Venue: Lavery Room, City Hall
Contact: Eilish McGoldrick, Democratic Services Officer
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Apologies Minutes: No apologies were reported. |
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Minutes Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of 4th December were taken as read and signed as correct. It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 9th January.
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: Councillor R. McLaughlin declared an interest in item 2.a) Externally Funded Placemaking and Active Travel Projects Update, in that he was on the Board of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners and left the meeting whilst the matter was under consideration.
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Restricted Items Minutes: 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 items 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.
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Externally Funded Placemaking and Active Travel Projects Update Minutes: The Director of City Regeneration and Development provided an update on the ongoing engagement with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in relation to funding to support connectivity, placemaking and active travel projects aligned with A Bolder Vision and strategic priorities within the Connectivity, Active and Sustainable Travel Action Plan in the Belfast Agenda.
After discussion, the Committee:
1. Noted the update in relation to externally funded projects and the potential to secure DfI funding for Active Travel Enabling projects; and
2. Subject to funding, approved the progression of the projects outlined within the report, including any third party Funding Agreements, consultancy and procurement as required. The Committee noted that funding and the Letter of Offer would be subject to Strategic Policy and Resources Committee approval via the Capital Programme process, in conjunction with the Property and Projects Department or in conjunction with third party delivery partners as outlined within the report.
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Vacant to Vibrant Programme Minutes: The Committee was provided with an update on the Vacant to Vibrant Programme and considered the recommendations from the Vacant to Vibrant assessment panel following the receipt and assessment of recent applications.
The Committee:
1. Noted the update in relation to the Vacant to Vibrant Programme which, subject to approval of the three applications contained within the report, two for the city centre and one for city wide, which would be supporting up to 41 businesses to locate or expand into long term vacant units;
2. Agreed and noted the recommended grant awards as outlined within Section 3.21 of the report for both the city centre and city-wide schemes;
3. Noted the update on application V2V109; and
4. Noted the update on application V2V126.
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Events Update Minutes: The Senior Manager, Culture and Tourism, advised the Committee on the progress and engagement which had been undertaken for a number of forthcoming events, namely: Lord Mayors Day; St Patricks Day; The Euros; Oireachtas na Samhna; and The Fleadh Cheoil.
After discussion, the Committee:
1. Noted progress on events planning;
2. Agreed to the forward budget allocation of £42,000 for the Lord Mayors Day from 25/26 core budget as outlined in 4.0 of the report;
3. Agreed to the recommendations for the Fleadh Cheoil expenditure of circa £100,000 as outlined in 3.8 of the report; and
4. Agreed to the attendance of the Chief Executive and Senior Council Official at the GB Comhaltas convention as outlined in 4.0 the report and the funding of Ards CCE travel costs to the value of £4,000, which would be funded from existing Departmental budgets.
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Regenerating Places & Improving Infrastructure |
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UP2030 Update - Net Zero Neighbourhood Framework Minutes: The Committee considered the undernoted report:
“1.0 Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues
1.1 To provide an update on the UP2030 Net Zero (NZ) Neighbourhood Framework, including the work to date across the priority themes of active travel, greening and retrofit, stakeholder engagement, and key milestones for 2025, including holding a Members’ briefing workshop.
1.0 Recommendation
2.1 The Committee is asked to:
I. To note the progress to date and future key milestones for the UP2030 Net Zero Neighbourhoods Horizon Europe funded project to develop a Net Zero Neighbourhood Framework.
II. To agree to hold a Members’ briefing workshop in early summer on the emerging draft Framework prior to taking the final draft Framework to Committee in the autumn.
III. To note the 3 main themes of the Framework around Greening, Retrofit and Active Travel, and how the UP2030 project can be upscaled to help build understanding and capacity for communities about Net Zero as well as integrate and inform both local community plans and Council workstreams such as the emerging area planning approach; climate-related work programmes; housing led regeneration programme and specifically how it will fit with the Belfast Agenda Community Planning Boards Action Plans.
IV. To note that an update report on UP2030 is also being brought to the Climate and City Resilience Committee tomorrow, 16 January 2025.
3.0 Background
Members will recall that Council is involved in a three-year Horizon Europe consortium programme called Urban Planning 2030 (UP2030) that aims to guide cities through the transitions required to meet their climate neutrality ambitions. The City Regeneration and Development and Climate teams were successful in joint bid of €204,250/£176,024 to further an integrated approach between urban planning, achieving net zero and aspects of resilience. At the most recent update to the City Regeneration & Development and Climate and City Resilience Committees in June 2024 Members were reminded that Belfast is one of 11 pilot cities, and the focus of the project is on the development of a net zero neighbourhood framework around three thematic areas: active travel, greening and retrofit. These themes link across to the UP2030 pillars of a fair and just transition, carbon neutrality and resilience. The Framework will be informed by data, stakeholder engagement and the use of climate tools to support analysis, mapping and engagement in the pilot area.
3.1 The geographic area of the UP2030 pilot was agreed at the City Growth and Regeneration Committee in March 2023 and covers the Linen Quarter and surrounding city centre communities of Barrack Street, Sandy Row, Donegall Pass and the Market. Whilst this work was undertaken within a defined boundary the purpose was to produce a framework that could be adapted and used within all communities and districts to set forward net zero tailored approaches, attract funding and support climate adaption plans tailored for the uses of that specific district.
3.2 Over the past year and a half there has been engagement with communities and wider city partners at each key stage. Members received an update at ... view the full minutes text for item 6a |
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Correspondence from the Department for Infrastructure - Public Transport Fares Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered correspondence which had been received from the Department for Infrastructure, in response to the Committee request for the Minister to consider reducing the cost of public transport fares over the Christmas period.
Noted.
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Issues Raised in Advance by Members |
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Gary Moore Statue (Councillor Smyth to raise) Minutes: Councillor Smyth advised that he had been liaising with the Wild Frontier Memorial Trust in relation to the potential for a Gary Moore Statue to be installed in Belfast. He advised that the Trust proposed to fund the statue to celebrate Mr. Moore’s contribution to blues and rock, inspire future generations of musicians and encourage tourism.
After discussion, the Committee agreed that the Council explore land availability for the possible installation of a Gary Moore statue within the Cathedral Quarter and that the item be referred to the City Hall/City Hall Grounds Installations Working Group for further consideration.
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