Councillors are calling for reassurance that lessons will be learned after a project to create much-needed temporary accommodation in Walton-on-the-Naze incurred increased costs.
The former Spendells House sheltered housing block, in Naze Park Road, is being converted by Tendring District Council (TDC) to provide 32 flats to house people and families who find themselves homeless.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the £1.47million cost of transforming the dated 1960s building had increased to £2.33million – with £386,536 of the additional works being carried out by contractors as instructed by the project team, but without proper authorisation.
In May, the council’s Cabinet reiterated its support for the project, and allocated an additional £860,000 to complete it.
A report highlighted the increase in costs was due to national inflationary pressures, items not being included in the original specification and addressing issues discovered after works had started.
A meeting of TDC’s Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, heard on Monday (22 July) that a formal review is currently underway to provide clarity on how the issue arose.
The committee also heard the council’s Chief Executive Ian Davidson has issued a directive to all senior managers relating to financial and budget management, explaining the consequences and expectations of their roles.
A senior officer project board is also being set up that will report directly to the council’s senior management team on a regular basis.
Mr Davidson told the committee: “We have taken strong action because we take it very seriously when something goes wrong. We’ll be looking to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
“But what we are doing to deliver against homelessness is absolutely key. The Spendells scheme will reduce our costs of homelessness by £274,000 a year.
“I want to celebrate our successes – this is a good scheme for our residents.”
Councillor Mark Stephenson, Leader of the Council, said the Cabinet has been “transparent” and financially open about the issue.
He added: “When we put in place homelessness provision in our own district it’s about our residents having the support and infrastructure of being local rather than having to be shipped off to far-flung places.”
Councillor Paul Honeywood, chairman of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “The committee has called for Cabinet to report on its lessons learned, including a financial breakdown of the items that were missing from the original project specification, once the review has been completed.
“The committee has also called for the report to articulate ‘a robust response’ and action plan going forward and for portfolio holders to review their performance and project management on their existing projects.”
The committee’s recommendations will now be considered by the council’s Cabinet.
The new temporary housing facility is scheduled to be completed later this year.
