Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Carson, McAteer and McDonough-Brown.

            The minutes of the meetings of 8th and 27th June were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 4th July.

            Councillor Mullan declared an interest in Item 5a, viz. Lagan Canal Trust - Financial Support, in that she was a Member of the Board.

            (Mrs. A. McGlone, Urban Development Officer, attended in connection with this item)

            In response to a query which had been raised at the Council meeting on 4th July 2016, in relation to controlled leases, the Urban Development Manager provided the Committee with an overview and explained that, while it was not a defined term, controlled leases were often used to ensure that certain kinds of shops or bars were contained within one area of a city, such as the Temple Bar area in Dublin.

            The Members were advised that, for controlled leases to be an option for the Council with regards to city centre development, it would have to own a large amount of land and that this was not the case.

Noted.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1       At the Council meeting on 4th July Councillor McVeigh raised a Notice of Motion regarding support for small businesses which, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), was referred, without discussion, to the City Growth and Regeneration Committee. 

1.2       The purpose of this report is to:

-       provide an overview of the support provided by the Council to new and existing businesses;

-       outline a number of emerging pieces of work, aligned to the Belfast Agenda, which aim to address the city’s deficit in business start-up rates and foster business growth by providing support to small businesses to help them become more productive and competitive; and

-       assist Members in considering the Notice of Motion.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the suite of support currently available from Council to support entrepreneurs and small businesses across the city and the plans to develop this activity further in order to address the start-up deficit and business competitiveness challenges for local companies

-       Consider the Notice of Motion raised by Councillor McVeigh at the July Council meeting and proposed actions to progress the key issues

-       Agree the proposed activities to take forward the key issues raised in the Notice of Motion (as set out in 3.19-3.30) and to receive further updates on progress at future meetings of the City Growth & Regeneration Committee

3.0      Main report

3.1       Members will be aware that the Belfast Agenda comprises four inter-related priority themes which will form the focus of work to help the city achieve its long term ambition for 2030 to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the city.  Growing the Belfast economy, creating more and better jobs and improving skills and employability in the city have been identified as key priorities by stakeholders and residents in the development of the Belfast Agenda. 

3.2       The ‘Business and Economy’ priority theme provides the focus for programmes of work that include the City’s role as the regional magnet for inward investment; the need to secure long term economic growth; the importance of our city centre not only for the city but for the entire region; the issue of skills and employability; the need to continue to build on the potential of tourism.  This approach aims to support inclusive economic growth and social regeneration in the city.  A key element of the programme focuses on indigenous business start-up and growth, including the development of the social economy.

3.3       Addressing the challenge

            By way of context,

-       NI business start-up rates are below both UK and Republic of Ireland.

-       At a regional level, business start-up rates in Belfast rank 9th out of the 11 Council areas

-       There are more than 10,000 businesses in Belfast (around 9,000 of which are VAT registered).  More than 80% of these are micro businesses (less than 10 employees) and around 95% have 50 employees or less. 

-       Current business start-up rates in Belfast are estimated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2b

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:

·        Update Members on the proposed community engagement strategy for the City Centre Development Team.

·        Update Members on the City Centre Development Team staffing structure and ongoing commissioned work.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Comment on the proposed consultation approach and agree to the recruitment of a Community Engagement Manager (Officer) within the City Centre Development Team and extend the existing strategic advisory commission on a month by month basis until such times as the directorate has full operating capacity and;

·        Note the staffing structure which is available on modern.gov.

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       In April 2015 the SP&R Committee received an update on the development of City Centre & Regeneration Strategy, pending the creation of a dedicated team to ensure its effective delivery. The role of the City Centre team is to:

·        Implement the Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy

·        Drive the development of the city centre by leading and coordinating the delivery of projects and

·        Input on strategic planning and policy matters relating to the city centre, ensuring Belfast is a prominent and resilient European city for investment.

