The Esso tank farm site at Bowling where work is being carried out to clean the land.
By Bill Heaney
West Dunbartonshire Council’s involvement in the widely touted City Deal project could end up costing the local authority millions of pounds.
The Council’s approved budget for the project is £34.05 million, but – and it’s a big but – with delays in completing the final business case and price increases globally due to the Pandemic and Brexit there is high risk of increased costs.
Councillors will be told that officers continue to monitor the budget position and explore a range of options to manage the budget and anticipated project expenditure.
“The pre-construction agreement with our selected main contract Balfour Beatty has been entered into in early December 2021, council official Peter Hessett will tell the Council today.
Questions have already been asked why the Council should have to pay millions of pounds to bankroll the site clearing project at the old Esso tank farm at Bowling on the banks of the River Clyde.
He will add: “This allows officers to progress the project design elements of works and determine more certainty around costs estimates for the project. Asset Management continue to progress agreements which are being drawn up with the third party land owners.
“Once agreements in principal are agreed these will be brought before Council for consideration.”
On of these owners is Ms Susan Dick, who keeps ponies on a field where the project is scheduled to happen.
Susan Dick who claims to have been left in Limbo over the future of the site where she keeps her beloved ponies.
Ms Dick has expressed concern and disappointment in relation to the way things are happening – or rather not happening – on the site.
The financial implications are hanging in the air at present with the expenditure for the City Deal project for 2021/22 currently £314,042 as at February 2022 with the total project Capital budget expenditure at £2.550 million. The approved budget to date for the City Deal Exxon [one of the world’s richest oil companies] project is £3.448 million.
Mr Hesset’s report to the council states: “This will provide sufficient funding to take us to the Final Business Case in November 2022.
“The overall Council approved project budget is £34.05 million. This is continually monitored and any changes to this will be reported to Council.”
With so much public money involved, it is remarkable that so few words have been devoted to the risk analysis section of the report which states only that :”There are a number of project risks associated with the development at the ExxonMobil project site and these are contained within the risk register of the refreshed Outline Business Case and updated by the project board on a regular basis.”
However, there are no details of this in the report and some of the main players who were in on this from the beginning are no longer involved.
Yawn, yawn, yawn, what’s new. Another council contract going over budget before it’s even started.
The story of West Dunbartonshire Council’s life.