Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Graham, McAllister and O’Donnell

The minutes of the meeting of 21st April were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 2nd May.

            The High Sheriff (Councillor Haire) declared an interest in respect of item number 8(b) Allowances for Civic Dignitaries and left the meeting whilst that item was under discussion.

            The Chief Executive submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1        The purpose of this report is to:

-       update the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the findings from the public consultation as to whether Belfast City Council should designate the Belfast district (or the city centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

-       to seek a decision from Members on whether to proceed with a ‘holiday resort’ designation

            The effect of such a designation would be to provide large shops with an option to extend their Sunday trading hours in the city centre on up to 18 Sundays (other than Easter Sunday) between 1 March and 30 September in any calendar year.   Such a designation may not come into effect until at least one month after the resolution of the Council. 

            Deputations

            Members will note that the SP&R Committee have agreed to receive deputations from Usdaw and Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce and both organisations have confirmed their attendance.  Further requests have since been received from Retail NI and Visit Belfast to present at the meeting and it will be a matter for the Committee to decide whether or not it agrees to receive a presentation from representatives of both Retail NI and Visit Belfast along with the two previously agreed deputations from Usdaw and BCTC.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

(i)     note the contents of the report including the findings from the public consultation which concluded on 5 May 2017.

(ii)   provide approval for the Council to make a ‘holiday resort’ designation under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

(iii)make a decision as to whether to apply the designation to either

a)     the entire Belfast City Council district area, or

b)     Belfast City Centre only (based on the BMAP definition of the city centre.

3.0       Main report

3.1       The initial proposal was made in response to a strong lobby within the city to designate Belfast as a ‘holiday resort’ area in order to improve the tourism offering in Belfast (particularly on a Sunday morning), to boost the local economy and to support the overall regeneration of the city centre. 

            The principle of additional Sunday opening hours for large shops in ‘holiday resort’ areas was established under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (copy attached at Appendix 1).  Article 6 was included in the 1997 Order as an additional exemption to allow large shops in tourist areas to avail of the additional tourist trade over the summer months.   A range of areas and towns in Northern Ireland have been designated and remain as “holiday resorts” for this purpose including Derry-Londonderry, Newry, Kilkeel, Portrush, Portstewart and Ballycastle. 

            Belfast, as a growing tourist destination in both Northern Ireland and wider afield may similarly wish to avail of this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2a

            The Committee was advised that Mr. Paddy Lillis, Ms. Michala Lafferty and Ms. Lauren Elliott were in attendance and they were invited to address the Committee.

            Mr. Lillis thanked the Committee for receiving them and for the opportunity to verbally supplement Usdaw’s detailed written response.  He made the point that the deregulation of trading on Sundays was not a new issue and had been ongoing for some thirty years and that Usdaw had, together with support groups, been at the forefront to keep Sundays special.  He outlined the background to the legislation to Sunday trading and how the current position was arrived at, with compromises between employers and employees, which also worked for the consumers.  He stated that all the evidence to date and all the surveys which Usdaw, the British Retail Consortium and the British Government had carried out had showed that there was no clamour to change the current legislation which had worked well.

            He made the point that Usdaw had two main concerns if the hours were to be extended.  Firstly, the effect on small businesses which could trade without the restriction of the 5 hours on Sundays.  If the bigger stores were allowed to open for additional hours that would take away the competitive edge from small convenience stores which required and wanted to trade on Sunday to boost their own ability to survive.

            Mr Lillis stated that, from a Trade Union point of view, its members were telling them over and over that they did not wish to have any further deregularisation.  More importantly, was the detrimental effect, as most of the retail employees were female, and the impact on family life.  He urged the Council to think carefully about extending Sunday opening, not only for Usdaw’s 18,000 members, but for the 120,000 retail workers in Northern Ireland, because any decision which Belfast made would have a domino effect across the country.

            Ms Lafferty advised the Committee that Usdaw wished to put on record that it had a petition with 2458 signatures opposed to the extension of Sunday trading hours.

Retail NI                               Mr. Gordon McElroy, Ms. Michelle Greeves and Mr. Michael Stewart, representing the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, were invited to address the Committee.

