Agenda and minutes

          No declarations of interest were reported.

            Councillor Hendron advised the Committee that she had the previous evening attended the Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards 2012.  She reported that the Council had been awarded joint first place in the Disability Best Practice Employer.

            The Committee extended its congratulations to those staff in the Human Resources Section involved in helping the Council achieve the award.

            The Chief Executive submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“1.0       Relevant Background Information 

1.1       The local government reform process is now entering a critical stage whereby primary legislation is being drafted and implementation structures put in place to support the delivery of the reform programme and the effective transfer of functions from central to local government.

1.2       The proposed transfer of key functions such as planning and regeneration present a real opportunity for the Council to make a real and lasting difference in stimulating the local economy and improving the quality of people’s lives across the city.

1.3       Whilst the Council will be less affected by the convergence issues which will be experienced by the other merging councils, the Council now need to restore its focus on planning for reform and shaping the approach taken by the wider local government sector.

1.4       The purpose of this paper is to set out for Members consideration the Council’s delivery and resource plan for the implementation of reform and the role of the Committee and Members in taking the process forward.

2.0       Key Issues

2.1       Members will appreciate both the significance and scale of the reform programme and the need for the Council to ensure that it has the capacity in place to ensure effective delivery in addition to other substantial work programmes such as the Investment Programme, efficiency programme as well as delivering business as usual. In-line with a previous decision taken by the Committee, a dedicated corporate support resource has been put in place to provide strategic support to the Committee, Members and senior officers in taking forward Review of Public Administration (RPA) related work.  

2.2       A copy of the Council’s draft delivery and resource plan for reform has been circulated for Members’ consideration.   Examples of some of the immediate critical issues which the Council will need to address in moving forward include:

(i)         to influence key strands of emerging legislation (e.g. draft Local Government Reorganisation Bill) which may affect the future governance and operational arrangements of the Council;

(ii)        to establish a professional evidence base to  inform the political engagement with Lisburn and Castlereagh on important transitional issues;

(iii)      to identify and  plan for the  financial and operational implications of extending council services to those geographical areas coming within the new Belfast boundary;

(iv)      to identify and manage potential rating issues resulting from the extension of the Belfast boundary;

(v)        to take a progressive approach to preparing for the transfer of functions through the early initiation of integrated pilots initiatives linking planning, roads and regeneration activity

(vi)      to identify and plan for HR related matters associated with the potential transfer of new staff from neighbouring councils or transferring function departments; and

(vii)    to ensure the effective and continued communication with all key stakeholders

2.3       Now that the draft Boundary Order has been cleared through the NI Assembly, work will commence with Land and Property Services (LPS) to undertake a detailed analysis of the impact of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose

1.1       To update Members on the outcome of the recent consultation on the Council’s Draft Investment Programme 2012-2015, to highlight key issues and any implications for the revising the document and to present proposals for how the Council should publicly feedback the results of the consultation.

2.0       Background

2.1       The Draft Investment Programme was formally launched on 2nd February 2012, followed by a number of local community launches across Belfast.  As Members were keen that local people, communities and partners had an opportunity to influence the strategic thinking of Council and its investment decisions, the draft Programme was opened to public consultation to enable local people and organisations an opportunity to comment on it and influence its content before being formally agreed by Council. The consultation also sought views on how the Council could work partnership to deliver the Programme.

2.2       The consultation ran for a period of 12 weeks, closing on 27th April 2012.  A number of mechanisms were used to ensure that people had an opportunity to submit their views, including:

·        5 local community launches in each geographical area of the city (and additional events as requested)

·        An on-line questionnaire was available on the Council’s website for download.  Respondents could either email the completed document or post in using a freepost service.  Respondents could also choose to submit general comments electronically or by post.

·        An article was published in City Matters with a pull?out feedback slip and freepost address 

·        A focused consultation event held with young people

2.3       The Programme was also presented to the council’s Section 75 Consultative Forum and a briefing session held for Council employees.  A total of 107 individual responses were received representing a broad mix of organisations, sectors and geographies.   Comments were also posted on the Council’s social media pages. 

