9 / 190
General Secretary’s report July 2017.
2
of the site and 10 you houses on West. The building work will not be invisible but is not likely
to be over noisy or dusty. There will be a lot of plant on site.
2.5
Ground works have been completed and no initial major concerns have been registered by
our engineer.
2.6
Good relations with our farmer neighbour should ensure that full access will be achieved
through his farm Road. There will be access also for the house build from Wood Lane.
2.7
The new nursery and hotel extension will be built simultaneously. The GFTU will move to the
old nursery building, the current office will be demolished and the new houses erected.
2.8
It will take five months to prepare all of the detailed building drawings and engineering
requirements and to put these to tender to potential contractors. The trade union criteria
that you would expect us to apply to potential contract is will be fully incorporated in the
tender documents.
2.9
The first spade will go into the ground in February 2018 and we will turn the keys on the
completed project in February 2019. This means that we will be able to hold our 2019 BGCM
to celebrate our 120
th
year in our own new property.
2.10
Our concern from the outset has been that any delay in commencing the newbuild
will disadvantage us financially. There are two significant areas of reassurance for the
executive committee in this regard. Firstly, our investment portfolios continue to do well
and it appears from the crystal ball gazing of all financial institutions that barring a
cataclysmic surprise, no immediate repeat of the 2008 crash is predicted over the next 18
months. Of course the finance markets are so volatile and the potential for Italy defaulting
on its extensive government loans taken out across the world remain. But generally speaking
the finance markets are predicting a peak of inflation next year probably around 3%, the
maintenance of low interest rates and some developments in the economy. We can
scrutinise our investments carefully on a monthly basis in a slightly more optimistic mood
and in recognition of our investments are doing better than they previously were with Credit
Suisse. Adjustments to our pension scheme portfolio also suggest that that will perform
even better over the coming period which hopefully will impact very positively on the next
triennial valuation. The second point of greater comfort to the EC is that we are disinvesting
our share portfolio of around £750,000 in order to assist the cash flow and therefore
minimise the need to draw down from our main investment portfolio. This will have two
beneficial impacts. Firstly, it will reduce the amount we have to borrow. Secondly and as a
natural consequence of this, it will reduce the total cost of the build.
2.11
Another consequence of the February 2018 start date is that we have a little more
time to fully prepare our lending arrangements and to approach unions and other
progressive potential lenders to be part of this project.
2.12
In 2018 there will be extensive preparatory work for the newbuild this will be
physical on-site activities, tendering, costing and other preparations.