Agenda item

The report of the Chief Executive is attached.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)            The establishment of a new Growth Board for Fairham, and extending the existing membership of the Fairham Development Board be approved;

b)            That the Radcliffe on Trent and East Leake Growth Boards meet twice per year; and

c)            A review of the scope of the Shop Front Improvement Grant and funding to be considered by the Strategic Growth Board at its meeting in July 2019 be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Business and Transformation presented the report of the Chief Executive providing an update on the work of the local Growth Boards since the last update to Cabinet in September 2017.

The Portfolio Holder for Business and Transformation advised that the Growth Boards were important vehicles to the Council to both facilitate and drive change, bringing together stakeholders to identify needs and create an Action Plan for implementation. The role of the Growth Boards had not been reviewed since 2017 and it was therefore timely to do so. The report also considered resource and level of live projects, delivery and timescales. So far the Growth Boards had achieved many tangible successes, West Bridgford had seen the Commissioner’s report, with many recommendations being taken forward. In Radcliffe on Trent, the Economic Masterplan had been developed and the East Leake Growth Board had been engaged with Severn Trent to ensure that infrastructure capacity would be reviewed and action to upgrade would be implemented. The County Council had offered funding for improvements to the Gotham Road T junction and the Clinical Commissioning Group had confirmed that the delivery of a new health centre was its top priority. The Masterplan for Brilliant Bingham had been completed, with the new leisure centre at the heart of delivering facilities to residents. A new Bingham Markets Manager had been appointed, which has already led to increased usage of the market square. It was appropriate to establish a Growth Board for the Fairham site at the outset of the project and to continue to support other large villages, including a proposal to extend the Shop Front Improvement Grant across the Borough, subject to the approval of the Strategic Growth Board. The report highlighted that considerable work took place between meetings and delivery of achievable goals would not be impacted by the frequency of meetings.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Upton reiterated the importance of this timely review, in particular with the key strategic site at Fairham coming on stream. Staff resources were finite and the proposed changes appeared both realistic and reasonable. Considerable work was undertaken between formal meetings, with the Boards acting as a focal point for bringing together appropriate people to drive agreed Action Plans forward.

Councillor Robinson confirmed that before the establishment of the Growth Boards there had been many strategic partners working individually throughout the Borough and the real success had been to bring people together for coordinated dialogue that had resulted in real tangible success. Due to current funding issues and constraints, people had to be realistic and accept that there were limitations on what could be delivered within preferred timescales; however, working together had proved a huge success. The establishment of the Fairham Growth Board at such an early stage would also prove extremely beneficial.

Councillor Mason stated that she was pleased to see that the Shop Front Improvement Grant was being reviewed and hoped that it would be extended to other areas.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    The establishment of a new Growth Board for Fairham, and extending the existing membership of the Fairham Development Board be approved;

b)    That the Radcliffe on Trent and East Leake Growth Boards meet twice per year; and

c)    A review of the scope of the Shop Front Improvement Grant and funding to be considered by the Strategic Growth Board at its meeting in July 2019 be approved.

Reasons for Decision

a)    It is nearly two years since the last review of the Local Growth Boards and four years since their establishment. It is, therefore, timely that another review takes place to ensure that the Boards remain effective and focus on the priority areas for the Council. Consideration must also be given to the resources available to support the Boards.

b)    At the end of 2018, when the Boards were agreeing dates for 2019, all of the existing Boards agreed to move to three meetings per year, excluding Bingham, which currently meets four times per year. Much of the work of the Boards takes place between meetings and, therefore, the frequency of meetings does not affect the ability of the Boards to deliver.

The Economic Growth Team have been working with other areas within the Borough who have requested support, most notably Ruddington. These areas would welcome some additional financial support from the Council to further assist them and ensure their high streets are sustainable.