Minutes 10 March 2023

1.

INTRODUCTIONS AND APOLOGIES

As noted above.

2.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION

None declared.

3.

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

The notes were agreed.

4.

ACTIONS FROM LAST MEETING

Leigh advised that they had still only received a few profiles.  She asked for people to send these back so that we can get some positive PR and marketing as to who is on the Board. 

ALL

5.

5a.

PROJECTS PROGRESS UPDATE

Clayton advised the progress reports had been circulated and gave the top lines.

Redditch Digital Manufacturing & Innovation Centre

Clayton advised a co-ordination and consultation meeting had been held with WMP/OPCC regarding the relocation and demolition of the current police station. They will be relocating to an unknown location which is in train.  We have clarified some issues on the demolition programme. A contractor will be appointed to start work on the detailed specification. Their programme fits in with our programme so don’t have any concerns.

We have been talking to the Procurement Department about procuring architectural consultants. They have provided a list of firms on the frameworks and will feedback to Procurement next week.  We anticipate an expression of interest for those on the framework.

We have had discussions with WCC Highways and Planning so we can keep everyone up to date. Once we have the go ahead to procure we will be in a position to get everything moving quite quickly.

Leigh thanked Clayton for his detailed reports.

Pete advised we need to keep the pressure on the police, from a financial perspective, to ensure they move out.  A detailed business case needs to go back to the GBSLEP and presume this will be done once we have the architects on board.  Clayton agreed that once we have the architects, the design can be costed and we can apply for funding from the GBSLEP.

Cllr Dormer advised he visited the Institute to Technology in Aston on Monday.  It is a phenomenal facility and would be great to have this for Redditch businesses.  They would be happy for the Board to hold a meeting at the centre and it would be useful to look at what is available for our innovation centre.

Leigh advised she would be interested and suggested emailing everyone to check they would be happy to hold a future meeting at this venue.

5b.

Public Realm

Clayton advised this is progressing very well. The Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed and is with RBC Legal colleagues.

Ongoing review and design meetings are being held monthly with Ruth and WCC are leading those at a project level.  We have bottomed out most things and are waiting for the design freeze which takes effect on the 17^th March.

Comments have been received internally and from the Police, the Church and other stakeholders with regard to how this will be delivered and incorporated into the final design which has been circulated.

Some work has already started to take place to relocate street furniture so there is less clutter.

The current design was circulated with the Board papers.  Leigh advised the plan was really detailed.

5c.

Redditch Library Redevelopment

Clayton advised there has been no progress since the last position.  The County-led consultation ended on the 24^th February and they will come back to us with a decision around the 25^th May, there is then a period of 10 days, so we will know on the 9^th June 2023.

Pete advised it was critical that a decision is made in May as there are a constrained set of timescales with the community hub.  We have a 2½ year build cycle for the Town Hall and should the Library be agreed, we need to get a design on the Town Hall as well.  Also, to make the Board aware, there is £475k at risk depending on the consultation results.

Cllr Dormer advised he had brought the MP up to speed on this and agreed that May is critical for a decision.  This was a decision of the Board, rather than being a political decision.

Pete advised it was discussed at the last meeting if this is successful the move would be July 2024. In reality we need to change that date so that things are concertinaed together which is why the May date is so important.

Kevin asked for WCC colleagues to take back that it is imperative to have a decision in May to meet delivery timescales.  He suggested whether a letter is sent from Leigh, as Chair of the Board, stressing that everyone is on board with the benefits of the library project.  If everyone is in support whether Clayton can draft a letter for Leigh to the WCC Leader expressing support and for a decision in May.  Leigh confirmed she was happy to sign off a letter.

Penny advised she was happy to make that point at WCC.

Clayton confirmed he would prepare a draft letter and send to Kevin and Leigh for comments before it is sent.

Penny/ Gary

Clayton

Clayton

6.

COMMUNITY HUB UPDATE

Pete advised when the Council closed Cashiers back in July, it was agreed to turn the Town Hall into a community hub. We have spoken to various partners and the NHS are already doing their works within the Town Hall and will have a new entrance. They will bring in Mental Health services and will be using it from July 2023.

