Agenda and decisions

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Community Select Committee held on Thursday 15 July 2021.

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.

To receive an officer presentation on the New Town’s Heritage Centre Bid.

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.

To consider and amend as appropriate the draft scoping document for the scrutiny review to support the New Towns Heritage Centre funding bid.

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

To consider, note and comment on the Community Select Committee’s Work Programme Planning document 2021/22.

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

To consider any Part I business accepted by the Chair as urgent

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 ground that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 – 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.

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

None.