Issue - meetings

The item was introduced by Rob Powell, who reminded members of the arrangements between Warwickshire Property Development Group (WPDG) and its Joint Venture with Vistry and Develop Warwickshire. Income was derived from dividend payments, interest on loans to the company, and capital receipts for WCC land transferred to the company. He said the company had made a strong start following its inception three years previously. It had been recognised through winning the national property award deal of the year in 2023 and the newcomer of the year in the Insider West Midlands property awards in 2024. So far three business cases had been agreed and two others had become put on hold due to circumstances outside WPDG’s control. As a result Rob Powell said there had been some delay in receipt of dividend payments, which was covered by a commercial risk reserve set up for the purpose of covering any shortfall. There was confidence the dividends would be paid and the company would catch up on the developments that were behind schedule. Members were told the WPDG and Develop Warwickshire business plans were scheduled to come to Cabinet in January, following a period of due diligence to ensure theytie in with the Medium-Term Financial Strategy. The Chair suggested some of the timeframes suggested at the outset may have been overoptimistic.

Councillor Parminder Singh Birdi said he was pleased with the progress of WPDG and there had been good progress on a project in his ward following some issues. He said the arrangement had also led to some indirect benefits for the Council.

Responding to a question from Councillor Feeney, Rob Powell said the balance sheet modelling showed that cashflows would remain adequate. There were no concerns money owed would not be received, but there may be a delay as timings were not easy to predict. Some developments, such as Top Farm in Nuneaton, had been making good progress.

Responding to a question from Councillor Sinclair, Rob Powell said several councils had similar arrangements and an informal network of property companies now shared learning. The Council was in contact with other authorities that had similar arrangements or were considering them, and this had been useful. A need to make sure the company didn’t overtrade had been noted, while maintaining a clear focus on the future pipeline of sites and opportunities to add greater value to core council services.

Councillor Peter Butlin said a lot of rents had been renegotiated through Warwickshire Property Management, the subsidiary company now managing the Council’s tenanted estate, which had generated significant additional income for the Council.

Members noted the contents of the report.