In accordance with Standing Orders, the following motions have been received for consideration:
(1) Celebrating the Success of Stevenage Works in Delivering Social Value and Opportunity
To be moved by Councillor Loraine Rossati
This Council notes that:
· The creation of Stevenage Works in 2019 as a strategic partnership between Stevenage Borough Council, North Hertfordshire College, and Hertfordshire Job Centre Plus is delivering social value through inward investment, regeneration, and development projects across Stevenage.
· Stevenage Works has provided a single point of contact for employers and the community, streamlining access to jobs, apprenticeships, training, and work experience.
· Over 550 local people have attended training courses; more than 180 have achieved Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards; over 40 apprenticeships and 30+ employment outcomes have been delivered in the past year alone.
· Over £50,000 has been donated by Stevenage Works partners to support local community projects and good causes.
· The innovative use of Section 106 obligations to ensure developers and contractors contribute meaningfully to local employment and skills development is benefitting local people.
This Council further notes the Secretary of State’s recently published priorities for Skills England (2025–26), dated 2 June, 2025, which emphasise the importance of understanding future skills needs, simplifying access to training, and co-creating solutions with local partners. Stevenage Works is already delivering on these national priorities by providing a single point of contact for employers and residents, aligning training with local labour market needs, and working in partnership with education providers and developers to deliver apprenticeships, work placements, and employment outcomes. As such, Stevenage Works stands as a model of how local authorities can lead in delivering the Government’s skills agenda and ensuring that inward investment translates into real opportunity for local people.
This Council believes that:
· Stevenage Works is a model of best practice in how local authorities can work with partners to ensure that regeneration and investment deliver real, lasting benefits for residents.
· This initiative has played a vital role in ensuring that Stevenage people are equipped with the skills and opportunities to thrive in a changing economy.
· The planned expansion into the health and social care sector demonstrates the adaptability and forward-thinking nature of the programme.
This Council resolves to:
(2) Trialling highways changes to Lytton Way
To be moved by the Liberal Democrat Group
This Council welcomes the exciting opportunities that the Stevenage Station Gateway offers by bringing the town closer together and ensuring more accessible travel between key business and shopping destinations across the Town.
Given the significant and permanent changes proposed to the layout of Lytton Way as part of the Station Gateway, this Council agrees to work constructively with the County Council, as the highways authority, to investigate the possibility of implementing a trial of a suitable timeframe, to mirror the proposed highways changes to Lytton Way in a non-permanent way, so that the impact of travel disruption can be fully analysed including any traffic displacement that takes place before a more permanent solution is implemented which will be difficult and expensive to reverse.
Minutes:
Celebrating the Success of Stevenage Works in Delivering Social Value and Opportunity
Councillor Loraine Rossati moved the following motion: Celebrating the Success of Stevenage Works in Delivering Social Value and Opportunity:
This Council notes that:
This Council further notes the Secretary of State’s recently published priorities for Skills England (2025–26), dated 2 June, 2025, which emphasise the importance of understanding future skills needs, simplifying access to training, and co-creating solutions with local partners. Stevenage Works is already delivering on these national priorities by providing a single point of contact for employers and residents, aligning training with local labour market needs, and working in partnership with education providers and developers to deliver apprenticeships, work placements, and employment outcomes. As such, Stevenage Works stands as a model of how local authorities can lead in delivering the Government’s skills agenda and ensuring that inward investment translates into real opportunity for local people.
This
Council believes that:
This Council resolves to:
In moving the Motion, Councillor Rossati, Portfolio Holder Economy, Skills and Transport, advised that it did not only reflect the Council’s achievements so far it also recognised what the Council was building in partnership for the future. She advised that Stevenage Works was a growing partnership created to ensure that regeneration and investment in the Town translated into real opportunity for local people and she reminded Council of the case studies heard earlier in the evening during the presentation. Councillor Rossati spoke of Stevenage Works not only delivering social value in theory but also in practice.
