New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

City Operations

Unit:

Sport and Leisure                                                                                                                                                            

Project Title:

Portslade Sports Centre - Gym Extension                                                                                                                                              

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

407,500

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

The gym offer at Portslade Sports Centre is fairly limited and feedback from customers has suggested that the gym should be expanded to better meet the needs of existing customers and those in the local area. A number of S106 allocations for the development of indoor sports have been identified and pooled to support in helping improve and develop the existing sports facilities provision. The 2021-2031 Sports Facilities Investment Plan (SFIP) also highlights the need and requirement for such an offer within the Sports Facilities Portfolio. The proposal is also supported by Freedom Leisure as the current operator to help increase the long term financial sustainability of the facility and improve the physical activity offer to its customers and local community. The provision of better facilities to enable more people from the local area to exercise is a key in supporting both their physical activity levels and mental health.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Revenue Contributions (DRF)

31

31

External Contributions - Section 106

287

287

Specific Reserves – Sports reserve

90

90

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

408

408

Financial Implications:

Please Note: Some of the S106 monies have a limited timeframe to be spent.  At least £0.073m needs to be spent on capital improvements at Portslade Sports Centre for Indoor Sport before November 2026. This project has been assessed by the Sports Facilities Team and Freedom Leisure as the most advantageous scheme to progress at this time in terms of the time scale for delivery and positive impact on the existing sports facilities offer. Once completed the new facility will be operated by Freedom Leisure as part of the Sports Facilities contract. There will be no ongoing direct financial implications for BHCC as all ongoing costs would sit with Freedom Leisure as the Leisure Operator. An initial feasibility for the scheme has recently been undertaken and the OCE (Order of Cost Estimate) is £0.408m (+ VAT) including preliminaries and OH&P.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

Central Hub - Finance & Property

Unit:

Imperial Arcade/Arcade Buildings, Western Road, Brighton

Project Title:

Roof Works, Structural and general masonry works to the exterior

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£232,875

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

Imperial Arcade/Arcade Buildings is a mixed use property (retail and residential) owned by the council. The roof and areas of the external façade are in need of repairs to prevent water ingress which is currently occurring. The property is subject to a service charge of which all the tenants are required to contribute. The service charge is managed/administered by our managing agents Avison Young (until end of June 2025, at which point the contract will change to Stiles Harold Williams). Given the high value of this project, it is proposed that 50% of the works will be put through the service charge this year (25/26) and the remaining 50% put through the service charged next year (26/27). It is intended that the council will forward fund these works so that they can be completed this year. This will enable us to complete these works this year to preserve the health and safety of the building. The funds will then be recovered from the tenants.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

External Contributions – service charge income

233

233

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

233

233

Financial Implications:

The project amount £0.233m will need to be forwarded funded this year (2025/26) in order to complete the works this year. The amount will be recharged to the tenants through the service charge 50% this year (2025/26) and the remaining 50% next year (2026/27) so the full amount won’t be repaid until at after the closedown of the service charge in April 2027. This does also depend on receiving payment from the tenants. Whilst they are contractually obligated to contribute to the works through their respective leases, there is always a possibility they may not pay. The reason for splitting the cost of the works over two years is to lessen the burden on the tenants to ensure a better chance of recovering the cost.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

Families, Children & Learning

Unit:

Education & Skills

Project Title:

Longhill High School – Summer Upgrade 135 computers

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£34,950

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

To purchase 135 PCs to complete the upgrade of the school’s ageing desktop systems. This will make the school fully Windows 11 ready by September when support for Windows 10 ceases. Rather than left to the last minute, the IT Manager has been gradually updating the stock for the last two years in preparation for this, as Windows 11 requires Generation 8 or higher CPUs. These 135 PCs will replace the last of the stock which should keep the school up to date for some time.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Unsupported Borrowing

35

35

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

35

35

Financial Implications:

The initial cost of these PC’s are to be funded by unsupported borrowing. The annual borrowing repayments have been planned for within the school’s budget.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

Families, Children & Wellbeing

Unit:

Education & Learning

Project Title:

Patcham High School – Windows 11

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£ 67,988

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

Microsoft are ending support for Windows 10 in Autumn 2025. All computers and laptops used by staff and students within the school are over 7 years old and are not capable of running Windows 11. Consequently, all computers have to be replaced. 

