Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Board received a presentation from David Cockroft, Director of City Centre and Major Projects Development concerning the main priorities for the Place Directorate including the capacity to deliver the ambitious development programme for the city centre. Councillor J Mutton, Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources and Councillor J O’Boyle. Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration attended the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The presentation set out the wide remit of the Place Directorate which involved approximately 1450 employees mainly involved with the delivery of front line services. Reference was made to the capital spend which had increased five- fold since 2013 and to the recent awarding of central and regional government funds and European funding.

Information was provided on the financial implications of recent developments including the Whitley expansion; the National Battery Centre; Broadgate; the Upper Precinct; and the Station Master Plan and to the future development at Friargate and the City Centre South.

Reference was also made to the work involved with hosting major events in the city such as Motofest, Godiva and the Biggest Weekend and to the opportunities presented by City of Culture 2021 and the European City of Sport. However, there was a concern about all these opportunities in terms of capacity and resource. Members were informed that a report was currently being drafted in relation to the City of Culture and capacity.

Members raised a number of issues arising from the presentation and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  A concern about capacity to enable delivery

·  The requirement to revisit the City Centre development plans in light of changing shopping habits and the drop in confidence in the retail sector

·  The importance of providing residents and visitors with different leisure activities and dining options to attract people into the city centre

·  Clarification that in the outturn report £4.5m had been set aside for the City of Culture

·  The suggestion that it was appropriate to review the membership of the City of Culture Trust to ensure that all the necessary expertise was covered including Council Member/ officer membership

·  The importance of promoting local community events as well as the large scale events

·  The benefits of opening up Hertford Street and the Precinct to provide more space for outside events

·  With the awarding of the European City of Sport, the opportunity to establish the city as a centre for youth sport

·  The potential to think outside the box and bring something different to the city centre

·  Concerns that car parking charges put people off visiting the city centre, particularly in light of the free parking offered by the out of town shopping centres and the need to consider this issue going forward

·  The benefits that Amazon provide for the city in terms of jobs and the resulting spend in the city and the income from business rates

·  The importance of providing new hotels to attract visitors to stay overnight when visiting Coventry for City of Culture events

·  The requirement to secure the right people who can bring in jobs and investment to the city

·  The growing support of the Coventry ambassadors for all the future events in the city.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The content of the presentation be noted.

(2) A briefing note be sent to members detailing the financial implications of the new developments in the city.

(3) A report on the City of Culture 2021 be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee on 5^th September with particular reference to (i) staffing capacity to deliver and (ii) the membership of the Coventry City of Culture Trust.