Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      At a meeting of the Development Committee on 16th January 2008, Members decided to core fund Belfast City Centre Management Company £190,000 per year for two years commencing April 2008, subject to a satisfactory performance report after the first six months.

      A copy of the BCCM Performance Report for the first two quarters of 2008/2009 is available on Modern.gov.

Key Issues

      The work of BCCM covers three areas:

·         Delivering direct City centre services:

·         BCCM will deliver its own services, which add value to the City centre, e.g. City Centre Representatives, City Beat Policing, Radio Link, City Safe Crimewatch scheme.

·         Facilitating and assisting in the delivery of its funders’ City centre initiatives:

·         BCCM will work ‘on the street’ (when requested and as directed) to assist with initiatives such as the Evening Economy, Independent Retail Training, retail benchmarking and gap analysis, Belfast in Bloom, Waste Management and Streets Ahead.

·         Direct liaison with City centre Businesses:

·         BCCM will provide strong communication links between the private sector businesses in the City centre and central and local government.

      The report which Members received in January 2008 detailed that, in order to fully implement the business and programme activity of the 2008/2009 Operational Plan, BCCM needed additional human and financial resources.  Specifically BCCM needed 3 additional City Centre Representatives for business liaison, 2 administrative assistants to support Board, Area Focus Group and Activity Group meetings and a suitably qualified accounts clerk.  It was also envisaged that the duties and responsibilities of the Office Manager would be increased to include a Project Management role. These additional resources were needed for two reasons:

1.      Existing operational staff were being utilised for administrative duties when they were sorely needed on operational business liaison duties.

2.      With the opening of Victoria Square on 6th March 2008 the retail floor plate of the City centre increased by over 30%, representing some 200 new retail businesses.

      As reported to the Committee in January 2008, BCCM’s funding for the City Centre Representatives through the Community Safety Partnership was cut from £20,000 to £12,000.

      The appointment of Administration Assistants, the Accounts Clerk and the extension to the Office Manager’s job description have now been made.

      A Finance and Audit Committee made up of representatives from the three BCCM shareholders, and including the Development Department’s Business Support Manager, now meets bi-monthly to inspect BCCM’s finances and financial systems and reports to the BCCM Board, which includes the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Development Committee.

      The Performance Report available on Modern.gov shows that BCCM is delivering on all Key Performance Indicators within its Operational Plan.

      With regard to funding:

·         In the first six months of this financial year BCCM has leveraged income of £151,500 from Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce for Membership, Radio Link, Retail Crimewatch and private sector core funding.  This compares to £96,000 for the whole of the previous year.

·         BCCM, working with BCTC, has levied Chamber Members an additional £130,000 for an extended City Centre Promotional Campaign to be delivered between October and December this year.  These funds are being allocated as follows:

·         £50,000 to BVCB for marketing Belfast

·         £60,000 investment in new festive lighting

·         £20,000 investment in street animation & entertainment

Resource Implications

      The Belfast City Centre Management Company is seeking confirmation of £190,000.00 per annum core funding for two years commencing April 2008

Recommendations

      Members are asked to:

1.      Note the details of the BCCM Performance Report for the first two quarters of 2008/2009.

2.      Approve annual funding for BCCM of £190,000 per year for two years commencing April 2008.

Key to Abbreviations

BCCM – BelfastCity Centre Management

BCTC – Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce”

            The Committee was advised that representatives of the Belfast City Centre Management Company were in attendance and Mr. Billy McGivern and Ms. Geraldine Duggan were admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairman.

            Mr. McGivern thanked the Committee for providing Belfast City Centre Management with an opportunity to address the Committee.  He informed the Committee that the Company had met its targets and had been successful in obtaining considerably more income from traders in the City centre than had been the case previously.  He advised the Members of a number of the schemes which had been developed by Belfast City Centre Management, including the Retail Crimewatch Scheme which had resulted in a 51% reduction in average stock loss due to shoplifting and the Belfast Against Night-Time Disorder Scheme which was aimed at dealing with troublemakers in licensed premises and which was being piloted in the Odyssey complex.

            The representatives of the Company responded to a number of questions which were put to them by the Members.

            The members of the deputation requested that the Committee agree to contribute an amount of £190,000 per annum to the Belfast City Centre Management Company during the two-year period commencing April 2008.

            The deputation then withdrew from the meeting.

            Following discussion in the matter, the Committee noted the information which had been provided by the representatives of Belfast City Centre Management and agreed to provide financial assistance of £190,000 per annum to the Company for the two-year period commencing April 2008.