Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from the High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Howard, Alderman McGimpsey and Councillor Mullan.

            The minutes of the meetings of 25th April and 9th 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 4th June.

No declarations of interest were recorded.

            The Chairperson welcomed Mr. A. Reid, Strategic Director of Place and Economy, to his first meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee and wished him well in his role.

            The Chairperson reminded the Committee that it had agreed, at its meeting on 9th May, to receive a presentation from the consultants which had been commissioned to undertake the feasibility work on a new visitor destination in the city centre at a future meeting.

            The Strategic Director of Place and Economy advised the Members that the presentation contained commercially sensitive information and, as such, the Committee agreed that all Members of the public and press were required to leave the room for the duration of the discussion and that it would not be audio recorded.

            He welcomed Mr. C. Mounstephen, Deloitte, and Mr. M. Counahan, CHL, to the meeting.

            He advised the Committee that the consultants would present their ideas on the Emerging Concept, the Governance and Organisational Structure of the project and an Outline Business Case.  He pointed out that the Council hoped to submit the project as part of the Belfast Region City Deal submission.

            The Chairperson advised the Members that Ms. Rosemarie McHugh, Director of Product Development in Tourism NI, was in attendance and she was also welcomed to the meeting.

            The Strategic Director reminded the Committee that a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) had been completed in June 2016 based on the Belfast City Centre and Regeneration Strategy.  He explained that it had recommended that serious consideration should be given to developing an international visitor destination in the city centre to complement Titanic Belfast.  He explained that Deloitte and CHL had been selected to take forward the recommendations from the SOC and to progress a number of work streams.

            Mr. Mounstephen explained to the Committee that the new world-class facility had the potential to make a real and lasting impact for Belfast through increasing visitor trips, as well as by increasing footfall in the city centre, and thereby supporting retail and the wider daytime and evening economy.

            Mr. Counahan provided the Members with an overview of the work streams and the progress which had been made to date.  He emphasised that the design of the new building should be flexible in terms of its internal layout and visually iconic externally. 

            A number of Members expressed their support for the work which had been carried out on the proposals to date.

            In response to a Member’s question in relation to how the new attraction would fare alongside the City’s existing attractions, the consultants advised the Committee that the new attraction would act as a complementary asset within the city centre and that it would direct visitors to other key sites across the City in order to enhance the experience of visitors to Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole. 

            In response to a Member’s query regarding the work which was ongoing in relation to the community tourism infrastructure, the Chief Executive confirmed that a separate report on neighbourhood tourism changes would be submitted to a future meeting.

            Ms. McHugh advised the Committee that market testing had shown that the wider story of Northern Ireland was not currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that, as part of its ongoing commitment to receive regular strategic briefings, an annual economic briefing from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) was held and it was proposed that this would take place at its meeting in September. 

            He reminded the Members that the UUEPC acted as a critical friend for the Council, which had been central to the development of the Belfast Agenda and the key priority of growing the economy.

            The Members were advised that the briefing from the UUEPC would provide them with an opportunity to consider the economic conditions and forecasts to inform the future direction and priority setting around key inter-related programmes of work for the Council, namely, growing the economy, employability and skills and city development.

            In response to a Member’s request, the Committee agreed that the presentation from the UUEPC would be circulated to the Committee in advance of the meeting and that presentations from other economic perspectives would also be provided throughout the year.

            The Committee agreed:

·        to receive a presentation from the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre at its September Committee meeting;

·        that a copy of the UUEPC presentation be circulated to the Members in advance of the meeting; and

·        that additional economic perspectives be invited to present to the Committee throughout the year.

            The Committee was advised that the West Area Working Group had received an update on the proposals for the Folktown Regeneration Initiative, which had requested support for the promotion of the area as an emerging cultural quarter, the development of meanwhile activity and a proposal for a permanent event space and community hub.

            The West AWG had recommended that Folktown presented their work to the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, so that their proposals could be considered within the context of the Committee’s work on meanwhile use/city animation, business support and promotional activity.

            The Committee agreed to receive a presentation from Folktown Regenerative Initiative at a future Committee meeting.

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that representatives from the Belfast City Marathon had requested to present to the Committee once again, in order to follow up on their previous presentation on 21st February, where they had outlined a number of proposed changes to the City’s marathon.

            The Committee agreed to receive a presentation from Belfast City Marathon at a future Committee meeting.

            The Director of Economic Development reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 11th April, it had requested legal advice in relation to whether the Council could ring-fence jobs and training opportunities to the residents of Belfast, given that the programmes were paid for by Belfast ratepayers.

            He confirmed to the Members that legal advice had since confirmed that the Council could do so.

Noted.

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda.

Noted.

            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 seek Members’ approval for an outward business-focussed visit to Nashville from 26 – 30 August 2018.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Approve the attendance of the Chair of Committee or nominee and one officer to engage in the outward business visit to Nashville with key stakeholders and Belfast businesses, from 26 - 30 August 2018. This is subject to confirmation of stakeholder commitment and programme value.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Members will recall the November 2016 approval of a new International Relations Framework for the period 2016 - 2021.

