A Derbyshire council which has been accused of unfairly bringing criticism on its own development company and placing its future in doubt has called upon its services to complete a town market place scheme.
Bolsover District Council’s Executive agreed at a meeting on June 23 to allocate a further £789,357 of funding towards its delayed Shirebrook Market Place scheme and to appoint its company Dragonfly Development Ltd to deliver the remaining work after the council stated there is money available from its budget ‘underspend’ as a ‘reasonable contingency’ to cover the remaining works and costs to complete the full scheme.
The decision comes as the council is considering whether its Dragonfly companies will continue and whether their operations will be brought back in-house after a council-commissioned Local Partnerships review criticised the authority’s relationship with Dragonfly, and after its board of directors has stated they have been unfairly criticised and have suggested they are being made ‘scapegoats’ by the council for its own lack of governance and shortcomings.
Concerning the Shirebrook scheme, Dragonfly Board of Directors Chairperson, Cllr Watson, said: “It’s good that the council sees, or finally sees, the value of Dragonfly and we hope that will continue because it can only be beneficial for residents in the whole of the district of Bolsover.”
However, the council is still considering the future of its Dragonfly companies after the review criticised the authority’s relationship with Dragonfly identifying – what it claims to be – a lack of good governance, a lack of a business plan and a conflict of interest between the roles of the organisations.
In a further development, the council’s Executive also recently voted to dissolve the Dragonfly Board of Directors and replace it with an interim board as it considers Dragonfly’s future despite now agreeing to bring in Dragonfly to complete the Shirebrook scheme.
Cllr Watson has argued the review was commissioned by the council without an action plan and full context and its release poses ‘serious catastrophic, reputational and financial consequences’ and that plans to dissolve the current board and implement an interim board will put staff jobs and projects at risk.
Dragonfly Development has overseen much of the council’s building projects at considerable profit for the council, according to Cllr Watson, but it has also attracted concerns from members of the public and councillors about possible conflicts of interest with the mixing of a commercial company with a public authority’s work.
But Cllr Watson has strongly disputed criticism aimed at Dragonfly Development and its board of directors as ‘unfairly aimed’ and she has argued any lack of good governance since the profitable development company’s launch over two years ago lies with the council and its officers and that the current board of directors are being used as ‘scapegoats’ by the council.
She has also argued Dragonfly is fulfilling the ambitions of Bolsover District Council providing houses and improving the economics of the area and improving the financial well-being of residents while operating at a profit to the benefit of the council.
Cllr Watson also stated the council originally chose not to use Dragonfly for the Shirebrook Market Place scheme because the council had secured a cheaper quote for the project but the authority’s Executive has now had to use its ‘underspend’ funding and to call on Dragonfly’s services to complete the scheme while it is still considering the company’s future.
The council’s Shirebrook Market Place: Reimagined scheme in partnership with Shirebrook Town Council aims to deliver significant public realm improvements with greater footfall and vitality for the town centre that will hopefully support its economic performance.
Its Phase 1 Memorial Gardens project was delivered by Jamieson Contracting Limited, appointed under a Pagabo Framework in November, 2023, and this was funded from the Valencia Communities Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund under a £168,299.90 contract and it was completed in September, 2024.
The Government-backed Regeneration Fund for the district secured £2m for the completion of a Pavilion building and landscaping as part of the Shirebrook scheme with a budget covering all client fees and costs as well as the principal contractor’s works and all sub-contracted packages.
Whilst waiting on the confirmation of the Regeneration Fund money, the remaining funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund was committed to both Dragonfly Development Ltd and architects Lathams for Phases 2 and 3, the public realm works and the new Pavilion building, with a full package of works and costs for finishing the whole scheme.
Bolsover District Council has stated that the contract value for completing the works package for phases 2 and 3 is £1,857,537.29 including £1,068,181 of the £2m allocated Government funding for completing phase 3 with the remainder of the contract sum £789,356.29 required to complete the public realm works in phase 2.
