Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from the Chairman (Alderman Stalford), Aldermen Campbell and Humphrey, together with Councillors Hartley, Hendron and Webb.

            It was reported that no requests had been received.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 10th August, it had agreed to receive a presentation from the Forum for Alternative Belfast in respect of its response to the Road Service’s proposals for the upgrade of the York Street Interchange.  It was reported that Messrs. D. Hill, M. Hackett and K. Sterritt, were in attendance and they were admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Deputy Chairman (Councillor Maskey).

            Mr. Hill outlined the contents of the Forum’s response to the Roads Service’s consultation in respect of the York Street Interchange.  He indicated that the Forum had suggested that the Roads Service should appoint a multi-disciplinary team to undertake a strategic overview on the impact which the upgrade of the junction would have on local communities.  He suggested that the Roads Service should seek to allow for the creation of pedestrian and cycle friendly streets, which would be based on best practice and protect open spaces.  In addition, the Forum had suggested that the plans to introduce a 18 metre high flyover would have a detrimental impact upon the visual amenity of the area and could affect local educational and employment opportunities. 

He concluded that the Forum was in support of a modified and improved version of ‘Option C’ as suggested by the Roads Service, which would incorporate a road connection between the Westlink and the main Belfast road to Bangor and which would permit the release of more development land and provide an opportunity for the restoration of Gt. George’s Street.

            During discussion, a number of Members expressed their support for the proposals as outlined by the Forum.  The point was made that any development should be of benefit to adjacent communities and should incorporate urban regeneration and housing development opportunities.

            After discussion, during which the Director undertook to clarify a number of issues in respect of the research undertaken thus far by the Roads Service in respect of the cost of delivering the Scheme, the Committee agreed to note the information which had been provided and agreed, if deemed necessary, that consultancy support should be sought to help formulate the Council’s response to the consultation which would be presented in due course.

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which updated the Members on a number of changes which would be introduced by Translink to its Metro service in Belfast from 1st September.  In addition, it was agreed that Council would impress upon Translink and the Roads Service the importance that the twenty minute “drop off and pick up” period for coaches in Donegall Square West be monitored and enforced rigidly.

            The Director reminded the Committee that the Department for Regional Development had in 2007 endorsed, as a preferred option, the introduction to Belfast of a bus rapid transit system.  He advised the Committee that the Minister for Regional Development, Mr. D. Kennedy, M.L.A., would be undertaking a study visit to Nantes, France, on 21st and 22nd September to view that city’s bus rapid transit system.  The Director pointed out that the rapid transit system in Nantes was considered to be one of the best within Europe and, given the plans for the development of such a system in Belfast, he reported that the Minister had requested that representatives from the Council accompany him on the visit.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed that the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman, or their nominees, be authorised to undertake the study visit together with the Director of Development and one further officer from the Council.  It was noted that the total cost to the Council of this visit would not exceed £2,000.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1       Members will be aware that, at the 15 June meeting of the Development Committee, a range of economic and business growth measures was endorsed.  This covered – among other themes – support for sectoral initiatives, including activities to support the independent retail sector in the city.

1.2    Since that endorsement, some preliminary discussions and preparatory work have been undertaken with a range of trader groups to clarify their needs and to develop a proposal to support the groups, according to their stage of development, their specific requirements and their capacity to deliver and collaborate with other partners. 

2    Key Issues

2.1       The retail sector, and in particular the independent retailers, are under considerable pressure in the current economic climate.  Retailers have been trying to develop a range of initiatives to increase footfall and spend in their areas and have, increasingly, been working collaboratively under the guise of traders’ forums to carry out this work.

2.2       At the 15 June 2011 Development Committee, a budget of up to £200,000 was committed to promote the development of the sector through a range of activities including trader group development, local area campaigns, Retail Therapy business development programme, market start-up programme and Independent Retail week (proposed to take place in March 2012).

2.3       Under previous retail initiatives, support has been provided to help traders’ groups become constituted; to assist them in prioritising areas requiring collaborative support and to deliver some initial activity aligned to this support.

2.4       Support has also been provided to a number of existing trader groups including Lisburn Road Business Association; East Belfast Traders (incorporating Ballyhackamore, Belmont Road and Bloomfield Avenue), West Belfast Traders’ Association and the Shankill Road Business Association.  This support was provided on the basis that

            groups were incorporated, had a management structure in place and were committed to a programme of activities to market and promote the areas. 

2.5       The Retail Therapy programme has now helped 90 independent traders across the city and is currently open to recruitment for up to 30 participants – the deadline for this programme is 16 September.  Retail Therapy focuses on helping individual traders grow their business.  It does this through a mystery shop process, after which a tailored development plan is put in place and a small grant element is provided to allow the trader to implement to issues identified as part of the improvement process. 

