Agenda and minutes

            No apologies were recorded.

            The minutes of the meeting of 13th May were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st June.

No declarations of interest were reported.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 22nd April, it had been suggested that a presentation from representatives of Transport NI should be delivered to a meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee in order that they could deliver their Spring Report.  At that meeting, it was agreed that an invitation be extended also to representatives of Translink which would enable Members to consider a range of strategic transport-related issues which were relevant to the City.  It was reported that Mr. T. Reid, Director for Policy, Strategy and Legislation Division (DRD), Mr. K. Monaghan, Eastern Divisional Manager at Transport NI, Mr. B. O’Neill, Belfast North Section Engineer, Mr. G. McKibbin, Belfast South Section Engineer, and Mr. B. Gilpin, Head of Operational Support & Planning at Translink, were in attendance and they were admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairperson.

            Mr. Reid explained the need for significant investment in Northern Ireland’s public transport system and the key role that Belfast played as the key economic driver for the region.  He outlined the progress which had been made with Belfast Rapid Transit, the Great Victoria Street Transit Hub and outlined the proposed changes to the York Street Interchange.

            Mr. K. Monaghan outlined the principal aspects of Transport NI’s Programme of Works for the forthcoming year.  He advised the Committee that, while funding had not yet been established for the Knock Road (A55) widening scheme, it was in a procurement-ready position should funding become available.  He also stated that road improvements to the south section of the Belfast City Centre Ring, between Sandy Row and Cromac Street, would be significantly smaller in scale compared to what had originally been proposed and that these would proceed only if additional funding was identified.  He highlighted the vastly reduced budget that the Department was working within with regards to routine maintenance costs which had resulted in a skeleton service of repairing road defects, clearing gullies and cutting grass verges and trees to maintain visibility.  The Chief Executive informed Members that officers would be meeting with officials from the Department for Regional Development to discuss routine maintenance, such as grass cutting across the City, the following week.

            Mr. B. Gilpin provided the Committee with an overview of Translink’s plans to integrate and modernise ticketing systems across its services, the expansion of park and ride facilities across the City, continuous frequency enhancements to core routes, the importance of the Goldline coach network which brought people into Belfast, the progress of the Belfast Rapid Transit preparation throughout the East and West of the City and the anticipated increase in footfall from the Ulster University’s relocation from Jordanstown.

            The Members drew the attention of the officers from Transport NI and Translink to several matters, a number of which are set out hereunder:

·        what arrangements were in place for rapid response when vehicles broke down on the Westlink causing the traffic to come to a standstill;

·        the progress on a number of residential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2a

The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 22nd April, it had agreed to defer consideration of an increased request for funding from the Lagan Canal Trust in order to invite a representative from the Trust to make a presentation to the Committee.  The Director of Development reminded the Committee that, since the change of the Council’s boundary on 1st April, the percentage of the Lagan Canal within Belfast had risen from 18% to 22%.  He added that the Trust was seeking a contribution from Belfast City Council of £37,963.20, £42,281.80 and £42,563.84 over the next three financial years.  It was pointed out that, in 2014/2015, the former Council had contributed a sum of £17,341 to the Trust, which had been based on the fact that 18% of the canal lay within the then Council boundary.  The Committee was advised that the Chief Officer of the Lagan Canal Trust, Ms. B. Turnbull, was in attendance and she was admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairperson.

            Ms. Turnbull outlined the work which had been undertaken by the Trust to date and explained that the Trust wished to reopen all twenty-seven locks along the River Lagan and that four of those lay within the Belfast boundary. She explained that the Trust had applied for £1.8m of funding through the EU LIFE programme on Climate Change Adaptation in December 2014 and that that application had now been progressed to the next stage which was due in July 2016. 

            She explained the difficulties which the Trust had faced as a result of recent government budget cuts, despite having reduced their staffing costs to just one officer and one administrative post. She explained that, in order to attract more funding to fulfil the Trust’s objectives, they needed to have staff who could dedicate their time to applying for funding through various streams and programmes. 

