Agenda item

            The Director of Physical Programmes reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 17th December, 2019, it had agreed to establish a Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund of £8m, which would form an integral part of the Council’s Recovery Framework document for the City. Work on the development of the new fund had, until now, been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

            She reviewed the key elements of the Fund and the proposed timeline for its implementation and, accordingly, requested the Committee to adopt the following recommendations:

 

                                 i.     Underpinning Principles

 

a.      only capital projects would be supported;

 

b.     there would be no ongoing revenue implications for the Council;

 

c.      projects must be located within the Belfast City Council area;

 

d.     projects must be within the vires of the Council;

 

e.     the project proposer must not be an individual, sole trader or profit-making organisation;

 

f.       the project must not be placed on a Council asset, unless the Council has leased the asset to a third party on a long-term basis; and

 

g.     applications would be invited by way of an open call process.

 

                               ii.     Minimum Threshold for Investment

 

That, given the ambition of Members and in order to ensure that projects being delivered are substantial and transformational, the minimum threshold level for projects be set at £250k.

 

                              iii.     Thematic Areas

 

That the Neighbourhood Regeneration Fund should focus upon a number of key thematic areas and reflect the priorities agreed within the City Recovery Framework, that is, environmental/sustainable projects, neighbourhood tourism and social enterprise.

 

                              iv.     Funding Allocation Model

 

            That the Committee adopts either option 1 or option 2, as set out below:

 

Option 1 – Allocation based on Population

 

Area	Allocation £8m/10 (10 DEAs) x numbers of DEAs per Area Working Group
North - Castle and Oldpark DEAs	£1,600,000
South – Balmoral and Botanic DEAs	£1,600,000
East – Lisnasharragh, Titanic and Ormiston DEAs	£2,400,000
West *  – Black Mountain, Collin and Court DEAs	£2,400,000

 

 

*   (Proportional allocation to Shankill from the overall West area:

West - £1,894,800        Shankill - £505,200)

 

Option 2 – Allocation based on % Population

and % Multiple Deprivation Measure

 

	Population			Multiple Deprivation (Top 20% in NI)		Budget allocation (£8m) -50/50 proportion
	Population	%	£	%	£	£
NORTH	63,807	19.1	£764,783	29.58	£1,183,200	£1,947,983
SOUTH	68,597	20.6	£822,195	17.94	£717,600	£1,539,795
EAST	98,249	29.4	£1,177,601	16.31	£652,400	£1,830,001
WEST *	103,073	30.9	£1,235,421	36.17	£1,446,800	£2,682,221
TOTAL	333,726		£4,000,000		£4,000,000	£8,000,000

 

*   (Proportional allocation to Shankill from the overall West area:

West - £2,117,613        Shankill - £564,608)

 

After discussion, it was

 

            Moved by Alderman Dorrian,

            Seconded by Councillor Beattie,

 

      That the Committee agrees to adopt recommendations i., ii., iii. and option 2 of recommendation iv., as set out above.

 

 

Amendment

 

Moved by Councillor Lyons,

Seconded by Councillor Groogan,

 

      That the Committee agrees to defer consideration of the report to enable Members to consider it in greater detail.

 

            On a vote, seven Members voted for the amendment and thirteen against and it was declared lost.

 

Amendment

 

Moved by Councillor Long,

Seconded by Councillor McAllister,

 

      That the Committee agrees to adopt recommendations i., ii. and iii. above and agrees also:

 

a.      to adopt option 2 of the funding allocation model, subject to the level of funding for each area being calculated on the basis of 75% population and 25% multiple deprivation, rather than on the 50/50 basis which was being proposed; and

 

b.      that funding be allocated on the basis of North, South, East and West Belfast and that no budget be allocated specifically to the Shankill area.  

 

            On a vote, four Members voted for the amendment and thirteen against, with three ‘no votes’ and it was declared lost.

 

Original Proposal

 

            The original proposal, standing in the name of Alderman Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Beattie, to adopt recommendations i., ii, and iii. and option 2 of recommendation iv.,  was thereupon put to the meeting.

 

            On a vote, thirteen Members voted for the proposal and four against, with three ‘no votes’, and it was declared carried.

 

            The Committee noted that a report would be submitted to its next monthly meeting providing further information on the decision-making, application and assessment processes, transparency/accountability and outcomes, the potential for participatory budgeting and providing evidence of the impact of neighbourhood tourism.