Agenda item

            The Director of Property and Projects submitted for the Committees consideration the undernoted report:

 

 

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to highlight the overall LIF programme outcomes to date and the feedback on the LIF Event which was held to mark the extent of the projects delivered under the Council’s highly successful £9m Local Investment Fund (LIF) Programme.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to;

 

·        note the update on the currentstatus of the £9m LIF programme as at 3.2 below whichhas provided support to132 projects across the city with97 projects alreadycompleted andanother 22 eitheron theground orat tenderpreparation stage

·        note the significant impacts and outcomes that have resulted from the LIF programme for local neighbourhoods across the city (see 3.4 and 3.5 below)

·        note that the LIF Event which was held at City Hall on 25th October 2018 was highly successful and has received extremely positive feedback from both local community groups and Members

·        note some of theLIF communication and engagement initiatives and video/ testimonialsfrom groupswho havereceived LIFfunding

 

3.0       Main report

 

            Key Issues

 

3.1       LIF Overview

 

            In April 2012, the Council launched a £5m LIF programme designed to support neighbourhood projects to help regenerate local areas. The LIF was part of the Council £150m Investment Programme to counter the effects of the economic downturn and the key aims of the initiative included boosting the local economy, supporting business, creating employment and training opportunities and supporting capital projects across the city. Following the success of the LIF1, the Council in 2015 agreed to extend the LIF programme with a further £4m allocated to LIF2 making the overall investment of £9m to local areas.

 

3.2       Members are also asked to note that LIF represented a new way of working for the Council both at a Councillor level and internally at officer level.

 

·        Councillors – the Councillors have played a key role in bringing forward LIF proposals and making recommendations to SP&R on investment decisions for local areas through the LIF. This underlined the important role of local councillors and their ability to deliver for the local communities. At its heart, the establishment of the LIF allowed Members the opportunity to fund a wide range of diverse schemes across the city with the common purpose of improving lives in local areas.

·        Officers – Members will be aware that a thorough due diligence process was put in place around LIF projects which was supported by a cross-departmental due-diligence group.  This Group has represented real collaborative working at its best across the Council

 

3.3       LIF- Current Status

 

            To date 132 projects have received in principle support under LIF through LIF1 and LIF2. A summary of the current status of the LIF programme is outlined below;

     

	LIF 1		LIF 2
Stage/ Description	Projects	Amount/ Value (£)	Projects	Amount/ Value (£)
Number of Projects Completed	61 (86%)	£4,159,728	36 (59%)	£2,440,596
Number of Projects On-going Delivery	5 (7%)	£345,372	6 (10%)	£729,181
Number of Projects in Pre-construction	2 (3%)	£106,000	9 (15%)	£422,134
Number of Projects in Initial Stage (Due Diligence)	3 (4%)	£345,000	10 (16%)	£363,879
Total Number of Approved Projects	71	£4,956,100	61	£3,955,790

 

            Headline figures are;

 

·        Over 90 projects worth £6.6m have been completed across the city

·        22 projects worth £1m are currently on the ground or at tender preparation stage

·        13 projects due diligence stage/ initial stage

·        Awards under LIF ranged from the minimum threshold of £15,000 to a maximum investment of £250,000

·        The average investment per project was £67,514

 

3.4       Monitoring and evaluation

 

            Members are asked to note that each LIF project is required to undertake a monitoring and evaluation visit as part of its funding agreement. In line with the LIF governance, completed projects must undergo a post monitoring exercise to evaluate the project outputs and outcomes, verify the specials conditions per funding agreement have been meet and measure initial successes/ impacts of the project.  Council officers have now undertaken an analysis piece of the monitoring and evaluation forms and have collated some of the key facts and figures which have emerged across the Programme.

 

3.5       Project outputs and outcomes

 

            With over 90 projects completed, the LIF programme and its projects has delivered some very real outputs and benefits to local communities right across the city as outlined below.  Members will be aware that when it was established in 2012 LIF provided an opportunity for community groups across the city to access an invaluable funding stream for small capital works which had never been previously available to them.  It is therefore worth noting that many of these projects would not have happened without LIF funding.  Although the amounts under LIF could be considered to be minor compared to traditional capital schemes (under £250,000) the impact to the groups and to local areas has been significant and cannot be under-estimated.  

 

·        New build community facilities- Ten new community facilities have been built solely with LIF funding or in partnership with external organisations. New built projects include the new community centre at Annadale (LIF award - £103k), the Eastside Visitor Centre (LIF - £250k); the new Glor Na Mona (LIF- £112k) building in West and the new Workforce Training Services (LIF - £30k) facility in North Belfast.

