North Yorkshire Council

 

Selby & Ainsty Area Committee

 

19 September 2024

 

Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund for the Area Committee

 

Report of the Principal Regeneration Officer (Selby)

 

 


1.0         PURPOSE OF REPORT

 

1.1      To provide an update on two of the projects previously endorsed by the Selby AC under the the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund (‘the fund’).

 

1.2      To present completed Project Scoping Forms for two projects and seek confirmation of endorsement for these from the Selby and Ainsty AC.

 

 

 

 

2.0       BACKGROUND        

 

2.1       At the meeting of North Yorkshire County Council on 22 February 2023 (Council Minute 83p), in respect of the 2023/24 Revenue Budget for North Yorkshire Council, it was resolved that, “£50k be provided annually for each Area Committee to commission works they feel appropriate for their local area”.

 

2.2       The purpose of the fund is to support activities that help to deliver the North Yorkshire Council ‘Council Plan’, Economic Growth Strategy, Destination Management Plan and other locally important plans and strategies. It aims to stimulate and directly support a pipeline of locally important economic, regeneration and tourism destination development projects that will benefit from existing and future funding and delivery opportunities (whether core or external funding) within the area covered by the respective Area Committee.

 

2.3       The scope of activity to be supported, within the purpose of the fund, is:

 

·                     activity to further develop locally important projects that would form part of a wider capital project pipeline including surveys, feasibility studies, outline or detailed design and market demand analysis. It can also fund business case development of locally important projects or contribute to the ongoing development of larger, major projects so the Council is well placed to secure funding (core or external) and to assist in developing grant-ready applications.

·                     targeted contributions that add value to existing or planned physical regeneration or tourism activity and show tangible benefits to address a locally important issue or priority in that area.

 

2.4       A summary of the decision and approval process as detailed in the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund Guidance Note (January 2024) is shown below:

·                     Working Group creates shortlist

·                     Shortlist tabled at AC meeting (13th June)

·                     Project Scoping Forms prepared plus Formal Report

·                     Scoping Forms for recommended projects approved by Portfolio Holder 

·                     Scoping forms and report reviewed/endorsed by AC (19 Sept 24)

o   Report reviewed by Assistant Director of ED/Regen plus: 

o   Legal Contracts Team

o   Finance 

o   Climate change team

o   Equalities

·                     Final sign off by Nic Harne and James Horden

 

2.5       An initial discussion about the funding took place at an informal meeting of the Selby and Ainsty AC on 8 February 2024. Members were invited to submit project ideas which were collated by officers.  

 

2.6       At a meeting on 26th April 2024 AC members agreed to create a Working Group for the purposes of reviewing project ideas and creating a recommended shortlist. The members of the Working Group are:

·                     Cllr Melanie Davis (Chair)

·                     Cllr Bob Packham

·                     Cllr Kirsty Poskitt

·                     Cllr Steve Shaw Wright

·                     Cllr John McCartney

·                     Cllr Jack Proud

 

2.7       At a meeting on 13th June 2024 the Selby AC reviewed the projects that were proposed by the Working Group and agreed to progress three projects to Project Scoping Form stage.

 

2.8       Project Scoping Forms have been completed for two of the three projects (Interactive Town Guides and Village Cinemas). These have been reviewed and approved by the Portfolio Holder, Cllr Mark Crane.

 

 

3.0       CONSIDERATION OF PROJECT SHORTLIST AT THIS MEETING

 

3.1       The Project Shortlist submitted for consideration at this meeting through the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund is as detailed in Table 1. below. See Appendix A for full details.

 

Table 1. Proposed Project Shortlist:

 

 

Project Title

Summary Description

Budget Requested

A

Interactive Towns

Interactive town guides for Selby & Tadcaster.

£40k

D

Village Cinemas

Provision of two village cinema facilities

£20k

 

IN PROGRESS:

 

 

B

Real Time Bus Information

Digital displays for four key bus stops in Selby

£40k

 

REJECTED

 

 

C

Town centre WiFi

Extensions to existing town centre WiFi in Selby and Sherburn

£40k

 

 

4.0       SELBY AND AINSTY AC BUDGET INFORMATION

 

4.1       At the meeting of the 20 February 2024 (draft Minute 403.c) the Executive agreed the carry forward of any unallocated sums for each of the Area Committees into 2024/25 for one year only.

 

4.2       The financial position of the budget allocated to the Selby and Ainsty AC through the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund is therefore as detailed in Table 2 below:

 

            Table 2. Selby and Ainsty AC Budget Allocation:

 

Item

Value

Budget Available (2023/24 carried forward and 2024/25)

£100,000

Value of proposed projects

·                     Interactive Town Guides

·                     Village Cinemas

·                     Real Time Bus Information

 

£100,000

Balance of budget available

£0

Projects submitted for consideration in this report

Interactive Towns

£40,000

Village Cinemas

£20,000

Balance of budget available if the above projects are recommended to and approved by the Corporate Director

£40,000

 

           

5.         CONSIDERATION OF THE RECOMMENDED SHORTLIST

 

5.1       Project Scoping Forms have been completed for the two shortlisted schemes (See Section 4 above). The Project Scoping Forms have been reviewed and approved by the Portfolio Holder, Cllr Mark Crane.

 

5.2       In accordance with the Approval Process, AC Members are asked to agree to endorse the Project Scoping Forms for the proposed Project Shortlist referred to in Section 3 above.

 

6.0       CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES

 

6.1       Members of this Committee have been consulted throughout the process.

 

7.0       ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

 

7.1       Members may choose not to formally endorse the priority projects presented in this report.

 

7.2       Members may choose not to progress the shortlisted projects and may choose to seek further suggestions from Elected Members or Officers, however the timescale for spending the available funds would make the development of new project ideas at this stage impractical.

 

8.0       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

8.1       There are no direct financial implications arising from the recommendations of this report. Subject to the endorsement of this Committee, the Project Scoping Forms will be presented to the Corporate Director for final allocation of the budget.

 

9.0       LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

9.1       There are no direct legal implications arising from the recommendations of this report. However, it is noted that any procurement going forward will be carried out in accordance with the council’s procurement and contract procedure rules.

 

10.0     EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

 

10.1     There are no direct equality implications from the recommendations in this report, though some of the priority projects recommended for progression will have positive longer-term impacts on equality, as detailed in the Scoping Forms. Equality Impact Assessment Screening Forms will be completed for endorsed projects.

 

11.0     CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

 

11.1     There are no direct climate change implications from the recommendations in this report. Project Scoping Forms, Climate Change Impact Assessment and Equalities Assessments will be completed for each of the shortlisted projects.

 

12.0     REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

12.1     To enable allocation of the Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund for Selby.

 

 

13.0

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

It is recommended that the Committee:

 

 

i)      confirm endorsement of the Project Scoping Forms for the following projects:

-                      Interactive Town Guides

-                      Village Cinemas

 

ii)     subject to endorsement, request that Project Scoping Forms are presented to the Corporate Director (Community Development) for the relevant projects to be funded from Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund for Selby.

 

iii)   if no endorsements for the above listed projects are secured, issue a further call for potential schemes to Selby and Ainsty AC members.

 

 

 

APPENDIX A

 

·                     Project Scoping Form – Interactive Town Guides

·                     Project Scoping Form – Village Cinemas

·                     Village Cinemas Selection Process

 

 

 

Sarah Fenwick

Principal Regeneration Officer - Selby

Selby Civic Centre

Selby

19 September 2024

 

Report Author – Sarah Fenwick, Regeneration & Economic Project Manager

Presenter of Report – Julian Rudd, Head of Service, Economic Development and Regeneration

 

Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.