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Culture and Communities Committee 10.00am, Tuesday, 15 June 2021 Parks and Greenspace Investment Executive/routine Executive Wards All Council Commitments 43, 44 1. Recommendations 1.1 It is recommended that Culture and Communities Committee: 1.1.1 Notes the progress of the condition surveys being undertaken across the city’s Parks, Greenspace and Cemeteries estate; 1.1.2 Notes the progress on infrastructure works for immediate or urgent attention; and 1.1.3 Approves progressing the works that have been identified as priority rated category 01 urgent (within one year) and priority category 02 (essential within one to two years), provided they can be contained within the capital budget allocation and any additional funding secured. Paul Lawrence Executive Director of Place Contact: David Jamieson, Parks Greenspace and Cemeteries E-mail: [email protected] | Tel: 0131 529 7055 Report Park and Greenspace Investment 2. Executive Summary 2.1 This report provides an update on the asset surveys undertaken to date to assess the condition of infrastructure (walls, fences, gates, paths, roads, bridges, tunnels etc) within the Parks, Greenspace and Cemeteries estate. 2.2 The survey programme identifies assets that are of poor condition and sets priorities for remediation. Completion of the recommended works will ensure sites remain accessible, safe, sustainable and open to the public - helping the Council meet its land management duty of care. 2.3 The report also summarises significant urgent / priority works that have been actioned. 3. Background 3.1 At its meeting of 18 February 2021, the City of Edinburgh Council considered the Coalition Budget Motion. Thereafter Council approved the 2021/31 Capital Budget Strategy as set out in the report by the Executive Director of Resources and as amended by the changes shown in Annex 3. 3.2 The budget strategy provided £4,000,000 for a Capital Investment Programme for Parks and Greenspace investment. This is in addition to a £2,000,000 capital budget allocated over 10 years to maintain Park Outdoor Assets. 4. Main report 4.1 To ensure investment is allocated based on need, the Council’s Estate Surveyor team has been commissioned to survey and record the condition and safety of all Parks, Greenspace and Cemeteries infrastructure assets. The surveys also provide an estimated remediation cost based on market rates. Surveying is based on industry standards and conforms to the Scottish Government methodology condition surveying. The surveys are visual only. 4.2 The condition of each asset is scored on a scale A-D as described in Table 1 below: Table 1 Condition Rating Description A Good – Performing well and operating efficiently B Satisfactory – Performing adequately but showing minor deterioration C Poor – Showing major defects and/or not operating adequately D Bad – Economic life expired and/or risk of failure 4.3 Assets are also given a remediation priority rating to support a decision on their urgency and the ratings applied are described in Table 2 below: Table 2 Priority Rating Description 00 Immediate attention to make safe 01 Urgent work required within one year 02 Essential work required within one to two years 03 Desirable work required with three to five years 04 Desirable work required over 5 years - No work required 4.4 Surveys have been completed for all cemeteries and four trial parks. 4.5 The surveying of priority Parks and Greenspace sites, as recommended by local teams, commenced in April 2021. The schedule is summarised in Appendix 1 and is expected to be completed by October 2021. A further 145 surveys for medium to low priority sites will be completed in 2022 (Appendix 2). 4.6 Both the condition and priority elements of the asset survey are used to determine the priority by which the remediation works will be completed. 4.7 The survey also records the type of work required, the defect type, the location of the defective asset, the required remedy and an estimate of cost. Appendix 3 provides an example of a site survey record. 4.8 To date, Estate surveyors have identified 841 infrastructure assets for remediation. This work has been costed at: 4.8.1 £61,374 for priority 01 (urgent works required within one year) work; and 4.8.2 £1,232,824 for priority 02 (essential works within one to two years) works. 4.9 A further 114 defective infrastructure assets within Parks and Greenspace sites have been identified by local teams and will be formally assessed as part of the ongoing survey works. Remediation/development of these assets has been costed and a prioritisation given: 4.9.1 Priority rating 01 - £2,172,708; and 4.9.2 Priority rating 02, £748,000. 4.10 Appendix 4 shows the Priority Rating Cost per Work Type in columns 2 and 3 and the Priority Rating Cost for each work type in columns 7 and 8. 