Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He limited his opening comments as the Board had a packed agenda for the meeting.

The Board was advised that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Sharon Taylor (Stevenage Borough Council), Sally Ann Forsyth (Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst), Stephen Ward (Catapult), Sharon Brownlow (Catapult), Neville Reyner (Groundwork East), Steve Finlan (Wine Society), Briege Leahy (Herts Chamber of Commerce), Rupert Thacker (Hertfordshire County Council), Duncan Forbes (East & North Herts NHS Trust) and Karen Hillen (BEIS).

The Board received the latest conflicts of interest list.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Stevenage Development Board held on 3 June 2020 be approved as a correct record.

Chris Barnes (Acting Assistant Director of Regeneration, SBC) gave a presentation providing an update in respect of the Stevenage Regeneration journey so far.

Chris advised that there continued to be good progress across all of the projects in the build and planning stages; efficiencies were increasing as contractors adapted to safe working practices; the commercial market continued to be challenging (both with existing and potential tenants), although some positive progress had been made; and Town Centre footfall had been resilient and had responded well to re-openings, although significantly below pre-Covid-19 levels.

Chris provided updates on the North Block co-work centre scheme; the Town Square public realm project; and the Bus Interchange scheme.  In relation to the latter, some enabling/remedial works were taking place, in readiness for commencement of the main contract.

Chris stated that the SG1 scheme was going through the planning process, with the hope that the application would be determined within the next few months.  The completion date for the Queensway North project had been slightly delayed to early April 2021.

Chris informed the Board of the Accelerated Town Fund, whereby the Government had made available up to £1Million to towns included in the Town Fund.  This funding needed to be spent by 31 March 2021, with the Government encouraging it to be spent on: new/improved parks and open spaces; improvements to town centres, including re-purposing empty shop units; and demolition or site remediation.  Clearly, this was challenging around the deliverability of new projects and spend within the stipulated timescale.  Hence, a proposal was being formed focussing on enhancing the public realm in Town Square, which in turn would free-up funding for the Garden Square, demolitions and converting existing vacant premises.

Chris concluded by referring to a potential scheme being developed with Reef (the Queensway North developers) for a new Innovation Centre in Marshgate to provide co-working space, office space and meeting space.  The joint SBC/Reef team was working through the financial details of the scheme.

In response to questions:

·        it was confirmed that the Innovation Centre would be functioning as an education/skills and office space hub, rather than as a bespoke science/technology centre; and

·        the effect of Covid-19 had been limited on those schemes already on site.  Bigger challenges could be faced regarding future schemes, with a risk of valid financial claims by developers should those contracts be disrupted/delayed by further outbreaks of the virus.

The Chair thanked everyone for their work over the past 7 weeks, and advised that the intention was for the production of a strong and rounded Town Investment Plan (TIP) bid.  The Board was now at a stage where options/projects could be considered and prioritised.

The Chair considered it to be important that a central theme would be for the benefits of any changes being beneficial to the resident population of Stevenage, who would be most affected by the disruption caused whilst these changes were being implemented.  The importance of the heritage of Stevenage as the UK’s first New Town should be strongly emphasised.  There was an opportunity for a transformational change for the town, which he hoped would be supported through the TIP submission.

The Chair thanked the SBC Regeneration Team for their hard work and dedication in supporting the process.  Later in the meeting, the Board would see an ambitious plan and noting the potential to bid for up to £50Million of Town Deal funding that could be considered for Stevenage.  The Chair noted there could also be potential to build on the already successful science and technology businesses in the town.

Andy Fisher (Barton Willmore), assisted by Graeme Collinge (Genecon), provided an update on the TIP.  Andy advised that, since the last Board meeting: work had taken place with the thematic leads and technical team to deliver outcomes, objectives and solutions to the challenges faced by Stevenage; further Government guidance had been published; further clarification had been received on the opportunity to bid for up to £50M; and a check and challenge session had taken place with the MHCLG’s Town Deal Team.

Andy reminded the Board of the geography of Stevenage, and of the key outcomes and proposed projects within the four thematic work streams of Arts & Culture; Skills & Enterprise; Connectivity; and Regeneration.

In respect of check and challenge, Graeme explained that the MHCLG had established the Towns Hub, and had appointed a consortium including Arup, the Nichols Group, Grant Thornton, FutureGov, Savills and Copper Consultancy to provide consultancy support to the process.  A Towns Co-ordinator from Arup had been appointed for the Stevenage TIP (who fulfilled a similar role for 10-12 other Town Deal bids).

Graeme stated that the check and challenge process allowed for the draft TIP document to be evaluated by a “critical friend” prior to submission and created an opportunity for the sharing of best practice.  A key Government message was for the development of a “golden thread” for the TIP (through the Vision - Challenges – Outcomes – Objectives – Projects).  There should be a strong evidence base; relationship of Stevenage to London should be emphasised; how the TIP responded to Covid-19; how the TIP responded to Clean Growth; project prioritisation; and alignment with wider Government investment/support.

