STEVENAGE DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Terms of Reference
Last Updated 16th March
2020
INTRODUCTION
Stevenage was the first new town to be designated
under the New Towns Act of 1946 and was the first place in Britain
to have a fully pedestrianised town centre. The town has
ambitious regeneration plans
spanning the next 20 years. Building on energy, confidence
and determination for growth and change across Stevenage, the new
independent Board will oversee the regeneration of the town,
working together to secure investment and real change for its
85,000 residents. Development is now
moving at pace and the
town’s residents will be encouraged to play an active part,
and their suggestions will be sought and considered by the
Board.
Stevenage is one of the 101 towns included in the
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
(MHCLG)’s Towns Fund, set up to address growth constraints
and to deliver long term economic and productivity growth
through:
·
Urban regeneration, planning and land
use
·
Skills and enterprise
infrastructure
·
Connectivity
The
Government’s Towns Fund provides an opportunity for Stevenage
to develop a Town Investment Plan, to negotiate and agree a Town
Deal with MHCLG and thereby benefit from significant investment for
growth.
MHCLG has indicated
that Stevenage should create a Development Board that incorporates
a Town Deal Board and to oversee the commissioning and delivery of
projects funded by the Growth Fund (GD3).
THE ROLE OF THE STEVENAGE DEVELOPMENT
BOARD
The
Board’s role is to provide strategic leadership and to set
out a Town Investment Plan with a clear vision,
strategy and delivery proposals in
place. It will:
·
Oversee the regeneration of the Stevenage
town centre, including the Local Growth Fund Round 3 (GD3)
projects
·
Hold partners to account to ensure
projects are delivered on time and on budget
·
Manage risks and address issues as they
arise by acting as a convenor and critical friend to key
partners
·
Provide expert advice to stakeholders
·
Champion economic opportunities to
galvanise local, regional and national support for the regeneration
·
Coordinate resources and influence
stakeholders
·
Act as the Stevenage Town Deal
Development Board for the purposes of securing and delivering Town
Deal funding
·
Develop and agree an evidence-based Town
Investment Plan that includes:
o
Background, context and evidence of need for suggested
interventions
o
A Town Deal vision for Stevenage,
complementing agreed or emerging local economic strategies
o
A high level
description of priority areas for the short, medium and long term
including identifying projects that can be locally funded and
delivered, projects that require public sector contribution, and
projects which can attract external funding
·
Develop a clear programme of Town Deal
and other regeneration and economic growth interventions
The area the Board
will represent is the Stevenage Borough Council geographic
area.
The Board
is not a legal entity, and its role is advisory. In respect of the Town Deal, its role
is to prepare a well evidenced Town Investment Plan which sets out
a clear understanding of Stevenage focusing on its assets,
opportunities and challenges. It will
subsequently assist in the production of business cases to access
Town Deal funding.
BOARD MEMBERSHIP
The Board is made up
of members drawn from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors,
comprising:
·
An
independent chair from the private sector
·
The
Member of Parliament for Stevenage
·
Two
representatives of Stevenage Borough Council (SBC)
·
A
representative of Hertfordshire County Council (HCC)
·
A
representative of the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise
Partnership
·
A
representative of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce
·
Two
representatives from large businesses having bases in Stevenage
·
Two
representatives from small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs)
·
A
representative of a key education and skills provider
·
A
representative of a relevant national body in relation to themes
such as homes/housing and urban design
·
A
representative from the arts and culture sector
·
Two
representatives of a major landowner and/or a developer in the
town
·
A
representative from the local community, appointed through a
process led by SBC.
The Board will
invite MHCLG to send a representative to attend Board meetings as
an observer.
Once
appointed, the Chair will invite stakeholder organisations listed
above to nominate individuals to represent them on the
Board. In the event of the Board
meeting ahead of the Chair being in post, interim appointments will
be made.
Individual membership of the Board is dependent on the
continuing support of the relevant nominating body.
The
Board will have the power at any time to co-opt further members
if and when an appropriate candidate
becomes available.
Within 12 months the Board will aim to
have a minimum female representation of 33% in line with Government
recommendations,subject to the
appropriate candidates becoming available.
A Board member shall
cease to be a member in the event of:
·
such member giving written notice to the
Board of their resignation, to take effect on receipt by the Board
of the notice of resignation or, if later, the date stated in the
notice
·
such member's death or, being a
corporation, its winding up
·
such member's bankruptcy, making of any
arrangement or composition with her/his creditors, or liquidation,
or in the case of an organisation, winding up, liquidation,
dissolution or administration or anything analogous to any of the
foregoing occurring in relation to a member
·
such member ceasing to have an office or
other base within Stevenage or ceasing to be employed by such
organisation as entitles them to be a member, at the Board’s
discretion.
All Board members must
retire every three years but can be reappointed by their nominating
body at the end of each three year
period.
BOARD MEETINGS
SBC will provide
administrative support to the Board.
Frequency
The Board will
meet monthly in the first six months of operation, with an
expectation of meeting four times per year thereafter.
In exceptional
circumstances the Board meeting could meet by electronic
communication means, at the discretion of the Chair.