2.6       With regard to retail support activities in the 11/12 financial year, it is proposed that support be provided as follows:

2.7       Trader group development support

            Some initial discussions have taken place with a range of new and fledgling traders groups, all of which are at varying stages of development.  These include the Antrim Road Business Group, Lower Lisburn Road Traders, Ormeau Road Traders and Bloomfield Road traders.

2.8       It is proposed that work should continue in helping these and other groups link into existing support; identify their priorities for action  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

            (Mr. G. Copeland, Events Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 27th June, it had authorised the attendance at the 2011 World Police and Fire Games of the Lord Mayor and one officer from the Department and agreed to the payment of the costs of flights, accommodation and subsistence in connection thereto.  The Events Manager reported that the officer authorised originally to accompany the Lord Mayor would be unable to stay for the duration of the visit and, accordingly, he sought the Committee’s authority to authorise an additional officer to attend the second part of the event from 2nd till 5th September.

            The Committee agreed to this course of action.

            (Mr. G. Copeland, City Events Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1      At the meeting on Wednesday, 9th December, 2009, Members noted the success of the Belfast Tall Ships 2009, an event which generated huge positive profile for the City and an economic return of over £16m to the local economy.

1.2       They further agreed, in principle, and subject to a detailed report and appropriate approvals, that Belfast enters the bidding to host the Tall Ships Race in the future.

1.3       Belfast has now been invited by Sail Training International (STI), the Race Organisers, to bid to host the 2015 Tall Ships Race.  The deadline for submissions is 14th September 2011.

2.   Key Issues

2.1       Members are being provided with the Belfast Tall Ships 2009 Ltd Company Report which provides a detailed analysis of the 200 event and will form the benchmark for the 2015 event. 

            The report highlights the very substantial benefits which the Tall Ships event brought to the city including:

            - £400,000 visitors to the city

            - £16m generated for the Belfast Economy

            - the creation of 90 jobs      

            - £1m of infrastructural development

2.2       Members are also asked to note that two other reviews were conducted on the project.  A GATE review was carried out by Property and Projects Department, with the event being given the highest score under each of the set criteria.  BCC’s Audit, Governance and Risk Services have almost completed a ‘Lessons Learned’ document to highlight the success of the event in terms of managing risk and good governance.  These documents will be used to plan for the future.

2.3       Management and Delivery

            In advance of the 2009 event the ‘Belfast Tall Ships 2009’ Company was set up as a special purpose vehicle to deliver the event.  This Company is still in existence albeit in a dormant state and could potentially be resurrected should the bid be successful, and be tasked with the delivery of the 2015 event.

            A separate report will be brought to Committee outlining options for a vehicle should the bid be successful.

2.4       Logistics and Operations

            The City Events Unit, in partnership with other organisations in the City, but primarily the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, would deliver the event with oversight from the Board.  The Council will not only draw on the experiences of 2009, but also on the delivery of the City’s annual Maritime Festival.

2.5       Finance

            Should the bid be successful, Council officers will initially engage with other public sector bodies involved in 2009 (NITB, DCAL, DSD) to secure the base funding for 2015.

3          Resource Implications

3.1       Finance

Members are reminded that the 2009 event cost a total of £2.4m, of which the Council contributed £1.1m.  Members are also reminded that a considerable portion of the £2.4m was used to upgrade the physical infrastructure within the Harbour in order to be fit for purpose.  The overall budget for this project  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

            (Mr. G. Copeland, City Events Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The City Events Manager reminded that Committee that, at its meeting on 15th February, it had agreed that the Christmas Lights Switch-on Event would take place at the City Hall on Saturday, 19th November, from 6.00 p.m. till 7.00 p.m.  He provided the Committee with an overview of the arrangements which had been put in place to host the event and outlined a proposed programme of entertainment.  He pointed out that the event would coincide with the opening of the Christmas Continental Market, together with a range of activities organised by the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Belfast City Centre Management. 

            After discussion, the Committee agreed to note the information which had been provided and agreed to authorise expenditure in the sum of £138,000 towards the Christmas Lights Switch-On.  In addition, it was noted that consideration of the hosting of a pre and post Christmas lights switch-on event in the City Hall would be considered at a future meeting.

            The Committee was reminded that the Council was the Lead Partner in the European Regional Development Fund INTERREG IVC project B-Team which sought to bring together practitioners and experts from different countries to address the problems associated with the regeneration of Brownfield sites.  As part of the project, the Partnership would seek to improve regional policies and bring forward the development of vacant sites in each partner location.  The practical exchange of knowledge would take place during “Brownfield Days” in each partner location, with the experience and lessons learned being collated to inform practice across the partnership at “European Dissemination Events”.  The dissemination events, which were projected to occur five times during the three year lifespan of the project, would seek to both test and disseminate the results to a wider audience.

