 11 April 2000), recommending a scheme that incorporated a park across the whole site (1.3 hectares) with a three storey underground car park (826 spaces).
The cost of the proposed scheme was originally estimated to be £23.18 million at November 1999 prices. Funding of £15 million was to be made available from the Car Park Trading Account for an equivalent above ground multi-storey car park and the report assumed that ‘the Millennium Fund’ would meet the remaining £8.18 million (at November 1999 prices).
The preferred option was further developed by the project steering group, with the eventual outturn cost estimate reaching some £30 million. The Millennium Fund included a sum of £1.225 million for the Park element of the project and no further funding source was available to meet this shortfall. With no identified funding route to meet this funding shortfall, the project stalled.
The project has been resurrected on the basis of dealing with the remediation of the site and development of a park as a core project. Replacement car parking is to be provided off site and funded from the Car Park Trading Account.
The project is to be managed by the Transport and Technical Services Department and a project group is in place.
1. Comments
Budgets allocated for the project currently site in a number of Departments and it is intended to bring these together under a new capital Head of Expenditure under Transport and Technical Services. To achieve this, the following budget transfers (and transfer of associated expenditure) are required:
- £925,000 (spend to date £7,641.54) from Chief Minister’s Department (Business Unit CXP100). Approval obtained from Chief Minister to the transfer under MD-C-2007-0049 on 24 August 2007.
- £300,000 (spend to date £300,967.87) from Planning and Environment (Business Unit IXB009) Approval obtained from Minister for Planning and Environment to the transfer under MD-PE-2007-0216 on 5 September 2007.
- £493,201 (spend to date £199,952.71) from Treasury & Resources - Property Holdings (Business Unit FXA007). This will leave a balance of funding of £500,000, which the Council of Ministers has determined will be used for landscaping works on Victoria Avenue. Budget transfer requirements associated with this project will be the subject of a separate report.
- £400,000 from the Capital Reserve (Business Unit FXN105) - this sum being the ‘inflation’ uplift of £300,000 approved by the (then) Finance and Economics Committee (Act A9 10 June 2004), updated to a June 2007 position.

In addition to the above, the following sums are inscribed in the draft 2008 -2012 States Annual Business Plan:
- £2,000,000 in 2009
- £500,000 in 2011 (replacing the proposed £500,000 transfer in respect of Victoria Avenue works).

The impact of these budget transfers and future allocations is as follows:

Source	Budget	Expenditure	Balance Available
Chief Minister’s Department	£925,000	£7,642	£917,358
Planning & Environment	£300,000	£300,968	-£968
Property Holdings	£493,201	£199,953	£293,248
Capital Reserve	£400,000	-	£400,000
2009 Capital Allocation	£2,000,000	-	£2,000,000
2011 Capital Allocation	£500,000		£500,000
Total Available	£4,618,201	£508,563	£4,109,638

A report considering outline proposals for the remediation works and development of the park is to be presented to the Council of Ministers at its meeting in October. Initial estimates suggest that the cost of remediating the site may exceed the budget available, however this is should not delay the transfer of budgets previously approved for the project.

Recommendations
That the Minister approves the following budget transfers (and associated expenditure) to a new capital Head of Expenditure in the Transport and Technical Services Department:
- £925,000 from Chief Minister’s Department (Business Unit CXP100)
- £300,000 from Planning and Environment (Business Unit IXB009)
- £493,201 from Treasury & Resources - Property Holdings (Business Unit FXA007)
- £400,000 from the Capital Reserve (Business Unit FXN105).

Reason for Decision
To provide the Transport and Technical Services Department with the budget to progress the Town Park project.

States Treasury

26 October, 2007 for Decision Meeting 29/10/2007

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