Agenda and minutes

Apologies were reported on behalf of Councillors Duffy, McDonough-Brown, Murray and Smyth.

            Councillor Nic Bhranair declared an interest in items 3.a) 2024/25 Committee Plan and Associated Work Plans in that she had recently been employed as a Special Advisor to a Minister in the Executive, however, on advice from the Democratic Services Manager it was not deemed necessary that she should leave the room as the report provided the Members with overarching Workplans.

            The information contained in the report associated with the following item was restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following item as, due to the nature of the item, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            Members were also reminded that the content of ‘restricted’ reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as ‘confidential information’ and that no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.  

            The Chairperson welcomed Mr. D. McAllister, Head of Belfast Grand Central Station Programme, Mr. D. Curry - General Manager Bus Services, and Ms. L. Shannon, Corporate Communications Manager, representing Translink to the meeting.

            The representatives provided an update of the Belfast Grand Central Station/ Weavers Cross Transport Led Regeneration Project which included details of the Construction Work timeline, Rail engineering works, Public Transport Interventions, Bus and Rail timetable changes, event management and customer information and accessibility.

            The representatives thanked the Committee for its support and continued engagement.

            During discussion, the representative’s answered a range of questions in relation to project spend and engagement with schools on the impact of service changes. In response to a Member’s question in relation to further communication and the potential to animate park and ride sites during quiet periods to engage with the impacted communities, Ms. Shannon advised this would be explored.

            The Chairperson thanked the representatives for their attendance and they retired from the meeting.

            The Committee noted the contents of the Presentation and that further updates would be received at future Special Committees, if required.

The Committee considered the undernoted report and associated appendices:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       To provide an end of year report on the key actions contained in the 2023-24 City Growth and Regeneration (CG&R) Committee Plan, as agreed by this Committee in September 2023.

1.2       To present to Committee the draft City Growth & Regeneration Committee Plan for 2024-25 and associated programme workplans highlighting programme costs seeking committee approval.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the contents of the end of year report as set out in Appendix 1;

·        Approve the City Growth and Regeneration Committee Plan for 2024-25 attached at Appendix 2;

·        Approve the priority work areas and budget allocations presented in the Enterprise and Business Growth workplan for 2024-25 as set out in Appendix 3;

·        Note and agree a financial commitment of £25,000 to HIRANI to support the delivery of the ‘Health and Life Sciences Launchpad’ in Northern Ireland;

·        Note and endorse the proposal to invest in the Way to Scale programme and extended support to innovation-focused businesses up to a maximum of £50,000 (work to be coordinated through Catalyst);

·        Note and endorse the contribution to support the ongoing development of the Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor (work to be coordinated through Newry, Mourne and Down District Council) up to a maximum of £35,000;

·        Approve the priority work areas and budget allocations presented in the Employability and Skills workplan for 2024-25 as set out in Appendix 4;

·        Approve the priority work areas and budget allocations presented in the European and International Relations workplan for 2024-25 as set out in Appendix 5;

·        Note and agree a financial commitment of £15,000 to Eurocities as part of annual membership of the Network;

·        Approve the priority work areas and budget allocations presented in the Culture workplan for 2024-25 as set out in Appendix 6; and

·        Approve the priority work areas and budget allocations presented in the Tourism and Events workplan for 2024-25 as set out in Appendix 7.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       At its meeting on 8th May, the Committee agreed to defer consideration of the Report and associated appendices until its meeting on 29th May, to allow Members time to review the Committee and Work Plans further.

3.2       CG&R Committee Plan 2023-24 End of Year Report

            While the Committee receives regular updates on progress for specific programmes and initiatives, Appendix 1 sets out an overview of progress against the main commitments in the CG&R Committee Plan 2023-24 as of the 31st March 2024. This builds on the report that members received at the November committee meeting which provided a six-monthly update. At the year end, officers undertook an assessment of individual projects and workstreams, allocating a traffic light rating as follows:

·        Green - actions have been delivered as expected, to budget and with no significant risks.

·        Amber -  there have been some delays, impact on budget or risks that have emerged.

·        Red - work has been significantly delayed; the final outcome is not as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

In accordance with Standing Order 14, the Committee agreed, as the meeting had been held later than seven clear days before the meeting of the Council, that the minutes of the meeting be submitted to the Council on 3rd June for ratification.