                                                 It was reported that the next dissemination event would take place in Ruda Slaske, Poland, on 5th and 6th September. The Director pointed out that the event would present the Council's deputation with an opportunity to discuss issues pertinent to the regeneration of redundant Brownfield sites in Belfast.  The event programme would allow for a significant level of political engagement with other local authorities and

support the development of partnerships.  The Director added that the event would also present the opportunity for the Council to contribute both at a political and officer level and, whilst there were no financial resources associated with attendance, it was anticipated that travel and accommodation costs would be in the region of £500 per delegate.

             The Committee approved the attendance of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman (or their nominees) at the dissemination event on the 5th and 6th September.

            The Committee was advised that correspondence had been received from Belfast International Airport requesting that the Council agree to nominate the Head of Economic Initiatives to represent it on the Airport’s Consultative Forum.  The Director outlined the work of the Forum and provided an overview of its membership.  He pointed out that it was anticipated that the Forum would meet on a quarterly basis.

            The Committee agreed that the Head of Economic Initiatives, or her nominee, be authorised to represent the Council on the Forum.

            The Director reminded the Committee that the City of the Isles Partnership was a small network of six City Councils in the United Kingdom and Ireland, namely Belfast, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool.  Since 2000, these Cities had met annually to share urban regeneration experiences, develop joint projects and establish a co-ordinated approach to issues of strategic importance.  It was reported that the next scheduled meeting of the organisation would take place in Cardiff on 11th and 12th October at a cost of £200 per delegate.

            The Director then provided an overview of the programme of events, discussions and study visits which Cardiff had formulated for the Conference and he suggested that attendance thereat would provide direct benefit to the Members of the Committee.  He pointed out that he had consulted with the Council’s Democratic Services Manager who had indicated, given the content of the programme and its relevance to the Members’ Development Plans, that attendance at the meeting would be of direct benefit also to the Party Group Leaders and, particularly, those Members who had been elected to the Council for the first time in May and that the cost of such attendance would be met out of the Members’ Development Budget.

             After discussion, the Committee authorised the attendance at the Conference of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman, or their nominees.  It was noted also that two Council officers would be authorised to attend the Conference.

            The Committee endorsed the undernoted response to the above-mentioned consultation:

“Overall comments

Belfast City Council warmly welcomes the HSCB/PHA community development strategy and believes it will play an important contribution in delivering better health and wellbeing outcomes across the Health Service in Northern Ireland.

We support the strategy’s case for the mainstream integration of community development approaches within health and social care organisations and the role community development can play in ensuring the needs and views of communities are expressed in public service design and delivery. We are supportive of the needs and assets-based approach that the strategy has adopted and welcome the planned performance management framework.

The development of the strategy is timely as Belfast City Council is beginning a public consultation on its own community development strategy (and would welcome continued input from the health sector). There are a number of connecting and mutually re-enforcing ideas and approaches in both organisations’ strategies.

We note that action plans for the HSC strategy are to be developed early in 2012. The council would like to be consulted on the design of the Health and Social Care Board’s and the Belfast Trust’s action plans as we believe there may well be areas of mutual benefit for both organisations in terms of enhancing our approaches to community development in the city.

The council’s own draft community development strategy proposes a broad outcomes-based model for community development activity in Belfast. The model describes four supporting strands of activity and the likely outcomes to which they could contribute.

The strands include support for core community development skills (such as volunteering, group capacity building, etc); support for effective community engagement; effective partnership working; and, ultimately, support for shared service design and delivery with communities.

The purpose of the model is to encourage organisations to adopt mutually re-enforcing community development approaches that jointly contribute to shared outcomes. We wish to work with partner organisations, including the HSC and PHA, to explore how this might be achieved.

Responses to the specific questions

1. Do you think that the strategy will be helpful in your area of interest or work?

There are a number of areas in which the strategy would be helpful to the council and we would welcome further engagement with the HSC and PHA on exploring this. Areas might include:

1.1Learning from the development of your strategy, and the design and implementation of its actions plan, can inform the council’s own strategy and implementation plan. We would wish to share information on this.

1.2Approaches to community consultation and engagement. The council is currently developing a framework for consultation and engagement and would welcome ideas on developing approaches to engagement.

1.3Ensuring the council’s service contributions to health outcomes have community development approaches embedded with them. This might include activities associated with our corporate Healthier City plan (which includes contributions from Parks and Leisure, Community Services, Health and Environment Services, etc) and our contribution to the Belfast Joint Health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

            The Committee endorsed the undernoted response to the above-mentioned consultation:

“1.1         Overall comments

1.1.1     The Council is supportive of the draft strategy. The Council is developing its own Community Development Strategy and frameworks on consultation and engagement and these will have many areas in common with this strategy and HSCNI’s own Community Development Strategy. Consequently we will be watching your progress with interest and would be keen to continue to share learning as the strategies progress.

