Agenda item

This item will be subject to pre-scrutiny at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that is due to take place on 7^th November 2019.  Any recommendations arising from this meeting in respect of this item will be reported for the consideration of the Executive Committee.

As requested by Members the covering report for this item will be included in the main agenda pack and the appendices in an Additional Papers pack.

The Head of North Worcestershire Economic Development presented a report which outlined the outcomes of a master planning exercise for the regeneration of Redditch town centre and the vision for the town moving forward.  During the presentation of the report the following matters were highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·                The consultants BDP had reviewed options available for the use of a number of sites, including the railway quarter, Church Road and the former covered market area.

·                Potential development across the sites had an estimated value of between £200 and 250 million, which could involve development of both residential and commercial properties.

·                The community hub had been conceived as a one-stop-shop in terms of public service provision to local residents.  The hub could provide integrated services, enable business efficiencies within the public sector and ensure good use of public land.

·                Dragongate had held conversations with a number of partner organisations about the potential to introduce a community hub.  Initial feedback received from partner agencies had been very positive.

·                Partner agencies had overwhelmingly been in favour of building a new property to house the community hub, rather than using an existing building.  This would ensure that the varying needs of each organisation could be met through bespoke building design work.

·                The next step would be for a tender process to be undertaken to procure an architect-led team to start design work for the community hub.

·                Work was still required to clarify the space requirements of each organisation that would take part in the hub as well as operational requirements.

·                Officers were focusing on the area encompassing the Redditch library, former covered market area and Redditch Town Hall as the potential location for a future community hub, though the exact site remained to be determined.

·                Redditch had been announced as one of 100 towns that would be eligible for funding from the Town’s Fund.

·                Guidance for the Town’s Fund had been published after the publication of the report in respect of the regeneration of Redditch town centre.

·                Redditch could potentially receive up to £25 million from the Town’s Fund.  In order to secure funding from this source public consultation about potential use of the funding would be required and the Council would need to develop a Town Investment Plan and a business case.  The government would make a decision about the level of funding that would be awarded to Redditch based on these submissions.

Following the presentation of the report Members discussed a number of points in detail:

·                The need for Redditch town centre to be regenerated.

·                The hard work of officers to date in respect of the regeneration of Redditch town centre.

·                The length of time that had elapsed since the original plans to regenerate the town centre had been considered by Members in March 2018.

·                The state of the area debates, how these had been advertised, the number of people who had attended and whether there was an intention for these to occur in every ward in the Borough.  It was suggested that further information about the state of the area debates should be provided for Members’ consideration after the meeting.

·                The potential future use of the Redditch Town Hall site for housing, retail and as the site for a hotel and the fact that no decisions had yet been taken in respect of this matter.

·                The extent to which the Council was likely to secure funding from the Town’s Fund for the regeneration of Redditch town centre.  Members were advised that the guidance did not specify that there would be a competitive process.  However, the Council would need to demonstrate that Redditch should receive funding and it was important therefore to include the right information in the Town Investment Plan.  The work that had already been undertaken in respect of the regeneration of Redditch town centre would place the Council at an advantage in this respect.

·                The timeline for securing financial support from the Town’s Fund.  The Committee was informed that the Town Investment Plan would need to be submitted for the consideration of the government by summer 2020 and a decision would then be taken by the government in respect of funding in 2020/21.

·                In the meantime, further work was required in respect of technical requirements.

·                The £173,000 funding that the Council had already received for the regeneration of Redditch town centre.

·                The potential to secure financial support from other organisations, in addition to funding from the Town’s Fund, to support the regeneration of Redditch town centre.  Officers explained that the Council would not be excluded from applying for funding from other sources alongside the financial support from the Town’s Fund and this could include funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).

·                The negative perceptions some people had of Redditch and the positive impact that the regeneration of the town centre would have on civic pride.

·                The combination of residential and commercial opportunities within the plans.

During consideration of this item the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Joe Baker, was invited to speak on behalf of the Committee about recommendations that had been made by Members following pre-scrutiny of the report at a meeting on 7^th November 2019.  During this meeting the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had noted their support for plans to regenerate Redditch town centre.  Councillor Baker explained that the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was to act as a critical friend and as such concerns had been raised by the Committee about the need to learn lessons from past redevelopment exercises.  In particular, reference had been made to the redevelopment of Church Hill district centre some years previously and the limited engagement that had been undertaken with ward Councillors.  The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had concluded that, due to the relevance of the town centre to all Councillors they should all be consulted as part of work on the redevelopment of Redditch town centre and this had featured in the Committee’s recommendations on the subject to the Executive Committee.  These points were noted.

RECOMMENDED that

1)        the Council note the BDP Town Centre Sites report and endorses the concept of a comprehensive regeneration scheme for the station quarter, Church Road sites, the Library site and the outdoor market site;

2)        the Council agrees the content of the Dragongate Community Hub Business Case and BDP’s Redditch Town Centre Development Sites Final Report be used as a basis for submitting a proposal to the Town’s Fund;

3)        the Council agrees that the content of the Dragongate Community Hub business case and BDP’s Redditch Town Centre Development Sites Final Report be used as a basis for submitting a bid to the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) Enabling Fund;

and RESOLVED that

4)        the findings of the state of the area debate are noted and officers are instructed to produce a future consultation plan related to the town centre regeneration programme;

5)        the content of the Dragongate Community Hub business case be noted and the Executive Committee endorse the concept of a community hub within the public sector and culture quarter;

6)        authority be delegated to the Chief Executive after consultation with the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Economic Development, Commercialism and Partnerships to commission an architect-led professional team to draw up feasible and deliverable design proposals supported by viability appraisals for a community hub, to include consideration of partners’ requirements; and

7)        subject to the agreement of recommendation 1 above, authority be delegated to the Chief Executive after consultation with the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Economic Development, Commercialism and Partnerships to work with key partners on the wider initiatives.