Councillor Rossati was pleased to report the expansion into the health and social care sector, recognising the growing demand for skilled workers and the chance to support residents into meaningful, rewarding careers. She spoke of the partnership with Mission 44 and Airbus and the relaunch of the Pioneering Young STEM Futures Programme which would contribute to long-term change, tackling inequality by closing gaps in skills and access to high value jobs.
Councillor Coleen De Freitas seconded the Motion as the Portfolio Holder for Equalities and Youth. She spoke of the importance of inspiring young people and supporting them into their future. She advised that Stevenage Works was a clear example of how regeneration could deliver meaningful social value, equipping local residents with the skills, training and opportunities they needed to thrive. The Council was helping to tackle the perceived barriers that prevented under served young people from pursuing careers in STEM and building clear pathways into the high quality, high tech jobs being created in the Town.
Councillor Booth, Leader of the Opposition, welcomed the initiative and asked about the arts and culture along with hospitality offer. Councillor Booth was also concerned that the communications on the Stevenage Works Programme had not been as robust as it should have been.
Councillor Bibby welcomed the initiative and congratulated the officers and all involved in the success of Stevenage Works but asked if there was any evidence to the effect on the employment figures in the Town.
Following further debate, Councillor Henry, Leader of the Council thanked Members for their support on the Motion. Councillor Rossati in responding to the debate gave assurances that the way forward was about new jobs, new ways of working, including working with AI. She advised that the communications of Stevenage Works would continue to be shared with the public to ensure local people knew how to access the skills and the training offer available.
Upon being put to the vote, the Motion was carried.
Trialling highways changes to Lytton Way
Councillor Andy McGuinness moved the following motion:
‘This Council welcomes the exciting opportunities that the Stevenage Station Gateway offers by bringing the town closer together and ensuring more accessible travel between key business and shopping destinations across the Town.
Given the significant and permanent changes proposed to the layout of Lytton Way as part of the Station Gateway, this Council agrees to work constructively with the County Council, as the highways authority, to investigate the possibility of implementing a trial of a suitable timeframe, to mirror the proposed highways changes to Lytton Way in a non-permanent way, so that the impact of travel disruption can be fully analysed including any traffic displacement that takes place before a more permanent solution is implemented which will be difficult and expensive to reverse.’
In moving the Motion, Councillor McGuinness recognised the aspirations of the Stevenage Gateway Scheme as a core component of the regeneration of the Town which would open up the corridor between the Town Centre, the Train Station and the Leisure Park. He noted that the Council had undertaken multiple consultations with key stakeholders and the public with mixed outcomes. Councillor McGuinness expressed concern that the proposals for Lytton Way would exacerbate the busy traffic in the area by cutting off a key arterial route and have a significant impact in the Town. He advised that for the proposals to work, there would need to be a significant reduction in car usage to alleviate the impact. The offer from the County Council to carry out a temporary non-permanent trial of the proposed changes should be accepted so that the impact of travel disruption could be fully analysed.
In seconding the motion, Councillor Stephen Booth referred to the traffic challenges in earlier years on Lytton Way following the changes to the Swingate/Lytton Way junction and stressed the importance of testing and analysing traffic flows at different times and fine tuning layouts before permanent changes to the road were made.
Councillor Phil Bibby advised that he also had concerns that consideration of traffic modelling was essential not only for Lytton Way but for the whole surrounding road network to alleviate any congestion caused by closing or partially closing Lytton Way.
During further debate, the following points were raised:
· The Area Action Plan had been in existence for a long time and had gone through, and would continue to go through, the process of consideration by the Planning and Development Committee prior to any decisions taken by the Cabinet;
· Modelling would take place prior to any decision made on the various options but it was likely to be ten years before the project could be delivered;
· The proper planning process for the scheme was very robust, would take into account the various impacts and the Planning Team would ensure that robust evaluation would be undertaken on any scheme such as this;
· The Leader of the Council advised that he had met with the new Leader of Herts County Council who had been very positive about the prospect of the station gateway project;
· In relation to transport planning, much work across the County and the Eastern Region Strategic Partnerships was still to be done and would require multi-agency involvement.
Upon being put to the vote, the Motion was lost.