            Mr. McElroy thanked the Chairperson for opportunity to address the Committee.  He made the point that the Council was being asked to exercise its power and not to change the legislation or deregulate in order to recognise the Belfast City centre area only as a tourist destination and as a holiday resort. He stated that most of the hotels in Belfast were situated in the city centre and most of the tourists who came to Northern Ireland came to Belfast City centre and that is what the Chamber would like to see recognised.

            He accepted that a number of objections had been raised, such as unfair competition and employees rights, and he addressed each of these objections in turn.  He stated that the extension to Sunday trading hours would have the opportunity of recognising the great work which Visit Belfast had done to attract more tourists and the investment which stores had put in to bring the best brands to Belfast.  He indicated that these were the brands which tourists wanted to come to shop for and that we are not maximising tourism spend.

            He outlined how each of the services and retail industries should benefit on a Sunday and that no one would suffer any detriment as a result.

Visit Belfast                          Mr. Glynn Roberts, who focused on the designation of the entire Belfast City Council area, and advised that Retail NI represented over 1600 members in Northern Ireland, a significant number of which were located in Belfast.  He stated that his organisation was opposed to this type of extension and that the existing laws were a hard fought compromise which had in many respects been positive for the retail sector.

            He made the point that many of their members’ premises were below the 3000sq feet size and that those few additional hours which they opened on a Sunday morning were vital to the survival of their business and any change would lead to an increase in the unfair competitive advantage large supermarkets already had.  He referred to the other Local Authorities which had applied ‘holiday resort’ status and the businesses which had availed of the additional hours and stated that these were mostly the large supermarkets.  He urged the Committee to reject the proposals and suggested that a different strategy, with all the appropriate players involved in discussions, was required to ensure that Sunday in every part of Belfast was attractive to shoppers and tourists.

            Mr. Gerry Lennon stated that Visit Belfast saw this primarily as opportunity to grow the economy, to grasp an economic opportunity which was already there and growing.  To put it in context, he stated Tourism was now worth half a billion pounds to the city, it employed between 17,000 and 18,000 people in the Greater Belfast area and somewhere between 17% and 20% of every tourism pound was spent on retail.  So the more that the tourism sector could be grown, the more retail would benefit.

            In terms of Sunday opening and weekends, the growth in tourism in the last five years (55%) had largely been driven by the leisure market.  Occupancy rates in the city centre for the last two years had been averaging 90%.  Clearly those people were still in Belfast on a Sunday and that was an opportunity which the City was not capitalising on.  He explained that the spend per head of visitors to Northern Ireland was significantly lower than those to the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and England, therefore, visitors had to be given more opportunity to engage in what the city had to offer and spend money and Visit Belfast saw this as such an opportunity.

            After discussion, it was

Moved by Councillor Long,

Seconded by Councillor Jones,

      That the Committee agrees that the Council passes a resolution to designate Belfast City centre as a ‘holiday resort’ under Article 6 of the shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

            On a vote by show of hands, three Members voted for the proposal and twelve against and it was declared lost.

            The Information contained in the following six reports is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014

            The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the development and implementation of the £105m leisure assets capital programme.  The report provided details in relation to the planned closure of Andersonstown Leisure Centre, the impact on staffing and users and alternate provision.  The report also updated the members in relation to the Brooke Centre, the Avoniel Leisure Centre, Templemore, the Robinson Centre, Olympia and Girdwood.

            The Committee was reminded that, at is meeting on 21st April, it had agreed to receive presentations from representatives of the NIPSA and Unite Trade Unions in respect of the mobilisation plan for Andersonstown Leisure Centre.

NIPSA

            The Committee was advised that Ms. Naomi Connor, representing NIPSA, was in attendance and she was admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairperson.

            Ms. Connor reminded the Committee that NIPSA had been opposed to GLL taking over Belfast Leisure and still had significant concerns.  She welcomed the fact that all staff from Andersonstown Leisure Centre had been relocated to other centres or had taken voluntary redundancy and that there had not been any compulsory redundancies.  However, she expressed concerns in the manner in which staff had transferred in respect of centre of choice.  In addition, she stated that, following the completion of the new leisure centre, staff had been advised that they would not automatically be redeployed to Andersonstown but would have to apply for the new posts.  She expressed concern that these posts would be under GLL terms and conditions but that the Union position was that staff should retain TUPE rights and be allowed to transfer back to the centre when it was completed.

