Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and read out the Building Evacuation Procedure.

To receive any declarations of interest.

The minutes of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 21 February 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Director of Regeneration and the Chair of the Captain Cook Birthplace Trust will be in attendance to provide Members with an overview of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum and the work of the Trust.

Recommendation: That the Panel consider and discuss the information provided.

The Chair of the Captain Cook Birthplace Trust and the Council’s Creative Programmes and Partnerships Manager were in attendance to provide information in relation to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum.

The Chair of the Trust gave his presentation as follows:

The funding of culture and museums was a hot topic and a nationwide issue at the current time.  The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum opened on 27 October 1978, to celebrate Middlesbrough’s most famous son and provide a place where people could be educated about Captain James Cook and his legacy.  Education had become critical in recent years in respect of debates about colonialism and climate change, which the Trust had engaged in. 

The Trust was established on 16 January 1978 in partnership with Middlesbrough Borough Council, with a specific remit to secure funding to provide the Museum.  From the outset the partnership existed for the advancement of education about the life and work of Cook and the countries he discovered.  After the Museum opened the Trust was dormant for some time.

In 2018, the Trust’s Constitution was revised and the Trust became more independent of Middlesbrough Council.   The name was changed to the Captain Cook Birthplace Trust with the aim of being able to bid for funding or grants that the Council was unable to access.  There were currently 11 Trustees and Membership was open to anyone who had an interest.  There were 12 places on the Trust and 3 were nominated by Middlesbrough Council.

Over the last few years,  the Trust had delivered talks, and other events including a tea dance, annual celebration of Cook’s birthday, facilitated talks and hosted the Cook Island Rugby team.  The Trust had also developed new signage to promote the museum and liaised with tour operators and Tees valley Tourism regarding reviving the Cook Trail.  Unfortunately during the covid pandemic some of that work had become a little stagnated.

Since the announcement of the potential budget cuts by the Council in December 2023, the Trust had issued a press release explaining why the Museum must continue to operate.  A petition opened by the Trust had gathered over 8000 signatures in support of keeping the Museum open.  There had been local, national and social media coverage and debate had opened up on the subject.

In January, Members of the Trust had met twice with Middlesbrough’s Mayor and Council Officers and had presented a proposal paper, detailing why the Museum should be maintained.  There were some queries still be to be answered regarding financial matters.  The Trust was happy to participate in the operation of the Museum and ready to engage in discussion.   The Museum could continue to be in the Council’s ownership or it could be transferred to a new owner, either a commercial or voluntary body. 

Currently the Trust’s Constitution did not permit it to own assets and therefore was not in a position to take over the Museum.  However, it would not be impossible as the Constitution could be amended and many other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23/56

Recommendation: That the Panel considers the content of the draft Final Report and agrees conclusions and recommendations for inclusion.

A copy of the Draft Final Report on Planning Capacity had been circulated with the agenda.

Members discussed the information provided and suggested conclusions and recommendations for inclusion in the Final Report.

 AGREED that:

1.     the following conclusions were approved for inclusion in the report:

•    The Panel examined the findings of the quick review of Development Management carried out by the Planning Advisory Service in September 2023 and notes their recommendations to improve the speed of decision-making in line with government requirements. 

•    It is acknowledged that the review did not include Planning and Development Committee, Planning Enforcement or the Appeals Process and that performance of these areas can also potentially be improved. 

•    Middlesbrough Council currently has two Officers, based within the Environment Directorate, available to provide advice on highways and drainage and other planning powers.   There is a lack of skilled personnel in areas such as design, ecology and arboriculture.   Having to seek external advice can add delay to decision-making on planning applications.

•    The increase in the number of enforcement cases is of great concern to the Panel.  The two posts that support the Enforcement Officer have been vacant for a considerable length of time.  The Panel also notes that due to the current high volume of work, the timescales listed in paragraphs 2.9 and 2.10 of the planning enforcement manual will not apply for the foreseeable future.   With the limited available resources, the Council currently prioritises enforcement activities in relation to Article 4 and conservation in Linthorpe in order to protect Middlesbrough’s heritage.

•    The Panel is pleased to note the recent award of funding from the Government’s Planning Skills Fund that will assist in addressing the backlog in enforcement support, planning support, highways and flooding input into the planning process and also used to develop new Design Codes as required by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

•    In relation to shared services it was apparent that there can be efficiencies not only with regard reduced costs but that having a larger team naturally provides more resilience and expertise.

2.     the following recommendations were approved for inclusion in the report:

•    The Council should ensure that the recommendations of the Planning Advisory Service’s Development Management Review are implemented in full to ensure that the Planning Service continues to be able to meet government performance targets in relation to decision-making. 

•    Implementation of the PAS recommendations in relation to the following should be prioritised and enhanced:

-    The Development Control Team should work together from the office in Fountains Court for a minimum of one day each week.   Practical barriers to team working, for example, “block booking” space in the shared office should be addressed without delay.

-    Continue to embed the Agile Planning system and recently acquired Power BI system into the DM process, make time to provide (and maintain) a practical guide to the system for case officers.

•    Dedicated training is provided for staff to enable them to use the relevant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23/57

The Chair will provide a verbal update on matters considered at the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 28 February and 6 March 2024.

The Chair provided a verbal update on items considered at the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 28 February and 6 March 2024.

Having concluded the current scrutiny review today, the Chair suggested that the final meeting of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel for Municipal Year 2023/2024, currently scheduled for 17 April 2024, should be cancelled.

AGREED that the next scheduled meeting of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel would be cancelled.

None.