Agenda item

            The Director of Property and Projects submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1        To update Members on a number of area related issues for Members’ consideration.

2.0      Recommendations

2.1      Members are asked to:

            AWG minutes

·        Approve and adopt the most recent round of Area Working Group (AWG) Minutes (South – 23rd January; West – 26th January; North – 26th January; and East – 2nd  ebruary)as attached at Appendix 1. 

            Local Investment Fund

·        agree the recommended proposals as set out in 3.2 below from the South, North and East AWG in relation to the Local Investment Fund 1 and 2.

·        note the LIF project (Section 3.3) which was previously been approved in principle which has been scored and has met the minimum threshold.  Members are asked to agree that this is progressed to due-diligence.

3.0      Main report

            KEY ISSUES

            AREA WORKING GROUP UPDATES

3.1      Members agreed in June 2016 that the Area Working Group minutes would be taken into the SP&R Committee for approval going forward in line with the Council’s commitment to openness and transparency and to ensure a consistent approach with other Member-led Working Groups. Members are asked to approve the most recent round of AWG Minutes (South – 23rd January; West – 26th January; North – 26th January; and East – 2nd February). 

            LOCAL INVESTMENT FUND UPDATE 

3.2      SOUTH AWG – Members have been previously advised that the South AWG at its special meeting on the 25th May in relation to the discussion on Alleygating Phase 4 had proposed that ‘once South Belfast’s allocation of £140,000 under Phase IV had been reached, the remaining cost be met from the Local Investment Fund, subject to officers confirming that the installation of alley gates complied with the requirements of that Fund’.  Officers subsequently advised the South AWG that alleygates are Council assets. As such they could not be funded under LIF and could only be taken forward under the Capital Programme and that the South AWG could consider de-committing the amount required to fund the additional gates from their LIF monies and that the gates could then be taken forward under the Capital Programme (funded by the decommitted LIF monies).  This was proposed by the South AWG and agreed by Committee in August 2016.

            The South AWG was presented with an update on Alleygates Phase 4 at its meeting on 23 January and agreed to de-commit its remaining LIF1 and LIF2 budget (£47,900 in total) to fund the additional alleygates.

            EAST AWG – The East AWG at its meeting on 2 February agreed to allocate an additional £20,000 towards Towell House (ELIF2-03), giving it a total allocation of £95,000.

            NORTH AWG – The North AWG, at its meeting on 26th January, made the following recommendations for the consideration of the SP&R Committee in relation to their LIF

            *Members are asked to note that this proposal is subject to going through the LIF process with the project being assessed against the prioritisation matrix – the results of this assessment will be reported back to a future AWG and Committee. All projects will be subject to the full due-diligence process agreed for LIF projects

            Projects recommended to proceed to due-diligence

3.3       Members are asked to note that 1 LIF2 project which had previously been agreed for in principle funding (WLIF2- MMA Regional Centre of Excellence (Whiterock) has now been scored by officers (see Appendix 2) and has successfully met the minimum threshold. It is recommended that these projects now proceed to the Due Diligence stage of the LIF process BELFAST INVESTMENT FUND

3.4      EAST AWG – In January 2016, as part of the rates setting process, it was agreed that £5m would be ringfenced to support BIF projects in the areas of Lisburn and Castlereagh which transferred across under LGR with the monies to be shared equally as these areas had not had an opportunity to have any BIF projects considered.  £2m of this allocation was ringfenced to projects in the Outer East and a number of projects have been put forward for consideration by the AWG.  The East AWG has therefore agreed to commission an options appraisal which will help enable the relative prioritisation of the emerging projects and fully test their feasibility.

3.5      ALLEYGATES PHASE 4

            All AWGs received an update on the progress of phase 4 of the Alleygates programme which included notice of technical and legal issues associated with prioritised gates.  Members agreed a way forward on a list of reserve gates and agreed to continued engagement with the Safer City Manager.  A report detailing the final list of gates will be brought to a future meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee. 

3.6      Financial & Resource Implications

·        Financial – LIF1 - £5million and LIF2 - £4million

·        Resource - Officers time to deliver projects.  

3.7      Equality or Good Relations Implications

            No implications.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.