Minutes:
This item was taken in association with the following item – Developing the Town Investment Plan (TIP).
Andrew Fisher (Barton Willmore) gave a presentation on the Town Investment Plan – Work Plan. He explained that it was a challenging timetable, which could be extended due to the coronavirus situation, but that the proposal was to continue as usual for the time being and work through different stages of the project with review points at each stage.
Slides were presented in respect of a number of things (big questions) for Board Members to consider the current position of regeneration in Stevenage; the TIP approach (guidance, content and process); the TIP submission; and the target programme; engagement; and the spatial and thematic focusses.
The focus on delivering long term economic and productivity growth through the TIP was stressed, with projects and actions relating to the 3 themes of urban regeneration, planning and land use; skills and enterprise infrastructure; and connectivity.
Andrew Fisher (Barton Willmore) explained that the plan was for the submission of a final Stevenage TIP to the Government by late Summer (August) 2020. Graeme Collinge (Genecon) commented that, should the process be similar to that used on the High Street Fund, there would be a strong focus on TIPs delivering projects within proposed timescales.
In relation Step 3 of the TIP process (Rationalisation of Scope and Project Capture), Graeme Collinge (Genecon) explained that the High Street Fund process had placed an emphasis on direct and indirect economic contributions and that work had been needed to narrow down project lists and priorities to align with these priority areas.
In reply to a question regarding the nature of economic contributions, Graeme Collinge (Genecon) advised that the Treasury’s approach to this had changed over time. It used to relate to an assessment of the impact on jobs and Gross Value Added (GVA), but with an increasing focus on a Land Value Uplift (LVU) approach, with the wider impact on jobs and GVA referred to in the narrative alongside. It was anticipated that the LVU approach could be used to assess TIP bids (in the same way it had been used in the assessment of High Street Fund bids). Karen Hillen (BEIS) undertook to clarify if the LVU approach was to be used by the Government for TIP bids.
Andrew Fisher (Barton Willmore) concluded the presentation by drawing attention to 3 particular things that required consideration, namely engagement (utilising the #MyTown campaign); spatial focus (central parts of Stevenage or beyond); and thematic focus (fitting in with the 3 themes outlined earlier).
Comments made by Board Members included:
· For engagement, as well as the idea of utilising #MyTown, the importance of using, where possible, existing consultation and communication platforms;
· A sense of perspective, in that for some towns the Town Deal bid was the entirety of their regeneration proposals, whereas Stevenage also had access to GD3 funding and possibly other regeneration funds and so may wish to broaden the scope; and
· The area of Gunnels Wood Road including the Science Park, and improvements to its connectivity to the Railway Station and Town Centre, would be investigated as a potential project.