·        Refurbished community facilities- the majority of projects funded under LIF have been for small scale renovations and improvement works of the existing community assets. 54 community facilities have been refurbished including St Malachy’s Youth Centre (LIF - £70k), Ballynafeigh Orange Hall (LIF -£60k) in South; Short Strand Community Centre (LIF - £101k); Mountpottinger Methodists Church (LIF - £112k) in East; Benview Community Centre (LIF - £35k) and Church of the Nazarene (LIF -£50k) in North; Saints Youth Club (LIF - £15k), Relatives for Justice, Glen Rd (LIF -£34k) and West Belfast Orange Hall (LIF - £50k) in West of the city.

·        Childcare places- 75 additional childcare places have been supported through LIF from the two Surestart projects in Markets (LIF award - £240k) and Belvoir (LIF -£108k), and through the expanded activities of Mornington Community Association (LIF - £200k) and Falls Women’s Centre.

·        Skills/ training facilities – Six skills/training facilities were supported through under LIF. Through the funding, the refurbished Greater Village Regeneration Trust (T.R.E.E.) training facility was able to offer enhanced youth training facilities with 90 NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) places supported through the organisation. Rosemount House (LIF - £46k) in North Belfast has not just transformed a derelict site into a therapeutic garden but also enhances the horticulture skills for both staff and volunteers.

·        Open spaces- Twenty projects across the city have received funding which has focused on enhancing the open spaces for the local community that include pitches, floodlighting, playpark and community spaces. LIF funding has helped to support 10 new pitches facilities across the city including - 4G/3G pitch at Springfield Star (LIF -£152k), Sarsfields GAC (LIF -£120k) and O'Donovan Rossa GAC (LIF -£80k), Gort na Mona GAC (LIF - £140k), and Malone Rugby FC (LIF -£208k); hockey pitch with Belfast Harlequins (LIF- £30k); bowling greens at Cavehill Bowling Club (LIF -£100k) and Belmont Bowling Club (LIF -£200k); playpark at Hannahstown (LIF -£20k) and St Luke’s Nursery School (LIF -£15k); as well as the outdoor environmental improvements with Ligoniel Improvement Association (LIF - £20k).

·        Community/ sensory gardens- the development of 7 community/ sensory gardens have been supported through LIF. These spaces provided a safe and healthy environment for residents and the local community. The brownfield lands at Donegall Pass (LIF - £44k) and St Mary’s Nursery School (LIF -£33k) were transformed into community gardens where local people can grow their fruits and vegetables and kids can enjoy the beautiful outdoor space, respectively. The Garden of Eatin’ at Donegall Pass received an accolade from The Guardian regarding urban farmers: community food growing. Also, sensory and therapeutic gardens were developed at Towell House (LIF -£95k) and Palmerston Residential Care Home (LIF - £36k). The Palmerston garden received a Dementia Friendly Awards.

·       Jobs created-  Members are asked to note that 6 local jobs have been created by organisations which has been directly related to their LIF funding and the success that this has subsequently brought  - i.e. Sarsfields GAC have taken on a full-time dedicated worker for the management of the widely used facility while both St. Malachy’s Youth Centre and Falls Women’s Centre have had to take on additional resources due to being able to expand their community programme/activities due to their LIF funding 

·        Leverage - LIF funding has also been instrumental in helping 36 projects/ groups to secure additional funding for their projects which has been worth over £14million.  For example funding under LIF helped Annadale and Haywood Resident’s Association to secure £425k funding from the Space and Place programme and NIHE towards their new community centre project; An Cumann Chluain Árd received £800k of additional funding from Ciste Infheistíochta Gaeilge towards the modernisation of its existing facilities. Additional funding has been levered in/ secured from other organisations including Tourism NI, Ulster Garden Villages, SIF, Groundworks/ Alpha Programme and SportNI. 

 

3.6       Outcomes of the LIF Programme

 

            The LIF programme has already demonstrated positive results for the local community. As with any programme the outcomes will take longer to realise however the outcomes will  be consistent with the city’s strategic objectives under the Belfast Agenda including –

 

·        Improved local neighbourhoods- the capital projects, both the new build and the refurbished community facilities, have helped strengthen the vibrant community and voluntary sectors across the city. With the improved facilities, groups’ have enhanced the delivery of programmes to the local the people and neighbourhoods. A number of the groups supported have reported that projects have helped to increase community programmes, increase community capacity, improve cohesion in the area, reduce anti-social behaviour and promote access to services.