2.4       This report provides a summary of the key findings from the consultation responses and highlights the key issues and implications for the Investment Programme and Council generally.  The report also outlines options for how the Council should feedback the findings from the consultation process, which includes a draft ‘Consultation Feedback Report, a copy of which has been circulated,’ which it is recommended should be published on the Council’s website.

3.0       Summary of the Consultation Responses 

3.1       This section provides a summary of the responses generated by each of the key consultation methods; namely through the questionnaire, City Matters, written and email responses, community launches and workshop with young people. It should be noted that, across all responses, feedback relating to specific issues has been fed into the relevant processes for developing the work-streams and projects related to the Investment programme.  For example, ideas and proposals for projects relating to the Local Investment Fund have been fed into the discussion of the Area Working Groups.   Comments made about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Relevant Background Information 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to present to Members the implementation plan for the Investment Programme.  The plan has identified 36 key projects. A project brief has been developed each of these 36 projects. This means that for each project:

·     A project manager has been allocated.

·     There is a clear description of the project.

·     Milestones and deliverables have been identified and time lined.

·     Required resources have been assessed.

·     Anticipated outcomes and targets to be achieved.

1.2       A full listing of the 36 projects is provided at Appendix One. A high level plan for the delivery of the physical capital projects is provided at Appendix Two. An update on the progress each physical project is provided at Appendix Three. The Director of Property and Projects will present the individual physical project briefs at the meeting.

1.3       The key milestones and timeline for all revenue projects are provided at Appendix 4a. Year 1 project activity sheets and project briefs for all revenue projects are provided at Appendix 4b. The Chief Executive and Chief Officers will present the details of delivery for each project at the meeting.

2.0       Key Issues

            Resources to Deliver

2.1       Failure to deliver the Investment Programme has been added as a key risk in the Corporate Risk Register. The main potential cause of this risk is a failure to provide adequate resources and the appropriate mix of skills and competencies. For this reason attention has been focussed on identifying the resources required to deliver the projects which are the most complex and have the highest city profile. In line with direction from Members, the Council has partnered with the Strategic Investment Board to advertise for Infrastructure Project Managers who will provide the additional capacity needed to deliver the  Convention and Exhibition Centre at the Waterfront Hall, the Springvale Innovation Centre and the North Foreshore. 

2.2       Work is also being  undertaken within the organisation to realign existing resources to increase the level of programme and project management capacity that exists within the organisation.

            Reporting and Monitoring

2.3       The delivery of the Investment Programme is dependent on robust programme and project management. A key element of this work will be the monitoring and reporting on progress and the adjustment of plans to deal with changing circumstances. Officers are currently developing an Investment Programme reporting framework for Members and the draft framework will be brought to the SP&R Committee in August for consideration  and the first half year reports will be presented at the October meeting.

            Immediate Implementation Issues

            Urban Broadband Fund

2.4       Members are aware that the Council has been guaranteed £6m of UBF funding to deliver the Super-Connected City project. We are now working to turn our initial proposal into a detailed business case to secure up to a total of £13.6m. DCMS has agreed to extend the deadline for final submission of the business case to 3 August 2012. The final draft will not be ready  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1        Relevant Background Information

1.1       The council incurs capital expenditure and capital financing costs in the delivery of its capital programme.

            Capital Expenditure is the expenditure incurred in the actual delivery of contracts, for example, the actual payments to the contractor for a construction contract. 

            Capital Financing is the method the council uses to fund the capital expenditure. The capital financing costs include loan repayments (principle and interest) and revenue contributions (cash payments to repay or avoid taking out loans).

1.2       At its meeting on 20 January 2012, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee (SP&R) approved a capital financing budget of £10.14m for inclusion in the 2012/13 revenue estimates.

1.3       The £10.14m budget was set at a level which would meet the financing costs arising from the capital programme in 2012/13 - 2014/15, as part of investment programme, without the requirement for an increase in the District Rate.

