PITSTONE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 24 March 2020 
via remote log-in commencing at 7.30pm

In accordance with the The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/…) and The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2089) the public and press will be excluded from the following meeting due to the confidential/sensitive nature of the business to be transacted.

370/19	ATTENDANCE AND APOLOGIES
Council present via on-line meeting:  Cllr Nicholls (Chair), Cllr Saintey (Vice Chair), 
Cllr Mrs Crutchfield, Cllr Blunt, Cllr Mrs Stoddart and Cllr Hawkins plus the Parish Clerk 
Mrs Eagling.
Apologies:  It was RESOLVED to accept apologies from Parish Councillors Frearson, Mitra, McCarthy and Weber.

371/19	CORONAVIRUS AND ON-LINE MEETINGS
It was noted that the Government had declared a national emergency.  To prevent the spread of Coronavirus, all citizens should remain at home and avoid all contact with people outside of their own home family.  The police have been granted powers to disperse any gathering of more than 2 people.  Whilst under the Local Government Act of 1972 all council meetings should be held in person, it is understood from NALC that emergency legislation is being passed to enable meetings to take place electronically to ensure that government business can continue.  As the meeting can’t take place in person without contravention of emergency dispersal legislation, the meeting is taking place electronically.  The minutes will note which councillors were present on-line and participating in the meeting.  It was RESOLVED to proceed on this basis given the unprecedented circumstances.

372/19	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATION REQUESTS
It was noted that all councillors have standing declarations of interest as the council, as a corporate body, is trustee of the Recreation Ground Charity and Pitstone Parish Charity.  No other declarations were made.

373/19	MINUTES OF THE MEETING held on 27/2/2020.
It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the Pitstone Parish Council Meeting held on 
27 February 2020 were a true and accurate record.  The Chairman was duly authorised to sign them on behalf of the council.

374/19	PAVILION REDEVELOPMENT

1)	Appointment of Design & Build Contractor
a.	The tender process, submission analysis table and the recommendations of the Sports & Leisure Committee Evaluation Panel had been provided to all members and were considered along with the full tender submissions of the contractor being recommended for appointment.
b.	It was noted that AVDC had approved the appointment of the recommended contractor.
c.	It was unanimously RESOLVED to appoint Neville’s Special Projects as the winner of the tendering process, having achieved a far higher evaluation score than the other bidders.
d.	It was unanimously RESOLVED to proceed with Neville’s based on Option 2, with a 19-week delivery timescale and tendered cost of £915,225.00, whilst recognising that the minutes below may impact upon this.

2)	Value Engineering
a.	It was noted that several value engineering options were being investigated with the contractor which may bring forward further cost savings if the alternatives could be demonstrated to be suitable.
b.	It was RESOLVED to be guided by the professional project team and pursue those that were approved.

3)	Timescales, Cash Flow and Site Implications
a.	It was noted that Neville’s would take possession of the site on 20/4/2020.  The existing pavilion would remain available until 11 May, should football recommence following the Coronavirus closure.  Works were anticipated to complete by the end of August 2020.
b.	Parking at the site would be limited during the construction period, but there were currently no bookings, so this was not anticipated to be a problem.  Alternative parking on public roads was available if necessary, for ad-hoc occasions.
c.	It was RESOLVED to approve the payment terms and current cash flow forecast, although it was recognised that during the current climate the program and payments may need to be adapted to work around any citizen lock down in force at the time to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.

4)	JCT Design and Build 2016 Contract, Letter of Intent and Bond
a.	It was RESOLVED to enter a JCT Design and Build 2016 contract with Neville’s Special Projects for the work detailed within their tender submission and subsequent clarifications.   It was further RESOLVED to grant two members authority to enter the contract on behalf of the Parish Council once the contract was available.
b.	It was recognised that the current situation made it difficult to guarantee contractual terms in case lock down measures were extended and no work could take place.  It was therefore RESOLVED to issue a Letter of Intent to Neville’s to outline the works that could be progressed immediately, ie completion of detailed design works/placing orders for materials on long lead times, which would be possible within the current situation, along with acceptance of the associated costs etc.
c.	It was RESOLVED to receive an invoice for deposit against cost of materials (up to £25k) and to accept invoices for works undertaken under the letter of intent.  It was further RESOLVED to submit the deposit invoice to AVDC New Homes Bonus to commence the draw down process for our grant.
d.	It was RESOLVED to meet the costs (£1k) of the recommended Bond, which would safeguard the parish council deposit funds if Neville’s were to go into administration etc prior to their start date.  
e.	It was RESOLVED to continuously review the Coronavirus situation with the project team and Neville’s and grant permission to progress each stage in the project plan as soon as feasible, without further requirement for subsequent meeting approval.

5)	Expenditure and Funding
a.	It was RESOLVED to approve the associated expenditure of £915,225 for Design & Build Contract works plus £1k for the Bond.
b.	Given the Bucks Council change to unitary status and the consequent budgetary changes it was deemed prudent to submit the first invoice in the current financial year to ensure that the NHB funding remains allocated to the pavilion project.
c.	It was RESOLVED to now request the pledged funding from P&IUFC and P&IJFC.
d.	It was noted that the Parish Council was currently holding the funding from VAHT Thriving Communities.
e.	It was noted that a grant application had been submitted to the Football Foundation for £30k but had not yet been approved.
f.	It was RESOLVED to submit a further S106 application to AVDC to cover an allowance for any contingency costs and to enable site fit-out.  It was further RESOLVED that the pavilion funding would be utilised from the Westfield Road provision as a priority, as this project would be delivered before the February 2021 deadline.

375/19	DATE OF NEXT MEETING: The next meeting of the Parish Council will be 26/3/20.

376/19	CLOSURE OF MEETING:  There being no further business to be transacted, the Chairman closed the meeting at 7.40pm.

Signed:			Date:	26 March 2020
	 Chairman