Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Alderman Ekin and Councillor Hendron.

            The minutes of the meetings of 3rd and 17th April were taken as read and signed as correct. It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st May.

            Regarding item 10, viz., ‘Democratising Governance in Transition’, Councillor Maskey reported that he was associated of one of the organisations partaking in the Programme.

It was reported that no requests had been received.

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1       Members will be aware that, at the 27 September 2011 meeting of the Development Committee, it was agreed that an application for ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funding in respect of a proposed Innovation Centre project at Springvale/Forthriver should be pursued.  The Strategic Policy and Resources Committee at their meeting on 23 September 2011 also agreed to support the application for this project and agreed in principle to meeting the Council contribution from the Council’s City Investment Fund and/or capital programme. 

1.2      The Forthriver Innovation Centre project is included as an emerging Council-led project in the Council’s Investment Programme 2012–2015. It is intended that this will complement the recent investment by Belfast Metropolitan College in their E3 campus at Springvale.  This campus – which was just handed over to Belfast Met at the beginning of April – is to be the base for the college’s project-based learning activity, involving students working with local businesses on company-based projects.  In tandem, the students will be provided with entrepreneurship training and there will be facilities for students to work on their own business ideas.  It is intended that, should the students require additional space and facilities, they may then consider locating in the new innovation centre.  This will help build a critical mass of new growth businesses in this location and will create a positive regeneration project at this site, which currently attracts significant levels of anti-social behaviour.  

1.3      The Forthriver site is owned by Invest NI and is a serviced site which has been set aside for use by Invest NI eligible businesses.  It has been vacant for some considerable time. Invest NI are now also responsible for the management of EU funding for local economic development and, in this capacity, they have engaged with the council to look at how maximum resources can be drawn down to support a project of this nature.

 1.4      Given the capital investment, procurement and contract management implications of this development, a report was presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 25 April 2012 to seek approval to progress with the project in compliance with the process established by Invest NI.

 2   Key Issues

2.1       A number of discussions have taken place with Invest NI in order to clarify the process for drawing down EU funding to support this programme.  The proposed approach – as recommended by them – is:

            Belfast City Council to submit “scoping document” to Invest NI, outlining the proposed terms of the project and the potential outcomes and economic considerations, in order to get initial feedback from Invest NI on potential viability and suitability for funding under the LED measure.

-        If feedback is positive, (and if members are in agreement), a development brief will be issued.  This process would entail the Council offering the site on the market for disposal (usually by way of long lease) and subsequent development.  A development agreement would be entered into with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee was advised that the Council had been invited to nominate Elected Members to attend two awards ceremonies in London, the first on 11th July, with the second on 13th July, for projects to which the Council had contributed funding to over the past two years. 

The Committee agreed, since the ceremonies coincided with the July recess and holiday period, that it would be represented at the ceremonies by the Director or his nominee.

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1        Relevant Background Information

1.1       Belfast City Council and Invest NI have been approached by an international event management company, Horasis, to establish if the organisations would be interested in Belfast hosting the annual Global India Business Conference in April 2013.

1.2       Global India Business is a major international networking event which brings together over 350 chief executives from major Indian companies with their European counterparts to examine the potential for trade development and investment between the two regions.

1.3       The key personnel at Horasis are former organisers of the World Economic Forum which takes place in Davos, Switzerland each year and have since set up their own business focused on developing business relationships with the emerging economies of India, China, Russia and the Middle East.

1.4       The Global India Business Forum is the foremost annual gathering of Indian business leaders and their global counterparts. The event is open to CEO’s of the world’s leading companies. Horasis has a partnership with leading Indian firms and uses this network to connect with other leading companies across the globe. The 2012 Global India event is due to take place in Antwerp, Belgium on 24-25 June. Other cities which have recently hosted the event include Munich, Madrid and Naples.

2          Key Issues

2.1       Members will be aware that India is now considered one of the emerging global market opportunities.  Belfast, through Invest NI, already has substantial links with Indian firms and continues to focus activity here with outward and inward trade missions supported at Ministerial level.  The First and Deputy First Minister are just back from a recent mission to India in the last few weeks organised through Invest NI’s permanent regional office in Mumbai and will be leading another multi-sectoral trade mission to Mumbai from 14-18 October 2012. Belfast is home to several companies of Indian origin at present, including namely HCL Technology, Polaris, Tech Mahindra, L&T Infotech, Firstsource and Andras House who collectively have accounted for investment of over £180m and created some 3,500 jobs locally.

2.2       Total trade in goods and services between the UK and India was in excess of £13billion in 2010 with exports accounting for £5.6billion of this trade. Belfast companies currently doing business in India include Delta Print & Packaging who have developed a specialist joint venture in India and Hall Black Douglas Architects who have recently been appointed to provide specialist design services in collaboration with Indian architectural practice Studio 55 for the redevelopment of a retail and leisure complex for the highly respected Mumbai property developer Oberoi Realty.

2.3       There has also been significant work undertaken to develop strategic linkages between the universities in Belfast and their counterparts in India to explore educational partnerships and help develop university links between India and Northern Ireland. As a result of these efforts, The University of Ulster has developed alliances with the University of Madras in Chennai and the Institute of Technology in Mumbai and the Queen’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which provided an overview of the City of Festivals and Creative Legacies projects, funding for which had been secured by the Department’s Tourism, Culture and Arts Unit under the Special European Unit Programmes Body’s Peace III Programme.

The Committee was reminded that the Northern Ireland Tourism Board, under its Strategic Framework for Action, sought to work in partnership with a range of key stakeholders to develop, promote and market Northern Ireland as a distinctive destination. The Framework consisted of ten programmes, one of which was the promotion of a range of driving routes across Northern Ireland.

The Director reported that the work had been completed on the design stage of the Mourne Coastal Route, which encompassed the County Down coast from Newry to Belfast. He indicated that the cost of the associated signage would be in the region of £370,000, 75% of which would be met by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, with each council within the route contributing to the remaining amount. He indicated that the cost to Belfast would be £12,600 and pointed out that, in agreeing to contribute, the City would enhance its profile and role as the gateway to Northern Ireland. The Director pointed out that the City would become a natural starting and ending point for tourists using the route and that visitor numbers would be increased through the signage scheme. 

The Committee agreed to the expenditure as outlined.

The Committee was reminded that the Council was represented on the above-mentioned programme by the Community Services Manager. It was pointed out that the programme was delivered by Groundwork NI and Intercomm and funded by the Special European Unit Programmes Body’s Peace III Programme. The Director outlined the aims and objectives of the programme which sought to empower local communities to address issues of dereliction and shared space, with a particular emphasis on addressing the issue of interfaces in Belfast.

It was reported that the organisers of the programme had extended an invitation to participants to attend a training programme which would be facilitated by Stanford University in California during June. The training would be delivered by a range of experts and would be tailored to address specific issues of relevance to Northern Ireland. The Director outlined the range of organisations which would be attending the training and requested that the Committee consider authorising the attendance at the training of the Community Services Manager, which, if approved, would cost the Council £1,500.

The Committee agreed that the Community Services Manager be authorised to attend the training course at a cost of £1,500 and agreed further that a report be submitted to a future meeting which would provide an overview of the benefits accrued in participating on the training programme.