Pitlochry Common Good Assets
Perth and Kinross Council · 3 February 2025
Back to Pitlochry Common Good Fund Committee — 3 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Pitlochry Common Good Fund Committee 25 November 2024 Pitlochry Common Good Assets Report by Strategic Lead – Finance and Business Support (Report No. 24/334) 1. Purpose Of Report 1.1 This report considers the potential impact on the Common Good assuming responsibility for Pitlochry Town Hall and the Rie-Achan Road Car Park. This involves providing an estimate of the revenue income and expenditure from 2021/22 to 2023/24 that would have been allocated to Pitlochry Common Good Fund. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee (i) Notes the revenue income and expenditure of the Pitlochry Common Good Assets from 2021/22 to 2023/24, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report. (ii) Considers the two options in 4.2 and 4.3 below. (iii) Approves Option 1, leaving Pitlochry Common Good Assets as part of the Council’s service delivery. 3. Background / Main Issues 3.1 Committee Members requested an income and expenditure report on the Common Good share of the Rie-Achan Road Car Park at the Committee Meeting on 26 August 2024. In order to be consistent with our accounting policy, this review also now includes Pitlochry Town Hall. Accounting Policy for Properties Administered as Common Good 3.2 The accounting policy for properties administered as Common Good follows current Council accounting policy. The Common Good Fund accounts are audited annually by Audit Scotland with no issues identified in terms of the accounting policy adopted. 3.3 Properties administered as Common Good are owned by the Council and as such are managed by the Council, taking into consideration the statutory requirements of the Local Government (Scotland) Acts 1973 and 1975, and the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994.
Page 2
3.4 It is anticipated that the majority of properties administered as Common Good and included within the Common Good financial statements will produce net income, i.e. the income generated exceeds associated property costs. This net income is then available to be used for the benefit of the inhabitants of the former burgh as approved by Common Good Committees. 3.5 Unless used for the purpose of Council service delivery, all property identified as being Common Good will be included within the Common Good balance sheet. It follows that all expenditure and income arising from operating and developing the property will also be included within the appropriate Common Good Fund financial statements. 3.6 When Common Good assets are used for the purpose of Council service delivery, the property will be included within the Council’s General Fund balance sheet as the Council controls the use of the property and accepts the associated risks and rewards of ownership. It also follows that all expenditure and income arising from operating and developing the property will be included within the financial statements of the Council. Note that the rent charged to the Council for the use of Common Good sites is a nominal “£1 if asked”. 3.7 When it is identified that a property administered as Common Good will no longer provide the Council with future service potential, i.e. is surplus to Service requirements, the property will transfer from the Council balance sheet to the Common Good balance sheet as at the date of being accepted as surplus by the Council. Subject to available funding, the Common Good would then bear the costs of ownership. Pitlochry Town Hall 3.8 The future of Pitlochry Town Hall is under consideration and the Pitlochry Common Good Fund could incur future costs in the event that it is declared surplus to Service requirements. 3.9 Income and expenditure analysis for Pitlochry Town Hall indicates net costs of £14,150 for Insurance, Water Charges and Repairs and Maintenance. Rie-Achan Road Car Park 3.10 Rie-Achan Road Car Park has in total 70 chargeable parking bays, 12 electric vehicle charging (EV) units and 2 disabled parking bays. Of these bays, 23 of the chargeable parking bays and all the EV charging units sit on Common Good land. 3.11 For the purpose of this report, car parking income, excluding VAT, has been apportioned to the Common Good on the basis of the number of chargeable parking bays on the Common Good land. 3.12 The charging policy for the use of EV charging units was only effective from 1 January 2023.
