Agenda item

A.   Sir Howard Bernstein will be in attendance to answer any questions from members of Committee in relation to the work he is supporting regarding Radcliffe regeneration.

B.   Paul Lakin Director of Regeneration and David Lynch Assistant Director Regeneration to present an overview of regeneration in the Borough at the meeting. Report and presentation attached

A.   Sir Howard Bernstein will be in attendance to answer any questions from members of Committee in relation to the work he is supporting regarding Radcliffe regeneration.

Sir Howard Bernstein, Chair of Radcliffe Regeneration Board attended to introduce himself and the work that has been undertaken in Radcliffe over the last few years.

The Strategic Regeneration Framework in Radcliffe produced a place plan for the area. This plan evaluated the strengths and weaknesses particularly of the core area in the town centre, the relationship with resident priorities and providing a guide for public and private investment. This plan provided the best opportunity to secure the Level Up funding recently confirmed by the Government. 

Sir Howard Bernstein then opened to questions from the Committee.

It was reported that the foundations for success in the regeneration of Radcliffe is basing plans evidence and what the impact is on the town and place along with what it means for improving long term life chances.

Discussions took place regarding how Radcliffe can contribute to being more energy efficient. It was concluded that building design, active travel choices and car parking are all key elements to support this; this reduces congestion and promotes active travel choices.

Questions around the macro-environmental analysis, how this was conducted and where the findings are was requested. Sir Howard Bernstein advised two different processes were used. The Strategic Regeneration Framework for Radcliffe which was a holistic analysis and secondly the Levelling Up bid which is underpinned by ‘The Green Book’ appraisal. It was stated that we need to build a benefit realisation plan which must address whole town impacts and the technical appendices will be put on the website accessible to members of the Committee. It was concluded that the offer to current residents will be made clearer by the presence of the team in the town centre to support residents with any queries they have.

Questions took place regarding the flexibility of the SRF. Sir Howard Bernstein reported the SRF is not a statutory planning document and is flexible in that it can be reviewed as and when needed. Within the SRF document a pace was created to think about what the role and function of the town is.

Following further discussions, the following key themes emerged from the questions and responses:

-      What success in Radcliffe looks like and how this aligns with the established needs of the community

-      How to effectively build Community Sprit in Radcliffe

-      Consultation and stakeholder engagement processes

-      Priorities for the regeneration programme

It was agreed:

1.   As part of future updates a report on what the active travel choices are for Radcliffe to be brought.

2.   Sir Howard Bernstein be thanked for his attendance

B.  Paul Lakin Director of Regeneration and David Lynch Assistant Director Regeneration to present an overview of regeneration in the Borough at the meeting. Report and presentation attached

Paul Lakin Director of Regeneration provided an overview of regeneration in the Borough.

The Council has an ambitious regeneration programme which is designed to boost economic activity and participation across the Borough, maximise the use of Council land and assets, generate additional tax and commercial incomes and safeguard the future of our key town centres. This is an extensive agenda.

A presentation was delivered by David Lynch, Assistant Director of Regeneration to give the Committee a visual oversight of current plans.

Questions were then invited from the Committee.

Key themes identified were:

-      We have recently built up a BGI Department and now we need the right team to support and deliver the regeneration proposals. It was stated that restructures, streamlining internal processes and the development of a Delivery Board will ensure successful delivery.

-      The whole of the road networks and active travel opportunities must be considered to enable residents where possible to access town centres including parking provisions.

-      The development of jobs and businesses in the regeneration plans to enable large scale employment.

-      The delivery of the 20,000 jobs would take place over 20 years so will develop yearly

The Committee wished to note their observations around capacity issues and how this may affect the ability for the department to deliver all projects as outlined in the update

It was agreed:

1.   Councillor O’Brien, David Lynch and Paul Lakin be thanked for their attendance.