            Ms. Connor then answered a number of questions from the Members, thanked the Committee for receiving her and retired from the meeting.

            Unite

            The Chairperson advised the Committee that Mr. Michael Keenan and Mr. Harry Magill, representing Unite, were in attendance and they were welcomed to the meeting.

            Mr. Keenan expressed concern at the way the staff at Andersonstown Leisure had been treated as part of the transfer to other centres.  He stated that, whilst the Union welcomed the new facilities which the Council was investing in, it was of the view that morale had been adversely impacted.  He also referred to the transfer of staff to other centres and the need to apply to return to Andersonstown and the Union position was that staff should not be employed under new contracts but should be transferred under TUPE conditions.

            The deputation then answered a number of question from the Members, thanked the Committee for receiving them and retired from the meeting.

            After discussion, during which the Chief Executive and Director of City and Neighbourhood Services answered a number of questions and the Director undertook to investigate some of the issues which had been raised, the Committee:

·        noted the contents of the report and agreed to keep the car parking at Andersonstown opened until August and to move the exterior panels to the Whiterock Community corridor: and

·        agreed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

The Committee considered a report in relation to the proposed procurement approach for 2017 – 2020 to negotiate the appointments of contractors on a site by site basis to work with the Council and its partners to remove bonfires and related materials that had been identified as being gathered at or for bonfire sites associated with contentious July/August bonfires and bonfire clear ups.

            The Committee was advised that the Council had, for a number of years, utilised the services of an independent cleansing contract for contentious bonfire sites.  However, the procurement exercises had proven difficult and the Council had faced market failure on a number of occasions.  Accordingly, officers were seeking approval to deviate from Standing Order 55 in awarding contracts above £30,000 in relation to the management of bonfire material across the city for the duration of 2017 - 2020.

            The Committee agreed to deviate from Standing Order 55 regarding the award of contracts and:

·        agreed that contracts relating to the management of bonfire material above £30,000 and up to the value of the European annual tender threshold (currently £164,176) be awarded via direct appointment through a process of negotiation to ensure value for money; and

·        that, for all contracts relating to bonfire material retrieval within the stated limits, authority would be delegated to the Director of City and Neighbourhood Services who, in consultation with the City Solicitor would issue a contract award.

            The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the City Centre Investment Fund (CCIF), including progress made to date, a summary of advice received from CBRE (in particular intervention options and high level investment parameters) and the planned next steps

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        agreed  high level parameters for scheme identification;

·        agreed the project prioritisation matrix as detailed in the report;

·        agreed to go to the market to call for expressions of interest;

·        agreed to support and independent organisation to assist in the valuation process; and

·        granted approval  to progress to a more detailed due diligence of the Aurora Fund request and that the Aurora Fund could mention in its ongoing funding discussions/material that it had a proposal with the Council which was currently undergoing due diligence assessment.

            The Committee approved the Active Belfast Limited Business Plan for 2017 – 2020.

            The Committee noted the update in respect of the proposed disposal of Council-owned land at McClure Street for the development of social housing; and granted approval to obtain an updated valuation from Land and Property Services and, in the event that Apex obtained the requisite planning approval in due course, granted approval also to the disposal of the land to Apex Housing Association thereafter on the basis of the valuation and terms to be agreed by the Estates Manager and the City Solicitor.

(With the exception of the Chief Executive and the Senior Democratic Services Officer, all officers left the meeting whilst this item was under discussion)

            The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the Council’s Organisation Design Model.

            The Committee agreed:

1.     the organisational design function model, including the creation of a new Strategic Hub;

2.     that a recruitment process could start for a Director of Strategic Development (working title only);

3.     that the Chief Executive consult with the Executive Search Agency to determine the level at which the new post should be positioned and delegated authority to the Chief Executive to apply the appropriate tier.

4.     that work could begin developing or consolidating the next tier throughout the organisation;

5.     to take the opportunity to realign some functions into the new directorates to better reflect the new organisation design, following further consultation and exploration with senior management, staff and trade unions;

6.     that the process could begin in moving agreed functions and badging staff to the newly created department(s), following the consultation;

7.     that a proactive executive search approach to the recruitment and selection of the Strategic Director post was essential, therefore, the timely and targeted executive search would start to ensure a strong and competent applicant field for the post; and

8.     that the selection panel for the recruitment of the permanent Director of Strategic Development reflect a fair balance in terms of community background and gender and be comprised of the Chairperson (or nominee), Deputy Chairperson (or nominee), one other elected Member from a political party not already represented by the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson (or nominees), the Chief Executive and a Council Director.