The council’s Executive approved the underspend of £789,357 to be allocated to fund the costs of the remaining public realm works and approved the appointment of Dragonfly Development Ltd to deliver the contract for the value of £1,857,537.29.
It has also delegated authority to the council’s Monitoring Officer to enter into a development agreement with Shirebrook Town Council.
A council spokesperson stated: “Both the Dragonfly Project Control Board and the council’s Strategic Commissioning Board have considered this project at its most recent meetings (April 25 and May 15) and were in agreement that the remaining public realm works should be funded from the underspend of the £2m budget, to allow the works to Shirebrook Market Place to be completed in its entirety.”
Shirebrook Town Council is the landowner of the Market Place and will be expected to take ownership and maintenance responsibility of the new Pavilion building and all public realm areas subject to a development agreement after the scheme’s completion.
The Labour-controlled council currently has two wholly-owned Dragonfly companies – the Dragonfly Management company representing the services that used to be run by the authority and the Dragonfly Development company which is involved in construction like council properties and developments for third parties.
The review has advised dissolving the Dragonfly Board of Directors and recruiting new directors, introducing an action plan for the council to convene a meeting to signal a reset, reviewing membership of a shareholder board to ensure suitable political representation and converting it to a committee, and finally to setting up a task force to review an updated business case to determine if there is still a case for the Dragonfly companies.
Bolsover District Council’s Executive’s decision to dissolve the Dragonfly Board of Directors came before a planned Options Appraisal is to be developed to help councillors make a decision on how best to proceed with the Dragonfly companies before an Extraordinary Council meeting is due on July 9 with overall final decisions, based on recommendations, for Dragonfly expected at a meeting of the council’s Executive on July 28.
Four Independent councillors including Cllr Watson, who is also the Independents’ Group Leader, currently represent nearly all the Dragonfly Development board directors with Anne Clarke, Emma Stevenson and Janet Tait alongside one Reform councillor, Carol Wood.
Dragonfly Management (Bolsover) Ltd was established, according to Bolsover District Council, to deliver capital regeneration schemes, housing and commercial developments, as well as project management consultancy services on behalf of the council.
Council Leader, Cllr Jane Yates, has said the review provides an opportunity to consider all the options for the Dragonfly companies and she has offered reassurances that current projects will continue.
She has also said the council has been moving forward with the review recommendations by taking steps to dissolve the current Dragonfly board of directors but she offered reassurances that business is continuing as normal at this stage and no changes are being made to staff working arrangements.
The council stated it is delighted to be completing the Shirebrook Market place project acknowledging the importance of the area to the people of Shirebrook.
It added that the project has been funded by a number of external funding streams to ensure completion of all phases and to enable the entire area to be regenerated for the benefit of the community.
The council stated that it is currently considering options for the future of its wholly-owned Dragonfly companies and it has already been confirmed that jobs and ongoing projects, such as Shirebrook Market Place, will not be affected.
The recent independent review of the Dragonfly companies will not affect this project, according to the authority, and the council is working to ensure all projects currently under way continue through to completion.
Cllr Yates said: “Whilst the council is currently considering options for the future of its wholly owned companies, it has already been confirmed that jobs and ongoing projects will not be affected.
“The day job will continue and the current council administration will continue its journey to drive out inefficiencies and make improvements through change that deliver value for money for residents.
“The expertise of Dragonfly staff will not be lost to the council as a result of the review. Following the required consultation, staff may be transferred back to the council to continue to provide the same services as they did for the Dragonfly companies.”
The council also stated any decisions taken with regards to the future of the companies will be carefully and appropriately managed to ensure the ongoing successful delivery of ongoing projects.
It added that all decisions will be undertaken ensuring residents and businesses are at the heart of everything the council does with the provision of excellent, efficient services, which provide value for money for residents, remaining paramount.