3.2       The Strategy is based on the following core principles:

·        Increase the employment population

·        Increase the residential population

·        Manage the retail offer

·        Maximise the tourism opportunity

·        Create a regional learning and innovation centre

·        Create a green, walkable, cyclable centre

·        Connect to the city around

·        Shared space and social impact

3.3       The Committee will be aware that the City Centre Strategy has been developed in the context of our new responsibility to produce a community plan for the city. The community plan, known as the Belfast Agenda, will provide the vision for Belfast created in partnership with key city partners, residents and community organisations.

3.4       The City Centre Strategy will play an important part in achieving the social, environmental and economic goals of the Belfast Agenda. The Council is committed to ensuring inclusive growth for the city and to ensure that people living in and around the city centre feel part of and benefit from city centre regeneration with commercial growth being balanced with social impact.

            Proposal

3.5       To help ensure that people living in and around the city centre feel part of and benefit from the regeneration of the city, it is proposed that a Community Engagement post be recruited to the City Centre Team.

3.6       The main purpose of the role will be to;

·        Develop, manage and implement the Community Involvement Strategy for the City Centre development area and the neighbouring communities;

·        Provide leadership, vision and direction to the Community Involvement Strategy including developing and implementing a range of local consultation exercises, ensuring effective engagement with local elected members, residents, stakeholders and partners;

·        Lead on capacity building of local residents to enable them to be fully involved in the regeneration and future development of defined projects within the Belfast City  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0  Purpose of Report

1.1   This report seeks approval to commission specialist support to develop a technical specification for the creation of a Strategic Infrastructure Plan for Belfast City-Region which will identify and prioritise future investment needs in key physical city infrastructure.

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    The Committee is asked to:

·        Agree that specialist support be secured to assist the Council to develop a technical specification for the commissioning of a Strategic Infrastructure Plan for Belfast City-Region; 

·        Note that a further report will be brought back to Committee in due course setting out a costed proposal for the commission of the Strategic Infrastructure Plan.

3.0    Main Report

3.1   Infrastructure planning is a key element of creating sustainable communities and city centre, ensuring that appropriate provision is made for transport, communication and utilities networks, important community resources, tourism and business growth. It is also critical in supporting the continued growth of the Belfast City-Region, accommodating future development potential and realising the city’s aspirations.

3.2    The term infrastructure has a very wide meaning and relates to all facilities and services which are necessary for successful communities and the city to function and compete. For the purposes of this work, it is suggested that the focus is ‘physical city infrastructure’ (e.g. transport; utilities including water, waste, flooding and energy; informational technology, telecommunications and digital provision; physical development schemes, environmental including open space/public realm etc). The actual scope of the Infrastructure Plan will be further defined as part of the detailed specification taking account of the linkages and synergies with the Local Development Plan.

3.3    There have already been numerous assessments undertaken around specific infrastructure needs within the City (e.g. Living with Water Programme) albeit there has not as yet been a supporting financial strategy put in place to deliver what is required.  It is therefore intended that the proposed Infrastructure Plan will capture the work undertaken to date and seek to take a holistic assessment of what may be required over the next 10-20 years in the context of current pressures and future city growth aspirations. It will also set out planned investment proposals. A key element of the Infrastructure Plan will be deliverability. The infrastructure plan should identify as far as possible:

(i)     Infrastructure needs and costs

(ii)   Phasing of development

(iii)Responsibilities for delivery

3.4    The Director of Finance is also seeking permission at the August meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to commission a specific piece of work in relation to the financing of city infrastructure projects which will sit alongside and reinforce the deliverability of the Infrastructure Plan.

3.5    It is important to recognise the significance of developing a robust infrastructure plan for the city in terms of complementing and supporting the soundness of the emerging Local Development Plan. The importance of such an approach has already been demonstrated in other cities including Cardiff, Manchester, Leeds, and London in terms of ensuring that infrastructure planning and investment aligned with predicted levels  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3b

            The Chief Executive advised the Committee that the 2016/17 Quarter 1 position for the City Growth and Regeneration Committee was an underspend of £144,000, with the year end position being forecast as an overspend of £86,000.  She explained that this was well within the acceptable tolerance, which was 3%.

