Agenda and draft minutes

No apologies were reported.

            The minutes of the meeting of the 6th and 27th November were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 2nd December.

            No declarations of interest were reported.

            The information contained in the report associated with the following three items

was restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

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

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

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development provided an update on the Vacant to Vibrant Programme and outlined the recommendations from the Vacant to Vibrant assessment panel following the recent receipt and assessment of applications.

Proposal

            Moved by Councillor Black,

            Seconded by Councillor Duffy and

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to the inclusion of a condition that requires the applicant V2V142 to provide an area management plan that outlines how the applicant, in conjunction with other services, will manage the potential impacts of the operation on the wider adjacent area, and that this area management plan is agreed with Council’s Community Safety Teams.

            After discussion, the Committee:

                                 I.     Noted the update on the City Wide Vacant to Vibrant scheme which opened to applications on the 15th November, 2024;

                               II.     Noted the update in relation to the city centre Vacant to Vibrant Programme which, subject to approval of the three applications contained within this report, would be supporting up to 38 businesses to locate or expand into long term vacant city centre units; and

                              III.     Agreed to the recommended grant awards as outlined within Section 3.18 of the report, subject to the inclusion of a condition that required the applicant V2V142 to provide an area management plan that outlined how the applicant, in conjunction with other services, would manage the potential impacts of the operation on the wider adjacent area, and that this area management plan was agreed with the Council’s Community Safety Teams.

The Committee was provided with a quarterly performance and financial update for the period to end September 2024, together with an overview of future plans for the coming quarter.

            During discussion, the Markets Development Manager advised that the Markets Rights Policy was under review which would include information on external market licence charges.

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        Noted the update on city markets – with a focus on St George’s Market;

·        Noted the priority actions for the coming quarter and that further updates on progress would be submitted to the Committee in the future,including city markets revenue data.

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

            The Committee considered the following motion which had been referred by the Standards and Business Committee held on 21st November, and proposed by Councillor Kelly and seconded by Councillor Brooks:

“That this Council recognises the importance of small businesses and the creation of a thriving economy in communities across our city; accepts that changes to infrastructure can have a significant impact on local businesses in the surrounding area; agrees that businesses in Sandy Row have been disadvantaged by the closure of the Boyne Bridge as part of the Grand Central Station development and recognises the struggle of business owners in the area to survive given the reduction in footfall; and calls on this Council to look at options of re-opening the Boyne Bridge, create a Taskforce, alongside the Department of the Economy, Department for Communities, Translink and local business owners, to explore how businesses can be urgently supported.”

            During discussion, Councillor Kelly highlighted the urgent need for an emergency plan and stakeholder group, together with animation and Christmas lights for the area.

            Members also requested that the potential for rates relief for the businesses was investigated and the economic impact of business closures was considered as part of the report.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed the motion and that a report, outlining a detailed consideration of the motion and the potential cost implications and economic impact would be submitted to a future meeting.

            The Planning Manager - Plan and Policy informed the Committee of the background to the emerging Development Plan in relation to the City Centre Boundary.

            He highlighted that the Development Plan Strategy had now been legally adopted and defined the city centre with having a unique function.

            He provided an illustrative map within the plan strategy and explained the associated settlement hierarchies and policies, including the employment plan policy, accommodating new homes policy and protection of existing residential areas policy.

            He outlined the next steps in the process which included: Ongoing site assessment work; Member engagement; Wider Community engagement; Draft plan submitted to the Planning and Strategic Policy and Resources Committee; Formal Public Consultation; and Independent examination.

            During discussion, the Planning Manager, Plan and Policy, answered a range of questions in relation to footfall counters, community consultation, special interest areas, built heritage and the protection of sites and inner city community protection.

            He highlighted that the Local Development team would be happy to meet with interested parties to engage on the Local Development Plan.

            After discussion, the Committee noted the update provided on the City Centre boundary and the Development Plan process.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1             The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on the Department for the Economy’s (DfE) recently published sub-regional economic plan and to set out proposed approaches to some of the key elements of work within the plan, including the establishment of a Local Economic Partnership (LEP). 

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the update on the Department for the Economy’s Sub-Regional Economic Plan  

·        Note the draft funding formula and the potential implications for Belfast City Council

·        Consider and endorse the proposals for the partnership structure and note emerging priority actions.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       At the 6 November 2024 meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, members were advised that the Department for Economy had recently produced a ‘sub-regional economic plan’.  They agreed to receive a further update at the next committee meeting as to how some of the key proposals in this plan might be taken forward in Belfast.

3.2       The Ministerial ambition behind the sub-regional plan is ‘through local partnerships, central government, Invest NI, Councils and our network of education providers and civic society, we will work together to identify the main barriers to economic development, and the interventions that will unlock the area’s potential’.

3.3       The plan focuses on recognising and tackling regional imbalance across each of the council areas.  It sets out a series of indicators and ranks each council area from 1 to 11 in terms of how they sit against each of these.  Metrics include labour productivity; median wages, greenhouse emissions and sub-regional employment rate.  While Belfast ranks top in the first three, it ranks 10 out of 11 for sub-regional employment rate. 

3.4       Following the publication of the plan, DfE officials have been working on guidance and financial allocations for the Local Economic Partnerships and these have been circulated as draft for discussion with each of the council areas.

3.5       Local Economic Partnerships – proposed funding formula

            CMT will be aware that one of the central pillars of the sub -  regional economic plan is the proposed establishment of Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) in each council area.  These partnerships will be able to access funding from the Department – an indicative three-year budget of £45million has been identified but it is understood that this funding has not yet been secured. DfE officials have recently shared the guidance and a series of options around the funding formula for the partnerships.  The funding formulas focus on two key metrics, namely productivity – as measured by output per job – and peripherality.  There is also a variable allocation for ‘base’ costs (i.e. staff overheads).  Based on the draft formulas presented, Belfast City Council would access an annual budget of either £865,000 or £956,000 for LEP activity.

3.6       Officers were asked to provide commentary on the draft formulas by mid-November.  We did so, but noted that, given the significant impact on Belfast, we would want to share  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8a

            The Committee was provided with a quarterly update on the Notices of Motion that it was responsible for, in line with the agreement of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee that all standing committees receive regular updates.

            It was reported that there were currently five Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance for which the Committee was responsible for and it was recommended that the Committee agree to close the following motion and note the status updates for the remaining four motions which remained open:

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            Category 1 and 2 Recommended Closure

·        Translink – Night-time provision of services (ID = 289)

            During discussion, one Member requested that the Translink – Night-time provision of services (ID = 289) motion, which had been recommended for closure, would remain open.

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        Noted the updates to all Notices of Motion/ Issues Raised in Advance that this Committee was responsible for as referenced in Appendix 1; and

·        Agreed that the Translink – Night-time provision of services (ID = 289) motion, which had been recommended for closure, would remain open.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the Belfast Stores Working Group on 14th November, 2024.