Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Mullan and Murphy.

            The minutes of the meeting of 8th August were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 3rd September.

No declarations of interest were recorded.

            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 Section 6 of the Local Government Act (NI) 2014.

            (Mrs. L. Caldwell, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, attended in connection with this item)

            The Chief Executive provided the Committee with an overview of the current status of the cordon around the Bank Buildings and the possible options in relation to the remaining structure of the building.

            She provided the Members with information relating to the measures which the Council was working on with Primark to ensure that the public and adjacent building users were protected from any danger arising from the remaining structure and to encourage increased footfall and support local businesses.

            The Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications advised the Committee of a new campaign, entitled #YourBelfast, to encourage people to support the retailers in the city centre in light of the cordoned off area.  She provided the Committee with a preview of the advertisements and explained that the campaign would be launched through various media platforms on 14th September.

            The Committee provided the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications with some additional suggestions for the campaign.

            After discussion, the Committee noted the update which had been provided.

            (Mr. S. Dolan, Development Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 3rd September, had considered the following motion which had been proposed by Councillor Collins and seconded by Councillor Heading:

“This Council notes the introduction of the Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) to the City. This £90 million investment is intended to lead to an improvement of connectivity in Belfast and in public transport for citizens. The Council notes, however, that the introduction of BRT has led to a number of serious issues that need urgent redressing if the system is not to have an adverse effect on our City.

These include: 

·        impaired access to homes for the elderly and those with serious disabilities; 

·        parents unable to safely leave children to school in some locations;

·        access to local shops has been severely restricted, with car parking spaces removed without any recourse as to where this parking would go thereafter;

·        double yellow lines are to be extended into residential areas, restricting access to homes and again exacerbating the parking problem; 

·        a severe increase in congestion, and the need to come up with solutions to this; and despite these issues being raised, the Department for Infrastructure has failed to introduce any mitigating measures.

In the absence of a Stormont Executive and, acknowledging the important role played by local government in community planning, this Council can play an important role in representing the views of this City to the Department on the relevant issues surrounding BRT. The Council believes that urgent measures are needed to solve these issues. This should be done in an open and transparent manner, involving residents and other stakeholders. Where necessary, aspects of BRT should be delayed to ensure a competent and satisfactory delivery. 

To assist such an approach, the Council will host open meetings in East and West Belfast in order to listen to the concerns of residents on this issue. The Council will also arrange a deputation to the Department for Infrastructure, which will be open to Councillors from all political parties, to discuss how the above problems can be resolved or mitigated.”

            In accordance with Standing Order 13(f), the motion was referred, without discussion, to the City Growth and Regeneration Committee.

A number of Members stated that they were aware of some issues along the Glider route in the west of the city, making particular reference to the difficulties faced by parents trying to leave their children to St. Kevin’s Primary School on the Falls Road.

The Development Manager advised the Committee of a response which had been received from the Department for Infrastructure, and which sought to address a number of the issues which had been raised in the motion.

The response from the Department outlined that:

·        it had, in developing the plans for Belfast rapid transit (BRT), consulted with the Inclusive Mobility Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC) in order to fully understand the needs of older people and people with disabilities;

·        it had provided  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Chairperson welcomed Ms. G. Long, Commissioner for Resilience, to her first meeting of the Committee.

            The Commissioner explained to the Committee that Belfast had joined the 100 Resilient Cities network.  She advised the Members that the network helped cities around the world to become more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges that were a growing part of the 21st century and equipped them to become better able to identify risks before they happened, better prepared when they occurred, and more capable of recovering.

            She pointed out that, while each City was unique, research had shown that they often shared a number of common factors.  She provided the Members with an overview of the City Resilience Framework, which identified 12 key drivers, and which was used to determine how resilient a city was.

            She outlined that, as she had just taken up her post, she was in the early stages of mapping the key risks for Belfast but, based on the Belfast Agenda priorities, she outlined the potential resilience dividends which she expected.

            The Chairperson thanked the Commissioner for her presentation and the Committee noted the information which had been provided.