1.4       The delivery of the capital programme element of the investment programme will be matched by a phased increase in capital financing charges up to the £10.14m budget over the life of the programme as all schemes within the programme are financed.

1.5       The phased impact of the capital programme on the capital financing budget provides the opportunity for the council to allocate an element of the 2012/13 capital financing budget to finance feasibility works and non recurring schemes.

1.6       This report presents the proposed 2012/13 capital programme together with a list of other emerging projects which it is recommended should be progressed to outline business case stage for further consideration.

2          Key Issues

2.1       The capital programme is structured in two parts as follows:-

·     Committed Projects (List circulated) - These are projects where approval has already been obtained by SP&R to proceed to tender. These projects will therefore be at the tender award, contract or construction stage.

·     Uncommitted Projects (List circulated) - These are projects where initial proposals have been considered by Committee and work on the project is being progressed, but they have not yet been developed to a stage where permission could be sought from SP&R to proceed to tender. (Approval to move to tender stage is sought for each scheme on an individual basis during the year, at which stage the projects moves into the ‘Committed’ section of the capital programme.) 

            In addition to the committed and uncommitted projects, other ‘emerging projects’ have been proposed through the investment programme consultation process and through the area working groups.

·        Emerging Projects (Appendix C) - These are proposals which could become uncommitted projects within the capital programme, but which require completion of a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) before they could be considered further. Approval of this list of proposed projects by SP&R is required before work on the SOC’s to commence.

            The three SP&R approval stages for the progression of projects from initial proposals to committed projects is summarised in table 1 below.

Table 1

SP&R Approval Stages for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Relevant Background Information 

1.1       Members will be aware that the newly established Local Investment Fund (LIF) has been developed to support the delivery of key regeneration projects in neighbourhoods and also as a means for Members to connect with local communities, in preparation for their formal role in community planning under RPA.

1.2       SP&R Committee agreed on 23rd March, there will be a minimum level of investment through the LIF of no less than £15,000 and support for any one project is unlikely to exceed £250,000 to ensure a spread of investment across the city.  At present, North, South, East and West have been allocated £1,127,500 each, with a proportionate amount of £490,000 for the Shankill area. 

1.3       Members have stressed the need to test robustly the feasibility, deliverability, affordability and sustainability of any investments made under LIF, as well as their capacity to contribute to ‘quality of life’ outcomes as described in the Council’s corporate objectives.

2.0       Key Issues

2.1       Area Working Groups (AWGs) meetings

            Each AWG has now met twice to be briefed on the capital development/implementation process and the prioritisation approach, as well as having preliminary discussion on the long-list of potential project proposals. 

            Arising from this first phase of engagement, Members in the AWGs have already begun to highlight the issues and tensions in seeking to balance community expectations for swift delivery, with the good governance required by SP&R in terms of legal vires (powers) financial accountability and the underpinning principles articulated in the Investment Programme. 

            The issues of vires and accountability are important elements and the role of the Strategic Policy and Resources (SP&R) Committee is critical in ensuring that an appropriate framework is in place to guide the work of the AWGs and ensure that the overarching principles of the Investment Programme are complied with. 

            As Members will be aware, the Local Investment Fund is to be administered on a rolling basis and there will be a number of phases of consideration of projects throughout the life of the fund.  This is largely due to the length of time which can be involved in bringing such a project to completion; the fact that potential projects will already have progressed to different stages, with some much closer to delivery than others; and the fact that external factors may make expeditious delivery more pressing for some projects than others.  The AWGs are presently involved in consideration of projects at the first phase.  Further applications may be received in later phases and some first phase applications which are not prioritised in this phase may have a greater chance of success at a later stage when they have been more fully explored or have progressed further.

