Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Cromwell Hotel for the first in-person meeting of the Board for a number of years.

He thanked all Members for their continued support to the work of the Board and Stevenage Borough Council which had helped achieve the exciting developments brought to the Town.

Apologies for absence were submitted by the following:

Mary Hartley – Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

Councillor Richard Henry – Leader SBC

Councillor Richard Roberts – Leader HCC

Stephen Ward – Catapult

Will Rohleder – Reef Origin

Chris Scott – Muse

Steve Finlan – Wine Society

Minutes attached.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Stevenage Development Bord held on 19 September 2024 be approved as a correct record.

List attached.

The Board received the latest conflicts of interest list.

The Board received a presentation from Daniel Trindall from Morgan Sindall regarding the current position of the development of the new Sport and Leisure Centre development.

Daniel outlined the context of the site in relation to the Town Centre and the other buildings and developments in the vicinity of the proposed building such as the Life Science Quarter and the Bowes Lyon Centre.

The Board was advised that following a piece of work to identify movement patterns around the site it was identified that:

·         There was limited engagement with St Georges Way;

·         The primary movement route was the central north-south route through the Town Centre Gardens;

·         The two predominant access points were to Fairlands Way cycle path to the north and the underpass under St Georges Way to the south of the Bowes Lyon Centre;

·         There was a weak connection with the town centre directly to the west of the site along the Forum.

It was noted that as part of the new development a new at grade crossing would be provided to connect the existing Forum pedestrian street across St George’s Way to the site of the new leisure facility.

In terms of the detail of the new facility, the Board was advised that the brief was to develop an aspirational and engaging, modern Leisure Centre, which included an array of wet and dry leisure accommodation, alongside community and welfare assets.  The ambition of the new Leisure Centre was to provide an engaging community asset which would form a catalyst for improving health and wellbeing within the local community. 

In relation to consultation, it was advised that the project had already had the benefit of online public consultation and valuable local community feedback including:

·         The impact new facilities could have on the town centre through access to employment and breaking down the barriers to activity;

·         Improved footfall in the Town Centre;

·         providing people with the opportunity to undertake all their leisure activities in one location.

The Board was informed that that the design of the Sports and Leisure Centre was based on a stacked concept which simplified structural engineering but would also enable the creation of a variety of spaces including double and triple height spaces with visual interaction between those areas.

The Board was informed that the next steps would include the commencement of the preparation of the planning application submission following stakeholder consultation and engagement.

Board Members welcomed the proposed new Sports and leisure Centre and all agreed that it was an exciting development to come to the Town Centre.

In terms of the requirement for the new centre to allow accessibility for all, it was advised that plans were being worked on with industry and accessibility experts and would include facilities such as a hoist system for wheelchair users.

The Chair thanked Daniel for his presentation.

The Board received a presentation from Ishbel Ross, Regeneration Officer SBC regarding the Arts and Heritage Trail.

Ishbel advised that following a tender process in October where 4 bids had been received to design the signposting for the trail.  The Board was informed that Landmark, a locally based company in Hertford, had been appointed.  Landmark was an all-in-one signage company specialist, manufacturing and installing outdoor signage, wayfinding and interpretation panels.

Looking forward, the Board was advised of the elements of the Trail which Landmark would be scoping and designing including:

·         The completed and future underpass murals;

·         Existing and additional public art;

·         Heritage features;

·         Beryl Bays; and

·         Improvements to the cycle network by HCC.

Board Members were pleased to see how the Trail had developed and that it incorporated the legacy of culture within the Town.

In response to a question regarding engagement with young people and school groups, Ishbel advised that 19 schools had taken part in an underpass design competition.

The Chair thanked Ishbel for her presentation and also HCC colleagues for their involvement and support to the Arts and Heritage Trail.

Tom Pike, Strategic Director SBC and Kit Davies, Chief Executive North Herts College gave a presentation on SITEC and the Enterprise Centre – Developing the Skills offering in Stevenage.

Tom informed the Board of the local challenges regarding lower annual earnings and pupil attainment in comparison to the County and national figures and the interventions that would be required to provide better opportunities for local people.  He also spoke of the growth in the town particularly in key clusters and the importance of ensuring local people benefitted from that growth.

The Board was informed of the ambition for a brand-new, purpose built learning facility in the centre of Stevenage providing courses for approximately 400 learners in science, technology, engineering and health as well as a range of apprenticeship opportunities.

Kit Davies then gave a presentation to the Board on SITEC Phase 1 which was now open at the Stevenage Campus.  Facilities on site included:

·         GMP Laboratory;

·         VR Room;

·         Immersive Suite;

·         Healthcare Suites including hospital ward and independent living flat;

·         Employer zone;

·         Hi Spec Digital Workshops.

The Board was advised that Phase 2 required multi-partner support with additional funding on top of the Towns Fund monies being secured to be spent by March 2026. The proposed approach to encompass more of an ‘Engineering’ focused facility in the Town Centre.

The Chair responded that the new Town Centre scheme coming forward was to be welcomed and would contribute to the ambitions of raising the aspirations of young people.

It was suggested that the connectivity with the Business and Technology Centre (BTC) should also be explored alongside the potential to collaborate with ex-industry experts who could usefully engage in the construction/engineering sector.

The Chair thanked Tom and Kit for their update.

Lucy King, Regeneration Manager, SBC gave a 6 monthly update to the Board on the Towns Fund looking at programme progress, risk, finances, outputs and outcomes.

Lucy was pleased to report the progress and advised that the spend up to September 2024 was £13.2m, a 35% achievement.

The Board RESOLVED that the 6 monthly report be signed off.

Tom Pike, Strategic Director, SBC gave an update to the Board on the Gunnels Wood Road Study which had been undertaken.

Tom advised that local partners and businesses had been working with the Stevenage Development Board and Stevenage Industrial Area Board to develop a longer-term vision for Gunnels Wood Road and how the area should be enhanced as a state of the art, walkable, climate resilient and thriving innovation and employment hub.

Feedback had been received and considered from local businesses following which draft objectives for Gunnels Wood had been drawn up including:

·         scaling up innovation, social value and bridging the skills gap;

·         building low-carbon high quality business space tailored to market needs;

·         increasing access to nature and biodiversity to build resilience and sense of place;

·         transforming movement and accessibility; and

·         celebrating heritage, culture and the history of innovation in Gunnels Wood.

Tom advised that the Stevenage Development Board and the Industrial Area Board had identified potential areas for future investment.  Further comments from Board Members were welcome.

Oversight of Gunnels Wood would remain with the Stevenage Development Board to ensure focus was maintained and opportunities supported.

The Chair thanked Tom for his update.

The Chair took the opportunity to thank Matt Partridge, CE SBC, for his support and service to the Board, following his announcement that he would be retiring in March 2025.

Matt responded that it had been a pleasure to be involved in the work of the Board and the exciting developments the partnership working had brought to the Town.

The Chair also thanked Forogh Ramani for her work with the Board as she would be leaving HCC to take up a new role.

To be confirmed.