            She advised the Members that officers were reviewing the terminology used in future financial reporting to the Committees.

            The Committee noted the report and the associated financial reporting pack.

(Mr A. Harrison, Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services, attended in connection with this item)

            The Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services advised the Committee that the Chief Officers had recently undertaken a comprehensive review to identify and assess the main risks which existed in preventing the Council from realising its various objectives.  He advised the Members that the Corporate Management Team (CMT) had since agreed key actions which needed to be taken in order to manage those risks to an acceptable level and that they had been captured in the Council’s Corporate Risk Register.

            He highlighted that the risk which was of particular relevance to the City Growth and Regeneration Committee was ‘failure to deliver the City Centre Regeneration Strategy’, and advised the Members that an update report on how that risk was being managed would be submitted to the Committee in December 2016/January 2017.

            The Committee was advised that the enhanced process ensured that the Members were informed of the key corporate risks and that they were assured that those risks were being managed.

            The Committee noted the report and the proposed process for risk reporting.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0   Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1      The purpose of the report is to ask Members to consider a request for funding from the Lagan Canal Trust for 2016/17.

2.0      Recommendation

2.1      The Committee is asked to:

-       Consider a funding request of £17,000 for 2016/17 from the Lagan Canal Trust, in support of its ongoing developmental work along the Lagan Canal. 

3.0      Main report

3.1      Key Issues

           In 2006, Members approved the establishment of the Lagan Canal Trust, which had the long-term aim of re-opening the canal from Belfast to Lough Neagh.  The Trust engaged with a range of stakeholders including the Lagan Valley Regional Park, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the local authorities through whose areas the Lagan Canal runs, which includes Belfast City Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

3.2      The Trust has highlighted the organisational activities in relation to the Belfast parts of the Lagan Canal, which is available on modern.gov.

3.3      Financial support from local government had previously been calculated by the Trust on the basis of the number of miles of canal within each authority’s area. Prior to 2015, this was 18% of the total for Belfast and now stands at 22% following boundary changes (35% is within the Lisburn and Castlereagh area). This would equate to around £40,000 for Belfast.

3.4      Given funding constraints, Belfast City Council was only able to offer funding of £17,000 in the 2015-2016 financial year. It is proposed the financial contribution from the Council is retained at this level for 2016/17.  It is anticipated that increased assistance from BCC officers can off-set some of the implications of the shortfall in funding. 

3.5      The work of the Lagan Canal Trust aligns to the priorities set out in the Tourism Strategy.

3.6      This identifies:-

-       The core objective of the Belfast Integrated Tourism Strategy is doubling the economic value of tourism by 2020.  A fundamental element of this will be increasing the duration of visitor stays i.e. converting the day visitor to an overnight stay and increasing the number of nights spent in the City.  A key element of this will be better connectivity and packaging across the City.  Projects such as the Lagan Canal give visitors another reason to extend their stay in the City and add to the visitor experience.

-       The need to build capacity, especially in terms of improving accessibility.  The Lagan Corridor, especially with the extended city boundary and connectivity to both the city centre and Titanic Quarter, has much potential to give visitors access to important cultural assets as well as a stunning historically important rural landscape.

-       A ‘city’ approach – utilising the potential to increase opportunities or day trips for tourists based in the city.  The Lagan Corridor is of the correct scale and interest to enable this.

-       Urban sports – there is already substantial usage for both the gentle leisure pursuits, such as walking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1       The purpose of the report is to secure agreement on political representation on a number of Stakeholder Groups focusing on international relations activity.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the work underway and the timing and development of a new International Relations Framework

-       Agree to invite the appointed consultants to the City Growth and Regeneration Committee on 14 September to discuss the draft framework and agree to wider engagement with the consultancy team, and organise  a specific workshop for Members, in order to ensure that all views are reflected in the new framework

-       Agree to the re-configuration of a number of Stakeholder/Working Groups on international activity, as set out in 3.12, in order to move ahead with existing commitments and ensure partner buy-in to new activity.