2.2       Preparation for Community Planning

            The AWGs have enthusiastically embraced the outward-facing nature of the Local Investment Fund, as a mechanism to proactively and directly engaging with their local areas, partly in preparation for the community planning powers anticipated under the reform  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.       Purpose of the report

1.1       The purpose of this report is to seek Committee approval for Year 1 of the Corporate Plan 2012-15.

2.               Relevant Background Information

2.1       The development of the Corporate Plan has been carried out in parallel with the drafting of the Investment Programme for Belfast, the individual departmental plans and the City Masterplan.

2.2       Members will be aware that departmental estimates were considered on 6 January 2012 by Strategic Policy and Resources Committee alongside key actions for 2012/13 for each department.  These estimates were subsequently agreed by Council at its meeting in February.  At that meeting Members agreed key projects and priorities for 2012/13. 

2.3       Since then, Chief Officers have been finalising their departmental plans based on these approved estimates and actions, and the commitments outlined in Investment Programme.  The Corporate Plan therefore aims to reflect the high level key priorities of the Council as identified within the Investment Programme, and the individual Departmental Plans.  This includes key front-line service commitments in relation to waste, refuse collection, parks, leisure services and regulatory services.

3.               Key Issues

3.1       The Corporate Plan has been drafted around the corporate themes (City Leadership, Environment, Economy, People, Communities and Neighbourhoods and Improving our Services).  Members had previously agreed that these themes should continue to be used for planning purposes to deliver on the Council’s strategy of improving quality of life across the city.  Obviously these complement the key themes of the Investment Programme.  City Leadership encompasses the city investment and place-shaping role set out within the Investment programme, and building capacity for the functions of planning and regeneration which will transfer to the Council under the Review of Public Administration.

3.2       In addition the Council is developing a City Masterplan which is presently in draft form and Council has agreed that the Chairs of SP&R and Development together with the Party Group Leaders engage with relevant Government Ministers to discuss the document before the document goes out to public consultation in the Autumn.  The purpose of the Masterplan is to create a 10-20 year vision for the City, in terms of physical infrastructure and economic, social and environmental aspirations.

3.3       The draft Corporate Plan for 2012-2015, Year 1, contains the following information:

·         Introduction

·                  Our vision and strategic themes

·                  Our values

·                  Strategic Themes (actions and indicators)

·                  Our city

·                  Our Councillors

·                  Our Council

·                  Our Departments

·                  Our Services

3.4       Departmental Plans

3.4.1    Separate items on the Committee’s agenda relate to the Departmental plans of those services which report directly to the SP&R Committee. Departmental Plans for all the other committees will also be brought to these committees this month and all will then be drawn together in the Corporate Plan.

4.   Next Steps

4.1       The corporate plan is a living document and subject to review and update by Members, as with the investment Programme, regular updates will be brought to Committee on progressing its implementation.  The update process for the Corporate Plan for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

            The Committee approved the Departmental Plans for the Chief Executive’s, Finance and Resources and Property and Projects Departments.  A copy of the key actions and performance indicators for 2012/13 as detailed in the Plans for each of the Departments is set out hereunder:

Chief Executive’s

“5.0     Key actions for2012/ 13

TheDepartment’skeyactionshavebeendefinedagainstthebackgroundofthevaluecreation map.  Each  key  taskhas  a  relationship  with  one  or  more  of  the  themesdescribed  in  the departmental  VCM.  KeyPerformanceIndicators (KPIs) forthemain outcomes expected are includedatsection7.Morecomprehensivedetailsoftasks,performanceindicatorsandtargets whichcontributetotheoutcomessoughtarecontainedinsupportingServicePlans.

5.1       City Leadership

            Key actions contributingto theInvestment Programme

Thedepartmentwillplaya majorroleinthedeliveryoftheinvestmentprogramme,including supportingtheAreaWorkingGroups,monitoringandcommunicatingtheinvestment programme,developingthelegalcontractsandworkingarrangementswithourpartnersinthe InvestmentProgramme.  Theseactionsar  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0       Relevant Background Information

1.1       The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the status of the 2013/14 Efficiency Programme and to provide an overview of the projects included on the Programme to realise a minimum £2m of cash savings, the agreed corporate target.

