Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 9^th February 2022

(b)  Matters arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 9^th February 2022 were agreed and signed as a correct record. There were no matters arising.

Briefing Note of the Director of Law and Governance

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a report and presentation from Alex Greatholder and David Harris of Transport for the West Midlands on the West Midlands Local Transport Plan Core Strategy Engagement.

Under the Transport Act 2000, Local Transport Authorities have a duty to produce and review a Local Transport Plan.  As a consequence of the Local Transport Act 2008 and the WMCA Order 2016, the WMCA is the Local Transport Authority for the seven constituent metropolitan districts / boroughs.  The Local Transport Plan will align the core priorities of the WMCA, ensuring that all future funding bids and transport activity is optimised to meet the corporate aims and objectives agreed by the WMCA Board in November 2021. 

Local Transport Plans must set out policies for the promotion and encouragement of safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport to, from and within the Local Transport Authority area along with proposals for the implementation of those policies.  The Local Transport Plan carries statutory weight in a range of decisions made by many public authorities as they execute their functions under their relevant statutory provisions.  It is a critical document for ensuring the West Midlands public’s interests with regards to transport and its impacts are considered in such decisions. The Local Transport Plan must be developed collaboratively between the WMCA, as the Local Transport Authority, and the seven constituent authorities and implemented in partnership with other agencies and organisations such as National Highways, Network Rail and public transport operators.

There have been significant changes to policy context including changes to the political, social and economic landscapes which have implications for transport policy and plans.  Most significant of these were the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge of climate change, with the WMCA declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and committing to ambitious plans of becoming a net zero region by 2041.

The first West Midlands 2041 five year carbon plan (WM2041) was approved and adopted by the WMCA Board in March 2021. This set out a priority for WMCA to support changes in travel behaviours through reduction in car usage and a much higher modal share of public transport and cycling.  A key deliverable for WMCA was producing a new Local Transport Plan which is aligned to WM2041.  In July 2021, Transport for West Midlands published the ‘Reimagining Transport in the West Midlands’ Green Paper.  The purpose of the Green Paper was to start a conversation with politicians, public and stakeholders on how transport policy and strategy in the West Midlands could change.  The focus was to engage on how the region could better respond to the big challenges it faces, including responding to the economic downturn and the climate emergency, as described in the Green Paper through five ‘Motives for Change’.  Engagement on the Green Paper over the summer of 2021 resulted in over 600 full responses to the public survey and 20 detailed responses from a range of stakeholders.  A summary of the results of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note of the Director of Property Services and Development, which provided an update on progress with key regeneration projects in the city, namely City Centre South, Friargate and Coventry Station.

In relation to City Centre South, the Board acknowledged that the regeneration of the city centre was a key priority for the Council and would deliver transformational improvements to Coventry city centre through new homes, jobs, commercial and leisure opportunities and high-quality public spaces.

The scheme was being brought forward through a partnership between the Council and Shearer Property Group (SPG) and was supported by £98.8m grant funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).  This grant was funding key enabling costs such as land assembly, demolition and reimbursement payments to the Council for the loss of its existing income producing commercial scheme.

It was noted that the Cabinet had recently received a report which had included a number of recommendations, including authority to make a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), appropriate land interests and take a number of ancillary decisions relating to planning, land and highway matters.

It was anticipated that a CPO would be made during March 2022 and, if necessary, an Inquiry would be held during the Autumn of 2022.  Dialogue was ongoing between SPG and a funding and development partner in order to deliver the scheme.  Whilst outline planning consent was in place, it was expected that a Reserved Matters planning application would be submitted during 2022 which would set out detailed proposal for the scheme, including design and the amount of space for different uses and phasing.  Vacant possession of the site was expected to be achieved by early 2023.

The delivery of the Friargate District was another key priority for the Council and £51.2m grant funding was secured from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in 2018 to support the delivery of the next commercial office building, Two Friargate.

Two Friargate would deliver 123,000 sqft of high quality lettable office space which would be able to compete with the best the wider region was able to offer.  It would also provide the opportunity for significant jobs and business growth in the City.  Construction on the building had begun in November 2020 and was due to be completed before the end of 2022.  It also has its own dedicated website which provides information about the building.

Overall, the Friargate District would have a range of uses and offers.  The Council was working with hotel developers Castlebridge to bring forward a new four-star Hotel Indigo opposite the Council’s One Friargate office building.  Building work was scheduled to commence in Spring 2022 with completion and opening during 2023.  Further work was ongoing with the owners of the Friargate site, Friargate JV Project Limited, to assess the opportunity for residential developments, which would provide the opportunity to create a new mixed-use neighbourhood in a highly sustainable part of the City.

The Board were advised that the works  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Briefing Note of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note from the Director of Business, Investment and Culture, which provided an update on the status of the Coventry and Warwickshire Green Business Programme, the current finite funding available and opportunities being explored to maintain the programme.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Green Business Programme (GBP) supports the shift towards low carbon economy, delivering a cohesive package of support activities that facilitate economic growth through small and medium sized enterprises (SME) developing and adopting energy and efficiency measures, as well as renewable energy.  The Council acts as the accountable body of this programme through the Economic Development Services Project Management Team.  Activities are then delivered by an established partnership of Council’s Climate Change and Sustainability Team, Coventry University and Coventry University Enterprises.

The Briefing Note indicated that the GBP was established in 2016 and was the first integrated package of business support focussed on low carbon that the Authority had delivered, and the first such program in Coventry and Warwickshire and was funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  The success of the first programme which ran from 2016 to 2018, led to the establishment of Phase 2, which rand from 2019 to 2021.  This was further extended to June 2023, when ERDF funding ceases.

The Council provided grants of £1k to £50k, free energy and resource efficiency audits and a Green Business Network to maximise the energy efficiency and low carbon opportunities for SMEs with less than 250 employees, based in Coventry and Warwickshire.  The partnership also offered funding and workshops around low carbon innovation, providing an integrated support package for SMEs.  SMEs engaged in the programme experienced a variety of benefits, namely:

·  Reduced energy bills and maintenance costs;

·  Reduced carbon emissions;

·  Increased competitiveness, profitability and efficiency;

·  Improved working conditions; and

·  Reduced waste disposal costs.

The main outputs which required reporting to the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities were business assists, financial claims and carbon savings.  The table within the briefing note provided a breakdown of outputs achieved against targets for both phases of the programme.  Phase 1 significantly overachieved on carbon savings, vindicating the decision to run the project and highlighting the level of need across businesses in the region.  It was noted that Phase 2, which would run until June 2023, was on tract to meet or exceed all targets.

The businesses supported through the GBP covered a range of sectors, the majority being manufacturing, but also included construction through to professional services.  Grant funding had been used to support a variety of measures ranging from LED lighting and heating improvement, to more innovative measures such as improvements to production efficiency and providing capacity for businesses to bring production in-house.  In addition to the main outputs mentioned, the Programme also reported the following:

At least 60 jobs directly created because of energy-efficient machinery part-funded by the programme.

·  Since 2018, 30 events have been hosted by the Programme (13 face-to-face, 17 webinars) which has had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board received a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator, that detailed items that had been considered during the 2021/22 municipal year and proposed issues to be included on the Board’s Work Programme for 2022/23.

The Board requested that an update on the climate action plan be included on the list of items for consideration during 2022/23.

RESOLVED that, the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) note the work programme.

There were no other items of public business.