Agenda and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest.

The Executive Member for Environment and the Director of Environment and Communities submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to request additional funding of £400,000 to the wider development of CCTV in alleys and hot spot areas throughout Middlesbrough to reduce crime, antisocial behaviour and environmental crime. The report also proposed a change in approach to collection of fly tips and enforcement of offences across Middlesbrough via the introduction of an ‘Environmental Enforcement Flying Squad’, meaning fly tips would be investigated and removed in one pass by a dedicated team.

Crime and antisocial behaviour in Middlesbrough continued to be the highest in the whole of the Cleveland Police Force area. When looking at the actual number of incidents for the financial year 2019/20 and the year to date information for 2020/21, Middlesbrough was 11% higher than Stockton which was 2nd highest. The submitted report contained statistical information and data pertaining to recorded incidents in Middlesbrough.

The £400,000 planned to enable the installation of 100 cameras in key areas, which had been identified using an intelligence led approach based on recorded data held by Cleveland Police and the Local Authority.

In conjunction with the use of CCTV cameras the Council may explore giving residents individual bins and removing communal bins, for areas covered by back alleys. That would allow residents to take more control of their waste. A pilot scheme was at present underway in parts of North Ormesby. Following an examination of the results of the scheme, a wider approach may be implemented.

The proposed ‘Environmental Enforcement Flying Squad’ planned to enable the Council to improve the aesthetics of Middlesbrough and in turn improve quality of life for residents who were blighted by such activity. That would mean fly tips would be investigated and removed in one pass by a dedicated team consisting of 8 personnel, 4x Neighbourhood Safety Wardens (Enforcement) trained on current legislation and able to bring prosecution, 4x Area Care Operatives to work alongside officers to assist clearing the fly-tip/rubbish and 4x bespoke caged vehicles.

The proposal planned to:

·        improve public confidence;

·        deter people from committing crime and antisocial behaviour via the presence of more CCTV; and

·        ensure that fly tips were collected in a timely manner - in turn reducing the amount of time debris was left in the alleys, streets, walkways etc.

A discussion ensued and Members commented that before considering granting approval for funding of £400,000, there was a need to conduct a pilot scheme to establish the effectiveness of the proposal in reducing crime, antisocial behaviour and environmental crime. It was also identified that, following delivery of the pilot scheme, there was a requirement to evaluate the impact of the approach by analysing data and reporting outcomes to the Executive. Upon receiving that information, the Executive would then be in a position to make an informed decision regarding whether additional funding should be invested.

Members also commented that there was a need to:

·        take a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/116

The Executive Member for Regeneration and the Director for Regeneration and Culture submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to set out proposals for the future development of Middlehaven and the steps required to take it forward.

The different investments and developments emerging at Middlehaven had the opportunity to make a significant difference to the area, and to the economy, but needed to be planned in a coherent way. There was a danger of different schemes competing with each other, infrastructure requirements falling between the boundaries of different schemes, and the phasing of activity working against what the wider market could accommodate.

There was therefore a need to have a clear, up-to-date strategic masterplan for developing Middlehaven, and for capitalising on the financial opportunities currently available.

It was also necessary for the Council to work closely with the relevant development partner to be able to put the strategic masterplan into practice and ensure that the available funding opportunities were not missed.

The submitted report set out how the Council proposed to work in partnership with a strategic partner to develop the masterplan for Middlehaven, develop the necessary site infrastructure and move into the delivery phase on multiple projects.

The Council had worked closely with a company called BGEGI on the Boho X project, following its appointment as Development Manager on the scheme in 2019. BCEGI was an international property developer and construction company, specialising in bringing projects to fruition through strategic partnerships and investment. Operating in 27 countries, BCEGI was currently leading on billion pound projects such as Airport City and Middlewood Locks in Manchester.

BCEGI was originally procured via the NEPO503 Neutral Vendor Managed Service for Specialist Professional Services (NEPRO3) framework and there was the ability to extend that engagement beyond Boho X and into wider work at Middlehaven.

It was proposed that via the NEPRO 3 Framework, BCEGI be formally procured as the strategic partner for Middlesbrough Council.

The boundary of the area proposed for the arrangement with BCEGI had been identified in Appendix I of the submitted report.

The masterplan would be used to guide investment decisions, prioritise projects and manage timelines for utilising external funding. It was intended that BCEGI would develop the masterplan, in conjunction with Council staff, to ensure that the transport infrastructure, public realm and heritage assets were built into it.

The Council had secured access to a number of funds, for a range of projects across Middlehaven.

A discussion ensued and Members expressed concern with regard to recommendation C, which referenced the reallocation of £3.9m of TVCA and Council resources being freed up from the Boho X budget into the wider development of Middlehaven, with a further £1.5m returned to the Council’s Capital Programme. Members were in agreement that, prior to approving that allocation of such funding, further work/discussion was required to identify funding sources.

In response to a Member’s comment querying whether the non-approval of recommendation C would impact on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/117