1.2       To date the Corporate Efficiency Programme has delivered savings of some £14m across the Council since 2006. The Strategic Policy and Resources Committee (SP&R) on 15 April 2011 agreed an indicative efficiency target of £2m per year for 2012/13, 13/14 and 14/15 to ensure that a total of £20m of efficiencies are realised in line with the Corporate Investment Programme agreed by SP&R on 20 January 2012.

1.3       As significant savings have already been secured over the past 6 years cash savings for 2013/14 have become more difficult to identify and take longer to realise as most of the more immediately identifiable cash saving projects have already been delivered. For these reasons work commenced in early January 2012 with departments to identify projects to be included on the 2013/14 Efficiency Programme. The structure of the Corporate Efficiency Programme will follow the previously agreed thematic headings suggested by the HM Treasury as the fundamental key drivers for developing successful efficiency programmes.

            These themes are:

·     Procurement

·     Assets & Land

·     Budgetary Challenge

·     ICT

·     Income Generation

·     Service Reviews/Employee Costs

2.0       Key Issues

            Approach

2.1       To support of the 2013/14 Efficiency Programme corporate/thematic projects/activities have been identified under the agreed thematic headings including:

            Service Review

2.2       A corporate review of our use of agency staff, overtime and the management of vacancies commenced in February 2012 which will aim to identify the scope for employee efficiencies across Belfast City Council (BCC) in terms of both cash savings and to identify how we will fund the creation of an additional 200 posts identified as a target in the Investment Programme within existing budgets. 

            A review of the council’s internal marketing arrangements / resources during 2012/13 to assess the Value-for-Money (VFM) of our current marketing arrangements across BCC which should rationalise and ensure better economies of scale resulting in efficiency savings in support of the corporate efficiency programme.

            SP&R Committee (18 May 2012) approved a Review of Security for BCC with an emphasis on efficiency and VFM. The Efficiency Unit will be working closely with the Head of Facilities Management to deliver the review.

            Asset Management

2.3       A VFM Review of Fleet Management has been completed and an improvement plan has been developed which when implemented should identify areas where significant capital savings (in the region of £1.5m) will be realised from a more efficient management and procurement approach to fleet provision. In relation to the implementation of this improvement programme the Property and Projects Department will be supported by the Efficiency Unit and this commenced in April 2012.  A detailed report on the implementation of the fleet improvement plan has been circulated.

            Further development of the Asset Management theme will continue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9a

            The Committee considered the Quarterly Financial Report for the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.  The Director of Finance and Resources drew the Committee’s attention to the key issues which were as follows:

            Financial Outturn 2011/12

            The year-end financial position for the council was an under-spend of £1.87 million.  As in Quarter 3, the key elements of the under-spend related to savings in employee costs through unfilled posts and restructuring, significant reductions in landfill costs through reduced tonnages and gate fee costs.  Those reduced costs/savings were somewhat offset by the tri-annual review of the Gas Pension Fund, which indicated a shortfall of £829,000.  The year-end position also reflected the claw back by the Land and Property Services agency of £259,000.  As reported also to the Committee in Quarter 3, the slippage in the Capital Programme had resulted in an under-spend in the financing budget.  That under?spend had, as agreed by the Committee, been applied to redeem existing loans in order to support the sustainability of the Investment Programme.  Consequently, the capital financing budget was balanced for the year.

            The Director pointed out that efficiency savings of £2.38 million and budget reductions of £1.70 million in landfill dispersal costs had been included in the 2012/13 estimates and that would assist in addressing many of the areas where under-spends had occurred in the current year.

            Reserves Position

            The general reserves at the end of 2011/12 sat at £11.36 million after accounting for specified reserves of £2.55 million and transferring £2.50 million to the capital fund to be used for local investment projects.  That compared favourably with the position at the commencement of the year when the balance had been £10.43 million.  The Committee had agreed previously that an acceptable level of general reserves was £10 million.  At this stage, it was proposed that general reserves remained at £11.36 million, which would provide additional protection against any further reductions in the rate base and economic conditions generally.

