Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr M Hurst, A McGuiness and A Mitchell.

There were no declarations of interest.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr M Hurst, A McGuiness and A Mitchell.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Environment & Economy Select Committee held on 12 November 2018.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive an update on the Executive Member response to the Indoor Market Scrutiny Review.

The Assistant Director (Stevenage Direct Services) provided an update on the Executive Member response to the Indoor Market Scrutiny Review. The Principal Recommendation was to request officers to engage an external company to carry out market research in order to find out what kind of market offer is required by the Town in the long term. Members were informed that quotations for the market research were expensive. The Council had commissioned the cost effective option of a feasibility study for future business development options or diversification through a specialist company called Spacemakers.

With regard to the short term recommendations, it was indicated that:

•           Retailers had not responded to invitations to make proposals regarding public access to the Indoor Market. The Council will continue to pursue this recommendation

•           The Council had commissioned a feasibility study for future development options or diversification of the Indoor Market through a specialist company called Spacemakers. A preliminary report had been submitted to the Council.

•           The Indoor Market team has been taking a more robust line with operating hours. Feedback from some traders suggests that fixed opening times could be acting as a barrier for some businesses. The Council is considering the feasibility of a flexible approach. 

•           The 30 minute parking pilot is still ongoing. Officers are working on a parking strategy for the Borough.

•           There is ongoing coordination of town centre and indoor market events.

•           An annual action plan is in place. The Spacemakers report will inform the development of a longer term business plan for the indoor market.

•           Staggered rents were not considered viable. Struggling traders can apply for reduced rates. The casual trader option had been replaced by “pop up stalls”.

•           The Council benefitted from best practiced advice from market trader organisations.

•           Officers were considering alternative use options for void spaces. A Business Technology Centre-based business support social enterprise (Wenta) will hold business advice clinics at the Indoor Market for one day a month from January 2019. A number of new traders have been secured since the last review. 

Members were informed that with regard to:

a)         Long Term Recommendation 1 – The relocation of the Indoor Market is currently not considered to be a viable option. This will continue to be reviewed as plans for the town centre regeneration develop.

b)         Long Term Recommendations 2 – An alternative location for a smaller reconfigured indoor market has not been identified or considered viable at this point.

c)         Long Term Recommendations 3 – The Council has not considered the option to approach an independent company to administrate the indoor market on a commercial basis. The Council will review the applicability of this option in the future.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That the Executive Member response be noted

2.         That an update on the Spacemakers Indoor Market feasibility study and proposed upgrades to the Indoor Market be provided to the Economy and Environment Select Committee after an officer review of the report

The Assistant Director (Stevenage Direct Services) provided an update on the Executive Member response to the Indoor Market Scrutiny Review. The Principal Recommendation was to request officers to engage an external company to carry out market research in order to find out what kind of market offer is required by the Town in the long term. Members were informed that quotations for the market research were expensive. The Council had commissioned the cost effective option of a feasibility study for future business development options or diversification through a specialist company called Spacemakers. Spacemakers have delivered a number of projects across the Greater London Authority and had delivered the transformation project for the Brixton Market.

A draft report had been received from Spacemakers and this was now under consideration. Members were informed that Stevenage Direct Services was working in collaboration with Regeneration and Communities and Neighbourhoods on future plans for the Indoor Market.

Members indicated that future plans for the Indoor Market must take into consideration the changing demographics of the Town and workers who commute to the town. The Assistant Director confirmed that Spacemakers had been contracted to look at the options for the Indoor Market. The Indoor Markets team appreciated the different location and clientele settings for Brixton and Stevenage. 

Officers had followed up on the short term recommendation to approach retailers to see what incentives would be required to restore access to the multi-storey car park. Retailers had not responded to invitations to make proposals regarding access to the Indoor Market. Retailers appeared not to have an appetite to reinstate public access to the Indoor Market. It was noted that retailers did not appear to have an appetite to reinstate public access due to previous shoplifting cases related to the access. The Council will continue to engage the retailers on this issue using all options including discussions relating to regeneration. Members were informed that significant public realm works had been completed at Market Place and Park Place and this would hopefully improve access routes for all Indoor Market customers. The Portfolio Holder (Resources) also highlighted the issue of step access to the Indoor Market.

With regard to the recommendation to improve the fabric of the building, it was indicated that officers were appraising potential options to improve the fabric of the market building.   Findings and recommendations arising from the Spacemakers report will be incorporated into a business plan. This will be used to support a future capital bid for works to upgrade the internal fabric of the indoor market. It was noted that improvements had been done on the building in the past. Members highlighted the inconsistencies in stall design features.  It was reported that due to financial constraints, all capital bids had to be supported by a business case. Projects were funded in accordance with business case priority.

After initially taking a more robust line with operating hours, and after taking into consideration feedback from traders, the Council is now reviewing this stance with a view of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To consider any Part 1 business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.

None.

To consider the following motions –

1.  That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.  That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Not required.

Not required.

To approve as a correct record the Part II Minutes of the Environment & Economy Select Committee held on 12 November 2018.

It was RESOLVED that the Part II Minutes of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to amending the date of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting from Monday 3 October 2018 to Monday 12 November 2018.

It was RESOLVED that the Part II Minutes of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to amending the date of the Environment and Economy Select Committee meeting from Monday 3 October 2018 to Monday 12 November 2018.

To consider any Part II business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.

None.