The current stock is very old and inhibits learning as each machine takes time a long time to open. New faster computers will improve educational outcomes as more time can be spent using computers in lessons.

This expenditure has been approved by the school Full Governing Body May 2025.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Unsupported Borrowing

48

48

Revenue (School Budget Allocation)

20

20

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

68

68

Financial Implications:

The school has a five-year licenced deficit for £0.48m, bringing the budget into balance by 2028/29. Significant progress was made with this during 2024/25 with the school are now expected to come into balance by 2027/28. The school are currently showing a deficit of £0.082m. Provision has been made within the current three-year budget plan to pay £0.020m per year for the next three years. This would be £0.020m direct revenue funding in 2024/25 towards the cost of the Windows 11 upgrade, and £0.020m in each of the two subsequent years to repay the capital loan. 

The purchase cost of computers includes a 5 year warranty, so there should not be any significant revenue cost costs for maintenance within the lifespan of the devices. The cost for peripherals is included in the school’s Information & Communication Technology revenue budget.

The cost of leasing the required equipment is around 8% per annum, making unsupported borrowing the most cost-effective option.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

City Operations

Unit:

Parks and Leisure                                                                                                                                                            

Project Title:

Hove Park 3G Pitch replacement                                                                                                                                              

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

135,850

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

The current 3G pitch at Hove Park leased to Russell Martin Foundation (RMF) is now life expired. The pitch is in a very poor condition despite a thorough maintenance regime and unfortunately has had to be closed due to serious health and safety concerns. Under the lease agreement Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) are responsible for the pitch replacement. Funding has been identified from the existing sinking fund reserves and the Parks & Open Spaces Capital Investment budget which is allocated for infrastructure projects and health and safety projects across the Parks & Leisure portfolio. To ascertain the cause and potential responsibility of the failed pitch a specialist sports pitch consultant has visited site and reviewed the pitch and associated leaseholder maintenance regime. From this inspection and review it has been established that the pitch has prematurely failed due to a historical ‘tuft’ lock issue where there is a fundamental fault over the years with the synthetic grass pulling away from the backing surface. Unfortunately, it is too late (over 7 years) to seek remedial action via the pitch warranty and the recommendation is to urgently replace the pitch to enable RMF to continue to deliver their extensive community football programme. 

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Transfer from Existing Capital Budget (Parks & Open Spaces)

90

90

Specific Reserves (Sinking Fund)

46

46

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

136

136

Financial Implications:

Please Note: Once completed the new facility will be operated by RMF under the existing lease arrangements. There will be no ongoing direct financial implications for BHCC as all ongoing costs would sit with RMF as the pitch leaseholder and operator. Once completed RMF will pay to BHCC both a rent and pitch replacement/sinking fund amount to enable monies to be allocated/reserved for the delivery of a future new pitch.

An initial inspection of the pitch has recently been undertaken and the indicative cost is £0.136m (+ VAT) including preliminaries, contingency and OH&P.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

City Services

Unit:

Transport

Project Title:

Coldean Primary School Raingarden

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£40,000

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

This project is part of the bid for Brighton & Hove City Council Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in Schools Project, which is funded by the Department for Education

As part of the Mott MacDonald’s Brilliant Neighbour initiative, the Brighton Water and Environment team has identified an opportunity at Coldean Primary School to design a rain garden, to provide an outdoor space for the students to use and to connect with nature. The garden will also provide a sensory and educational space for the students, providing they are under supervision.

The rain garden is designed as a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) which not only helps control surface water runoff quantity, quality and rate discharging into the city’s drainage system, reducing pressure to the existing sewer system, but also contributes to the improvement of biodiversity of the local area. These outcomes coincide with overall design objectives outlined in the SuDS Manual (CIRIA C753, 2015).