            The Committee also approved the recommendation of the selection panel for the appointment of Mr. Paddy Murray as Head of Human Resources.

            The Committee were reminded that the Council on 2nd May had referred the following notice of motion, which had been proposed by Councillor Graham and seconded by Councillor Johnston, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), to the Committee for consideration:

"This Council acknowledges the vital role which 321 Explosives Ordnance Disposal Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, has provided to our City and its citizens over a number of decades. Their sacrifice and dedication has saved many lives and helped preserve our city from those who would physically destroy it.  The Council agrees to commission a stained glass window to acknowledge their dedication and service and install this in an appropriate location in the City Hall.”

            The Committee agreed that the matter be referred, in the first instance, to the Party Leaders.

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To present Members with a proposed ‘Smart Belfast’ framework that seeks to harness the talent of the city’s digital SME sector, and our world-class university research, to support the Council, community planning partners and local communities to create more innovative solutions to complex public policy challenges as identified in the Belfast Agenda. This work is part of a wider ambition to foster innovative methodologies and complements the Council’s parallel work on Social Innovation with local communities and our corporate commitment to service transformation.

1.2       The Smart Belfast framework is the product of a twelve-month co-investment agreement between the Council and the UK Future Cities Catapult which also delivered a series of ‘demonstrator’ projects that utilised a mix of ‘smart city’ approaches to address current city issues. (One of these demonstrator projects has already identified more than £370,000 of additional annual Rates income for the region.)

1.3       This report provides an overview of the framework and the results of the demonstrator projects. It also sets out a proposed programme to deliver the Smart Belfast framework within a wider Council commitment to innovative service delivery. It also includes details of an offer from Invest NI to support a ‘Smart Belfast’ challenge programme which has the potential to provide over £860,000 funding support to local SMEs. And an offer from the Digital Catapult to provide £50,000 funding support to local SMEs for an innovation challenge around the city’s visitor experience.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Consider and adopt the Smart Belfast framework as a basis for driving collaborative innovation between city partners.

·        Agree the proposed programme of work including the delivery of a Smart Belfast challenge programme with Invest NI and the delivery of the Digital Catapult’s open challenge competition on the visitor experience.

·        Agree to a September launch event for the framework and Challenge programme. (Details to be issued to Members later in the summer.)

·        Agree that the Council develops an approach to innovation that integrates opportunities presented by the Smart Belfast work, the Social Innovation programme with communities, and the organisational development programme.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Key Issues

            Many cities around the world have created ‘smart city’ frameworks that aim to foster the conditions in which city partners can better exploit leading-edge technologies, data science and industrial design practices to address urban challenges in more innovative ways (while at the same time providing a welcoming environment for start-ups and entrepreneurs to develop new products).

3.2       Places such as Glasgow, Dublin, Bristol, and Manchester are successfully using such frameworks to:

·        leverage substantial private sector investment and grant funding (eg, Innovate UK and Horizon 2020 funding);

·        provide a creative environment in which local digital SMEs and entrepreneurs can develop new products and services;

·        deliver innovative joint projects that make substantial contributions to urban challenges such as waste, energy, traffic and water management; and

·        Improve public services for citizens and communities.

3.3       At  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Chief Executive submitted to for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1        To update Members on the key findings from the Belfast Resident Survey and to outline next steps in terms of how the data will be used and reported.  

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the key findings of the survey

·        As in previous years, it is recommended that the results from the survey will be communicated through the council website, City Matters and via interlink and that a similar report to this to be brought to the next SP&R Committee.  It is also recommended that more detailed reports be brought to each of the Area Working Groups so that Members can consider local implications if any arising from these results.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Key Issues

            The council undertakes a regular resident survey to help inform strategic planning, in particular the development of the council’s corporate plan and now our emerging Belfast Agenda.  Information from this research, together with other evidence and data, is used to help set the future strategic direction of the Council and to inform community planning priorities; it is also used to track progress on and inform improvement objectives for council and the city.  The survey also helps council fulfil its statutory duty to consult under the Local Government (NI) Act 2014 as it provides reliable resident perception data to inform strategic planning and performance management.   The survey, which is based on a representative and statistically valid sample, is normally carried out every two to three years, with the most recent survey carried at the beginning of 2017.