            Other Financial Indicators

            The average number of creditors paid within 30 days was 63%, which was down from 66% at the end of 2010/11.  A working group had been establishment and would commence a programme of work in June in order to meet the new target identified in the Investment Package of 90% paid within 28 days by 2014/15.

            The Director indicated that the overall Council debt had risen to £5.7 million compared to last year’s position of £3.96 million.  The increase in debt had arisen due to the fact that in the last week of the financial year £2.1 million of invoices had been raised compared to £739,000 for the same period in the previous year.  By the beginning of May, 2012, the level of debt had realigned itself to £3.71 million.  Adjusting for the end of year anomaly, the average percentage of debt under 90 days old was 51%, which was down from 54% from Quarter 4 2010/11.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and approved the transfer of £2.5 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9b

            The Director of Finance and Resources submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      The purpose of this report is to present to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee the Financial Accounts of the council for 2011/12.

      The Financial Accounts are an important element of the council’s overall corporate governance framework as they provide assurance to Members and ratepayers on the stewardship of the council’s finances and its financial position.

      The Financial Report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2012, as attached, have been prepared in line with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2011/12 based on International Financial Reporting Standards and the Department of the Environment Accounts Direction, Circular LG 03/12 dated 23 April 2012.

      I can confirm that the Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2012 has been prepared in the form directed by the Department of the Environment and in my opinion the Statement of Accounts give a true and fair view of the income and expenditure and cash flows for the financial year and the financial position as at the end of the financial year.

Key Issues

Reserves

      The credit balance on the District Fund Reserves has increased to £13,904,696 (of which £2,547,206 relates to specified reserves).  The movement on the reserves balance is summarised in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Summary of Reserves Position

District Fund              £13,904,696

      The District Fund Reserves can be used to supplement income and unexpected expenditure in future years. Of the £13,904,696, £2,547,206 relates to expenditure committed at year-end.

Capital Fund              £13,043,663

      The capital fund is made up of the City Investment Fund (£8,043,663).  The fund has been created to support key partnership projects to regenerate Belfast and help lever substantial funds from other sources, and the Local Investment Fund (£5m) to fund smaller local regeneration projects.

Capital Receipts Reserve     £950,040

      These are capital receipts which have originated primarily from the sale of assets and which have not yet been used to finance capital expenditure.  This amount relates mainly to the sale of land & buildings at Loop River (£860,000) which has been ring-fenced for the development of the capital scheme “Loop River – New Facilities”.

Other Fund Balances and Reserves           £6,356,409

      This relates to the Election Reserve (£424,424) which has been set up to smooth the cost of running council elections and a Sinking Fund (£5,931,985) which has been set up to repay the Council’s interest only mortgages.

Capital Programme

      In 2011/12 the council committed to a programme to invest £150m in capital projects including £75m in council facilities for local communities, £20m in partnership projects which will contribute to city regeneration, £50m levered from Europe and other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Panel of 12th June.

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Budget and Transformation Panel of 14th June.

            The Committee noted that the report in relation to the Armed Forces Day had been withdrawn from the Agenda as it had been dealt with at the Special Meeting of the Council held on 21st June.

            The Committee was advised that the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland was holding its Centenary Conference in Ballinasloe, County Galway from 13th till 15th September.  The main focus of the conference would be to examine the mechanisms by which Local Government and local development could be more closely aligned in order to maximise outcomes for citizens.  There would also be conference sessions relating to Local Government Reform and Local Government Finance.  Keynote speakers at the conference would include Dr. Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive of Shannon Development, and Dr. Bríd Quinn, a lecturer in Public Administration, who specialised in Governance models.  The approximate cost of attendance per delegate would be £836.

