Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Sub-Committee.

Councillor Johnson for Councillor Stanley.

To receive any declarations of interest.

The following declarations of interest were made:

Councillor Geraghty – Worcester Life Stories Project (Minute No 38) – as a Member of Worcestershire County Council.

Councillors Geraghty and Mrs L. Hodgson – Cultural Development Fund – The Arches Worcester Project Update (Minute No 46) – as Members of Worcestershire County Council.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Sub-Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 28^th October 2019 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th October 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

1.      That the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the provision of £30,000 as match funding to provide a photo projection trail in support of the Worcester Life Stories project as part of the 2020/21 budget; and

2.      That the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the provision of £10,000 per annum to backfill the role of the Historic Environment Officer to support the Worcester Life Stories project over the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the Worcester Life Stories Project.

The Historic Environment Record Officer, in presenting the report, informed the Sub-Committee that Worcester Life Stories is a collaborative project between Worcester City Council’s Historic Environment Record (WCHER) and Worcestershire Health and Care (NHS) Trust, bringing together archived heritage, digital technology and community events to promote public health and wellbeing, particularly with regard to dementia, through accessible, shared local history.

Community consultations in the early stages of project planning identified overwhelming public support for the proposals at an event at The Guildhall.  A grant request was submitted in late 2019 for a two year programme to the National Lotter Heritage Fund for £79,400.  This grant is conditional on the project securing match-fund contributions from Worcester City Council, Worcestershire Health and Care (NHS) Trust and Historic England.

The requested match funding from Worcester City Council for the project is £30,000 to support the overall delivery and specifically to fund a ‘virtual time travel’ 3D projection trail.  The overall project value, including grant funding, match and all agreed or proposed in-kind contributions, as set out in the report, is £286,400.

The preferred option is for approval of a £50,000 contribution, consisting of £30,000 to fund the ‘virtual time travel’ project and an additional £20,000 to allow backfilling of the Historic Environment Record Officer time over the two year lifetime of the project.

The Historic Environment Record Officer responded to questions from Members in relation to various aspects of the project.

The Sub-Committee gave thanks to the Historic Environment Record Officer for all her hard work on this project.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee:

1.      recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the provision of £30,000 as match funding to provide a photo projection trail in support of the Worcester Life Stories project as part of the 2020/21 budget; and

2.      recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the provision of £10,000 per annum to backfill the role of the Historic Record Environment Officer to support the Worcester Life Stories project over the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

That Members recommend to Policy and Resources Committee a budget allocation of up to a maximum of £30,000 to cover the costs of producing the Playing Pitch Strategy and Built Facilities Study evidence base work as part of the 2020/21 Budgeting setting process.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the South Worcestershire Playing Pitch Strategy and Built Facilities Study funding request.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning, in presenting the report, informed the Sub-Committee that the previous iterations of Worcester City’s Playing Pitch Strategy and Sport/Built Facilities Study evidence were carried out in 2015 and 2010.  This evidence is now considered to be out-of-date and evidence for local plans is generally required to be up to a maximum of two years old at the time of submission to the Secretary of State for examination.  Without the up-to-date evidence, Sport England may object to the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review plan at its  Examination in Public.  Therefore, there is a requirement to renew the current documents prior to submitting the Plan Review for examination in 2020.

Worcester City Council is seeking funding to match the allocations of Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils.  It is estimated that a maximum of £30,000 per local authority is required (£90,000 overall).  It was pointed out that this is the maximum amount required and the actual cost of the work could be less.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning responded to questions from Members particularly around the value for money point of view. 

As the actual cost of work could come in under the maximum allocation it was agreed to add the words ‘up to’ in the recommendation at 1.1. of the report.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee recommend to Policy and Resources Committee a budget allocation of up to a maximum of £30,000 to cover the costs of producing the Playing Pitch Strategy and Built Facilities Study evidence base work a part of the 2020/21 budgeting setting process.

1.      That the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the allocation of £250,000 from the Capital works budget for the provision of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation within the City centre; and

2.      Subject to allocation of the funding identified at 1.1 above, the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Place, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee, to identify the specific works and equipment required at each location within the City centre area and to procure those works and related equipment.

The Committee considered a report on the provision of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures within the City Centre.

The Economic Development and Regeneration Team Leader, in presenting the report, informed the Sub-Committee that the previous 3 Victorian Christmas Fayres (Fayre) have incorporated temporary deployed Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) as a result of advice from the Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) based in the West Midlands Region Counter Terrorism Unit.  These have been funded by the City Council, with the cost of the 2019 Fayre being £36,500.

The City Centre has maintained high footfall figures and it is strongly suggested that the central retail core is easily described as an area which is a ‘crowded place’ and consideration should be given to investing in permanent measures.