Quoracy
No business shall
be transacted at any Board meeting unless a quorum is present. The
quorum shall be eight representatives including one SBC
representative and a large business or SME representative as a
minimum.
Board Attendance
If any Board
representative does not attend four meetings in any one
12 month period then they cease to be a
Member of the Board unless otherwise agreed by the
Chair.
Public Attendance
Members of the
public may attend all board meetings, unless information relating
to the financial or business affairs of any person, organisation or
project is likely to be disclosed.
Notice of Meetings and Board Papers
SBC will give at
least five clear working days’ notice, or such notice as
determined by the Chair, of all Board meetings by publishing
details on its website, or on a separate dedicated website when
that is developed.
Transparency
In line with
government recommendations all Stevenage Development Board papers
(agendas, minutes, supporting papers, reports, etc.) will be made
publicly available either on the SBC website or on a separate
dedicated website when that is developed. The exception will be documents that contain
commercially sensitive information which will be protected in
accordance with the Local Government Act 1972.
Copies of agendas
and reports that are open to public inspection will be published at
least five clear working days before each board meeting, or such
notice as determined by the Chair. Copies of minutes of board meetings will be open to
public inspection as soon as practicable once they have been
approved by the Board.
Voting
Each Board member
will have one vote. It is the intention
of the Board to reach consensus but, where this is not possible,
decisions will be made on a show of hands. In the event of an equality of votes the Chair
shall have a casting vote.
BOARD MEMBERS’ CONDUCT
Board members are expected to adhere to the Seven
Principles of Public Life, known as the Nolan Principles, as
defined by the Committee for Standards in Public Life
. They are:
·
Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms
of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for
themselves, their family or their friends.
·
Integrity: Holders of public office should not place themselves
under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or
organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance
of their official duties.
·
Objectivity: In carrying out public business, including making
public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending
individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office
should make choices on merit.
·
Accountability:
Holders of public office are accountable
for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit
themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their
office.
·
Openness: Holders of public office should be as open as
possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They
should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information
only when the wider public interest clearly demands it.
·
Honesty: Holders of public office have a duty to declare any
private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps
to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public
interest.
·
Leadership: Holders of public office should promote and support
these principles by leadership and example
Conflicts of Interest
SBC will maintain
and publish on its website, or on
a separate dedicated website when that is developed, a Register of Board Member Interests.
The following provisions shall apply to all Board
members:
·
In the event
that there is a conflict of
interest the person so conflicted shall immediately declare the
nature of the conflict or potential conflict and withdraw from any
business where the conflict would be relevant.
·
Whenever a person has an interest in a
matter to be discussed at a meeting the person concerned will not
be:
o
entitled to remain present at the meeting
during discussion of that matter
o
counted in the quorum for that part of
the meeting
o
entitled to vote on the matter
The Chair may, at any time, authorise a person to
remain in the meeting whilst a matter in which they have or may
have a conflict of interest is discussed, provided that the
conflict of interest is declared and the person subject to the
conflict of interest shall not be entitled to vote on the
matter.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chair
The role of the Chair is to lead the Board in
defining vision and direction, and in delivering the desired
outputs, whilst ensuring that appropriate procedures for governance
and management of resources are in place.
The key responsibilities of the post are
to:
·
Provide strategic leadership and
direction to ensure that the Board achieves its goals
·
Lead the efforts of the Board to support
the regeneration and growth of Stevenage, including agreeing a Town
Investment Plan for Stevenage and business cases funding
·
Effectively chair meetings of the Board,
leading it towards decisions that ensure the strategic vision and
key objectives of the Board are delivered.
·
Be an effective influencer and
“ambassador” for Stevenage at local, regional and
national levels working with appropriate partner organisations and
individuals
·
Be an effective advocate on behalf of the
Board and the businesses and people of Stevenage, in particular at
conferences and events/meetings with Ministers, MPs and key civil
servants
·
Reflect the agreed policies of the Board
and its members in all discussions with partners, stakeholders,
government and its agencies.
·
Ensure that the Board adheres at all
times to high standards of ethics and governance in public life and
is an exemplar to other organisations
·
Ensure that all Board members participate
actively in the work of the Board, encouraging their attendance and
engagement and keeping regular contact with all members
·
Exert a casting vote in Board decisions
if circumstances so require
Board Members
Board members have a responsibility to uphold high
standards of integrity and probity. They should support the Chair
in instilling the appropriate culture, values and behaviours in the boardroom and
beyond.
Board members should take into
account the views of other stakeholders, because these views
may provide different perspectives on the Board and its
performance.
The duties and responsibilities of a Board member are
to:
·
Attend meetings of the Board and to
nominate an appropriate named alternative where attendance is not
possible and subject to consultation with the Chair
·
Reflect the agreed view of the Board and
its members in all discussions with partners, stakeholders,
government and its’ agencies
·
Support the Chair by leading on
activities relevant to their knowledge and experience by
representing the interests of the Board in meetings with partners,
stakeholders, government and its’ agencies
·
Actively develop an effective
partnership
·
Contribute knowledge and expertise to the
development of Stevenage, including the Town Investment Plan, and
business cases for funding
·
Formally represent the Board in meetings
with other bodies and partner organisations as required