1.2Responses to the specific questions

1.2.1        1. Have we made it clear what Personal and Public Involvement is, what benefits it can bring and why we think it is important?

1.2.2        Generally yes and we think the simplified ‘Easy to Read’ guide is a useful product that also demonstrates your commitment to some of the principles of public involvement. We do wonder though if some reference to the Community Development strategy you are developing should also be made. We assume that any community development work will also involve personal and public involvement.

1.2.3        2. We identified six priority areas to take PPI forward. Are there other areas that you think we should consider?

1.2.4        No the list seems to cover all the necessary areas to incorporate the approach.

1.2.5        3. The detailed recommendations under each key area will form the basis of the actions we need to take to deliver on these areas. Do you think that they will help us do that? Are there other things we need to do?

1.2.6        Cultural integration – there does not appear to be anything at the individual level to encourage this other than the inclusion in job descriptions. We are not convinced that including it in the job description will have much effect especially on existing staff. It may be worth considering other mechanisms such as including it in staff personal

      development reviews (PDR), highlighting good examples internally, or having an award each year for the person who most embodies the approach. It would also be worth reviewing existing KPIs to make sure they do not discourage PPI behaviour, for example, avoiding the mistake organisations make when they introduce new customer service or quality commitments but still measure staff performance against indicators that demand fast throughput.

1.2.7        Training – we would be very keen to hear about your approach to training the general public and wonder if there may be opportunities to share experiences and even offer joint sessions once we are in a position to roll out our Community Development Strategy. We also wonder if there may be opportunities for staff exchanges, job shadowing or similar once both strategies are established. Our only query about this section is whether the strategy needs to spell out the time and resource that will be needed to ensure proper training can be given. A lack of training in a new approach is one of the most common causes of failure.

1.2.8        Impact Measurement – see previous comments about including PPI in staff PDRs.

1.2.9  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

            The Committee considered the undernoted amended report, which, at the request of Councillor Reynolds, had been deferred at its meeting on 10th August:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1The purpose of this report is to update Members, as previously agreed, in regard to the evaluation of the ‘Play Clubs’ which were introduced on a pilot basis in September last year to be provided through to the end of June 2011. 

1.2Members will recall that the Play Clubs were developed as part of the recommendations of the Play Review.  This included the recommendation for Service Delivery to be flexible and to involve outreach delivery of the play service making it available in communities where there is limited existing provision for children and young people (up to age 16) and where there are concentrations of children and  young people.

1.3A comprehensive report of the activities undertaken by the Play Service throughout 2010 was provided to Council at their meeting on 3rd May 2011. The report included information on the progress of the Play Club project.

2    Key Issues

2.1The Play Club model was developed to provide play opportunities for children aged 2-4 years old in areas of need and through a partnership approach, with local volunteers and parents being offered developmental and skills support coupled to a phased increase in their assumption of organisational responsibility and autonomy, in other words, a community development approach through play.

2.2As agreed by Council, three Play Clubs were to be established in three areas (Ballysillan, Olympia and Whiterock) for four mornings per week.  In addition, the Play Service established a Play Club one morning a week in partnership with the Toy Box project for Traveller children.

2.3The implementation of the model on a trial basis has allowed the identification of key variables that appear critical to the success, or otherwise, of the model. For example, the Play Club based within the Traveller project has been extremely successful and is run in a partnership with the Toy Box

      project, which works with Traveller families. Assistance has also been provided through the Travellers’ Liaison Officer and Community Development Officer.  The project has had an average daily attendance of 6.5 (65% of available places).

2.4The projects were unable to be developed at the Olympia and Whiterock Centres due to insufficient demand and were eventually withdrawn.  Staff were re-deployed to other community based projects where demonstrable demand existed coupled to local organisational commitment.  The project at Ballysillan has met with minimal success as the demand has been low with an average attendance of 4.7 children (29% of available places). There has also been difficulty in obtaining engagement with the project from within the local community despite the best efforts of the Play Development and Community Development Officers.

2.5On the basis of the trial experience, the Play Service would seek to develop this model with services based on demonstrable need and an identified partnership with another organisation or local community  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

            The Democratic Services Officer reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 15th June, it had agreed to re-appoint a number of Elected Members to the Management Committees of the Council’s various Community and Playcentres.  He pointed out that he had undertook to write to all Members of the Council seeking expressions of interest in order to update the list for the period of the current Council term.  Accordingly, the Committee endorsed the undernoted list of Aldermen and Councillors as members of the Community and Playcentre Committees for the period of the current Council term:

Appointments to Management Committees

of Community and Play Centres