Agenda item

Councillor Furness, Executive Member for Regeneration, accompanied by the Director of Regeneration, was in attendance at the meeting to provide the Board with an update regarding his portfolio in relation to Regeneration.

 

The Executive Member advised that the scope of his portfolio was to deliver the Mayor’s priorities. Current projects to fulfil this included:-

 

·        Providing fair access to high quality homes.  The Council was currently working with Thirteen and North Star Housing.

·        Providing access to secure, well-paid jobs.  This included re-imagining the town centre to diversify and strengthen the local economy, such as the development of the Livewell Centre, expanding and sustaining the digital sector.

·        Strengthening transport links by upgrading the town’s train and bus station.

 

A number of plans and strategies sat within the Executive Member’s remit, including the following:-

 

·        As part of the Council’s Policy Framework, the first phase of consultation on updating the Local Plan was now complete and the Local Transport Plan was in the process of being updated.

·        The Investment Prospectus – grants were relied on to bring empty properties back into use.  One example was Church House which was being brought back into use as apartments through the Towns Fund.

·        Regeneration Service Plan

·        Town Centre Plan – exploring how to diversify the town centre as retail was in decline.  The plan would formulate a vision for living, working and leisure within the town centre.

·        Housing Strategy – this fed into the Local Plan.

 

The Board was informed that the relevant services that sat within the Executive Member’s portfolio included:-

 

·        Planning

·        Community Learning

·        Growth

·        Property and Commercial Services

·        Culture

·        Strategic Housing

 

In terms of economic regeneration, the collective aim was to support businesses to thrive and to support sectors to grow, such as digital and advanced manufacturing. It was important to provide commercial space for businesses to locate to and expand.

 

In terms of housing it was important to continue dialogue with house builders in order to provide opportunities to retain the population and in relation to employment it was key to support people to improve their skills and find work.

 

The Executive Member stated that with investment from the Government in regeneration, there was cause to feel optimistic about the town’s future over the coming years.

 

Updates were provided in relation to the following areas of activity within the Executive Member’s portfolio:-

 

·        Cleveland Centre – progress had been made in relation to retail lettings, with TJ Hughes opening in the former H&M unit.

 

·        It was planned to relocate the Middlesbrough Community Learning and Employment Hub from its current location, at the Multi Media Exchange, to the Cleveland Centre.  This would provide a more central location within the town.

 

·        Good progress was being made in relation to the refurbishment of the unit to which the Live Well Centre would be relocated.  This would complement the Community Learning and Employment Hub whereby facilities could be shared.

 

·        Captain Cook Square – The units in the square were almost fully let with two recent openings - Bazaar restaurant and Funshack soft play.

 

·        Historic Quarter - The A66 repair works were nearing completion and STACK would soon be moving in, creating significant footfall and in close proximity to the railway station where the platform level and concourse works were now complete.

 

·        Old Town Hall – Proposals to restore the Old Town Hall, St Hilda’s, would include a contemporary extension to frame the clock tower, along with a wholesale restoration of the original building fabric, if funding was secured.

 

·        MDC – the Asset Transfer was on hold pending the outcome of further review by the Government.

 

**DECLARATION OF INTEREST

 

At this point in the meeting, Councillor McClintock declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to the point he was about to raise as he was a Governor at Middlesbrough College.

 

During discussion the following issues were raised:-

 

·        In relation to the Community Learning Service, it was queried whether this should be an area considered to be outsourced to an education provider, such as Middlesbrough College.  The Executive Member responded that Community Learning provided an excellent service and had a wide range of contacts in a variety of areas and also had access to funding that the college would not be able to access for certain things.

 

·        It was highlighted that in the future, Middlesbrough College Adult Learning would be relocating to the town centre and it was suggested that consideration be given to locating the Adult Learning element of the Council’s Community Learning service alongside each other and to consider some form of partnership working.

 

·        A Member queried how the town centre might look in the future given the move away from retail and more towards leisure and living.  The Executive Member stated that many town centres were changing and consideration was needed as to how our town would look in future, for example, the town now had a thriving digital sector and many people in the sector had a preference for public transport and cycling so this might be something that needed to be factored in.

 

·        Reference was made to the digital economy and it was queried how many people it employed and what level of business rates the Council gained from it.  The Executive Member stated that whilst he did not have those figures to hand, one Company had a revenue of almost £1m per month.

 

·        A Board Member felt that Middlesbrough lagged behind other areas in terms of the night-time economy and queried what was being done to address this.  The Executive Member stated that the younger generation tended to not go out as much in terms of nightclubs and late bars and that opportunities such as Level X and the planned cinema and other opportunities that could be created for similar businesses would address this.

 

·        A Member of the Board asked whether consideration would be given to building a music arena in Middlesbrough as recent music gigs such as Take That at the Riverside Stadium had brought in more than £1m to Middlesbrough’s economy and a dedicated venue would attract people with disposable income to the town.  The Executive Member responded that it was something that could be looked at but would be a risk as many venues in other areas were struggling.  The regeneration of the historic quarter would be the beginning of attracting people back into Middlesbrough and there were plans to develop this area further as well as Middlehaven.

 

·        In response to a query regarding the timetable for completion of Church House, it was anticipated that completion would be within the next year.

 

·        At the request of the Chair, the Director of Regeneration provided a summary update in relation to the MDC.  It was highlighted that the MDC had planning powers and was responsible for determining planning applications within the Mayoral Development Areas.  The key issue was the delay in the asset transfer which was now at a standstill.  Development plans in Gresham and Middlehaven as well as the projects for the Bus Station/Broadcasting House could not move forward until the governance issues a Teesworks had been resolved, therefore, there was a lot of uncertainty.  There were also implications for finalising the local plan.

 

·        In response to a query it was confirmed that the Crown pub was part of the scope for the Gresham plans and it must be included.

 

The Chair thanked the Executive Member for Regeneration and the Director for their attendance and the information provided.

 

AGREED that the presentation provided be noted.