3.2       The aim of this Framework is to continue to promote Belfast on the international stage with other stakeholders as a place to invest, work, visit and study. The Framework will deliver primarily on the formal relationships already in existence through our Sister City Agreements with Shenyang, Boston and Nashville, the Memorandum of Understanding with Dublin, and developing relationships with the City of London. New areas of opportunity will be considered on their merits and relevance to Belfast.

3.3       Members will be aware that, at the 8 March 2018 meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, an update report on International Relations activity for the previous six months was presented and the outline plans for the coming period were agreed.

3.4       As part of the agreed programme of activity for 2018/19, Belfast City Council hosted a Nashville in Belfast Week (28 April - 6 May 2018), showcasing joint activity across a range of sectors including music, food creative industries, education study abroad opportunities, doing business in Nashville and pursuing tourism opportunities. A detailed report on this highly successful week will be presented to members in due course, once all outputs have been measured.

3.5       As part of the Nashville programme, a series of focussed business meetings were held with Belfast City Council, Invest NI, Catalyst Inc., CSIT, Venture Capitalists and both Universities. The Nashville delegation included a leading entrepreneur in the field of healthcare, who is also a venture capitalist with interest in investing in business start-ups in Belfast. Since the visit, a proposal has been presented to Belfast City Council by the Nashville Sister Cities Board to invite Belfast City Council, economic agencies and a number of Belfast businesses in the healthcare/life health sciences sector to attend a conference in August 2018, and follow a wider but focused economic programme.

3.6       The conference entitled ‘Health: Further’ is being held during the week of 26 August 2018 as part of a wider series of events happening in Nashville that week called ‘Nashville Is… Week’, a week of entrepreneurial celebration in the city. The Nashville Board and this leading entrepreneur have invited a delegation to attend the week free of charge, but to focus specifically on opportunities for Belfast businesses in health and healthcare, as Nashville is an economic driver for the USA in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b

            (Ms. E. Henry, Cultural Regeneration Manager, attended in connection with this item)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report and the accompanying Programme Plan:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to provide further detail to Members on the planned programme of activity to support the development of a significant 5-year cultural initiative of international profile, that seeks to build on the work undertaken as part of the European Capital of Culture competition.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the contents of this report and the support of the cultural sector and agree to receive further updates including a detailed options appraisal in December 2018.

-       Agree for officers to further scope options for Belfast to participate in the Culture in Sustainable Cities programme (Culture 21) and delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Economy and Place to progress if appropriate at a maximum cost of £20,000.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Background

            In April 2018, Members agreed that in light of the European Commission’s decision on the ineligibility of a UK competition that officers would build on the work undertaken to date and develop alternative options for a 5 year cultural programme of scale. These options will be taken back to Committee for consideration in December 2018. In parallel, negotiations will continue with governments on funding and support including the potential to reconsider the position of Belfast City Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council.

3.2       Options Development

            The process of developing these options will involve extensive engagement and will adopt a co-design model working closely with citizens and the cultural sector. A panel of international experts will assess the creative projects and signature events included in the programme. The programme plan for the development of these options is included in Appendix 1 (available on modern.gov). Options will also integrate work on:

·        A signature event in partnership with Galway 2020

·        UNESCO City of Music

·        Options for collaboration with other international cities including potential partnerships with the UK cities that had been bidding for 2023 designation

·        Delivery of major events as set out in the Events and Festivals Strategy

·        A year-long cultural programme of scale to be delivered in 2023

·        The opening of the new visitor attraction

3.3       These options will be developed in the context of long-term cultural development and investment and how to best support the priorities set out in the Belfast Agenda. The process of developing options for a 5-year programme will also consider how it should connect with the further development and implementation of the recent Events and Festivals Strategy as well as the future development of a new Cultural Framework and Tourism Strategy. This wider context helps position the five-year programme as the catalyst for sustainable growth and investment in the cultural sector.

3.4       Long term cultural development and investment

            To support a long-term approach to cultural development the stage one bid had recommended that Belfast considers participation in a suitable global programme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7c

European Cycle-Friendly Employer

            Accreditation Scheme

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that a new cycle-friendly accreditation scheme for employers had been launched in Belfast on 19th April, 2018. He explained that the scheme was aimed at encouraging staff to commute to work by bike and had been developed to provide a European standard for cycle-friendly companies.  He advised the Members that it was being run by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) across Europe and that it would be delivered in the UK by Cycling UK and supported by Sustrans. 

            He outlined to the Members that the scheme recognised that encouraging staff to cycle for business journeys helped to improve staff health and could help boost productivity.  He also pointed out that the outline detail of the scheme indicated a contribution towards delivering a number of the outcomes of the Belfast Agenda in particular ‘Belfast is a vibrant, attractive, connected and environmentally sustainable city’.

            The Committee was advised that officers from across the Council were liaising with Sustrans and Cycling UK regarding further detail of the Cycle-Friendly Accreditation Scheme and a that follow up report would be submitted for its consideration at a later date.