            In response to several Members questions as to why the amount requested from the Council had more than doubled for each of the next three years, Ms. Turnbull stated that since the boundary changes on 1st April, an increased section of the River Lagan now fell within the Belfast area. She explained the amount the Trust had requested from all four contributing councils had increased significantly due to the fact that the Trust had been operating on a predicted budget for 2009 for the past 5 years and that, despite letting 3 staff Members go, remaining staffing costs were increasing by 1% each year.  She explained that the funding the Trust had received from DCAL had also been decreased by 11% this year and Ms. Turnbull reiterated that, in order to draw down more funding for the project, hiring additional staff to apply for various streams of funding was now essential.  The Committee thanked Ms. Turnbull for attending and she left the meeting.

            The Chief Executive pointed out to the Members that, as the Departmental budgets had already been agreed, if the Committee agreed to accede to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2b

            The Chief Executive outlined plans to hold a workshop for all Members of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee.  She stated that discussions would be based on the recent conversations around the development of the Belfast Agenda and would seek Members’ views on the priorities regarding the long term vision and outcomes for the Committee.  Specifically, it was proposed that the workshop would follow the following format:

1.   Clearly define the role of the City Growth & Regeneration Committee in supporting the delivery of the Belfast Agenda. This would include raising awareness and understanding the population outcomes contained in the emerging Belfast Agenda and how the Committee could influence those given the resources available under their remit;

2.   Undertake an exercise to draft priority actions which would form part of the 4 year priority action plan, as part of the Belfast Agenda;

3.   Identify key partner organisations that would be needed to tackle multi-agency issues; and

4.   Further define the working relationship with the Area Working Groups, working towards an outcomes based approach to understand causes, priorities and action at a local level.

            The Committee agreed to hold a planning workshop in the City Hall during the month of August for the development of a committee work plan as described above.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0  Summary of main Issues

1.1    The purpose of this report is to update members on progress on the draft employability and skills framework and to advise on proposed next steps. 

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    Members are asked to:

-       Note the update on the employability and skills framework, including the proposed next steps which will be presented to SP&R on 19 June

-       Note and agree the action plans (to be developed) and the proposed monitoring and reporting arrangements through the City Growth and Regeneration Committee.

3.0    Key Issues

3.1   Members will be aware that the council has been working with the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) to develop a framework for action on employability and skills issues.  A draft framework has now been developed and it identifies a number of areas of focus, and suggests a number of headline targets based on skills attainment and employment rate increases, in order to focus action and measure impact of agreed initiatives.

3.2    The draft framework was presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 22 May 2015.  Members asked that the report be deferred for consideration at the 19 June meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.  This was principally to allow them to receive more information on requests for match funding for European Social Fund (ESF) which had been included in the same report.  This will be presented separately to SP&R Committee.

3.3    The framework suggests that, in order to ensure that all activities are focused on building skills levels and generating greater alignment between skills demand and supply, a series of targets should be established.  Suggested targets are:

-       To increase the employment rate in the city to at least 72% by 2025 (current rate is 67.6%).  This will mean moving an estimated 17,500 Belfast residents into work over 10 years – 1,750 per year

-       To reduce the proportion of the working age population with no qualifications from the 2012 baseline of 23% to between 9% and 12% by 2025. This means reducing the number of people with no formal qualifications by around 22,000

-       To increase the proportion of the working age population with level two qualifications and above from the 2012 baseline of 64% to between 76% and 79% by 2025.  This would mean providing 40,000 additional people with qualifications at level 2 or above 

-       To increase the proportion of the working age population with level 4 qualifications and above from the 2012 baseline of 28% to between 37% and 39% by 2025.  This would mean up to 30,000 additional people with level 4 qualifications and above.

3.4    The next stage in the process is to consider how this framework can be moved towards implementation, in conjunction with a number of key partners. While Belfast City Council has ambitions and a significant political commitment to address this issue, it has very limited resources at this point in time.  It is therefore  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3b

The Committee considered the undernoted report and appendix:

“1.0  Summary of main Issues

1.1    At their meeting in May, Committee agreed to the commissioning of a framework and action plan aimed at improving traffic flows into and around the city, and city centre car parking within the context of the emerging City Centre Regeneration Strategy and Investment Plan.  It was also agreed that the scope of this work would be circulated to the Committee.

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    To note the scope of work for the development of the city centre car parking framework and action plan as set out in Appendix 1.

3.0    Main report

3.1    Key Issues

3.2    Post LGR, Council now operates 30 off-street car parks with approximately 2,200 car parking spaces previously operated by the DRD. 15 of these car parks are within the city centre, which equates to approximately 1,300 car parking spaces mainly around the inner ring road. It is estimated that the Council now operates around 11% of the off street car parking spaces in the City Centre or around 6.5% of all city centre parking that is available (on and off-street, private and public).