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) would present its annual economic briefing at the Special meeting on 26th September, 2018.

            He reminded the Committee that it had previously agreed that presentations from other economic perspectives would be provided throughout the year, in order to ensure that there was a rounded perspective on city challenges and opportunities.

            The Director suggested that the Committee considered receiving economic briefings from the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

            The Committee agreed to receive a series of economic briefings from the abovementioned three organisations and that the presentations would be scheduled appropriately during the 2018/2019 financial year.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this summary is to update members on the Better Bedford Street 100 Day Challenge

2.0       Recommendations

            The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the ongoing  ‘Better Bedford Street 100 Day Challenge’ project, which is a collaborative project involving a number of stakeholders aimed at improved place making in Bedford Street with temporary design solutions and a series of animation and event activities.

-       Note that the project includes a programme to capture lessons learned which can be incorporated back into future urban design and animation projects within the city.

-       Note the Council’s resource commitments in terms of officer involvement and financial contribution to the project.

3.0       Main report

3.1       A project aimed at improving place making within areas of town and city centres has been developed by the Strategic Design Group, led by the Department for Infrastructure Planning Group, and the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment and includes local councils, private sector organisations and other bodies working to improve the built environment. The aim of the Group is ‘Working together to promote successful, inclusive, well designed places which inspire civic stewardship and have an enduring positive impact on people’s lives.’

3.2       Bedford St, Belfast was selected for a 100 Day Challenge pilot project due to the numerous issues within the area including congestion, pedestrian connectivity, cluttered streets, lack of cycle lanes and under-utilised or poorly allocated street capacity. Through this pilot project the group is providing an example of how the Living Places planning guidance can work in practice. The guidance sets out 10 principles for better place making. The group has sought to demonstrate that temporary changes can be brought about quite quickly and plans to use this example to drive change elsewhere.

3.3       The focus of the project is to push collaborative stakeholder working, innovative urban design, and public and private sector commitment to improve the urban environment and provide a test bed to inform future projects. The project will aim to provide temporary design solutions in the urban environment within a 100 day period from conception to installation.

3.4       The project is further supported, and sponsored by the Department for Infrastructure, the Department for Communities and the Central District BID as well as a number of public and private stakeholders. Belfast City Council officers have been involved in the scoping, planning and design of the project.

3.5       The ‘Better Bedford Street’ challenge will utilise temporary urban design solutions to challenge the current situation and will serve as a testbed for innovative solutions that will help to inform emerging design solutions for the proposed Streets Ahead 5 project and other projects across Northern Ireland.  It will support many of the key concepts from the Belfast City Council’s Linen Quarter Masterplan.

3.6       The project will involve a number of different strands including:

            More Space for People

3.7       DfI are currently widening the footpaths along Bedford  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

            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 an update to Committee on progress against the Belfast Agenda commitment to ‘Establish a city pledge for our young people’. 

1.2       The work is one element of the ‘Working and Learning’ work programme for 2018/19 that was approved at this Committee on 11 April 2018. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the research findings, recommendations and proposed next steps for work on the City Youth Pledge

-       Agree that a report will be brought back to a future meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, setting out a series of proposed actions to deliver on the Belfast Agenda commitment to help the city’s young people to achieve positive and productive education, employment and training outcomes. 

3.0       Main report

3.1       The Belfast Agenda includes a commitment that, by 2035, Belfast will be a place where everyone fulfils his or her potential and that they will be supported and enabled to do so and to make a positive contribution to city life. This will mean creating access to opportunity and removing the barriers that prevent people from achieving that potential and participating in all areas of life.

3.2       In order to achieve this ambition, the Belfast Agenda commitment was to ‘establish a pledge that commits to developing coherent pathways for education, training and employment for our young people’. 

3.3       As part of our research and development work to scope out the potential approach to developing a Youth Pledge for Belfast, we engaged the local organisation Include Youth to help us better understand what this Youth Pledge might look like.  They examined best practice and engaged with our young people and employers to ascertain interest and potential commitment to and support for the initiative.  The research has recently been completed and work is under way to articulate how the Youth Pledge may develop and what the resource commitments are likely to be. 

