Decisions

It was RESOLVED that the Work Programme Planning Document 2021/22 be noted.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of Community Select Committee meeting held on Thursday 15 July 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Apologies were received from Councillors Claire Parris, Stephen Booth and Liz Harrington.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was RESOLVED that the Draft Template Scoping Document be noted.

The Committee received an update on the New Towns Heritage Centre bid. The presentation included the Regeneration Programme, Stevenage Town investment Plan, Immediate Objectives and Aspiration and Next Steps for the programme.

The Regeneration Programme Manager provided the following key updates to Members:

·       Highlighted the regenerations programmes that were currently in progress, such as SG1, Bus Station, North Block, Town Square, Park Place and Queensway North, and how these projects were aligned to New Towns Heritage Centre.

·       The Government awarded the Council £37million for Town’s Fund in March 2021.

·       As part of the criteria set up by the government, the Council had 12 months to submit business cases with associated working groups.

·       £2millions were allocated towards a New Towns Heritage Centre.

·       The programme would place people, communities and innovation at the heart of the Town Centre.

·       It would also help to build on the existing museum collection.

·       Officers would need to create a solid vision for what the new Heritage Centre would contain and how it would function. The business case would need to be produced by January 2022.

·       The New Towns Heritage Centre project would be at heart of the regeneration programme.

·        It would also provide well-meaning visitor experience for families and other audiences, a digitisation programme that would make collections more accessible to wider audience and its central location in the Town Centre would provide easy access.

Members of the Committee noted the update and discussed this area of work in detail. During the discussion the following suggestions were noted by the Panel:

·       It was suggested that all communities across Stevenage could take part in a Stevenage Day festival to promote the town.

·       Site visits would be really helpful and would provide opportunity insight into the project.

·       Stevenage could be used as a stop point location for national exhibitions in other major cities.

·       Stevenage needed high quality spaces to attract visitors.

It was RESOLVED that the New Towns Heritage Centre bid be noted.

None.

Not required.

None.

None.

None.

Noted.

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None.

2.         Minutes of the Executive – 11 August 2021

            Noted.

3.         Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Select Committees

            Noted.

4.         Covid-19 Update

            The following comments/questions were raised:

·         The Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOA’s) were used by the National Office of Statistics and were closely aligned to the Council Wards although not exactly the same.

·         It was confirmed that there was a rounding up error in relation to the vaccination rate set out in the report which would be rectified.         

5.         Transforming Our Town Centre Programme Update and Towns Fund Decision Making

            The following responses were given to a number of comments/questions raised:

·         Not all projects benefitting from the Towns Fund were within the Town Centre boundary;

·         Councillors Sharon Taylor and John Gardner were Members of the Stevenage Development Board and Councillor Richard Henry involved with a themed Sub-Group of the Board relating to Leisure and Culture;

·         Themes for street naming had not yet been approved but it was confirmed that the Planning and Development Committee would be involved in the process;

·         Officers would be happy to engage with Members about any ideas they had in relation to Towns Fund projects and also ‘Meanwhile Use’ of any areas;

·         Every Business Case would be thoroughly scrutinised and considered by the Executive and this Committee and if necessary Full Council. In addition, it was noted that the Community Select Committee was looking closely at the New Town Heritage Centre;

·         An All Member Briefing had been scheduled for 30 September;

·         Final decisions would be taken in due course regarding details of where the funding for the cycling/walking infrastructure plan would be allocated;

·         In relation to redevelopment of other areas such as the Oval and Marymead shops, this would be coming forward for development in the future;

·         Members asked that consideration be given to inviting the Chair of the Stevenage Development Board to a future meeting where this matter was being discussed.

6.         Corporate Performance Quarter One 2021/22

            The following responses were given to a number of comments/questions raised:

·         Concern was expressed regarding response times within the CSC, Officers were aware of the issue and advised that a combination of the lockdown, previous efficiency savings plus an increase in the complexity of cases for household and individuals had caused the issue. Work was now underway to address this and proposals would be forthcoming to Members in the next calendar year regarding a remodelling of the Service;

·         In relation to the recent IT issues, Officers advised that although there had been a level of disruption this week, the network upgrade had been completed and would ensure that the Council could continue with planned IT improvements;

·         The MRC contract was continuing alongside engagement with Leaseholders regarding the repayment of the charges required of them. Officers agreed to send a summary of the payment options available to Leaseholders to all Members of the Committee;

·         Changes would be made to the next Performance Report to ensure the headings listed in the PI tables were relevant and that the Officer responsible for each Indicator was listed for ease of reference for Members;

·         Officers agreed that it would be beneficial to engage Members where possible in the end to end process review;

·         In relation to the Garage Programme, it was noted that further work was underway and a report had been requested on a number of issues to ensure the Council could demonstrate safety as well as value for money;

·         Statistics would be provided for Members in relation to homelessness figures, in particular the numbers with and without a local connection to the Town. Work was ongoing in conjunction with the Herts Accommodation Cell;

·         The Committee agreed that the Chair should talk to officers about the possibility of a stand-alone scrutiny into the re-letting of void properties.

7.         General Fund Medium Term Financial Strategy Update (2020/22 – 2025/26)

            Noted.

8.         Annual Treasury Management Strategy Review of 2020/21 Including Prudential Code

            Officers advised that advice was taken from the Council’s Treasury Management Advisers regarding the investment companies used by the Council.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Committee meeting held on Tuesday 17 August 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no apologies for absence and no declarations of interest.