3.0       Main report

3.1      Members will be aware that, in 2012, the Development Committee approved the development of a new, three year International Relations Framework.  This framework identified a number of priority markets that Council should focus on, as well as a series of key objectives and activities within each market.  The focus was on education, business and cultural linkages, collaboration and promotion.

3.2       Given the convening role played by the Council, and its new powers in relation to economic development, and in recognition of the need to ensure that the linkages were multi-layered, a number of Stakeholder Groups were established.  These involved key representatives from business, academia, government and tourism sectors, who were working in and interested in the respective markets.  Stakeholder Groups generally met on a quarterly basis and focused on both information sharing and collaborative planning for key events and were effective in market delivery of a range of events and initiatives.

3.3       The Stakeholder Groups currently operational include:

-       Boston Stakeholder Group – currently chaired by the previous Lord Mayor (has not met since May 2016)

-       Nashville Stakeholder Group – currently chaired by Councillor Carole Howard (nominated by Councillor Deirdre Hargey, as previous Chair of City Growth and Regeneration Committee).  The group was also attended by Councillor Niall Ó Donnghaile and Alderman Guy Spence

-       China Stakeholder Group – no political representation.  Chaired by EU & International Relations Manager

-       India Stakeholder Group – no political representation.  Chaired by EU & International Relations Officer

-       Friendship Four Planning Group – previously chaired by former Lord Mayor.  Planning work for November 2016 event underway.  The current Lord Mayor has committed to Chair this group.

3.4       In addition to these Stakeholder Groups, the EU Unit team previously brought together a cross-party grouping of Members to raise awareness of EU funding opportunities and policy issues.  This led to opportunity for Council Members to represent Belfast on European panels on best practice policy approaches. This group has not met since 2015 due to the fact that decisions on the key EU Structural Funds had already been taken by central government (with the exception of the Peace IV  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0  Purpose of Report

1.1    The purpose of the report is to seek Members approval in relation to a number of inward and outward visit proposals for October 2016, in the context of our work on international relations.

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    Members are asked to approve:

-       Hosting a joint inward Sister Cities delegation from Boston and Nashville from 12 – 16 October 2016

-       The attendance of the Chief Executive and the Chair of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee or nominees at the Boston Health Symposium and joint Belfast, Boston and Nashville business showcase to take place in Boston in October 2016.

3.0    Main report

         Boston / Nashville visit to Belfast, 12 – 16 October 2016

3.1    Members will recall the Sister Cities Summit held in both Belfast and Dublin in April this year.  Belfast City Council co-ordinated a programme of targeted meetings and visits for delegates from Boston and Nashville.

3.2    To build on the connections made during the visit, Boston and Nashville This visit will coincide with the 3rd Annual Homecoming Conference, which the City Growth and Regeneration committee has already agreed to sponsor.

3.3    A delegation of 30 representatives from both cities will involve officials from academia, business and government, ranging across a number of Belfast growth sectors including creative business, legal services, tourism and education.

3.4    While the delegates originally intended to visit primarily to attend the Homecoming event, the city delegations from both Boston and Nashville have now asked for a series of parallel meetings and visits to be arranged.  These will build on the connections established during the April 2016 Sister Cities event and will also provide opportunities to establish new connections with other city partners in areas of mutual interest.

         Boston Connected Health Symposium, Boston 20 - 21 October 2016

3.5    In the course of the visit to Nashville in March 2016, the Belfast City Council delegation attended presentations and had a number of meetings on areas of interest for economic collaboration.  One of the key growth sectors in Nashville is the healthcare sector.  Members will be aware that this is equally an important sector for Belfast, and a number of areas for collaboration between businesses and institutions in both cities were identified.