3.4       The research undertaken by Include Youth involved:

            Stakeholder engagement on the focus, content and structure of the City Youth Pledge involving partner organisations, young people themselves and employers

            A review of best practice models for City Youth Pledges and their impact in other locations.

            Identification of recommendations on how the City Pledge might operate in practice in Belfast. 

3.5       A total of 174 young people from across the city and 65 adults including teachers, employers and voluntary/community representatives were involved in the qualitative research through focus groups and interviews and a further 106 young people responded to an online survey.   Five consultation events were also held in Belfast City Hall.

            Research Findings

3.6       The research identified a number of barriers preventing young people from engaging fully in society through education, training or employment.  These included:

·        Lack of confidence, qualifications and finance prevent progression into positive post- formal education options: 73% of respondents to the online survey cited lack of confidence as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

            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 update the Committee on Council investment to support tourism product development all across the city, including in the city’s neighbourhoods. 

1.2       The report also sets out the proposed way forward for intervention activities led by the Council to invest in tourism product development with the objective of:

·        Increasing visitor spend and dwell-time and contributing towards the Belfast Agenda target of increasing the value of out-of-state tourism to £500 million

·        Capitalising on the significant private sector investment, particularly within the hotel and leisure sectors

·        Ensuring that the benefits of tourism investment and growth are felt across the city and that local organisations and businesses are supported to maximise these benefits.

2.0       Recommendations

            It is recommended that the Committee:

·        Notes the work underway across the Council to support tourism product development – including local tourism products

·        Notes and agrees the proposed way forward (3.14) to support tactical investment in local areas to ensure that product development opportunities are maximised and that local organisations and businesses get the support that they need to help bring forward high quality, sustainable tourism products

·        Considers the potential for the development of a feasibility fund to develop tourist products to concept stage. The establishment of this fund by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee would need to be considered as part of the half-year finance report in November 2018.

3.0       Key Issues

3.1       The mid-term review of the current Tourism Strategy highlighted the need for the Council and partners to enhance efforts to support high quality tourism product development in order to complement private sector investment in the hotels and wider hospitality sector in Belfast.

3.2       This challenge is not unique to Belfast.  Tourism NI have been identifying for some time the need to bring forward additional tourism products that respond to changing visitor trends and demands.  The work that is currently under way as part of the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) includes a commitment to enhance the investment in tourism as a key economic generator.  In Belfast, there are already almost 20,000 people employed in the hospitality and leisure industry and recent investment by the private sector will see those numbers grow.  The sector currently accounts for around 6% of GVA.  In many other successful cities and tourism destinations, the figure is almost double that.  This demonstrates the fact that there is still some way to go if Belfast is to capitalise of the tourism growth potential in the city.

3.3       Titanic Belfast has been a game changer for Belfast in terms of the city’s confidence as a tourism destination.  It was voted the World’s Leading Visitor Attraction in 2016.  That designation helped put Belfast on the map in the highly competitive global tourism market.  While the venue attracted over 840,000 visitors last year, it is recognised that many of these visitors were day trippers who came to Titanic Belfast as part  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b

            The Chief Executive reminded the Members that Belfast had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration with Dublin and that engagement was ongoing between Belfast City Council and the seven other councils along the route to support the development of work along the economic corridor.

            She reminded the Committee that it had agreed, at its meeting on 7th March, to support a conference to highlight cooperation opportunities along the corridor.

            She explained to the Members that a Steering Group of senior council officials had been established to determine the content of the conference.  The Committee was advised that the steering group had recently commissioned the Ulster University and Dublin City University to carry out further research to articulate the economic opportunities along the corridor.  The Universities’ research would form the basis of the conference proceedings.