4.11 The remediation works required are varied but are consistent with expectation. The breakdown of work type for projects rating 01 and 02 are shown in Graph 1. Graph 2 details all project work type identified to date. Over time there is a shift towards the remediation of more walls, fences and gates and play areas. Graph 1 Graph 2 4.12 As part of the delivery process, opportunities for third-party funding, economies of scale and linkage of similar works (within the same or nearby sites) will be considered to maximise the return on investment. 4.13 Appendix 5 summarises the current expenditure expected per site split between Surveyor identified projects and officer identified projects (columns 6 and 11). Works totalling £9,100,000 have been provisionally identified of which £4,214,906 is priority 01 and 02. 4.14 Of the remediation works identified to date, 14 projects, with an estimated value of £658,037, have been commissioned. Appendix 6 itemises this work and the estimated expenditure. These include: 4.14.1 Landslips - Dells and Easter Craiglockhart Nature Reserve; 4.14.2 Bridges - Hermitage of Braid, Damside and Ferry Glen; 4.14.3 Walls - Saughton Park, Lindsay’s Mill, Craigmillar Castle Park; and 4.14.4 Arboretum and paths - Little France Park (all work at Little France is funded from developer contributions). 4.15 A breakdown of the works identified to date by ward is provided in Appendix 7. 5. Next Steps 5.1 If approved, works that have been identified as priority rated category 01 urgent (within one year) and priority category 02 (essential within one to two years) will be progressed, provided that they can be contained within the capital budget allocation and any additional funding secured. 5.2 The commissioning of remediation work is on-going, with prioritisation given to those assets where failure will present a potential danger to the public and/or staff or could result in the closure of grounds. 5.3 Existing Council resources and framework contracts will be utilised when possible and new framework contracts established to deliver works not currently in scope. 5.4 While much of the work is unlikely to attract additional investment, there may be opportunities to seek external funding. Where possible, Planning-led developer contributions, legal settlements and third-party grant funding will be utilised to augment the investment funding provided by the Council. 5.5 The sustainability of remediation works will be a key feature and solutions will be developed to meet the long-term placemaking aspirations and development plans for each site. 6. Financial impact 6.1 Survey costs of £42,000 are expected for the assessment of high priority Parks and Greenspace sites. 6.2 The capital investment funding provided will be used to complete the identified works as set out above. To date, the surveys commissioned have identified that the provisional cost for priority 01 and 02 rated remediation work will be £4,214,906. This will increase as further parks and greenspace surveys are completed. 6.3 The works commissioned to date are estimated to cost £658,037. 6.4 The loans charges associated with this over a 30-year period would be a principal amount of £4.215m and interest of £3.200m, resulting in a total cost of £7.415m based on an assumed loans fund interest rate of 3.97%. This represents an annual cost of £0.247m to be met from the corporate loans charge budget. Borrowing will be carried out in accordance with the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy. 6.5 Work that does not meet the capital de minimis of £10,000 will be funded through existing revenue budgets. 7. Stakeholder/Community Impact 7.1 There are significant health and safety and service delivery failure implications by not addressing the maintenance of infrastructure assets. 7.2 Failure of assets will have a negative impact on the recreation value and accessibility of the city’s greenspace. 8. Background reading/external references 8.1 None. 9. Appendices 9.1 Appendix 1 – Parks and Greenspace Infrastructure Survey Schedule (High Priority). 9.2 Appendix 2 – Parks and Greenspace Infrastructure Survey Schedule (Medium/Low Priority). 9.2 Appendix 3 – Example Survey Record. 9.3 Appendix 4 – Priority Rating Cost per Work Type. 9.4 Appendix 5 – Priority Rating Cost per Site. 9.5 Appendix 6 – Remediation/development works commissioned/completed. 9.6 Appendix 7 – Ward Summary of Priority Rating 01 and 02 Works. Parks and Greenspace Infrastructure Survey Schedule (High Priority) APPENDIX 1 SITE CODE LOCATION AREA PRIORITY DATE SIT0412 Ferry Glen P&G HIGH Mar-21 SIT1009 Kirkliston To Newbridge Walkway P&G HIGH Mar-21 SIT0638 Lauriston Castle P&G HIGH Mar-21 SIT1248 Clermiston Park P&G HIGH Apr-21 SIT1179 Henderson Gardens