Agenda and minutes

To formally appoint a Chair of the Panel.

Members of the Panel were invited to nominate a Chair.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Elizabeth Smaje be appointed as Chair and that the appointment be formally ratified at the next meeting of the Overview and Management Scrutiny Committee.

To note the Membership of the Panel and to receive any apologies from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Andrew Cooper.

Councillors 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 or vote on an item, or any other interests.

No Interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when 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.

All items were considered in the public session.

The Panel 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 a particular issue of concern, relevant to that body’s terms of reference. In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2) members of the public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting subject to the petition relating to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

A deputation was received from a member of the public, Mr Quinn, representing Facebook Group - Huddersfield Town Centre Regeneration and its 5200 members.

It was noted that the group were supportive of the blueprint and excited by the level of investment in the town centre. Concerns were raised in relation to the lack of inclusion of the old college building in the Blueprint and comparisons were made to the conversion of a similar building in Margate noting its success. It was also noted, that in the view of the group, Cross Church Street should be considered a higher priority for development as one of Huddersfield’s oldest and busiest streets.

It was expressed that the group would like the Council to include Viaduct Street in the Blueprint, noting scope to widen the pavement outside the eateries in this location to support businesses.  It was also highlighted that consideration should be given to a direct link by foot from the bottom of Northumberland Street to John Smith’s Stadium to improve access to a very important part of the town centre economy.

It was noted that a threat to the group was the noncompliance of shops and businesses, some of examples of which had been reported, but no responses had been received. Retail was also highlighted as important noting that this featured predominantly in the public feedback given in 2019. Cinemas, museums, and art Galleries were a welcome addition to town but opportunities for retail in purchasing routine items was equally important.

The Panel thanked Mr Quinn for his deputation and advised that the areas raised had been noted and would be investigated as a part of the Panel’s scrutiny of regeneration projects. In response David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration highlighted that some of the issues raised would be covered in the presentation to follow as a part of the Councils long term response and highlighted that the Council shared the groups ambition to ensure that the whole of Huddersfield benefits from the regeneration of the town centre including those areas just outside of the boundary.  David Shepherd also expressed his understanding of the groups frustrations in relation to planning and enforcement but reassured Mr Quinn that the Council was following the correct processes and agreed to send a response in respect of the issues highlighted around planning enforcement.

RESOLVED:  The Panel noted the deputation, and it was agreed that a response be sent to Mr Quinn in respect of the issues highlighted around planning enforcement.

To receive any public questions;

In accordance with;

-       Council Procedure Rule 11(3), questions regarding the merits of applications (or other matters) currently before the Council for determination of which the Council is under a duty to act quasi judicially shall not be answered.

-       Council Procedure Rule 11(5), the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

No questions were received from the public.

To note the Terms of Reference for the Panel.

The Panel considered its Terms of Reference. It was noted that the Terms of Reference were agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and included the core key projects, the Huddersfield Blueprint, the Cultural Heart, the Small Centres Programme and the Dewsbury Blueprint.

RESOLVED:  The Panel noted the terms of reference.

The Panel will consider a presentation setting out an introduction to ongoing major regeneration projects within Kirklees

Contact:
David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and  Regeneration

Cllr Graham Turner, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Regeneration introduced the item highlighted that the Council was making good progress in terms of development and delivery of a significant number of regeneration projects.

In the short-term, upcoming key milestones included reports to be submitted to Cabinet in relation to the Cultural Heart in September and the George Hotel in October. The reports contained significant information to allow the projects to proceed subject to Cabinet approval. The Cabinet had agreed to start work on the Estate Buildings, proceeding to review how to utilise the space to create town centre accommodation. Two documents had been published on the Huddersfield and Dewsbury Blueprint to update residents on progress.

The Panel were then provided with a presentation presented by David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration, Joanne Bartholomew, Service Director for Development and Simon Taylor, Head of Town Centre Programmes-Development.

David Shepherd presented the overview and progress update in respect of the Huddersfield Blueprint and it was highlighted that:

·         The Huddersfield Blueprint:

o   The Blueprint was set out in 2019 as a 10-year vision for Huddersfield.

o   There was now over £2bn of investment coming into and around Huddersfield Town Centre over the next 10-15 years.

o   This included the investment of key partners such as Network Rail who were sponsoring the TransPennine Upgrade.

o   The Government was spending more than £3bn on the TransPennine Upgrade and £1.5bn of that investment in Kirklees.

o   This upgrade was to include a significant focus on Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

o   It was essential to align local regeneration with the investments in Transport over the next 8-10 years. 

o   The Station to Stadium area was also a particularly important area, and a Masterplan for the enterprise corridor was being created.

o   This was to ensure space within and on the boundary of the town centre for businesses to grow.

o   The key aim of the Huddersfield Blueprint was to create a town centre that was fit for the future, family friendly, inclusive welcoming and safe.

o   Within the design a key focus would be working with family friendly partners to create a town centre that was suitable and inclusive to all.

o   It was important for Huddersfield town centre to be seen as a good place to invest.

o   The aim was for existing private sector businesses to flourish, and for new, vibrant, and sustainable businesses to be attracted to opportunities in the town centre.

o   Principals of inclusive place shaping and urban design would be incorporated throughout the design process.

·         The Cultural Heart:

o   Within the Blueprint sat The Cultural Heart which was the Council’s single largest investment.

o    It would include the addition of new key facilities in the town centre including a new museum library, art gallery and event spaces.

o   The design aimed to incorporate the town centres current historic aspects such as the town hall.

o   Key Milestones included a report to be submitted to Cabinet for approval in September.

o   This would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will agree on the frequency and times of its meetings to inform the forward plan of meeting dates.

The Panel considered its meeting schedule for the 2022-23 municipal year in relation to the key dates, stages of development and milestones for each Regeneration project presented by officers.

In respect of the Local Centres Programme, Joanne Bartholomew, Service Director for Development suggested that an overview of the whole programme be presented to scrutiny in the Autumn of 2022 with specific updates for each centre, starting with Cleckheaton, to be held at an appropriate time.  The Panel requested that these meetings be held in a place-based manner where possible to enable local partners to attend.

In respect of Dewsbury and Huddersfield, the Panel suggested that updates on cohesive areas were provided by meeting adding that it was important to have input in the detail of individual schemes at crucial moments whilst maintaining oversite of the wider picture throughout the process. In respect of the Public Realm, the Panel requested that this information be presented to it as an individual update. The Panel also highlighted the importance of making sure that meetings were held with sufficient  time prior to Cabinet decisions to enable the recommendations of the Panel to be taken on Board.

Joanne Bartholomew further offered the Panel the opportunity to undertake site visits prior to scrutiny discussions, and the Panel welcomed this suggestion.

 RESOLVED: The Panel considered the schedule of meetings, and it was agreed that:

1.    Meetings would be held in a place-based way dependent on the items to be discussed.

2.    Panel members would be invited site visits prior to discussion at scrutiny.

3.    Meetings should be held in good time prior to Cabinet decisions to enable the recommendations of the Panel to be taken on Board.

4.    An overview of the Local Centres Programme and an update on Cleckheaton be presented to scrutiny during Autumn 2022.

5.    Where there were multiple regeneration projects in one town, that updates be presented by cohesive area.

6.    With each update it was important for the Panel to receive information in relation to the wider overarching projects to maintain oversite of developments throughout the process.