Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Member nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor Desayrah for Councillor Gregson.

To receive any declarations of interest.

The following declarations of interest were made in respect of Levelling Up Fund: £5m For Cultural Investment (Minute 119):

Councillor Riaz – As a participant in the Community Festivals Programme

Councillor Norfolk – As a Worcester BID Board member

Councillor Desayrah – As a City Council trustee of Worcester Municipal Charities.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, with 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 Committee.

Francis Lankester spoke in relation to the subsequent agenda item. In summary, he stated that he welcomed many of the bid items, but he queried whether there would be sustainable revenue budgets associated with them. He made particular reference to the Scala Arts Centre mezzanine proposal and express regret that the business plan had not yet been published. He expressed the hope that there is an overall strategic arts plan, given that there will in future be several arts venues in the city. Finally he made reference to the Civil War sculpture. In his view this was not enough and there should be more ways of commemorating the Civil War in Worcester, for example developing a diorama and trail.

That the Committee:

1.     Notes the proposed grant determination to Worcester City Council for £5m capital funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for cultural projects, subject to the Government’s grant criteria and conditions;

2.     Reviews the list of proposed projects and officer recommendations in the Appendices, and determines those projects to be submitted in the Council’s funding bid;

3.     Delegates responsibility to the Managing Director in consultation with Group Leaders to prepare and submit a formal bid to Government by 10 May; and

4.     Notes that further reports will be brought to Committee as the bid is assessed by Government.

(Appendices 2 and 3 to follow)

The Committee considered a report on the £5m capital grant allocation has been set aside for Worcester by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for cultural projects. The report explained the Levelling Up Fund criteria and conditions, the cultural context for Worcester and the proposed list of projects which has been developed by Officers, in consultation with Group Leaders.

The Managing Director presented the report and summarised the bid proposals. He advised that, since publication of the report, DLUHC and agreed to extend the bid submission deadline of 10 May to 3 June 2024. The Department will work with the Council during that extension period to develop its submission. The meeting of the Committee scheduled for 21 May was therefore within the development period and he proposed that recommendation 3 be amended to read as follows:

“Delegates responsibility to the Managing Director in consultation with Group Leaders to prepare and submit a formal bid to Government by 3 June, subject to any material changes being referred to the May meeting of the Committee, prior to bid submission.”

This would afford Members to opportunity to debate any material change to the bid proposals prior to the submission deadline.

It was explained that, in view of the timescales involved, The overall Officer approach had been to look to build on the success of existing projects, adopted plans and previous stakeholder engagement exercises. All projects are achievable and can satisfy the Value for Money criteria.

It was noted that the Pitchcroft Events budget had been adjusted to accommodate the addition of the “Accessible Swan Theatre”  project.

It was also noted that some projects which have been subject to previous initial feasibility had been assessed and were not recommended for inclusion in the bid.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

In the ensuing discussion, there was broad support for all of the projects listed. However, it was suggested that a report should be brought to the May meeting, providing more detail on the costings. It was also commented that Members may have to prioritise as a result of further assessment of the indicative costings at this stage. In response, the Managing Director advised that publishing a report for that Committee would lose the three additional weeks which have been granted as a result of the deadline extension. Therefore, the proposed delegation should remain so that work on finalising the submission can continue up until the 3 June deadline. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources added that he will be required to sign off the submission in his capacity as Section 151 Officer.

The Managing Director advised that it is unlikely that any new projects can be considered at this stage, unless they have already been well developed and costed.

Committee Members further debated the list of projects and expressed support for all of those proposed, but highlighted the Swan Theatre Accessibility and the Community Stage as two which would benefit from being worked up more fully. There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

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

None.

The Committee is invited to pass the following resolution:-

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, 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 as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act.

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

To note the more detailed technical information set out in confidential Appendix 3 (To follow).

(Exempt – not for publication because the item contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person including the authority holding that information - Paragraph 3)

The Committee noted the more detailed technical information set out in confidential Appendix 3 to the agenda report.