3.2       The survey was carried out by Social Market Research (SMR), to ensure independence and to provide expert assurance regarding the statistical validity and reliability of the data.  As with previous exercises, the survey was based on a representative sample of residents and carried out via face-to-face interviews conducted in the home.  Approximately 1500 people over the age of sixteen were interviewed across Belfast across all DEAs and electoral wards.

3.3       The fieldwork was carried out between 2nd February and 2nd March 2017 and sought feedback from residents on the following matters:

·        Living in Belfast

·        Improvement Priorities for Belfast

·        Your Local Area

·        Your Wellbeing

·        Belfast City Council Performance

3.4       Key findings are set out below; where applicable comparison with the previous survey results from 2014 are provided for trend purposes.

3.5       Improvement Priorities for Belfast

            Respondents were asked about to indicate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how important or unimportant a range of improvement priorities were for them.  The list of improvement priorities were generated using previous research and feedback on what mattered most to local people or for making a successful city.  The priorities that ranked highest overall were:

3.6       Whilst it is possible to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of report or summary of main issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to submit for approval updates to the Council Constitution and it’s appendices, specifically:

·        Council Constitution

·        Standing Orders

·        Roles and Functions of Committees

·        Scheme of Delegation

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Approve the proposed amendments

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       As Members will be aware, the Council approved a Constitution in April 2015 comprising key governance documents including the Standing Orders and Scheme of Delegation. In order to reflect recent organisational changes in the Council, the NI Executive departments and new legislation, these documents have been updated. Tracked changes versions of all the updated documents are set out as appendices to this report.

3.2       In addition, in order to improve the service delivery of the Planning function, the powers delegated to the Director of Planning and Place were discussed at a special meeting of the Planning Committee on 14th March 2017 where it was agreed to recommend the changes proposed.

3.3       Key Issues

            Constitution

            Some minor amendments have been made to the Constitution to reflect internal and external changes. This updated document is set out in Appendix 1 to this report.

3.4       Standing Orders

            Some minor amendments have been made to the Standing Orders to reflect organisational changes and new legislation. This updated document is set out in Appendix 2 to this report.

3.5       Roles and Functions of Committees

            Some minor amendments have been made to this document to reflect internal changes. The updated document is set out in Appendix 3 to this report.

3.6       Scheme of Delegation

            A summary of the amendments which have been made are set out below and an updated document is at Appendix 4 to this report.

            Recent organisation and legislative changes

·        New Director of City & Neighbourhoods

·        New Director of City Centre Development

·        Move of Parks & Leisure

·        Move of Building Control

·        Move of Community Services

·        Establishment of Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Limited

·        Establishment of Innovation Factory

·        Updated references to legislation, statutory guidance and bye-laws

            Please note that the powers relating to newly-vacant post of Director of Organisational Development can be delegated by Chief Executive. A report outlining the re-assignment of these powers will be brought to Members at a later date.

3.7       In addition, a clause has been added allowing the Town Solicitor to make minor amendments to the Scheme of Delegation to reflect organisational or legislative changes (see 3.3.12) without having to bring the full Scheme of Delegation to Committee for approval. Significant amendments to the Scheme of Delegation will continue to be brought to Strategic Policy & Resources Committee for approval.

3.8       Planning-related changes in order to improve service delivery

            These changes have been proposed to ensure that the Planning Committee can operate more efficiently. At present the Planning Committee considers on average 17 applications (12 local and five major) each month. The key changes proposed would reduce the average number of local applications considered at each meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

            The Committee acceded to the request by Councillor Arder Carson for the Council to approve his continued absence on the basis of ill health under the provision of Section 9 of the Local Government Act (NI) 1972.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The Council’s Capital Programme is a rolling programme of investment which either improves existing Council facilities or provides new facilities. This report outlines

-       an update on projects under the Capital Programme

-       proposed movements – Clarendon Playing Fields (Stage 3- Committed), Ulidia Playing Fields and King George IV Playing Fields (Stage 2- Uncommitted)