            The Committee authorised the attendance at the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland Centenary Conference of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, the Council’s representatives on the National Association of Councillors, Northern Ireland Region, the Democratic Services Manager (or their nominees) and a representative of each of the Parties on the Council not represented by the aforementioned Members

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1        Relevant Background Information

1.1       At its meeting on 14 June 2012 the Parks and Leisure Committee received a report on three schemes on Council owned sites which are being funded via Sport NI’s Community Capital Programme). The three schemes relate to the provision of new 3G pitch facilities at Hammer Open Space and Marrowbone Millennium Park, plus a Mountain Bike Trail at Mary Peter’s Track and Barnett Demesne.  The maximum grant payable by Sport NI for each scheme is £245,000 and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 9 December 2011 approved the schemes for inclusion in the Capital Programme and agreed to contribute a total of £375,000 of Council funding across the three schemes. 

1.2      Each of the grant applicants and Sport NI will enter into a Delivery Agreement with the Council to allow the grant monies to be channelled directly to the Council.  In return the Council will undertake to procure and deliver the projects which will be managed through the Council’s Project Management Unit.

1.3      It is a requirement of Sport NI’s grant conditions that the landowner (in this case the Council) enters into a Deed of Dedication at each site.  The aim of the Deed is to provide assurance to Sport NI that the scheme they are grant aiding will continue to operate during the whole of the 10 year ‘Grant Period’.  In addition Sport NI require legal arrangements to be put in place between the landowner and the Grant Applicant which will provide the Grant Applicant with sufficient security of tenure to allow them to deliver on Sport NI’s key performance indicators at each site.  These legal arrangements may vary from site to site depending on the capacity of the grant applicant and the intended operational arrangements.  The arrangements envisaged at each of the three sites are as follows.

1.4      Hammer Open Space – Shankill United Football Club

      The existing floodlit grass pitch at Hammer Open Space is currently operated under a Facilities Management Agreement, by Lower Shankill Football Club who are a sister club of Shankill United Football Club (the grant applicant).  Shankill United FC also currently use the grass pitch.  As part of the arrangements for the development and future use of the new 3G facility the existing Facilities Management Agreement with Lower Shankill FC will be terminated.

1.5      Based on projected income from use of the proposed 3G pitch, representatives of Shankill United Football Club believe they will be able to operate and sustain the new 3G facility over the 10 year ‘Grant Period’.  The Club has therefore sought a 10 year lease from the Council and will take full responsibility for the site, including maintenance, potential pitch replacement (if required during the 10 years) and all outgoings.  A rent of £1,125 per annum (subject to review after five years) has been agreed with the Club for the site area of approximately 2.80 acres.  Use of the site will be restricted to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Background and relevant information

 1.1      Members will be aware that last year the NI Executive committed significant investment towards local sports facilities including - £61.4m to the IFA (of which £25.2m will go towards the redevelopment of Windsor Park), £61.4m to the GAA for the redevelopment of Casement Park and £15million to the  IRFU towards the upgrade of Ravenhill.  The respective sporting governing bodies are also expected to provide additional substantial funding of their own towards facilities upgrades.  The governing bodies are now in the process of developing full business cases for their respective projects.

1.2       The Council owns a number of leisure assets in the immediate vicinity and surrounding areas of both Windsor Park and Casement Park.  These include –

-             Windsor Park – Olympia Leisure Centre/ Community Centre, Boucher Road Playing Fields, head landlord for majority of Boucher Road Estate

-          Casement Park – Andersonstown Leisure Centre, North Link Playing Fields

1.3      Council related projects aligned to the stadia upgrades are highlighted as emerging projects in the Council’s Investment Programme 2012-2015.  In addition, a comprehensive review of the Council’s leisure estate is also a key project under the Investment Programme.

1.4      The Council therefore regarded it as important that these stadia developments and investments were not viewed in isolation but rather that the full regeneration impacts, added value of and synergies between the developments was examined. This will have the potential to help build critical mass, lever further infrastructure investment, engender greater public interest and potentially generate greater economic, social and physical regeneration outcomes for the city. 

