Agenda and minutes

NOTED       that no Member or Officer declared any interest pursuant to any statutory requirement in any matter discussed or voted upon at the meeting.

NOTED       that the Council would undertake an audio recording of the meeting.

AGREED      that the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2019 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which informed Members of the progress made at the Newark Beacon.

The report provided an update regarding staffing changes as the Centre Manager and Assistant Centre Manager were both on 12 months maternity leave which commenced in March/April 2019.  The Centre Support Assistant was also on long term sick leave since April 2019.  To provide cover a temporary Assistant Centre Manager was in place and a temporary placement Centre Manager would be commencing in June 2019.  The staffing issues had not stopped implementation of some works which were summarised in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

The performance to date was reported as follows:

The rental surplus for 2018/19 showed an outturn for rental income which included rent, virtual and services charges, was budgeted as £365,530, the actual achieved was £366,941, a favourable variance £1,411.

Auxiliary Income which included catering, hot desking and hire charges was budgeted as £51,600.  Actual achieved was £68,249 a favourable variance £16,649.

Occupancy in the six months since the Beacon management returned in-house had increased from 31 Offices Occupied (70%) to 34 of Offices Occupied (77%).  This 7% increase in occupancy indicated that the Centre was on target to meet a proposed 85% occupancy by April 2020, as per the Business Plan.  Business Support had increased from 2 businesses supported before October 2018 to 4 businesses supported in the six months since October 2018.

The number of website views increased by 737 views since October 2017.   The Marketing Plan for the Beacon outlined how, over the next year, social media platforms such as Linkedln, Twitter and the website would be used to increase the centre’s profile.

A Member raised concern regarding a future report being presented to the June 2020 meeting of the Committee as the Beacon would be included within the budget for 2020/21 and the Committee would not have an opportunity to review its performance.  It was therefore proposed that a progress report be presented to the November 2019 meeting of the Committee.

A Member asked whether there were any specific work streams to drive the targets to work with colleges and the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) in order to attract people wanting to start a business. The Business Manager Asset Management informed Members that he was at a meeting tomorrow to explore how the units could be marketed. It was reported that social media such as Instagram would be used to capture a wider audience and the empty units could be quickly adapted if needed.

AGREED      (unanimously) that:

(a)          staff be congratulated on the achievements to date and the report be noted; and

(b)          a further progress report be provided to the November 2019 meeting of the Committee.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which sought approval from the Committee to recommence consultation on reviewing the Allocations & Development Management Plan Document (DPD), following the Adoption of the Amended Core Strategy by Full Council on the 7 March 2019.

The new Local Development Scheme timetable which was agreed at the Economic Development Committee on 27 March 2019 was detailed within the report and provided milestones.  A summary of the contents of the proposed Issues Paper was also attached as Appendix A to the report.

A Member noted that the range of allocations proposed to be retained meant that there was no need for additional land for housing or employment development to be identified so that overall requirements could be met. Indeed that where existing allocations were concluded to be undeliverable then there was scope for their de-allocation to occur.  The Member also suggested that the reference to new affordable housing provisions within the NPPF within the consultation paper needed to make clear that the Framework required at least 10% of new dwellings which were to be made available for affordable home ownership.

Members commented on Section 7 – Open Space and stated that a review was needed regarding green space provision within the district.  It was felt that homes required green spaces around them in order for health and wellbeing.  It was also raised that the difference between greenspace provision between rural and urban areas (where access may not be as widespread) needed to be reflected in this work.

Section 5 – Open Break Review, Winthorpe, Coddington and Farndon were raised by the local ward Member and the need to keep them as three separate villages.  It was felt that any flyover in connection with in improvements to the A46 bypass to the north of Newark could detrimentally impact this.  The recent Gypsy & Traveller appeal at Winthorpe, located within the Open Break and which was dismissed, had underlined the importance of the designation and also its ability to stand up at appeal.  It was felt that there had been some good work around the technical feasibility of flood alleviation work for the Gypsy & Traveller sites on Tolney Lane.Members however raised longstanding concerns over the level of perceived need for future gypsy and traveller pitches and also their distribution between Authorities.  It was felt that the district had now delivered enough pitches and whilst the level of pitch requirements the Authority were likely to need to deliver may be felt to be disproportionate, particularly in comparison to other local authorities, the reality was whether this was 10, 40 or closer to 80. The Director - Growth & Regeneration informed Members that as it stands the Council would be unable to identify land to meet them.  The importance of allocating and delivering appropriate land to meet this need and providing for its future-proofing through being able to be expanded was emphasised.  It was underlined that the identification of land through the Plan would be taken through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which advised Members on the outcome of the activities undertaken in partnership with the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and third sector partners in order to support individuals in the 18-24 age range into work, training or further support as appropriate. These activities followed results of the social mobility report of November 2017 which identified Newark & Sherwood as one of the least socially mobile areas in the country.

It was reported that a number of actions took place from May 2018 to begin to address and support projects for those currently in the local primary and secondary schools and in the 18 to 24 age group. This involved working with partners in both the public and private sector, including the DWP and Employment Agencies, training providers and charity organisations.  The report detailed eleven schemes that were in place and their progress.