Page 3
The full income, excluding VAT, for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2024 has been allocated to the Common Good for the purposes of this report. 3.13 Staff costs and rates have been apportioned on the basis of the number of parking bays on Common Good land. 3.14 The full cost of energy and maintenance for the EV charging units has been allocated to the common good as all EV units are installed on Common Good land. 3.15 The cumulative total deficit for the Common Good share of the Rie-Achan Road Car Park over the past three years was £22,896. 3.16 Taking 2023/24 as the first full year of EV charging being in place, the car park produced a surplus of £11,445. This was made up of EV income of £65,441, less EV costs of £64,052 (energy) and £13,803 (maintenance), and the remaining net surplus of £23,859 which is set out in Appendix 1. 3.17 In general, all car park expenditure and income is held within the Car Park Trading Account. This also includes many costs that are charged to the Trading Account as a whole and not broken down per car park such as car park sweeping, transaction charges, staff PPE, etc. Such costs are difficult to allocate and therefore are not shown in Appendix 1. Therefore, the surplus identified at paragraph 3.16 is probably overstated. 3.18 From time to time, major expenditure is required for the maintenance and development of an asset. The Rie-Achan Road Car Park is due resurfacing works at an estimated cost to Perth & Kinross Council of £91,000 in 2025. Allocating a share of these costs on the same basis as the revenue costs in Appendix 1, Pitlochry Common Good would bear an estimated cost of £38,000 in 2025/26. 3.19 As Appendix 1 shows, if all known Pitlochry Common Good asset’s revenue income and expenditure were allocated to the Pitlochry Common Good in 2023/24 there would be a net cost of £2,705 in 2023/24 to the Common Good Fund. 4. Proposals 4.1 As detailed in Appendix 1, there was an estimated net deficit of £2,705 for the Pitlochry Common Good Assets for the financial year 2023/24. Within this net deficit, a surplus of £11,445 was generated for the car parking and EV Charging facilities on Common Good land in the Rie-Achan Road Car Park. This costing is calculated by considering the revenue income and expenditure for the whole car park and taking account of the number of spaces which are situated on Common Good land. It does not take into account those revenue costs incurred by the Car Park Trading Account which are difficult to apportion and nor does it include either historic or current development costs such as resurfacing, bay marking and meter installation.
Page 4
4.2 Option 1 – Leave the Pitlochry Common Good Assets as part of Perth & Kinross Council service delivery whereby the Council controls the use of the property and accepts the associated risks and rewards of ownership, with the expenditure and income arising from operating and developing the Rie-Achan Road Car Park continuing to fall within the Car Park Trading Account held by the Council. 4.3 Option 2 – Calculate the notional revenue surplus or deficit of the Common Good share of the Rie-Achan Road Car Park and transfer it to the Common Good Fund each year from the Car Park Trading Account. However, the Pitlochry Common Good Fund would be substantially depleted if a deficit is charged to it. In this situation, it would follow that a share of the development and infrastructure costs, such as the resurfacing costs mentioned in 3.18 above, would also be charged to the Common Good. This option would have to include consideration as to whether the General Fund should bear the cost of the other Pitlochry Common Good Assets which are currently charged to the General Fund. 5. Conclusion 5.1 Given the financial information provided in this report in respect of the Rie- Achan Road Car Park and the other Pitlochry Common Good Assets it is recommended that Option 1 continues to be adopted. It is difficult to estimate all of the costs that should be charged in respect of the car park which, as stated are currently met by the Council’s General Fund especially in terms of the further running costs of car parks borne by the Car Park Trading Account. Pitlochry Common Good Fund does not have sufficient resources to fund activity over the short to medium term including major development or maintenance works. Author(s) Name Designation Contact Details Fiona Lambie Accountant CHXFinance@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Scott Walker Chief Finance Officer 13 November 2024
Page 5
ANNEX 1. Implications, Assessments, Consultation And Communication Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement None Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial Yes Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment Yes Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal Yes External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Corporate Plan 1.1 The Council’s Corporate Plan 2022 – 2027 lays out seven outcome focussed strategic objectives which provide clear strategic direction, inform decisions at a corporate and service level and shape resources allocation. They are as follows: • Tackling poverty • Tackling climate change and supporting sustainable places • Growing a sustainable and inclusive local economy • Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential • Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people • Supporting and promoting physical and mental wellbeing • Placing communities at the heart of how we work 1.1 This report relates to all objectives. 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report other than those reported within the body of the main report.
Page 6
3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.2 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) and has been assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. Sustainability 3.5 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. In terms of the Climate Change Act, the Council has a general duty to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and the community, environmental and economic impacts of its actions. 3.6. The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 No consultation has been necessary in the preparation of this report. 2. Background Papers 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above report. 3. APPENDIX • Appendix 1 – Pitlochry Common Good Asset Revenue Income and Expenditure from 2021/22 to 2023/24.