Regeneration Cabinet Member – Minutes – 19 March 2014

76        (17) HUMBER ENTERPRISE ZONE CAPITAL GRANT ALLOCATION – The Director of Places submitted a report to advise the Cabinet Member of the successful application by Able Humber Ports Limited for Enterprise Zone Capital Grant and the role of the council as accountable body.

Enterprise Zones were areas around the country that supported both new and expanding businesses by offering incentives. There were currently 24 Enterprise Zones across England

The Able Marine Energy Park was the largest single site within an Enterprise Zone in the UK and bigger than all the other Enterprise Zones in the Humber put together.

Business Rate Relief was available on an Enterprise Zone for a 5 year period and  applied to 25 hectares of the Able site.

The government launched a £415-million fund to speed up the delivery of Enterprise Zones from which Able Humber Ports Limited applied for a grant and were successful.  The bid secured £14.94m towards infrastructure costs, which included for provision of 240,000sqm of commercial floorspace; 3.7km of internal access roads and 1,355m of multi-rail sidings.

It was explained that the council would act as accountable body for claiming and administering the grant and would work with Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) through the process.

Resolved – (a) That the successful application for Enterprise Zone funding by Able Humber Ports Limited be noted, and (b) that the council implements the necessary processes and procedures to ensure that the accountable body function allows the grant to be claimed and the scheme to progress as soon as possible.

77        (18)  BUILDING CONTROL PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2013 – The Director of Places submitted a report to advise the cabinet member of the performance of the Building Control service in 2013.

It was explained that Building Control was required to produce an annual performance review for the ISO external auditor.  The review highlighted the difficulty in achieving income targets due to the recession.

The number of fee earning Building Regulation applications had increased for the first time since 2009 (up 10.5%), the amount of fee income had risen similarly (up 9.5%) and an additional £51,000 of income had been achieved through cross boundary working and other additional commercial services to customers.

The review also highlighted some excellent performance results, which included 100% overall customer satisfaction for a second year running.

Resolved – That the performance of the Building Control service in 2013 be noted.

78        (19)  SPRINGBOARD PROGRAMME – The Director of Places submitted a report to provide an update on the springboard Programme, and sought approval to establish  two fixed-term Progression Advisor posts and one fixed-term young ambassador post using external funding.

The report confirmed that Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had secured £1.5m from the Cabinet Office to meet the youth unemployment challenge.  The funding covered the period from June 2014 to March 2016 and the support provided through the programme would target 18 year olds that were registered as NEET and young people between 18-24 who were claiming Job Seekers Allowance.

It was proposed that one Young Ambassador post and two Progression Advisor posts be established using funding from the programme.  These fixed term posts would operate for a period commencing on 1 June 2014 until 31 March 2016 and the initiative would link into the recently established Community Investment Partnership.

Further details were outlined within the report.

Resolved – That the establishment of two Progression Advisor posts and one Young Ambassador post on a fixed term basis, running from June 2014 to March 2016 be approved.

79        (20) BONBY, ELSHAM, SOUTH FERRIBY AND WORLABY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS – APPLICATION FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD AREA STATUS –  The Director of Places submitted a report to inform the cabinet member that Bonby, Elsham, South Ferriby and Worlaby Parish Councils had applied to have their areas formally designated for the purposes of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan.  The report also sought approval to advertise and consult on each Parish Council’s application for neighbourhood area status.

The Localism Act 2011 (the Act) introduced new opportunities for local communities to get involved in the planning of their areas by preparing neighbourhood plans, neighbourhood development orders and community right to build orders. The Act and associated neighbourhood planning regulations gave town/parish councils and neighbourhood forums powers to shape and encourage delivery of new development.

Before town/parish councils or neighbourhood forums could begin the work of preparing a Neighbourhood Plan, they must apply to have the area they wished the plan to cover formally designated.

The council was responsible for receiving and determining applications for the designation of a neighbourhood area and was required to advertise the application for a six week consultation period.

Bonby, Elsham, South Ferriby and Worlaby Parish Councils wished to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan for their respective areas and as such, had submitted suitable applications to have their areas formally designated (details were appended to the report).

Resolved – (a) That the Bonby, Elsham, South Ferriby and Worlaby Parish Councils’ applications for neighbourhood area status be advertised, and (b) that a six week public consultation on each application be undertaken.

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