Members welcomed this work and commented that the successful schemes should be continued and that the Council needed to work smart and keep the schemes running.  A Member commented that the DARE programme should be continued into Secondary schools to move the programme forward.

The Chairman commented that the YMCA were involved in dealing with disadvantaged children and asked whether Outreach could be incorporated as well.  The Senior Projects Officer confirmed that as the YMCA was progressed, links would be made with other organisations going forward.  The Director – Growth & Regeneration confirmed that there were ongoing discussions with YMCA, which were not just regarding sport but a wider agenda, which included health, social care, and anti-social behaviour, an update report would be presented to a future meeting of the committee regarding how this work would link into the Community Plan through the YMCA.

AGREED      (unanimously) that:

(a)          the contents of the report be noted; and

(b)          future consideration of further activities to remove barriers to social mobility are considered as part of the review of the Council’s Economic Development Strategy.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which provided an update on the progress of delivering on the Economic Growth Strategy and proposed a review of the strategy to reflect the formation of the Growth & Regeneration Directorate and new priorities of Government and the District Council.  The report detailed a number of new strategies and priorities that had emerged which would be reflected within an updated Economic Development Strategy.  It was also proposed that a workshop was held with the Committee to consider in detail the contents of a new Economic Development Strategy, including an updated work programme.

Members agreed that this was a good news story and was right for review, it was also commented that the Council also needed to address smaller businesses within the district.

AGREED      (unanimously) that:

(a)     the progress on meeting the detailed work programme of the current Economic Development Strategy be noted;

(b)     the review of the Economic Development Strategy be supported; and

(c)     a Member workshop be arranged to consider in detail the areas that the updated strategy should cover.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which provided Members on the Conservation Team’s review of the District’s Conservation Areas (CAs) and more generally on the progress to deliver conservation objectives.  Members were also provided with information on the recent War Memorial designations following the Council’s survey in 2018.

A Member commented that the review initially was to focus on Ollerton, Edwinstowe and Southwell, however Ollerton and Southwell appeared to have dropped off and questioned whether all three areas should be given priority and have the necessary resources.

The Interim Business Manager confirmed that Ollerton and Southwell had not been removed, the update report provided the work achieved within the three year cycle.  Initial work had been undertaken for Ollerton and issues had been raised with Ollerton & Boughton Town Council.  Ollerton conservation area was on the national risk register, which was partly because of Ollerton Hall; an update report regarding that would be presented to the September meeting of the Committee.  Southwell would be addressed at a later stage, however it was commented that Southwell had got a good appraisal document and an update report would also be presented to the September meeting.

AGREED      (unanimously) that the work undertaken by the Conservation Team be noted and the forthcoming draft proposals for amendments to Edwinstowe Conservation Area.

The Committee considered the report of the Director – Growth & Regeneration which informed Members of the opportunity of the Council to apply for grant and revenue funding from the Heritage High Street Fund (HHSF), which builds upon and offers complementary funding to authorities looking to address and advocate heritage-led town centre regeneration.

At the last meeting of the Economic Development Committee details were provided of the Council’s submission to the Future High Streets Fund (FHSF).  A decision on this bid was expected in the summer.  On 22 May 2019 the Government launched the Heritage High Streets Fund (HHSF).

The Director - Growth & Regeneration reported that he had taken the opportunity to discuss with Historic England (HE) the possibility of submitting a bid on behalf of Newark & Sherwood District Council.  HE colleagues were generally supportive of a bid for Newark Town Centre, on the basis of vacant historic building, Heritage At Risk (Newark Conservation Area was ‘at risk’ given a number of vacant and dilapidated Listed Buildings) and the dangers to heritage within the town should the town centres vibrancy and viability significantly decline.  Given the timescales involved it had not been possible to provide for the Committee a draft Expression of Interest (Eol).  Delegated approval was therefore sought for the Director - Growth & Regeneration, in consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Opposition Spokesperson, to submit an EoI if appropriate.

AGREED      (unanimously) that delegated authority be granted to the Director - Growth & Regeneration, including consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Opposition Spokesperson, to submit an Expression of Interest to the Heritage High Streets Fund.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive in relation to the appointing of representatives to the Local Development Framework Task Group.

AGREED      (unanimously) that the Local Development Framework Task Group be reconvened and the Committee’s representatives for the forthcoming municipal year be: Councillors: K. Girling and Mrs P.J. Rainbow.

The Forward Plan was provided for Member information.  Members were encouraged to submit any areas of work they wanted to address for the forthcoming year.  The Chairman informed Members that work would be undertaken to ensure that the Forward Plan fitted into the Community Plan.

A Member sought clarification regarding the timescale for the Ollerton & Boughton final neighbourhood study.  The Director – Growth & Regeneration confirmed that a report regarding that would be submitted to the September meeting of the Committee.  He also confirmed that a report on the Town Centre Regeneration work would also be submitted to the September meeting of the Committee.

NOTED       the Forward Plan.