Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report

 

1.1       The purpose of the report is to confirm the arrangements for the City Growth and Regeneration Committee’s 2017/18 Planning Workshop.  As agreed by Committee this workshop will allow Members to shape the upcoming work and agenda of the Committee, the new Corporate Plan, informed by the Council’s budget setting process for 2017/18. 

 

1.2       The workshop will reflect on how the Committee can lead and shape implementation of the emerging priorities within the Belfast Agenda, consider how the Committee can build on the work that it has undertaken to date to grow the local economy and how the regenerative impact of the work of the Council and its partners can be maximised.

 

1.3       The Committee has previously received reports on the progress with the current Committee Plan and the emerging programmes of work in relation to taking forward the Belfast Agenda ambitions. Therefore the focus of the workshop will be to:

 

-       Review the progress and achievements of the Committee Plan in 2016/17; and

-       Translate the priorities of the Belfast Agenda and Corporate Plan into a work plan for the Committee to deliver in 2017/18.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

-       Note the date for the Committee Planning Workshop which will be held on Monday 6th March at 12.00pm; and

-       Note the draft agenda for the workshop, available on modern.gov.

 

 

 

 

 

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       The City Growth and Regeneration Committee is responsible for:

 

-       The development and implementation of strategies, policies, programmes and projects directed towards regeneration and growth of the city in the context of outcomes agreed in the community and corporate plans and other corporate strategy decisions.

-       Oversight of the exercise of Council functions in relation to economic development, urban development, tourism, culture & arts, European and international relations, car parks, city markets, city events, Belfast Castle, Malone House and Belfast Zoo.

 

3.2       The Committee is currently working to an ambitious Committee Plan, aligned to the Council’s Corporate Plan and emerging Belfast Agenda.  The following priorities were agreed in November 2015 and progress in delivering the plan was noted by Committee at their meeting in November 2016:

 

-       City Centre Regeneration & Investment Strategy, which aims to increase the employment and residential population in the city, maximise the tourism opportunity, create learning and innovation centres; a green, cyclable, walkable city; a shared space and social impact.  This includes the development of major projects such a new visitor attraction (Belfast Story), support for hotel and Grade A office developments as well as more focused place-making opportunities in the city centre.

-       Employability & Skills Framework (& Year 1 Action Plan);

-       International Relations Framework;

-       Place positioning and maximising the opportunities for investment, tourism and regeneration;

-       Integrated Tourism Strategy;

-       Investigate the feasibility of a City Deal for Belfast;

-       Develop a car parking strategy;

-       Ensure the above strategies give consideration to connecting neighbourhoods to the city centre, ensuring that the whole city enjoys the benefits.

 

3.3       Belfast Agenda

 

            The Belfast Agenda has at its core a commitment to inclusive growth.  The Committee has played a key role in ensuring that the narrative of the agenda balances the need for economic growth with the purpose of this growth – to connect people to opportunity and reduce inequality. 

 

3.4       The Committee is familiar with the four main priorities in the Belfast Agenda which demonstrate the centrality of growing the local economy to improving quality of life in Belfast and the importance of the role that the Committee will play in ensuring that the Council’s contribution to implementing the agenda is maximised.  By 2021, the draft Belfast Agenda commits the Council to lead on:

 

-       The creation of 15,000 new jobs;

-       Support for 4,000 small business start-ups; and

-       Attracting £1 billion of private sector Foreign Direct Investment.

 

3.5       As the Committee will be aware, the Belfast Agenda, is currently out for public consultation with four public events scheduled as follows:

 

-       30 January 2017,  Girdwood Community Hub

-       02 February 2017,  Olympia

-       09 February 2017,  Skainos Centre

-       13 February 2017,  Innovation Factory

 

3.6       With the Local Development Plan also launched for public consultation on 26 January 2017, this is a new phase of strategic planning for the Council.  The workshop provides an opportunity to take account of the initial feedback from these events and the decisions made during the budget setting process to enable the Committee to effectively prioritise and allocate its agreed resources.

 

3.7       Format and Agenda for the Workshop

 

            Given the strategic role of the Committee and the need to prioritise programmes and activity across a number of the priorities in the Belfast Agenda (i.e. Growing the Economy, City Development and Working & Learning) it is proposed that the workshop will follow a similar format to Strategic Policy & Resources Committee Workshop, with the expertise of an independent facilitator. 

 

3.8       The Committee has previously agreed to the ongoing economic expertise provided through the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) and given the significant changes to the economic environment, the workshop provides an opportunity to set the Council’s ambitions and the Committee’s priorities within the current economic context.  It is proposed that the UUEPC provides an overview of their current economic outlook, with specific reference to Belfast in order to place the discussion in context. 

 

3.9       Members have an important role in leading the work to ensure that benefits of city-region growth are maximised.  As Members are aware, many of the city’s economic challenges such as economic inactivity, skills and employability levels and low levels of business start-up persist beyond the Council’s geographic boundaries and will require a whole systems approach if they are to be addressed.  Additionally, as the capital city and gateway to the region many of the key growth issues, such as the need for the effective infrastructure that supports growth also need to be considered and feature strongly in the Committee’s agenda.

 

3.10     With this in mind, the Committee previously agreed to regular Committee sessions to consider key strategic issues for the city and have received an increasing number of presentations and briefings in relation to transport, city infrastructure, car parking, specific industry input from economic growth sectors such as Cyber Security, retail etc.  The workshop will enable the Committee to consider how to maximise their strategic role in relation to these key issues for the city.

 

3.11     Last month the Committee agreed that to deliver the targets outlined in the Belfast Agenda will require a significant uplift in the investment and resource commitment from the Council to ensure that, along with partner organisations, we develop a menu of the right support services and programmes to grow the economy and support city development.   The Committee therefore agreed to additional investment in 2017/18 to enable preparatory and developmental work to be undertaken in order to significantly enhance the small business and investment services and align this with the planned employability and skills programmes.  The workshop will therefore provide a key opportunity to consider how the Council can effectively use these resources to develop a comprehensive and coordinated ‘small business service’ and an ‘investor advice service’ along with the Belfast Works Programme which focuses on developing skills and employment opportunities for those furthest from the labour market and the Smart Cities Framework.

 

3.12     A draft agenda for the workshop is available on modern.gov which highlights some key questions for the Committee to help prioritise their ongoing and emerging commitments and priorities for 2017/18 which will form the basis of the City Growth & Regeneration Committee work-plan and the Corporate Plan.

 

3.13     Financial Implications

 

            The Committee agreed the budget limit of £15.8m for 2017/18 in January 2017.

 

3.14     The Committee has agreed that the direction of travel to grow the economy and support city development is a significant step-up from the current provision and requires additional investment from the Council as well as the ability to lever partnership funding from other public and private sector organisations.  The workshop will therefore enable the Committee to consider how best to effectively prioritise and allocate its resources in line with the Belfast Agenda to ensure maximum impact.

 

3.15     Equality and Good Relations Implications

 

            There are no direct implications at this stage; however, programmes and actions will be developed in conjunction with the Equality & Diversity Officer.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.