Agenda and minutes

The Chair, Charles Hadcock welcomed everyone to the meeting and in particular Councillor Michael Green, newly appointed Chair of Farington Parish Council and Ms Vicky Willett, Director of Change and Delivery at South Ribble Borough Council.

He also thanked Christine Holmes for providing the use of the new meeting room at Leyland United Reformed Church.

Apologies were received from:

Jeremy Clay – Bodycare Stores

Katherine Fletcher MP

Keith Moyes – British Commercial Vehicle Museum

Anne Marie Parkinson – LEP

Karl Worsley- DWP

Liam Fergusson – North West Projects

Nik Puttnam – Maple Grove

Paul Foster – Federation of Small Businesses

Councillor Jane Bell

There were none.

Please find attached:-

Minutes of 10 Feb 2022 (amended) - for information; and

Minutes of 9 March 2022 – for approval.

RESOLVED:

i)                 That the minutes of 10 February 2022 be noted; and

ii)               That the minutes of 9 March 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Under matters arising, the Chair indicated that he had called this meeting at the request of some members representing the private sector who had expressed concerns to him following the previous meetings.

The Chair also expressed his concerns following the above meetings and the subsequent CLGU Towns Fund Visit to be discussed later in the meeting. He indicated that he had seriously considered his position as Chair. He stressed the importance of the Town Deal being non-partisan and being for the benefit of Leyland and the borough as a whole, despite political differences between representatives from national and local tiers of government.

Charles Hadcock stressed he was available as Chair to speak any members of the Board outside of formal meetings about any concerns they may have.

The Chair explained that he had reviewed his position and was happy to continue in the role, on the basis of the agreed terms of reference for this Board and in the spirit in which was set up.

RESOLVED:

Members of the Board unanimously supported the Chair and agreed to commit to the terms of reference and the spirit in which the Board was established.

Rachel Salter, Strategic Lead for Future Investments referred to the latest Stage 3 Design proposals which had been emailed to the Board on 24 May 2022. Events had been organised for public consultation and the proposals published on the Town Deal website.

Rachel presented a site plan showing proposed parking allocation on Quin Street.

Christine Holmes from the Leyland United Reformed Church expressed concerns about parking capacity for the residential parking developments given that some parking places were already allocated on Iddons for existing residents.

Rachel Salter explained that a study of the area had shown that all not all car parking spaces were currently utilised. In addition, parking was available locally e.g. on King Street which was only a short walk away. However, Councillor Green pointed out that this walk may not be possible for elderly / less mobile residents. Rachel agreed that these comments would be fed back to the architects to try and find a balance.

RESOLVED:

That the Site Plan be noted and that comments regarding parking allocation be fed back to the architects.

The Chair informed the Board that on 8 June 2022 representatives from the Towns Fund visited Leyland, which was followed by a Workshop with the South Ribble Borough Council Officers.

The Chair indicated that he met with Joanna Rowell, Project Director who had been appointed by the Government and her role was to check, challenge and report to the Government on all the Town Deals. The outcome was that there were no concerns about the Leyland Town Deal, they were very impressed with due diligence regarding this project and it was recommended that that it be allowed to proceed in accordance with required timescales.

The Chair then outlined the next steps and issues which were discussed during the visit and for the Board to consider in order to proceed:

-       Appointment of contractors (local where possible) – within Construction Framework / Strategy for the Scheme

-       Public Realm – important to engage with public and stakeholders, start hoarding and documenting the history at an early stage

-       Increase in construction costs – the Board noted there is capacity to manage within budget however due to increasing labour costs, difficult to get contractors to fix a long term price

-       Non attendance at Board meetings – if representatives are not sending apologies and unable to attend meetings, they need to consider stepping down

-       Individual Board members tasked with engagement they are well placed to take forward (e.g. Adrian Walsh – training young people)

-       Risk Register – to be shared and reviewed with the Board (any risks to be added – please advise Clare Gornall).

The Chair emphasized that the visit was very positive and the project Director felt that the Leyland Town Deal project was exemplary.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the Board welcomes the Chair’s feedback from the visit on 8 June 2022 and awaits confirmation of the next steps from BEIS / DLUHC

ii)            That Gary Hall share the with the Board the letter he sent to the Towns Fund representatives with the minutes of this meeting.

Rachel Salter gave an overview of the revised programme. She explained as the design progresses, officers and the professional design team have been reviewing the phasing strategy.

The review of the phasing strategy sought to address the following:

-        Minimise Disruption to the Town Centre

-        Consider the feedback from the market traders and businesses

-        Minimise conflict between the different procurement packages

-        Ensure that the public finishes to the town centre are correctly programmed to ensure they aren’t impacted by the overall construction

The detailed programme and phasing plan were circulated as a separate document with the agenda.

The Board discussed a number of options to promote the market during this period, including “pop up” markets to create a destination event (Manchester Christmas markets are an example).

RESOLVED:

That the Board explore the concept of pop up markets / destination events to promote the markets over the 12 month period.

Jennifer Clough, Investment and Skills Manager gave details of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which is the Government’s domestic replacement for the European Structural and Investment Programme. The UKSPF funds will be allocated as opposed to a competitive bidding process and is a mix of both capital and revenue funding.?South Ribble Borough Council’s allocation for the next three years is £3,367,878.

Jennifer explained that the funding had 3 core objectives and 41 interventions, which made it quite complex. She confirmed that the interventions included public transport.

The Board suggested that the funding could be used for the pop up markets concept. The Chair also suggested that the new Arts Council funding may be an avenue to pursue.

RESOLVED:

That the Board be consulted on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the following questions:

Are there any interventions within UKSPF, which Board members would like to see considered to complement the Town Deal funded programme?

What do you feel should be the top priorities for UKSPF, which would have the biggest impact over the next 3 years?

The Board were informed of the risks to the Town Deal projects as follows:

Funding & Delivery

High build costs, contingency & risk of optimism bias

Partnership & supplier risks – procurement & need to secure BASE2 partners/training providers

Securing council’s own funding streams – CIL/borrowing & receipts from early development

Securing Outcomes & Impacts

Regeneration uplift – dependent on the delivery of the full package of high quality & density of investment

Securing target occupants for commercial premises

Others

Site acquisitions

Extent of contamination and remediation requirements

Delay to design progression due to delays with sign acquisitions and access

RESOLVED : As previously agreed, that the Risk Register be shared with the Board and any risks to be added to be sent to Clare Gornall.

None.

To be confirmed.

To be confirmed.