·        Physical regeneration of the local area- LIF has delivered £23m (£9m LIF core funding and £14m leverage funding) of physical investment in neighbourhoods across the city. This investment has helped the physical regeneration of the local areas. There are also a number of brownfield sites and derelict buildings which have been transformed into vibrant and liveable community assets, which benefited many sectors of the community. – e.g. Clonard Boxing Club (£80k) refurbished the former NIE substation into a fit-for-purpose boxing training base which bring regeneration and benefits to local kids and community. Clonard has increased its membership and service users to approximately 74 boxers/ boxing enthusiasts across all age groups, welcoming boys and girls in through its doors each week.  

·        Enhanced health and well-being- With the number of open spaces, pitches, playgrounds, community and sensory gardens, these projects will help enhance the health and well-being of the local community. The various pitches promotes a healthier and active lifestyle in the wider community i.e. youth clubs, schools, sporting organisations, etc. In addition, these gardens are use as venue for horticulture trainings for staff and volunteers.

·        Improved skills and employment opportunities- LIF has also contributed in improving skills to the local community. With funding provided to social enterprises that promote skills training like GVRT T.R.E.E. (£25.5k) and Workforce Training Services (£30k), LIF enhanced the learning and teaching environment for the current and new users thereby improving their skills and employment opportunities.

 

3.7       Community Groups supported – beneficiaries

 

            LIF programme has supported a wide range of community groups across the city. These groups include community organisations, faith groups/ churches, youth groups, sports groups/ boxing clubs, groups that promote Irish language, Orange halls, support groups, women’s groups and residents associations.  The local community groups are vital in the success of the LIF programme.

 

3.8       At the start of LIF, it was recognised that there are many community groups that had little or no capacity in delivering the projects. The Programme has assisted in the development of community groups enhanced the capability and capacity of others.  In addition it should also be noted that it has helped with the creation of groups where none previously existed which are still thriving.  Many of the groups who received LIF funding have gone onto obtain additional funding and to date all have proved sustainable.  Increased in community capacity and experience in progressing capital schemes is one of the key legacy point of the programme.

 

            LIF Event – October 2018

 

3.9       Recognising all of the above Members will recall that SP&R Committee agreed on April 2018 to host LIF celebration event in the City Hall to mark the impact of LIF. The event was held on 25th October 2018 to showcase projects which received funding under LIF, the invaluable role that Members have played in LIF which reflects their civic leadership role and recognise the efforts and hard work of staff from across the organisation.

 

3.10      Members are asked to note that the event was extremely well attended with more than 230 Councillors, representatives from community groups and staff who worked on LIF attending. The feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive with both Councillors and officers receiving emails and texts commending the Council on the event.  A selection of the tweets received on the event is attached at Appendix 2.

 

3.11      Throughout the evening, representatives from a number of funded groups from across the city were featured and spoke of how their experience of LIF has impacted on them and their service users. It was agreed that this really brought LIF to life and demonstrated by feedback from the groups themselves the transformational impact that LIF funding really had on small community groups.

 

3.12      Members are asked to note that the event was supported by a full communication plan – see Appendix one. Media releases were also issued to both local community titles and regionally, In addition a range of videos were produced to tell the stories of the people behind the projects, were created and shared through social media in the run up to the event.  In the first two weeks of promotion, the videos achieved over 7,900 views. Projects featured were:

 

·        CumannChluain Árd – received £150k towards building renovations and creation of state of the art classrooms

·        Springfield Star – received £152k funding to redevelop former a bonfire site into new secure 3G pitch facility for the club and local community

·        Workforce Training – received £30k towards building improvements and IT equipment at their Antrim Road premises

·        T.R.E.E. – received £25.5k for essential building repairs at their training facility on Donegall Road

·        Towell House – received £95k towards the creation of a sensory garden in the grounds of this residential care home.

 

            All Members are encouraged to view these and they can be accessed through the website at  - http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/buildingcontrol-environment/physical-investment/investmentfundlocal.aspx

 

3.13      Financial & Resource Implications

 

            Financial – As previously agreed the budget for the LIF event was covered by minor underspends secured from a number of completed LIF projects.  The event was all organised in-house.

 

            Resources – Resources from Property & Projects and appropriate departments are utilised at the event

 

3.14      Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

 

            None.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.