-       proposed additions– Reservoir Safety Programme and Ventilation system at St. George’s Market (Stage 1 – Emerging)

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to –

·        note that updates on the Capital programme since the last update report

            Project Movements

·        agree that the following project is moved to Stage 3- Committed – Schemes at tender preparation stage on the Capital Programme –

·        Clarendon Playing Fields – New mini 3G pitch and floodlighting (see 3.4) – with a maximum budget of £452,000 to be allocated - the Director of Finance & Resources has confirmed that this is within the affordability limits of the Council.  Members are also asked to agree that the necessary procurement processes (including the invitation of tenders and/or the use of appropriate ‘framework’ arrangements) be initiated as required with contracts to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tender received and full commitment to deliver.

·        Agree that the following projects are moved to Stage 2 - Uncommitted (see 3.5)

·        Ulidia Playing Fields – New 3G pitch and floodlighting  – OBC to be worked up with further detail to be brought back to Committee for consideration in due course

·        King George V Playing Fields – New 3G pitch and floodlighting - OBC to be worked up with further detail to be brought back to Committee in due course

·        Agree that the following projects are added as Stage 1 – Emerging Projects

-       Ventilation system at St. George’s Market - SOC to be worked up and brought back to Committee for further consideration (section 3.6)

-       Reservoir Safety – SOC to be worked up and brought back to Committee for further consideration (section 3.7)

            Other projects – Updates

·        Shore Road Changing Pavilion – note that a study is being commissioned to ascertain the best option for future changing provision at the Shore Road  (see 3.8)

·        Fleet Programme - note the Fleet Programme for 17/18 (Appendix 1) and agree that the necessary procurement processes are initiated with the delegation of subsequent evaluation and award processes to the Director of Property & Projects (see 3.9)  

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       The Council’s rolling Capital Programme is a significant programme of investment in Council assets and Members are asked to note the update in respect of the delivery of projects as outlined below –

            Projects recently completed/in final stages of completion

·        Connswater community Greenway – at the end of April a major milestone was reached with the opening of the final section of the transformative Connswater Community Greenway project.  In total the CCG has involved the development of 16km of new foot  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

            Minutes

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meetings of the Area Working Groups as follows: South Area Working Group 24th April; North Area Working Group 26th April; West Area working Group 28th April; and East Area Working Group 4th May.

            West Area Working Group

            The Committee was advised that the West Area Working Group (AWG), at its meeting on 26th April, had noted that the Falls Community Council (FCC) had recently approached the Council seeking support for the St. James Forum and the development and implementation of its community forum project (WLIF2 -10). The AWG had been asked to consider if it wished to approve the project proceeding as a partnership project between the St. James Forum and the FCC which would require due diligence on both organisations and joint signatures on any future legal agreements.  The Working Group had agreed to the projected proceeding as a joint initiative.

Noted.

            South Area Working Group

            The South Area Working Group (AWG) in November 2016 had previously agreed to ring-fence £250,000 of its outer south BIF allocation to BIF33 – Linfield FC/ Boys Brigade and Belvoir FC, with further detail on the scope of the project to be brought back.  Following further work with the Group the South AWG, at its meeting on 24th April, had agreed that the scope of the BIF funding should focus on Phase 1A which included the replacement of Belvoir FC’s grass pitch, resurfacing of the car park and the widening of the access lane.

Noted.

            Former Tudor Place Playground, Agnes Street

            The Committee approved a negotiated financial settlement of £250,000 from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in relation to an Agreement dated 7th August, 2000 for the replacement of Tudor Place Playground and approved proposals for this capital receipt to be ring-fenced for the provision of proposed play facilities in the Agnes Street area.

            Springfield Star – Lease Agreement

            The Committee agreed to extend the current lease agreement with the Trustees of Springfield Star for lands adjacent to Springmartin Playground for a period of 3 years, with an option to renew for a further 3 years from the end date of the previous agreement.

            Medway Street Depot

            The Committee agreed to appropriation of the Medway Street Depot to the Corporate Landbank, which was held by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and managed by the Estates Unit, with a further report to be submitted to the Committee in due course on future use/disposal options.