The preferred option was to purchase and install permanent passive measures consisting of a mixture of bollards and planters. Appendix A attached to the report identified samples of such products.  The preferred option has an estimated cost of circa £250,000.  The figures are broad estimates as current below ground constraints are unknown and therefore a small contingency is also included in the requested figure.  The Economic Development and Regeneration Team Leader stated that the preferred option would result in long term savings.

The exact choice and position of the interventions to be delegated to the Corporate Director – Place in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee.

The Economic Development and Regeneration Team Leader responded to questions from Members with regard to the type of measures to be selected to ensure that it was appropriate for the City Centre and the ability to secure funds towards costs.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee:

1.  recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the allocation of £250,000 from the Capital works budget for the provision of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation within the City centre; and

2.  subject to allocation of the funding identified at 1 above, delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Place, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee, to identify the specific works and equipment required at each location within the City centre area and to procure those works and related equipment.

1.      That the Sub-Committee note the proposed Budgets for the various services identified for 2020/21;

2.      That the Sub-Committee consider the priorities within each service and recommends any change for the services’ Budgets including the Income and Efficiency plans;

3.      That the Sub-Committee consider the services’ Capital programme and future projects and recommends any changes or additions; and

4.      That the Sub-Committee reviews the City Plan allocations and makes recommendations to Policy and Resources Committee for amounts that can be made available for new proposals.

The Committee considered a report on the setting of the budget for 2020-21 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) to 2024-2025.

The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and explained that the proposed summary budgets for 2020-21 were contained in Appendix 1.  These provided detailed budgets for each of the Council’s services covering both income and expenditure

In a separate report to this Committee meeting, Members had received a progress report on various projects aligned to this Committee.  In addition the Council’s draft Capital Programme to 2024-25 was shown in Appendix 2.  Members were asked to consider whether the current projects were still appropriate for each service and whether there were any further needs that required addressing.

Following a review of the City Plan Funding, budget themes have been identified against which little or no expenditure has either been made nor is currently planned.  The amount within the remit of this Committee is £500,000, being Housing development (excluding social housing), as shown in Appendix 3.  The Committee was therefore asked to review the City Plan allocations as shown in Appendix 3 and make recommendations to the Policy and Resources Committee for amounts that can be made available for new proposals.

At the meeting of this Committee on  28^th October 2019, a number of proposals for inclusion in the 2020-2025 MTFP were recommended for approval. These were listed in paragraph 5.1 of the report.  They represented a total funding request of £199,000 for one off projects.  The meeting also recommended for approval by Policy and Resources Committee, a permanent amendment to the revenue budget for the extension of the role of Tourism and Events Officer, which was due to expire in April 2020.

Officers responded to questions from Members on points of clarification.  Members did not propose any amendments to the services budgets or the current capital programme or future projects.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee note the report and the proposed Budgets for the various services identified for 2020-21.

1.      That the City Council continues to remain part of the South Worcestershire Building Control Shared Service; and

2.      That the City Council continues to market and promote the South Worcestershire Shared Service where appropriate.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the South Worcestershire Building Control service (SWBC) review.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning, in presenting the report, informed the Sub-Committee that the current South Worcestershire Building Control service is hosted by Malvern Hills District Council and is located at the Civic Centre, Pershore.

Details of the current service provided by SWBC were highlighted in the report at paragraphs 2.6-2.11.  The latest performance figures from December 2019 were attached as appendix 1 to the report.

The cost of the service to each local authority is based on the projected income for the year.  For 2019-20 Worcester City Council’s income is projected to be £116,358 which is 23.78% of the overall income for the service.  Worcester City will cover 23.78% of the costs which at the moment equated to £81,042.21.  This is paid monthly.  If the income remains at £116,358, the City Council will retain a surplus of £32,344 at the end of the financial year.

The table at paragraph 2.13 of the report set out Worcester City’s costs and income for the service over the last 5 years.  The table had shown that the costs have reduced and the surplus had increased over the last 5 years,

The preferred option was highlighted at paragraph 3 of the report.

Members welcomed the proposal.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee:

1.  agree that the City Council remains part of the South Worcestershire Building Control Shared Service; and

2.  agree that the City Council continues to market and promote the South Worcestershire Building Control Shared Service where appropriate.

That the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee approve the Wyre Forest District Local Plan Duty to Co-operate Statement on behalf of Worcester City Council, as set out at Appendix 1 to this report.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the Wyre Forest District Council Local Plan – Duty to Co-operate and the Statement of Common Ground, which was attached as appendix 1 to the report.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning, in presenting the report, informed Members that Wyre Forest District Council are preparing a Local Plan to cover the period 2016-2036. There has been ongoing engagement between Wyre Forest District Council and the South Worcestershire Councils throughout the preparation of the Local Plan Review.  Wyre Forest has consulted with the South Worcestershire Councils at every stage of the plan making.