Graeme commented that if the Board wished to bid for £50M then a “national” narrative needed to form part the bid, ie. its impact on areas beyond the boundaries of Stevenage.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Chris Barnes (Acting Assistant Director of Regeneration, SBC) referred to the original vision for Stevenage New Town, and considered that many of these values and aspirations continued to apply, in terms of innovation, connectivity and sustainability.

Chris commented that Stevenage’s growth had been strong over the past decade, although estimates suggested that this had fallen back compared with the wider Hertfordshire average.  Work ethos was good in Stevenage (higher than both the Hertfordshire and England averages), although entrepreneurship levels were some was behind the Hertfordshire average.  Stevenage residents typically had lower levels of higher order skills compared to the wider workforce within the town and filled lower paid occupations, with the high value jobs tending to be taken by a greater proportion of people travelling in from outside the Borough.

Chris further commented on the town’s ageing physical fabric, citing the Railway Station as a prime example in need of modernisation.

Chris referred to the inter-relationship of need in Stevenage between Business, residents and the Town Centre.

Andy Fisher reminded the Board of the vision for the Stevenage TIP, and considered that Stevenage Central would be key for a 21^st Century New Town, including improvements to the east-west axis to the town, in terms of connectivity.  He felt that the SG1, Queensway & Marshgate, and Stevenage Station Gateway projects were important in this regard.

Graeme Collinge presented a Stevenage TIP projects long-list, with a total estimated cost of over £200M, broken down into potential funding sources.  The Town Deal element was circa £85M, and so it had been necessary to prioritise these into a short-list.  This process had been carried out, with a first assessment comprising evidence of need/response to challenge; contribution to Vision, Core Values and Objectives; Wider Strategy Alignment; Deliverability confidence; Scale of match funding; and Economic benefits.  A second check had involved an assessment against the national/regional impact and the Covid-19 recovery contribution.

Graeme introduced the short-list, and commented that even if the Stevenage TIP bid was for £50M, this was only a fraction of the estimated £200M required for the long-list of projects.  The following schemes were included in the short-list (based on a £50M TIP bid):

·        Stevenage Gateway enabling and Rail Station Pre-Development;

·        Town Enterprise Centre;

·        Cycling & Pedestrian Connectivity Programme, including Heritage Arts Trail;

·        Stevenage Technology & Innovation Centre;

·        National New Towns Heritage Centre;

·        Sports and Leisure Hub at Town Centre Gardens;

·        Marshgate – biotech office and key worker housing scheme;

·        Digital Infrastructure – hyperfast broadband/acceleration of 5G – Stage 1 feasibility; and

·        Gunnels Wood Road infrastructure improvements.

The following comments/questions were raised by Board Members on this item, and Item 7 – Introduction/Visions for Stevenage TIP:

·        In respect of jobs for locals, given the national significance of some companies, many demand Level 7 (Masters) educational qualifications, and skilled employees are drawn from far and wide;

·        Had the local MP been engaged or contributed to the emerging vision and ambitions?;

·        There needed to be a focus on apprenticeship schemes;

·        The Health Trust was very interested in supporting skills growth and apprenticeships for its future workforce;

·        The improvements to the east-west axis would be important with the potential growth of Stevenage to the west of the A1(M);

·        The Voluntary Sector could be invaluable in developing confidence of residents, through volunteering and possible apprenticeships.  They would also be integral in bringing residents with the Board on the journey;

·        A number of local companies had identified a need to attract local people to a career in their industries through “Generation Stevenage” – however, they required assistance and focus to formalise this drive with all stakeholders.  Following debate, the Chair suggested that a discussion on this matter outside of the meeting be led by Andy Fisher, with representatives of MBDA Airbus, GSK, Bioscience Catalyst ;

·        Where was the remainder of the Gunnels Wood Road Gyratory funding expected to come from?  There was perhaps some scope for an additional funding source to contribute toward the overall cost of the project;

·        It was confirmed that TIP bids for £50M would not be disadvantaged, although there would be a need to ensure that the strengths of the a £50M bid would be better than a £25M bid;

·        The Stevenage TIP bid should stress the town’s importance as part of the London to Cambridge innovation corridor, which was important in economic terms nationally;

·        It was acknowledged that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Andy Fisher advised that the next steps regarding the production of a Town Investment Plan were as follows:

1.          Refinement and detailing of shortlisted projects.

2.          Write up of core narrative.

3.          Drafting of first draft Town Investment Plan.

4.          Second engagement session with Check and Challenge Group.

5.          Ongoing engagement with thematic leads.

6.          Consideration of first draft Town Investment Plan by Town Deal Board, ie. Stevenage Development Board.

No other business was discussed.

·            Dates to be agreed including September and December 2020

For information

·            Communications Update (including Stevenage Even Better website) will be circulated separately

The Chair advised that the next meeting of the Board would be held at 2.00pm on Thursday, 3 September 2020.  If required (and provisionally), the meeting after that would take place at 2.00pm on Wednesday, 23 September 2020.