3.6    Invest NI and the NI Connected Health and Innovation Centre (CHIC) at Ulster University have planned to participate in the annual Connected Health Symposium in Boston from 20 - 21 October 2016.  This event has been attended by Invest NI in the past and attracts over 1,000 attendees in the industry.

3.7    Both CHIC and Invest NI, along with Council officials have identified an opportunity to support Belfast companies attending this event.  In parallel, a number of Nashville-based companies will be in attendance.

3.8    It is proposed that Belfast City Council, in partnership with Invest NI Boston office and CHIC host a business networking session for the Belfast, Boston and Nashville businesses under the Sister Cities brand.  This could be held  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

            The Head of Economic Initiatives and International Development advised the Committee that an application had been received for the ‘Taste of Northern Ireland Festival’ to be held in the Custom House Square, Belfast on 16th, 17th and 18th September 2016. She advised that this would be the sixth year that the event had taken place in Belfast and that, particularly with the Year of Food and Drink 2016, it was designed to showcase the range of food and drinks produced in Northern Ireland.

            The Committee was advised that the event was being organised by Denvir Marketing on behalf of Tesco, where some stall holders would have products for sale, however most would offer free samples and use the event as an opportunity to demonstrate their product range. The Committee was reminded that anyone who wished to operate a market or car boot sale within Belfast must apply to the Council for a licence and that the organisers had supplied all relevant documentation for this event.  She advised also that officers from the Markets Development Unit had engaged with the relevant officers across the Council in order to check and verify the documentation and that checks would also be carried out during the event, in line with the Markets Rights Policy guidelines.

            The Committee agreed to grant the licence for the Taste of Northern Ireland festival at Custom House Square on 16th, 17th and 18th September 2016.

            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:

·        Provide Members with details of a proposal that has been received from the artist Neil Shawcross to produce a collection of art for the city entitled Writers of Belfast.

·        Seek approval to proceed with the project

2.0         Recommendations

2.1         The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the contents of this report and the proposal to produce a Writers of Belfast exhibition

·        Agree to accept the gift of the art collection on behalf of the city and the original painting depicting Dickens at the Ulster Hall

·        Approve a budget of up to £10,000 to support the wider delivery of the project

3.0         Main report

3.1         Key Issues

              A proposal has been received from Belfast based artist Neil Shawcross to produce a new collection of art entitled Writers of Belfast. This collection would celebrate up to 20 famous Belfast novelists, poets, playwrights and song writers. This collection would then be gifted to the city.

3.2         Born in Kearsley, Lancashire, Neil Shawcross has painted and worked in Belfast for over 50 years. He has exhibited widely throughout Ireland and in London, Hong Kong and the U.S.A.  His work is much sought after, and is included in many private and corporate collections. He has received numerous art awards.

3.3        Neil is an elected member of both the Royal Ulster Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy.   Shawcross was Professor of Painting at the College of Art in Belfast until his retirement in 2004. In December 2014 he was awarded an MBE for services to the Arts in Northern Ireland.

3.4         For a number of years much of Neil Shawcross’s practice has focussed on literature linked pieces initially with interpretations of Penguin book covers before expanding to include other publishers. Examples of this work are on display at Conor Cafe in Stranmillis.

3.5        The proposal is to combine his established practice with his appreciation for Belfast’s literary and musical heritage to produce up to 20 new works depicting book covers of work by Belfast novelists, poets, playwrights and songwriters. A final selection of writers will be made by the artist in consultation with Council officers and will be representative of the breadth of Belfast’s literary and musical heritage. In keeping with Neil Shawcross’s approach it is likely that the work will be captured on canvasses 7ft by 4ft.  Featured living writers will be asked to produce a written commentary in response to the artwork which will then form part of the final exhibition.

3.6        A public exhibition will be held in an appropriate venue in Belfast with a launch event and marketing campaign to raise awareness of the initiative. Additional activities will include engagement with local groups and schools.  There will be opportunities for local audiences to engage with the literary heritage of their area.

3.7        Further options following the opening exhibition include part of the collection to tour internationally with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b