            Belfast Bicycle Network Plan

            The Director reminded the Members that the Council had responded to the public consultation on the Draft Belfast Bicycle Network Plan in January 2017, and he suggested that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) be invited to a future meeting to discuss the plans for its implementation, in order that the Council could highlight any potential areas for consideration. 

            During discussion, the Committee agreed that NI Greenways also be invited to attend that meeting.

            The Director reported that, while the DfI had made progress on developing the cycling network in the city centre, there was a lack of progress on a coherent bicycle network city wide.

            In response to a number of Members’ queries, the Strategic Director of Place and Economy undertook to clarify the detail of the Council’s formal submission to the consultation on the Draft Belfast Bicycle Network Plan, ensuring that it had a city wide focus based on previous council reports and submissions.

            Active Belfast Initiative

            The Director outlined to the Committee that the Council had committed to work at a strategic level to promote physical activity, including cycling, through the work of the Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) and the Active Belfast initiative. He explained that the Active Belfast Partnership had developed and agreed a new overarching strategy for physical activity called ‘Get Active Belfast’.

            He provided the Members with an overview of the strategy and explained that the first of seven pledges in the strategy was to ‘create an integrated active travel network’.

            The Committee was advised that a ‘Task and finish’ subgroup had been established, with key stakeholders having been asked to commit to three meetings, with a view to producing a collective action plan by mid-2018. 

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        noted the emerging detail of the Cycle-Friendly accreditation scheme;

·        agreed to invite the Department for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8a

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 close-off the 2017-18 City Growth & Regeneration Committee Plan.  This provides an update on progress with the key actions, in particular highlighting the work undertaken in terms of jobs growth, skills development, cultural investment and physical regeneration.  The headline figure is that, during 2017-18, over 1,700 residents have entered employment/self-employment as a direct result of the Council’s investment.

1.2       The Plan drew together several annual delivery plans; such as city centre development, support for businesses, Employability & Skills, tourism and the cultural framework.  It set out the main priorities and programmes of work that the Committee oversaw during 2017-18 to maximise the Council’s contribution to delivering the Belfast Agenda that, at its core, has a commitment to inclusive growth.

1.3       The Belfast Agenda sets out an ambition for growth and opportunity that includes four headline goals to focus on the economic and social growth of Belfast so that by 2035:

-       Our city is home to an additional 66,000 new residents

-       Our urban economy supports 46,000 more jobs

-       There will be a 33% reduction in the life expectancy gap between the most and least deprived neighbourhoods

-       Every young person leaving school has a destination that fulfils their potential.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the content of the report and that officers are continuing to progress the actions within the City Growth and Regeneration Committee Plan 2018-19 as agreed by the Committee in April 2018.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Key Issues

            The 2017-18 Committee Plan was developed in line with the Council’s Corporate Plan and the Belfast Agenda. The Belfast Agenda has at its core a commitment to inclusive growth and the importance of growing the local economy to improve the quality of life. While the Committee contributes to the delivery of all 4 work-streams, Growing the Economy, City Development and Working & Learning are the focus of this Committee, therefore the Committee continues to take the lead in ensuring that there is connectivity between the need for economic growth and the purpose of this growth – to connect people to opportunity and reduce inequality. 

3.2       The Committee has received regular reports throughout the year outlining the progress with the key programmes of work.  Building on this work, the Committee approved the 2018-19 Committee Plan in April 2018 in order to continue the Council’s investment and commitment to delivering on the Belfast Agenda ambitions. 

3.3       Appendix 1 (available on modern.gov) provides an update against each of the main action areas in the Committee plan. Members are also aware that a number of detailed reports on key programmes of work have recently been considered and these will continue to feature regularly on the Committee agenda.

3.4       Overview of Progress:

            Particular highlights for the 2017-2018 Committee Plan include:

            Growing the Economy

·        Through our enterprise outreach activities, we have engaged with 361 individuals across the city,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8b

            The Information contained in the report associated with the following item is 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 Committee meeting during discussion of the 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.

            The Chief Executive reminded the Committee that Ms. N. Gallagher, former Director of City Centre Development, had left the Council on 6th June to take up a post in Bristol City Council.

            She outlined to the Members that the newly appointed Strategic Director of Place and Economy would assess this staffing requirements and explained that an Interim Lead Officer role would be created for six months, subject to review, for the City Regeneration and Development section.

            The Committee noted that the job description for the post had been amended to reflect the key duties required on an interim basis and, in line with Council practice, that the role would be internally trawled as an internal staff development opportunity.

            The Chief Executive advised the Members that the selection panel would have delegated authority to appoint the successful candidate and that the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee would be advised of the outcome.

            During discussion, the Chairperson advised the Committee that he would be unable to attend all of the required recruitment stages as listed within the report.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed that the Deputy Chairperson, or her nominee, and Councillor Beattie, or his nominee, would form the selection panel for the recruitment of the post of ‘Interim Lead Officer - City Regeneration and Development’ in the new Place and Economy Department, who, along with the Chief Executive and the Strategic Director of Place and Economy, would balance the panel in terms of gender and community background.