3.3    It has been estimated that more than 100,000 people commute into the city each day and approximately 50% of them use private cars or vans, and so require parking facilities. There has been little change in this pattern between the 2001 and 2011 census. There is a perception that city centre parking is expensive and limited.The situation is not helped by the variety of parking operators, different charges between sites and a lack of real time parking information on inner city parking facilities. This means that often parking is confusing, that occupancy of the total available spaces is relatively low but that parking spaces can be hard to find, leading to significant volumes of traffic flow as vehicles search between car parks for spaces.

3.4    The main factors that the city car parking framework needs to consider are:

-       The Economy – This further divides into the needs of shoppers, traders, and commuters. Shoppers and traders are both keen that it is as simple as possible to get from the car to the shops. Commuters are more concerned with the price of parking though it still needs to be within walking distance of their work. In simple terms, well designed parking is perceived as favourable for the economy. However the balance between making the city more accessible to those that are going to spend money in the city centre and contribute to the city and increasing the level of general traffic needs careful consideration.

-       The Environment – high levels of slow moving traffic are associated with undesirable environmental effects such as noise and air pollution and an unpleasant environment for people, particularly the inner city communities but also those visiting the city.  Parking needs to be designed to reduce congestion and minimise unnecessary traffic flow such as that caused by having to search for parking.

-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3c

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0    Summary of main issues

1.1The purpose of this report is to update Members on the status of the Belfast Integrated Tourism Strategy (2015-20) and to present the agreed year 1 action plan in line with strategy priorities for Members’ information.

1.2The strategy and associated year one action plan were approved at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the 22nd May 2015.  Progress against the strategy and action plan will be presented to and considered by the City Growth and Regeneration Committee throughout the duration of the strategy.

2.0Recommendations

2.1Members are asked to:

-       Note the strategy outline and priority actions for year one

-       Note and agree the proposed monitoring and reporting arrangements through the City Growth and Regeneration Committee.

3.0Key Issues

3.1The Integrated Tourism Strategy was approved by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in May 2015 following a 12 week consultation process.

3.2The strategy was developed in tandem with the City Centre Regeneration Strategy and Investment Plan and the proposals are aligned to support the future economic growth of the city.  The key driver is the commitment to double the value of tourism by 2020 to a total of £870million annually.

3.3In order to plan delivery of the priority activities identified in the strategy, there has been some preliminary development work undertaken by officers from Belfast City Council, in conjunction with partners from Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland and Visit Belfast.  A summary of the Tourism Strategy and Year One Action have been circulated for Members’ information.  Some of the activities in which the Council will play a lead role include:

·        Developing the City Narrative and Place Positioning Strategy

·        Working with Visit Belfast and Tourism NI to develop a new city visitor pass for 2016/17

·        Development of conference subvention scheme with Visit Belfast and Tourism NI to support the development of business tourism in the city, in advance of the opening of the Belfast Waterfront Convention and Exhibition Centre

·        Collaboration with DEL and other partners to develop and deliver a leadership programme for key hospitality representatives – to encourage excellence within the sector

·        Work with private developers and the hotel sector to bring forward new hotel developments in the city, in line with projected demand

·        Further work to develop products around the ‘Beyond Peace’ narrative, in line with the tourism strategy ambitions.

3.4All partners will continue to meet regularly as a working group, which will be chaired by Belfast City Council.  This group will have collective responsibility to oversee delivery of the strategy and the individual actions as set out in the current action plan.  The working group will also be responsible for establishing appropriate targets and milestones for each work stream and for ensuring that progress is achieved.  Progress against targets will be reported back through the City Growth and Regeneration Committee and the Committee will be responsible for endorsing future programmes of work.

3.5Financial and Resource Implications

      Activities identified  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0    Purpose of Report

1.1The purpose of the report is to agree a response to the consultation document from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) for their Community Festivals Fund Policy and Guidance Framework. The policy outlines the purpose and objectives of the community festivals fund and the principles and assessment criteria that councils must adhere to when administering the fund.  The full document has been circulated to Members.