Licence Renewals for Off Street Car parks Located

atBankmore Street and Cromac Street

            The Committee agreed to the renewal of the car park Licence Agreements at Bankmore Street for 12 months from 1st April, 2017 at an annual licence fee of £28,100 and at Cromac Street for 12 months from 1st April, 2017 at an annual licence fee of £49,000.

            Avoniel Play Centre – Proposed Tempory

Relocation to Exchange Church

            The Committee agreed to a Licence Agreement for the provision of temporary accommodation at Exchange Church, Albertbridge Road for the displaced Avoniel Play Centre Summer Scheme and potentially the After Schools Club.

Requests for the Use of Giant’s Park, North Foreshore

for NI Children’s Hospice Colour Dash

            The Committee approved the use of facilities at Giant’s Park, North Foreshore on 6th August, 2017 for the NI Children’s Hospice 5k Sparkle Dash run, subject to the satisfactory resolution of the key issues as set out in the report.

            Park Road – Substation and Cable Easement

and Right of Way

            The Committee granted a 99 year lease, cable easement and right of way to Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd (NIE) for land at Park Road, Belfast for the installation for an electricity sub-station which supplied the Council’s Park Road Civic Amenity Site.

            The Committee noted a report which provided an update on the setting of the regional rate and arrangements for issue of rate bills for 2017/18.

The Committee considered a report in relation to the allowances payable to the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and High Sheriff and agreed not to increase the allowance for the 2017/18 year.

            The Committee:

(1)   approved the public advertisement and acceptance of tenders as listed in Appendix 1, table 1, through the Council’s electronic procurement system;

(2)   grant delegated authority to the appropriate Director, using pre-agreed criteria, to accept the most economic advantageous tender, and allow extensions where contracts were under review as per table 2; and

(3)   noted the contracts awarded between January and April, 2017 as per table 3.

Appendix 1 - Schedule of Tenders for consideration

Table 1 – New tenders

Table 2 – Contracts for Extension of contract period

Table 3 Contracts Awarded January – April 2017

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Shared City Partnership of 8th May.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Budget and Transformation Panel of 11th May.

            The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting of the Active Belfast Ltd Board of 20th April.

            The Committee adopted the recommendations in relation to the requests for the use of the City Hall and the provision of hospitality as set out below:

            The Committee was advised that the Council had received an invitation from the UK and Irish Governments for a number of Members to attend the centenary ceremony for the Battle of Messines Ridge in Belgium on 7th June.  Following contact with the organisers, the Council had been able to secure invitations for one representative from each of the six main political parties represented on the Council, together with a Council officer.

            It was reported that the Somme Association had, through a local travel agent, arranged a visit to Belgium which would include this ceremony.  The group would leave on 6th June and return on 9th June.  However, it was pointed out that anyone attending the visit would be absent for polling day for the General Election on 8th June.  In addition, given the tight time scales associated with making the booking with the Somme Association trip, it would be necessary to confirm any booking with them no later than Monday, 22nd May.

            The Committee agreed that one representative from each of the six main political parties on the Council, together with a Council officer, be authorised to attend the Centenary Ceremony for the Battle of Messines Ridge.

            The Committee noted the Court of Appeal decision given in the Council’s favour in relation to the purported adoption of BMAP.  The City Solicitor explained that this had the effect of returning BMAP to a draft but that this in real terms did not undermine its significance as a policy within which planning decisions would have to be made.  It also had the effect of putting restrictions relating to Sprucefield back as material planning considerations in relation to any relevant planning applications relating to that site.

            The Committee considered a report in relation to a joint request for funding from Féile an Phobail and Belfast South Community Resources (BSCR) in relation to a pilot diversionary programme in the south and west of the city.  The total request for funding was £100,000.

            After discussion the Committee agreed:

·        that Officers meet with representatives of Feile an Phobail and BSCR to further exploit a request for funding and the costings for a pilot diversionary programme in the south and west of the city, with the report to be submitted to the June meeting on further details of the proposal as part of the year end finance report;

·        that authority be delegated to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in June to make the decision on whether or not to fund the proposal; and

·        that the aforementioned report be submitted in the first instance to the Shared City Partnership to ascertain its views.

            The Committee agreed to accede to a request from Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) the use of the ILLUMINATE system to mark a local day of action on 26th May, subject to it meeting the criteria and on the basis that the system was not already in use on that day.