The report was presented by Anna Eastgate and outlined the progress of the A13 Widening scheme. An update had been provided to the Planning, Transport, Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2019 and since then, a number of issues had arisen that had impacted upon the cost and schedule of the project which had a forecasted completion date of Autumn 2020. These were outlined in paragraphs 3.3 to 3.10 of the report on pages 74 to 75 of the agenda. As a result, works were being undertaken in parallel as opposed to sequentially to the project timeline and the rate of spend had increased with the project no longer being within its budget.

Mitigation measures were being undertaken for works to improve communications to ensure efficiency; collaborative planning; additional project management resources; and appointment of external auditors. With the funding gap, a number of options were being considered which included an increase in grant funding for the project and funding contributions from the private sector or from Thurrock Council. The project was undergoing a full review to determine the end date.

The Chair commented that the issues of the project was beyond officers’ accountability and instead moved on to democratic accountability. He felt that the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration had to provide an explanation on the issues that had arose from this project.

The Vice-Chair sought clarification on the costs of the project and what the overspend would be. Anna Eastgate explained that the cost was originally valued at £70 million and the DfT had allocated £90 million of funds towards the project. However due to the unforeseen issues, the service had brought this to the SELEP (South East Local Enterprise Partnership) with a view to identify more funding from the DfT. An Agreement in Principle had been provided to allocate additional funding subject to a value for money exercise.

Regarding road projects, Councillor Allen asked if there was a contingency in place for overspend of the budget and unforeseen circumstances. Anna Eastgate confirmed that there were contingencies which could also be seen on other schemes. A recent government document gave guidance on learning lessons for these types of road projects. She went on to say that work on existing assets usually brought up unfound issues.

Councillor Gerrish sought more information on the current process of the project and on the overspend. Anna Eastgate replied that the service was trying to identify a range of figures to allocate to the project which would be announced once the project was in a more robust position. This would be issued along with a communication plan and the next steps of the project, once internal processes had been followed.

Referring to the Chair’s earlier comment on democratic accountability, Councillor Van Day commented that the issues that had arisen from the project were unforeseen circumstances that could not have been controlled. Agreeing to this, Councillor Jefferies said that checks were in place to ensure the project would get back on track. The Vice-Chair added that it could not have been foreseen what was underneath the A13.

The Chair commented that there were issues in other projects as well and not just the A13 which explained his reasons for suggesting that the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration to account for these as the Portfolio Holder managed the officers on these projects as well as the projects. The Vice-Chair did not feel that the accountability lay with the Portfolio Holder and instead looked to the Senior Officers.

Agreeing with the Chair, Councillor Gerrish questioned when the Committee would see an update to the project and lessons learned from the review. He felt a report should be provided back to the Committee as soon as possible given the gravity of the situation.

The Chair felt that an extra recommendation should be added to recommend ‘that the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration considered his position in light of the recent project situations’. Councillor Gerrish agreed to this recommendation. The Vice-Chair, Councillor Jefferies and Councillor Van Day did not agree to this recommendation.

RESOLVED:

1.1       That the Planning Transport Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented on the progress on the A13 Widening scheme.