2.0Recommendations

2.1Members are asked to:

-       Note the draft Belfast City Council response which has been circulated to Members

-       Approve the submission of this response to the consultation exercise, subject to council ratification.

3.0Main report

3.1DCAL provides Belfast City Council with funding towards the community festivals fund, which is then match funded and administered though the Council’s Tourism, Culture and Arts Unit. This year, the value of DCAL’s letter of offer to Belfast City Council is £75,900. The fund is very competitive, and we receive a large number of applications for a diverse range of festivals run by arts, heritage, community, sports and other organisations. In the first of two rounds of applications for festivals running in this financial year, 55 applications were received.  These requests totalled more than £380,000.  14 applications were recommended for funding.

3.2The last review of the community festivals fund was carried out in 2012.  This review acknowledged the positive outcomes of the fund, but it also highlighted a number of shortcomings.  Some of the key recommendations included the following:

-       DCAL should have a clearer, defined ambition and purpose for the fund

-       The fund should not be used to support large tourism-driven festivals

-       DCAL should set more specific objectives for the fund

-       Councils should dedicate more resources to training and support for project applicants

-       The applications process should be simplified and standardised

-       More applications should be encouraged from deprived areas.

3.3The new framework – as set out in the consultation document – has the following objectives:

-       To support the community and voluntary sector in promoting equality and targeting poverty and social exclusion

-       To enable communities to celebrate their cultural identity

-       To enhance community relations

-       To enable partnership working between the community and voluntary sector and local Councils

-       To improve the capacity of community festivals by providing support and training in addition to funding towards the cost of events.

3.4Under the new approach, local authorities will be required to:

-       Weight assessments in favour of applications for festivals taking place in the top 10% of the most deprived wards in their Council area

-       Weight assessments in favour of applications from festivals which target the socially excluded

-       Publish their assessment criteria and application process for making awards

-       Demonstrate how festivals have targeted poverty, social exclusion and equality

-       Provide match funding equal to the amount of grant provided by the Department. If Councils decide not to provide match  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0  Summary of main Issues

1.1   Members will be aware that one of the key commitments in the Council’s Investment Programme 2012 - 2015, is that the Council will work with city partners to promote Belfast proactively on the international stage to attract trade and investment, increase visitor and student numbers and build the networks necessary to support growth. 

1.2Over the past two years, work has been undertaken to develop and deliver an International Relations Framework and Action Plan that seeks to shape how city stakeholders can work together in a stronger and purposeful way, to maximise the economic impact for Belfast as a whole.

1.3This framework and a two year action plan were agreed by Members at the August 2013 Development Committee.   An update report was presented to the Development Committee on 13th May 2015.  The purpose of this report was to seek Members’ approval to explore opportunities and implications of putting in place partnership-based management arrangements to guide and support the respective work programmes to oversee and support the formal Sister City Relationships with Boston and Nashville.  A separate report will be brought back on the relationships with Chinese cities at the appropriate time.

2.0Recommendations

2.1It is recommended that Members:

-       Agree to the proposal to undertake a planning visit to Boston in late summer 2015, to take forward opportunities for Belfast – Boston collaboration.

-       Grant approval for the Lord Mayor to attend along with appropriate officers.

-       Note progress with respect to re-convening the relevant partners from the Belfast – Nashville steering group, to identify opportunities for collaboration between the cities.

3.0Main report

3.1Key Issues

      The International Relations Programme for 2015 – 2016 contains activities which can deliver on the aims and objectives set out in the International Relations Framework across the priority target markets and areas of work.

3.2In line with these aims and objectives, a series of emerging activities are set out below, focusing on the linkages with Boston and Nashville, currently the only two US-based sister city linkages that Belfast has in place.

3.3Boston

-       Members should note that the Mayor of Boston has completed the process of setting up a Belfast – Boston steering group.  This now comprises of five voluntary members chaired by a politician, including two business, one clergy and one third sector representative.

-       Based on approval by Members at the May meeting, the Chair of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee and Officers are undertaking a process to identify interested stakeholders within the different sectors outlined within the Belfast Boston Sister City Agreement.  A list of potential interested steering group members will be presented to Committee in due course for consideration and endorsement.  This will take place over the summer period.

-       Since the exploratory civic visit to Boston, undertaken by the Lord Mayor in April 2015, opportunities have arisen for concrete cooperation with the City of Boston.  The Lord Mayor has been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b