The Council has identified that we don’t need all the current space. We have spoken to the Library which is why the May date is so important as we need to build and do what is needed for the library.

We have an artist’s impression and draft plans. The library would be on ground and first floors and DWP in the basement and ground floor and they would have a separate entrance.

The Council Chamber and meeting room suite would be on the 2^nd Floor.  Council space would be on the 3^rd and 4^th floor and this would be paid from £5.2m capital receipts. The designs will be finalised next week so we can progress with planning.

We have engaged Eddisons to programme manage this and they have experience of working on similar schemes for other Councils.

We are looking to share the building wider than public sector organisations to include the voluntary sector and the CAB are interested.

7.

RAILWAY STATION QUARTER UPDATE

Penny advised the report went to WCC Cabinet in October 2022 for the allocation of £10m towards the station which was approved on the basis we have been working on an option selection process up to that point. The option/design we have developed is based on the objective of creating a modern gateway which provides a positive experience for visitors arriving in Redditch. 

There are a lot of constraints/issues with costs. We have looked across the scheme as to how we deliver within the £10m budget and looking to reduce the number of acquisitions around the station. Ruth sits on the group and has been party to those conversations.

We are currently writing the option selection report which has to be signed off by Network Rail as it is their land and they have to approve each gateway stage in the process.  We are going through that process and we are commissioning the outline design so this can be started from May.  This will be done by the end of 2023 with a view to submit a planning application in January 2024. We would look at commencement and starting site mobilisation late 2024, subject to going out to tender for the contractor.

Images were included in the Cabinet papers and we will take this forward in the next stage of design.

Ruth advised she had articulated concerns about the design and queried if these had been taken on board.  Penny advised Ruth’s concerns had been noted.  Some can be addressed within the scheme, but some can’t.

Ruth agreed the welcome for passengers at the train station is important. The layout and car park is a worthy ambition and the scheme does a lot to achieve that. The overall objective for the Council was for the train station to connect with the town centre, so people leaving would be directed up Unicorn Hill and there would be good connectivity for those walking, cycling and travelling by car.  There is also the situation and tracking problem with the buses.  It has to be the right width to allow two cars to enter and leave the car park, as well as pedestrian access either side of the road and provision for cyclists to connect into the main cycle route.  She queried if this would be achieved if there was no demolition of buildings on site.  The other detail is how the bins and storage will be managed if those buildings remain.  This is an opportunity for wider improvements.

Cllr Dormer agreed this is an opportunity to change things for the better and to improve the aesthetics, but aware there may be opposition to demolishing these buildings.  Whether we as a Borough Council need to step in and look to regenerate ourselves.  He advised he didn’t know what the answer was but we won’t solve these issues unless we purchase and demolish those buildings.

Penny apologised if this had not been fed back to Ruth. The pinch point has been addressed and we have redeveloped the car park scheme to allow 2 cars in/out at the same time.

We have been looking at the WCC public realm scheme to deliver this all the way down to the station.  This would make sense for continuity and how the design is tied in and delivered. This will continue the cycle and footpaths all the way down from the bus and train stations.  The scheme includes a footpath from Unicorn Hill and around the back of those properties.  She agreed that retaining those buildings would need a solution to the bins and will work through in the next stage of the design.

Although it doesn’t address the current position with the buses or improve the position, we have talked to WCC’s Design Team who will take this on through the public realm scheme. They are looking at how this can be improved through the scheme coming down Unicorn Hill, so aware of the bus issue but there is no movement on the Kingfisher side or the other side so we will have to use other ways to deal with the buses.

Cllr Dormer advised improving the aesthetics is imperative to the scheme. He would welcome working with RBC to look at what happens around train station and how this is used in the regeneration process and the wider railway quarter from the early work the Council commissioned.

Ruth thanked Penny for the update and advised it would be useful to see the plans so she could evaluate these and how they represent the concerns raised. Thereafter, Ruth suggested that she meet with Penny and Ben. Penny agreed with this.

Cllr Dormer agreed it would be helpful if the plans were forthcoming and for the comms between WCC and RBC as we want to work together to ensure it works and flows together.

Kevin thanked Penny for the update and advised the railway quarter is an important part of the jigsaw in improving the economic situation which will be for the benefit of the town and businesses.  We need to maximise the scheme and there may be other funding that we can access.

Penny advised she would feed back all those comments.

Penny & Ruth

Penny

8.

UKSPF UPDATE

Pete provided an update in Georgina’s absence.  He advised that the sub-group looked at the projects, which were over-subscribed and a process was followed to make a decision on year 1 and 2. We need to spend £300k in the first financial year. We are not looking at year 3 which will be around skills. This is the outcome from the meetings that took place to prioritise schemes so we can spend this year.

Leigh advised the paper circulated was really detailed.

Kevin thanked Georgina, on behalf of the Board, for filtering all the schemes. They were all excellent but some didn’t meet all the criteria for UKSPF.  We need endorsement from this Board that everyone is happy with these as a key part of the governance is for the Board to say they agree with the sub-group’s recommendations.  This was agreed.

Kevin advised a couple of bids were from County wide organisations. As a Board we need assurance through the Chair and evidence/ oversight that money is being spent on Redditch delivery.

Gary advised they had submitted a form to Georgina that identified Redditch only delivery.  Where there are County wide projects, each district will get a delivery of outputs identified in the bid. We are committed to ensure delivery in the locality and this will be the same for skills in year 3.

Note

9.

LOOK AHEAD

Clayton advised this section looks at what are the next steps and what we are expecting in the coming month before the next meeting.

Kevin suggested this could be widened and look at what is the next thing.  We are still trying to purchase Matchborough and Winyates which will come to this Board.

The other thing is Young Business Leaders which is starting to gather some headway and thanks to Sarah McIntosh for facilitating this. The latest visit was to Lasercomb and there were two key issues from this.

The first was the majority of those young people commented that they didn’t see their future lying in Redditch, which was disappointing. The reasons being there is nothing to do in Redditch on an evening but hope that we start to address this with the Redditch town square.  The second thing was that they didn’t think there were good job opportunities in the town.

With the number of businesses we have, we need to do something to highlight and educate young people as to what job opportunities are available. We need to feed into this in terms of the look ahead and how we co-ordinate this work. He would speak to Simon Hyde as Chair of Redditch Business Leaders as to how we do that.

Leigh asked what businesses were doing to promote their jobs and do they go out to schools.  It is not just down to the Council to promote this and need businesses to do this as well.

Kevin suggested there was work to be done around dispelling some of the myths around manufacturing. The Business Leaders are doing a lot of work and have identified their own pledge card around delivery.  It is about going into schools to promote this and he would speak to Simon as to whether there is a specific piece of work required to dispel those myths.

Cllr Dormer agreed it was an interesting visit and there are a lot of barriers and perceptions to break down. He suggested whether we need to look at holding a Skills/Apprentice fair with local businesses and take this round to local schools, as the logistics for schools is difficult.  We need to highlight the calibre of businesses we have in Redditch and whether we have a spotlight on an industrial estate to identify the businesses and opportunities and get their engagement.  As a Council we need to get involved in that and with business leaders. There is opportunity for us as a Board to push and promote this.

Julia agreed with Cllr Dormer’s comments and logistics are part of the issue. Taking to schools will also be an issue for businesses.  In the past, the College hosted a big career event and the coaches were paid for to bring all the schools in. Businesses came on site and we had first, secondary and middle schools in attendance.  The college works with a lot of companies in Redditch and across the county and the Chamber of Commerce have struggled to get engagement with businesses.  Redditch Business Leaders works well but are not the entire voice of Redditch, so agree with anything we can do to try and get that working and looking at placements for students.  Apprenticeships are really important and are a realistic choice for learners.  The college are open to that engagement and would want to be part of that.

Kevin

10.

AOB

Leigh asked if anyone would have difficulty in getting to a future meeting if it was held at the Innovation Centre in Aston.  There were no issues raised and it was agreed to hold a future meeting at Aston.

Clayton

11.

Date of Next Meeting: 11^th May 2023 at 9.30am