Agenda and draft minutes

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

Apologies were received from Councillor Cathy Scott, Robert Livingston, Palvinder Singh and Martin Walsh.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

Keith Ramsay, Martyn Broadest, Mark Eastwood, Sophie Johnson, Fara Butt and Peter Mason declared an interest in the Arcade project.

The Chair of the Board agreed that a reminder be sent to all Board Members to update their declaration of interests prior to the meeting in March 2024.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 16 November 2023.

In response to a question concerning minutes/records of the exempt/private part of Board meetings, It was noted that Dewsbury Town Deal Board was required to follow Council procedure rules. Following adoption of the Long-Term Plans terms of reference, the Board will be able to understand how notes of the private section can be recorded.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting be noted.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Board.

The Board noted the exempt information, as set out at Agenda item 11.

The meeting will hear any questions from the general public.

Questions should be emailed to executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk no later than 5:00pm Monday 22 January 2024.

Members of the public can ask questions relating to the work of the Town Board or issues set out on this agenda.

Question from Gill Young

“Given the potential for new investment, the strategic local planning considerations and the concerns of local residents in an area with a high level of deprivation, would the Town Board consider taking on the responsibility and commitment to lead a Neighbourhood Plan for the town of Dewsbury in order to ensure that overall strategies and criteria for any future investment and development are clearly identified, agreed, understood and applied”.

The Chair of the Board responded to the question and advised that the Town Board dealt with a limited geographical area which was unlikely to change.  Dewsbury Town was not a parish or town council area, and the Board would need to become a qualifying body in the form of a Neighbourhood Forum to meet legal requirements. It was noted that currently the local planning authority was working on an update of the local plan, and Dewsbury Town Board would consider at their next meeting how they would engage in that process, along with inviting the planning policy team to attend a future meeting to discuss the local plan update.

The Board will receive any petitions and/or 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 submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or Petitions were received.

To consider the following updates:

a.    Arcade

b.    Market

c.    Urban Realm/Town Park

d.    Cultural Events

Contact: Michelle Illingworth, Economic Resilience Project Officer,  

               Dewsbury Town Investment Plan,

               Jaime Nelson, Acting Head of Culture and Tourism,

               Peter Thomson, Economic Resilience Project

The Board received an update on the Market and Town Park project, Simon Taylor, Head of Town Centre programmes advised that agreement had taken place with Department of Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) regarding the revised business case on the Market and Town Park and were supporting the changes. It was agreed that the Board would transfer money from the Cultural Hub project to the Arcade project, a revised business case had been submitted to DLUHC and was awaiting a final decision, although they were satisfied it was robust, a date of 2^nd February was given for a final sign off.  Once the decision has been made, Heritage lottery fund would then need to grant permission to start, which would not happen until they were satisfied that all other funding was in place.  It was noted that the Council was running the contract process in parallel, with a conclusion in place with legal. Work would then start once the contract had been awarded. 

Peter Mason, Board Member advised the Board that Field House had started a strip out, with the main contract starting 18^th March 2024.

Jaime Nalson, Acting Head of Culture and Tourism updated the Board on progress within the Market project, around trading engagement sessions, programme design and plans in relation to the decamp market. Two trader engagement sessions had taken place where traders had been invited to look at the vision, talk through the application process to be part of the future market and provide feedback on the design of the decamp market. Further plans to consult with traders was planned around layout and spaces. It was noted that the leases with the traders had expired in December 2023, but most traders had renewed their lease for the next two years. The applications for leases of the new market were now open to all traders to apply for a period of three weeks and would close on 4^th February 2024.  The application review process would commence week commencing 19^th February 2024.

Mr Nalson advised that the market programme was at phase two design stage where a pre planning application was to be submitted in early March 2024, the full planning application was then to be submitted between March and May 2024.  Feedback from traders had been received, with further work taking place to review the public toilets, multi-purpose space for cultural requirements, cleaning stores, pot wash area and refuge yard. A number of meetings had taken place regarding the lighting requirements in the food and beverage and event space, and the decamp market trader engagement had commenced, which allowed designs to be finalised. The key focus of the engagement was around the design, and what was wanted within the market, a real focus was on quality, ensuring the provision and offer from traders.

During discussion the Board questioned the dates around the Market project, a breakdown of dates was requested. Joanne Bartholomew, Service Director advised that dates could be provided should the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Contact: David Wildman – Strategic Partnership Lead, Town Centres,

                                           Simon Taylor -Head of Town Centre Programmes.

The Board received a presentation from David Wildman, Strategic Partnership Lead on the Long-Term Plan for Towns that explained that Dewsbury had been identified to received £20million over the next 10 years and summarised the key points from the guidance and Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) feedback, along with the overview of the 3 investment themes and timescales.

During discussion, the Board raised questions regarding the deadline of 1^st April 24, and what plans were in place for community engagement. It was noted that the re-established Board had to be in place by 1^st April 24 and that engagement was not required to have taken place by 1^st April 2024. There would be a requirement for the Board to meet prior to the March meeting to discuss engaging a team of people to undertake the community consultation.

Mr Wildman advised the three themes of the Long-Term Plan were Safety and Security, High Streets, Heritage and Regeneration and Transport and Connectivity.  Investment was expected across all themes, with safety and security being the greatest priority depending on the local priorities. A list of ‘on menu’ and ‘off menu’ interventions were provided stating that ‘off menu’ interventions could be included if supported by a business case. The Board noted that the list of ‘on menu’ interventions tended to sway towards revenue items. With the Local Authority having to make very difficult decisions on non-statutory requirements, a question was asked how that would fit with the menu of items.  Ms Bartholomew advised that the funding was not to swap out the Councils revenue, an understanding of the Councils revenue spend across Dewsbury was required, and how that could be maximised alongside the Long-Term Plan investment. The Board noted that anti-social behaviour was an issue and asked if enforcement in trading standards could be considered.  Ms Bartholomew advised that enforcement could be considered and suggested that colleagues in licensing and enforcement give an overview to the Board at a future meeting to help understand what is taking place and when the investment themes have been decided how that will fit in.

Mr Wildman explained the timescales of the Board membership which needed to include a senior member of the police, along with areas of focus/key areas and the date the plan had to be submitted to Government. The Board asked if Dewsbury Town Deal Board was to morph into the Long-Term Plan, if the timescales would be met, and what the priority area for Dewsbury was, it was agreed that the priority geographical area for investment of the Town Board would be circulated to Board Members.  It was noted that the Board had to ensure that the dates were met, some workshops would take place in between the formal Board Meetings.

A discussion took place regarding the consultation with the community, it was noted that the consultation should be led on themes, where members of the public could comment on the themes and put forward what was most  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Thursday 28 March

Location: Dewsbury Town Hall

For Terms of Reference please visit

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

Thursday 28^th March 2024

Location: Dewsbury Town Hall

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 Part 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 7.

The Board considered exempt information in relation to agenda item 7.