1.5      It was therefore agreed last year that the Council would commission consultants to –

-          examine the potential added value and regeneration impact of the proposed stadia upgrades; and

-              identify practical opportunities where it might add value to the developments, and to explore how its future investments, resources and assets might be configured to align with the construction of the new stadia and secure optimum social outcomes and community benefits.

            The scope of this work was limited to the investment in Casement Park and Windsor Park given the proximity of the Council’s leisure assets to these stadia. Following a competitive tendering process Deloitte were appointed to progress this work. 

1.6      It should be noted that this work is being undertaken in parallel to the work which is being progressed by the sport’s governing bodies (IFA and GAA) on the development of their business case proposals and the work on the development and design of the stadia themselves.  Sport NI, as part of the of the consultation for the Deloitte report, highlighted that the funding for the redevelopments of the stadia is committed under this CSR round and there is a very finite ‘window of opportunity’ in which the Council can input into the design process – in terms of, for example, the integration into the surrounding area and provision of services etc. DCAL highlighted their support for the wider regeneration of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16a

            The Committee was reminded that Wilmont House lay within Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park and was currently vacant and unused by the Council.  It was a Listed Building and preserving the structure from the effects of wind and rain continued to be a draw on the Council’s resources.  Following responses to an Expressions of Interest advertisement, the Parks and Leisure Committee had approved the preparation and public advertisement of a Development Brief for the regeneration and refurbishment of Wilmont House.

Noted.

            The Committee was advised that a request to hold a Belfast Streets Ahead Phase 2 Consultation Day in the City Hall on 29th June had been received from the Belfast City Centre Regeneration Directorate of the Department for Social Development.  The Phase 2 Project was part of a 10 – 15 year Public Realm Improvement Strategy for Belfast City centre and focused on the area directly around the City Hall, Donegall Square East, West and North.  The initial works for the project involved consulting with key stakeholders, including members of the public, on a range of design options which would be refined to a preferred option for which the Department for Social Development would be seeking planning approval. 

            The Committee approved the use of the City Hall for the consultation event.

            (Mrs. H. Francey, Good Relations Manager, attended in connection with these items.)

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Good Relations Partnership of 11th June.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 21st October, 2011, it had approved a Council Programme to mark the forthcoming Decade of Centenaries.  That included dividing the decade into three distinct periods and organising an exhibition and a programme of events within each period.  A set of principles to be used in the events to be marked, decisions around the inclusive nature of any civic hospitality and supporting budget had also been agreed.

            The Good Relations Manager reminded the Committee that it had granted approval for a major exhibition covering the first period, that is, 1912 – 1914 to be commissioned, in partnership with appropriate external agencies.  The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister had offered to provide funding in the region of £45,000 towards the exhibition and a specification had been drawn up in line with the principles, ethos and content which had been agreed by the Council.  Following a standard Council procurement exercise, tenders had been invited in January, 2012 and, after evaluation of documentation and references, Redhead Conference and Exhibition had been appointed in March, 2012.  The company had liaised regularly with the Good Relations Unit and progress had been monitored by a working group at officer level, comprised of staff from the Council, the Linen Hall Library and Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.  Work was progressing well and a large amount of research had been completed. 

            She reported that a request had been received from one of the Political Parties within the Council for more information about the exhibition.  Therefore, it was proposed to invite the exhibition designers to make a presentation to the Committee outlining the proposed content, layout and structure for the information of all Members.  In view of the fact that the exhibition was to be on display in the East Entrance from early August, it was important that the presentation be made as quickly as possible.  Following liaison with the Democratic Services Section regarding an already busy Committee schedule, it appeared that the presentation could be accommodated on the afternoon of Wednesday, 27th June.

            The Committee agreed that a special meeting of the Committee, to which all Members of the Council would be invited, would be held on Wednesday, 27th June at 6.00 p.m. 

            A Member advised the Committee that the Local Authority Members’ Association was seeking to hold its Executive Meeting in the City Hall on 22nd September and had requested that the Committee give consideration to granting the use of a room for the event.

            The Committee agreed to accede to the request and granted the use of the Council Chamber, together with appropriate hospitality, for the event.