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in Schools Project funding (DfE)

30

30

Revenue contribution (DrF) (FDC002)

10

10

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

40

40

Financial Implications:

This is a wholly grant funded project, and the money has no other identified use. Consultation has already been done for this project with Mott McDonald who are the partner for the whole scheme. The £0.010m is proposed to be sourced through a direct revenue contribution but the service is exploring getting in funding in part or complete form a contribution from Southern Water, which would lead to this element being switched in year. 

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

City Operations

Unit:

Environment & Culture

Project Title:

Hove Promenade Beach Huts

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£51,000

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

The funding for this project will be used to purchase 10 new beach huts supplied by a marketing company who are building the huts to use on Hove Promenade for activations and promotions over the summer of 2025.  These huts have been built to the BHCC specification and in September will be placed in vacant plots alongside existing beach huts.  The council will sell these beach huts on the open market to Brighton & Hove residents.  The sale price for each hut will be significantly higher than the purchase price to the council.  It is anticipated that the sale of 2 huts (£0.025 - £0.030m each) would cover the total costs for the purchase of 10 huts, therefore the sale of the remaining 8 huts would be profit to the council.  On average around 20 huts are bought and sold each year.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Revenue Contributions (DRF)

51

51

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

51

51

Financial Implications:

The cost of the purchase is £0.050m.  The one off revenue contribution (DRF) to cover this will come from the Commercial Properties budget. There will be additional costs for the Planning Application of £0.001m which will also be funded from revenue budgets.

New Capital Project Approval Request

Directorate:

Homes & Adult Social Care

Unit:

Housing People Services

Project Title:

Housing IT Strategy: procurement of a Housing Needs system

Total Project Cost (All Years) £:

£269,000

Purpose, Benefits & Risks:

This project aims to implement a Housing Needs IT system to replace the council’s existing system, Home Connection. This contract is due to expire in July 2026. We are procuring a new system, Locata, to replace Home Connections, subject to sign off of the Reg 84 and confirmation of this funding request.

The project will be delivered over a 15 month period, and the funding requested will cover staffing and implementation costs of the system.

The project aims to achieve cashable benefits through creating efficiencies in service delivery, including:

• Automation of tasks and process
• Customer self-service
• Access to data to inform decision making
• Faster processing of some applications

Alongside efficiencies, faster processing of homelessness applications would also help the council achieve savings by reducing the amount of time it takes to process and conclude these applications, in turn reducing the amount of time spent on emergency and temporary accommodation, and therefore reducing the cost.

The programme also has a number of non-cashable benefits, including:

·         Integrated service workflows

·         Better user experience for staff

Not proceeding with this project would mean that the council does not have a robust system to deliver its homelessness and Choice Based Lettings service. This would mean that the council would be unable to comply with its responsibilities under Part 6 and 7 of the Housing Act 1996.

Furthermore, there are a number of challenges with the existing system.

Internal audits have identified a number of risks associated with this system, including the need for greater digitisation of housing options and homelessness-based services, and better reporting and interfacing of Housing IT systems.

The project is part of the council’s wider strategy for Housing IT. The strategy follows the 31Ten organisational review of technology and digital, and subsequent recommendations for Housing IT.

Capital Expenditure Profile (£’000):

Funding Source (see guidance below)

2025/26

2026/27

2027/28

2028/29

2029/30

Total All Years

Borrowing

196

73

269

Total Estimated Costs & Fees

196

73

269

Financial Implications:

Phase 2 of the Housing IT System Implementation

The request is for £0.269m to implement a Housing Needs IT system to replace the current system. The system is a statutory requirement, and the aim is to fund the implementation through borrowing.

The project will be repaid over a six-year period, the duration of the contract. Income to repay the borrowing cost will come from increased charges to registered social landlords (RSLs) for accessing the system, along with a:

• Lettings fee each time an RSL adds a property to the system;
• Plus, a management fee to recoup staffing/admin costs.

The new system aligns with the Housing IT strategy and aims to integrate the new system with the current housing management system to avoid double handling and improve efficiency. This efficiency means there is no longer a need for dedicated project manager, and the budget will be allocated to help fund the borrowing costs.

The increased charges to RSLs, along with the establishment budget for the current system, should be sufficient to cover the borrowing costs. However, changes in spending will be managed through TBM and reported as variances and addressed within existing resources.