The Local Plan Review consultation periods were highlighted at paragraph 2.2 of the report, together with dates of the Duty to Co-operate meetings.

The Statement of Common Ground identified two strategic matters on which the South Worcestershire Council’s made representations at the publication stage and these were set out in a table at paragraph 2.3 of the report.  The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to the representations, particularly the housing figure projections. 

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee approve the Wyre Forest District Local Plan Duty to Cooperate Statement on behalf of Worcester City Council, as set out at Appendix 1 of the report.

That Members note the content of the South Worcestershire Development Plan - Authorities’ Monitoring Report 2018/19 (as set out at Appendix 1) and its publication.

The Sub-Committee considered the South Worcestershire Development Plan Authorities’ Monitoring report 2018/19, which was attached as appendix 1.

The Authorities’ Monitoring report (AMR) is used to assess the effectiveness of Worcester City’s planning policies and to inform any future revisions to policies or their implementation.

The AMR covers the monitoring period 1^st April 2018 to 31^st March 2019.  This is the third AMR prepared since the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) was adopted in February 2016.  The AMR sets out current performance against the policies in the SWDP.

The main focus during the monitoring period had been the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan. This remains on track to be completed within the timetable with both Issues and Options consultations taking place as per the timetable in November/December 2018 and 2019 respectively. The key trends and delivery figures for south Worcestershire were highlighted at paragraph 3.5 of the report.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning responded to questions from Members related to developer contributions, the reporting timeline of the document and the housing trajectory.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee note the content of the South Worcestershire Development Plan – Authorities Monitoring Report 2018/19, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, and its publication.

That Members note the annual update to the Brownfield Land Register which was published in December 2019 and forms Annex 1 to this report. 

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the annual update of the Brownfield Land Register 2019, attached as appendix 1 to the report.

The preparation, maintenance and publication of the Brownfield Land Register is a legal requirement that was introduced by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

The Worcester City Council Brownfield Land Register 2019 has been published on the City Council website and listed the sites which met criteria for Part 1 of the Brownfield Land Register.  At the current time it was considered that there are no sites suitable for a grant of Permission in Principle and therefore there are no entries on Part 2 of the Register this year.  This will be reviewed in future updates of the Register.

The Deputy Director – Economic Development and Planning, in presenting the report, drew Members attention to paragraph 3.4 of the report, which listed 10 sites which had been removed from the Register, and paragraph 3.5 of the report, which listed 12 new additions to the Register.

The City Council are required to update the Brownfield Land Register at least annually and the next update is due in December 2020.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee note the annual update to the Brownfield Land Register which was published in December 2019 and forms Annex 1 to the report.

To note the update contained within this report for information.

The Sub-Committee considered the Cultural Development Fund – The Arches Worcester project update report.

The Cultural Development Fund is focused on developing the economic impact of creative industries, arts and heritage.  It is administered by Arts Council England.

In January 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport awarded the Worcester Cultural Partnership £3m from the Cultural Development Fund, for the period April 2019 to March 2022.  The purpose of the fund was outlined in paragraph 2.3 of the report.

The total project cost is expected to be £4.67m with the remaining funds being sourced locally from a combination of public and private sector partners.  Partners involved in the project include Worcester City Council; Severn Arts; University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council.

The Corporate Director – Place in presenting the report, drew Members attention to the key aims of the project as outlined in paragraph 3.1 of the report.

The project is formed of a member-led steering group, operational project board and four workstreams.  The steering group meets quarterly and is chaired by Councillor Adrian Gregson and attended by Councillor Mrs Lucy Hodgson for Worcestershire County Council, Anne Marie McTavish, Head of the University Business School and Chloe Phillips, Trustee of Severn Arts.

The four workstreams, namely Infrastructure, Festivals, Participate and Destination Management, have been established and an update for each were set out in the report.

A risk register is in place for the project and is regularly monitored via the monthly operation board meetings.  Some of the key risks being managed were highlighted at paragraph 3.22 of the report.

The Corporate Director – Place responded to questions from Members on various aspects of the report, which was welcomed.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee note the update contained within the report for information.

That the Place and Economic Development Sub- Committee notes the Council’s Quarter 3 performance for 2019/20.

The Sub-Committee considered the Quarter 3 Performance Report for the Place and Economic Development Sub-Committee for 2019/20 attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and responded to questions from Members, together with the Corporate Director – Place, on various projects outlined in the appendix.

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee note the Quarter 3 performance report for 2019/20.

Which in the opinion of the Chairman is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.

The Committee are invited to pass the following resolution:-

That under Section 100A(4), the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of information defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

To note confidential appendix.

That the Sub-Committee notes the Confidential Appendix of this report.