Issue - meetings

Report of Interim Executive Director: Finance and Governance

Purpose of report

To consider whether or not to provide a £1m loan facility to Silverstone Heritage Limited as part match-funding to their Lottery grant application for the delivery of the Silverstone Heritage Experience. Other Local Authorities (including South Northamptonshire Council) and LEP partners have already signed an agreement to loan up to £8m of funding to the experience.  Works have already commenced on site, with a planned launch in Spring 2019.

The loan facility is a partial match fund for a project to develop a visitor experience at Silverstone that focusses on the history and heritage of Silverstone and to understand he context and importance of the internationally renowned racing circuit. The experience will be a dynamic exhibition taking visitors through both the history of Silverstone as well as the current world of motor sport and the future. The work to build the facility has already commenced following a rigorous tender process by the Silverstone Heritage Experience for new building works and refurbishment of a hangar at the Silverstone. This means that costs have now been fixed and there is more certainty about project delivery, with regular updates on project progress received by senior officers at the Council.

Executive, at its meeting held on 2 July 2018 recommended that Council should consider the application for a loan facility of up to £1 million, to the Silverstone Heritage Experience. This is to partially match fund the £9.1m of grant funding secured from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and in addition to £8m of loans granted by Local Council partners and Local Enterprise Partnership.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended to:

1.1         Approve the inclusion of up to £1 million within the capital programme as a provision to make a loan facility available to Silverstone Heritage Limited (SHL).

1.2         Give approval to borrow in order to fund the loan, should that be necessary for cashflow purposes.  

Resolved

(1)          That the inclusion of up to £1 million within the capital programme as a provision to make a loan facility available to Silverstone Heritage Limited (SHL) be approved.

(2)          That approval be given to borrow in order to fund the loan, should that be necessary for cashflow purposes.

The Interim Executive Director: Finance and Governance submitted a report to consider whether or not to provide a £1m loan facility to Silverstone Heritage Limited as part match-funding to their Lottery grant application for the delivery of the Silverstone Heritage Experience. Other Local Authorities (including South Northamptonshire Council) and LEP partners had already signed an agreement to loan up to £8m of funding to the experience.  Works have already commenced on site, with a planned launch in spring 2019.

The loan facility was a partial match fund for a project to develop a visitor experience at Silverstone that focusses on the history and heritage of Silverstone and to understand he context and importance of the internationally renowned racing circuit. The experience would be a dynamic exhibition taking visitors through both the history of Silverstone as well as the current world of motor sport and the future. The work to build the facility had already commenced following a rigorous tender process by the Silverstone Heritage Experience for new building works and refurbishment of a hangar at the Silverstone. This meant that costs had now been fixed and there was more certainty about project delivery, with regular updates on project progress received by senior officers at the Council.

In introducing the report, the Lead Member for Financial Management and Governance, Councillor Ilott, advised that Executive, at its meeting held on 2 July 2018 recommended that Council should consider the application for a loan facility of up to £1 million, to the Silverstone Heritage Experience. This was to partially match fund the £9.1m of grant funding secured from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and in addition to £8m of loans granted by Local Council partners and Local Enterprise Partnership.

Resolved

(1)          That the inclusion of up to £1 million within the capital programme as a provision to make a loan facility available to Silverstone Heritage Limited (SHL) be approved.

(2)          That approval be given to borrow in order to fund the loan, should that be necessary for cashflow purposes.