The Director of Regeneration will be in attendance to provide the Panel with an update on the Town Centre Strategy and the Future High Streets and Towns Funds
RECOMMENDATION: that the Panel determines whether further information is required
Minutes:
The Director of Regeneration provided an update on the Town
Centre Strategy.
Businesses already signed up to units in the Captain Cook
Square were progressing their fit outs.
There had been some additional interest from local businesses rather
than national companies.
The Cleveland Centre was performing well financially. Whilst shopping centres might not be
sustainable in the longer term, currently there were no concerns. Multi brand fashion retailer “Leading Labels”
had recently opened a new shop in the Centre.
Currently there were no plans for the public toilets to be re-opened as
they had to be staffed at additional cost.
Public toilets were available in the Town Hall via the box office
entrance. The Cleveland Centre car park
was managed by the Centre’s operators and permits had been sold off various
businesses. There was no free parking.
Proposals had been submitted for an improved entrance to the
Centre from Albert Road. Whilst the
Council would like to see this in place, it would be advised by the managing
agent for the Centre and would have to work for people coming into that area.
There had been some interest in the House of Fraser and the
Council was working with external providers who had put forward some proposals.
Pre-planning discussions were underway with the owners of
The Crown. A scheme had been drawn up
but there was some concern as to whether it was financially viable.
Work was being undertaken with retailers in the town in
relation to anti-social behaviour and the Council was looking at how to address
the issues to make the centre a safer and more pleasant environment using UK
Shared Prosperity Fund money.
A very successful Teesside Restaurant Week had just taken
place from 5 to 10 September 2022.
A project to redevelop Church House for apartments had been
signed off and would be publicised soon.
It was anticipated that development would commence over the next 12
months.
The Council was also focussing on accessibility to the town
centre. Whilst there was a transport
plan for the whole town there needed to be changes made to the town centre in
terms of how people moved around.
Considerations included bus lanes, bus superstops and on street electric
vehicle chargers.
The new cycle lane on Linthorpe Road was camera monitored
and it was getting used. Anecdotally the
Council was hearing that no one was using it but this was untrue. The early signs were that people were using
it regularly and new infrastructure could take up to ten years to fulfil its
potential usage.
The Council had entered a contract with Sustrans to provide
sufficient secure storage facilities in the town centre for bikes.
Members also discussed the cycle route infrastructure across
the town. It was noted that off road
routes were often not well publicised or maintained. It was suggested that some
publicity as to the routes available could be generated from the Press Office
or through the Love Middlesbrough magazine.
The Scrutiny Panel had previously made a recommendation for
the Council to explore building an events arena for Middlesbrough. There was a site at Middlehaven that would be
suitable and the Council had been approached by several interest parties who
claimed they could deliver one. However,
in the current climate, building an arena was not financially viable since
public funding would be required. It was
acknowledged that an events arena would have a transformative effect with spin
offs such as hotels, restaurants and shops.
However there was currently nothing on the table that was realistically
affordable. Whilst the operating cost of
an arena might balance out, it would never make enough profit to repay the
building costs.
AGREED as follows
that the:
1. the information
provided was received and noted.
2. existing cycle routes in Middlesbrough should be publicised more widely.