            The Committee was informed that, while the main focus of the Steering Group was the conference and the research work, it had also developed a broader terms of reference which included:

·        identifying and developing collaborative projects which had economic and strategic merit for the eight local authorities of the eastern corridor;

·        articulating the economic and social benefits along the length of eastern corridor between Belfast and Dublin; and

·        driving buy-in and engagement with the private sector on the future development of the eastern economic corridor.

            The Chief Executive explained that a key agreed outcome of the steering group meetings to date had been the aspiration to deliver a Memorandum of Understanding between the eight local authorities.  She explained that the MoU would set out the scope of the joint areas of working across the corridor on infrastructure, attracting investment and jobs. 

            The Committee:

·        noted the progress to date, including the proposed conference, which was likely to be held at the end of March 2019, and to which all Members would be invited to attend; and

·        agreed that a further report  be submitted to the Committee in advance of the conference, providing an update on the conference plans and the emerging research outcomes. 

            The Director of Economic Development advised the Committee that the Council, at its meeting on 5th March, had agreed a Notice of Motion which requested that officers would engage with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) to explore the possibility of bringing the All Ireland Boxing Championships to Belfast.  He pointed out that a time had not been specified for the event.

            He explained that Council officers had held preliminary conversations with the IABA and that they had expressed an interest in holding the event in Belfast in February 2019. The Committee was advised that the event was usually held in Dublin and that there would be a financial ask of £69,470 from the Council or its partners if the event was to be held in Belfast, and that such a financial allocation had not been set aside in the Council budgets for this financial year.

            The Members were advised that the economic impact of holding the event in Belfast would likely give a 2:1 return on the Council’s investment, which the Director advised did not compare favourably with other events currently hosted in the city.  He advised the Members that the Republic of Ireland’s figure for the return investment in the Maritime Festival as 6.42:1.

            After discussion, the Committee:

1.      noted the £200,000 of funding which was approved by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 5th January  2018 for the implementation of the Belfast Boxing Strategy through the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA);

2.      noted that, following engagement with Officers from the Council’s City Events Unit, IABA had expressed a wish to stage the Elite Irish Amateur Final event in Belfast on 23rd February 2019, with a request for a financial contribution from Belfast City Council of £69,470 towards the event; and

3.      noted that the IABA Championship was not considered as part of Place and Economy’s 18/19 operational plans and consequently there was no existing budget allocation to support the event; and

4.      agreed that officers would continue to negotiate with IABA to build a greater understanding of the costs associated with holding the event, including options for the Council to secure income from ticket revenue.

            (Mr. N. Grimshaw, Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Strategic Director of City and neighbourhood Services reminded the Committee that, in November 2017, consultants had been commissioned to carry out a strategic review of the operational model for the Zoo, based on the Committee’s agreed options.

            The Committee was advised that the consultants had since reviewed the operator models for the Zoo based upon international best practice and had carried out an expression of interest exercise to validate the findings on the relevant operating models.

            He explained that the aim of the early market engagement was to ascertain how potential operators and developers viewed the opportunity to work with the Council on the operational delivery of Belfast Zoo. He explained that what was learned from the early market engagement would be used to shape the Council’s procurement strategy. 

            The Members were advised that, of the 7 companies which had responded to the questionnaire, 4 had experience or capabilities which were relevant to the operation of a world class zoo.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed to receive further detail on the expressions of interest through party group briefings.

            The Chief Executive presented the financial position of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee to the Members.  She advised them that the Quarter 1 position for the Committee was an under spend of £143,000 (2.5%), with the forecast year-end position being an overspend of £90,000 (0.5%) which was within the acceptable tolerance which was 3%. 

            The Committee was advised that the current position related to vacant posts across a number of services, loss of Belfast Bikes sponsorship income and additional health and safety expenditure in City Markets.

            The Committee was also advised that the forecast year-end position for the Council was an under spend of £1million of the budgeted net expenditure and that this had been reported to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 17th August.

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

            The Committee agreed that a report would be submitted to a future meeting exploring the options for implementing a similar scheme in Belfast.

The Committee noted that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda.