Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from Board Members who are unable to attend this meeting.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Nancy Barrett, James Conn, Charles Smith and Mark Eastwood MP.

Members will be asked to advise if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion on the item of participating in a vote upon the item, or any other interests.

No interests were declared.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 15 December 2022.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2022 be approved as a correct record. 

Most debates take place in public.  This only changes where there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual.  You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the agenda which are to be discussed in private, by  virtue of the reports containing information which falls within a category of exempt information as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

It was noted that exempt information was considered in relation to Agenda Items 15.

The meeting will hear any questions from the general public.  Members of the public can ask questions relating to the work of the Town Board or issues set out in this agenda.

No questions were asked.

The Board will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the Board has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

No deputations or petitions were received.

To receive an update on Dewsbury Market.

Contact: Jaime Nalson, Operational Manager – Venues

               Karen Roche, Markets Manager

Members of the Board visited the market before the Board meeting, along with officers of Kirklees Council. 

The Board welcomed Jaime Nalson and Karen Roche to the Board Meeting following them accompanying Board Members in the visit to the market. The Board acknowledged how valuable it had been to visit the market to be able to visualise the strategic proposal and vision for the area, and thanked Mr Nalson and Ms Roche for the visit.

The Board was advised that the business case for the market had been submitted and was approved at the end of 2022 with associated funding now received.  Architects had recently been commissioned to consider design changes, and a proposal which was within budget would be brought to the next meeting of the Board. The proposal would contain details about the three distinct areas and visuals which would show the flow through the town, landscaping, secure perimeter proposals along with lighting for the area.  Board Members advised officers that they would like to see the scope which had been provided to the architects.

The Board noted that the containers would still be available for use by traders who wished to trade outside, with the proposal to clad them in wood to make them more attractive.  Officers were advised of some difficulties that Sheffield City Council had experienced with their containers and Board Members asked them to investigate this.

There would be 35 new stalls for temporary use whilst work on the market was being undertaken and would be available for continued use, after the market was complete, within the outside café area, possibly including a night time food market. 

RESOLVED –

1)    That officers be thanked for facilitating the visit to the market.

2)    That the scope provided to the architect be circulated to Board Members.

3)    That officers speak to Sheffield City Council about the difficulties they had encountered with their containers.

4)    That the market proposal be considered at the next meeting of the Board.

To consider the draft Terms of Reference.

Kieth Ramsay, Chair – Dewsbury Town Deal Board

It was noted that no suggestions or comments had been received by the Chair in relation to the Terms of Reference.  However, Board Members explained that they had not had the opportunity to consider the further changes that had just recently been presented to them.

The Chair advised the Board that the Terms of Reference needed to clearly identify the role of the Board in relation to it being decision making or advisory.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the Term of Reference be deferred until the March meeting of the Board.

2)    That any comments on the Terms of Reference should be communicated to the Chair before the March meeting.

To consider updated Project Status Reports.

Contact: Michelle Illingworth, ER Project Officer – Dewsbury Town Investment Plan

Michelle Illingworth gave a presentation which updated the Board on each project, and she confirmed that all the nine projects business cases had now been approved. £7.3m had been received to date and the current overall spend was £3.8m.

The Board heard that it was anticipated the work on the Arcade would begin in October 2023 with completion anticipated by September 2024.  Board Members felt that a visit to the Arcade before the next meeting would be helpful to visualise the proposals. 

In relation to Daisy Hill, the Council had acquired two properties with a further five currently being negotiated.

Ms Illingworth informed the Board that the grant agreement for Field House was still awaited.  The project had been out to tender, and it was hoped the project would commence before the end of November, but this has since been delayed to March 2023 with a completion date of March 2024.

In relation to the Town Park, due to increased costs in the current climate, the Council had been looking at costs savings. It was noted that the Board would need to consider alternative proposals for the Town Park, but it was acknowledged that once the Market project was agreed it would assist in giving some focus to any future proposals for the Town Park. The estimated start date for Town Park was Q4 2024.  The Board noted that there was a delay with receiving funding from the Council along with their grant funding, with just a letter of intent being received to date.

The Board was advised that the Sustainable Transport Modes project was progressing with Bond Street now having a delivery partner ready to proceed with a target start date of March 2023. Regarding Wellington Road, a review was currently being undertaken following a Road Safety Audit and therefore the start date had yet to be confirmed. It was noted that following the Town Board approval to relocate the Kirklees Build to the site at Chidswell, the outline planning applications for the site had now been approved. The first phase of that development was anticipated to begin in Sprint 2024.

The Building Revival Scheme was currently supporting six live schemes with two new enquiries being further progressed. In relation to Fibre Capability, phase one was completed in December 2021, phase two was in delivery along with aspects of phase three.  Phase two was due to be finalised by the end of the financial year.

The Board was informed that as Brigantia was the project manager for the Creative Hub, it would be more appropriate for them to attend a meeting of the Board to discuss their capacity for the project.  Although officers from the Council had supported Brigantia with their business case, it was noted that the Council did not have the resources to take the project forward. The Board shared some concerns in relation to the progress being made on this project and had discussions around the Library being the preferred site, due to the costs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To discuss the introduction of a draft framework.

Contact: Michelle Illingworth, ER Project Officer – Dewsbury Town Investment Plan

Simon Taylor gave a presentation to the Board regarding a Project Prioritisation Framework which would assist Board Members is making choices for any future amendments to projects.

Mr Taylor explained that it was important to have a prioritisation framework to understand which projects i) were likely to be delivered in budget and within timeframes, ii) which projects could be fast tracked and iii) which projects would need resources allocating.  It was important for the Board to shape how funding would be spent and potentially moved around within the programme, particularly when presenting these to the DLUHC.

Joanne Bartholomew advised the Board that the Council needed to discuss with the Board in a transparent way if a project looked like it would become undeliverable.  It was good practice to put together a framework so that an evidence base existed if the Board wanted changes to projects, to provide to the DLUHC. 

Mr Taylor proposed that a workshop session be arranged with officers and Board Members with officers providing material that identified i) the position in relation to each project in terms of deliver and ii) what changes the Board may need to make.  If the Board agreed that there was a need to change elements of projects, then information provided to the DLUHC would need to i) indicate what type of change was being requested and why, and ii) to identify the recommended approach to the change.

The workshop would potentially take place in February, with a report back to the March meeting of the Board.  The adoption of priorities and reporting against them would take place from April.

RESOLVED –

1)    That Mr Taylor be thanked for his presentation.

2)    That a workshop take place in February to discuss each project.

3)    That the outcome of the workshop would be reported back to the March meeting of the Board.

To receive a verbal update.

Keith Ramsay – Chair of Board

The Chair reminded Members of the Board that if the Board requested further information or work from officers, that they allow officers to complete that without interference from the Board.

The Chair noted both the unavailability of the Leader of the Council for the scheduled meeting on 23 March 2023, and the need for sufficient time for officers to complete the feedback following the workshop relating to the prioritisation.

The Board was advised by the Chair that the skills audit had now been completed with the Chair receiving the individual skills back from Board Members.  The gaps in skills would be identified and addressed in a recruitment campaign.  It was anticipated that this campaign would be completed to be able to introduce new Board Members to the March meeting.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the March meeting of the Board be moved to Thursday 30 March 2023 at 4:30pm.

2)    That the skills audit be circulated to Board Members.

3)    That a recruitment campaign commence, with the introduction of new Board Members to the March meeting of the Board.

To consider any matters arising.

There were no matters arising.

23 March 2023

18 May 2023

20 July 2023

28 September 2023

16 November 2023

For Terms of Reference please visit

www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/regeneration-and-development/pdf/deswbury-town-board-terms-of-reference-jan-2021.pdf

It was noted that the dates of future meetings were: -

30 March 2023 (moved from 23 March 2023)

18 May 2023

20 July 2023

28 September 2023

16 November 2023

To resolve that under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Park 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider exempt information in relation to Agenda Item 9.

(Exempt information in accordance with Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, namely it contains information relating to the financial and business affairs of third parties (including the Authority holding that information). It is considered that the disclosure of the information would adversely affect those third parties including the Authority and therefore the public interest in maintaining the exemption, which would protect the rights of an individual or the Authority, outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information and providing greater openness and transparency in relation to public expenditure in the Authority’s decision making.)

The Board considered exempt information in relation to agenda item 9.