Agenda item

The Chief Executive presented the 6-monthly update in respect of the Redditch Town Deal Investment Plan and in doing so the following was highlighted for Members’ attention:

·       The Towns Fund was a government funding scheme intended for towns across the country to improve their economy. In 2019, Redditch was identified as one of the towns eligible to bid for up to £25m from the Towns Fund.

·       The Town Investment Plan (TIP) was submitted by the Town’s Deal Board in January 2021 and the funding and Heads of Terms were announced in June 2021. As Members were already aware, not all of the funding for the projects had been awarded. Therefore, as a result of the shortfall, a reprioritisation exercise had been undertaken in August 2021, using the reprioritisation tools provided by central government. Prior to the reprioritisation sessions, several parameters were put in place by the Town’s Deal Board that were to be considered as part of the reprioritisation process. Once the reprioritisation had taken place, the confirmed projects were submitted to Government at the end of August 2021. The Grant Offer letter was received in November 2021 which confirmed that a grant amount of £15.6m had been awarded and the requirements of Redditch Borough Council as the accountable body were outlined.

During the Redditch Town Deal Investment Plan update,Members were further informed that the following projects had been approved and allocated Towns Deal funding. It was explained that specific conditions for the approved projects were detailed as part of the Heads of Terms and would be fully developed and addressed at the business case development stage. Further clarification on each project was presented for Members’ information. This included the following:

Redevelopment of Redditch Library Project

·       Worcestershire County Council (WCC) were fully engaged in the Redditch Library project and Members were assured that the needs of the service and infrastructure would be considered prior to any relocation, ensuring accessibility for all customers. It was confirmed that WCC understood that one of the requirements for relocation of the library was that it must be a Town Centre location. Members were also assured that a full consultation would be undertaken once relocation options were known.

Further detail regarding the Library project was reported to Members in respect of the inclusion of the broader range of project outcomes which were as follows:

­   Perceptions of place by residents and businesses – this would involve the design of new and improved public spaces that connected the ‘old town’ with the main shopping centre and would include the establishment of a new and attractive public space for residents and businesses to use.

­   Increased land values through increased demand around the new public space.

­   Increased visitors to the town by providing a new space for events and activities.

­   Improved permeability for residents and visitors through the provision of easier access to key nodes in the town and by opening up access between the ‘old town’ and the main shopping centre.

­   Improved perception of safety which would be implemented through improved street scene and by designing out poor visibility.

­   Improved community cohesion through the provision of a new events space at the heart of the town.

·       A Redditch Library project group had been established which was to be led by North Worcestershire Economic Development and Regeneration (NWEDR). The group also included representatives from the Property, Legal and Finance teams at Redditch Borough Council. Members were also informed that Mott MacDonald had been procured to develop the business case associated with this project.

Town Centre Public Realm Project

·       A project group would be established for the Town Centre Public Realm project and that WCC were the lead partner in this project. In addition to WCC it was reported that NWEDR, Mott MacDonald and representatives from Redditch Borough Council’s Planning, Environmental Services and Conservation teams were also part of the project group. Mott MacDonald were also involved as part of the development of the business case.

Innovation Centre

·       A project group was to be established and would be led by NWEDR and also include Mott MacDonald and Property, Legal, Finance and Planning teams from Redditch Borough Council. In addition to this, procurement was currently underway regarding consultants who would potentially be involved in the design and build of the Innovation Centre alongside Mott MacDonald.

The Committee was informed that the next steps for the projects would be to work on the detailed business cases which were due to be submitted in June 2022.

During the detailed update it was accepted that communications in respect of some aspects of the Towns Deal funding had not been as successful as hoped thus far. However, Members were informed that this was to be addressed in January 2022 and that an enhanced Communications strategy was to be implemented going forward which would include social media updates, newsletters and the establishment of an interested party database.

The Chair thanked the Chief Executive for his comprehensive update and invited the Committee to ask any questions.

During detailed discussion Members were interested in the following areas:

·       The reprioritisation of the projects and how this had been carried out particularly in light of the decision to no longer pursue the Transport Interchange and Railway Quarter project.  Members’ attention was drawn to Appendix 1 of the report which contained the information regarding the reprioritisation process and explained that it was the Town’s Deal Board and not the Council’s decision regarding the parameters applied to this process. As discussed earlier in the meeting, the reprioritisation tool provided by central government had been used and through this process each project was scored and selected accordingly. Councillor M. Dormer, who was in attendance in his role as Portfolio Holder for Planning, Economic Development, Commercialism and Partnerships confirmed that although the Interchange and Railway Quarter project was not being undertaken as part of the Town’s Deal Fund, work was still underway in this area and meetings were taking place with relevant partners, including West Midlands Combined Authority, to articulate the project in the hope that it could still go ahead in the future.

·       The impact to Redditch Borough Council if any increase of costs for the three projects was experienced – It was stated to the Committee that the projects had been carefully costed with contingencies and that it was hoped that any increase in costs would be avoided. However, it was noted that unavoidable delays or an increase of costing to supplies might be experienced that were out of the control of the Council and would be mitigated if they became apparent.

·       Effective spending of the allocated funding – It was highlighted to Members that the projects would be subject to robust business cases and would need to be signed off by the Section 151 officer at Redditch Borough Council and Town’s Deal Board Chair prior to their submission in June 2022. In addition to this, the business cases would address any project specific conditions that had been set out in the Head of Terms received previously.

Some Members were concerned with the transparency of the process and decisions made by the Board to date. As previously stated, the Chief Executive reiterated that the communications plan was to be improved for the future and that all projects were subject to strict conditions and that a consultation period would be completed. It was commented on that the establishment of an ambassador for each project would increase the visibility of the projects going forward. In addition to this, the Chair of the Board acting as the ‘Communications Ambassador’ would increase engagement on any future project consultation.

The Chair once again thanked officers for their detailed update and looked forward to being updated again in 6-months’ time.

RESOLVED that

Redditch Town Deal Investment Plan - 6 monthly update be noted.