Agenda and minutes

          Apologies were received on behalf of Alderman Lawlor and Councillors Hanvey and McDonough-Brown.

            The minutes of the meeting of the 8th and 29th May were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 3rd June.

            Councillor McCabe declared an interest in that the organisation she worked for was associated with the funding under item 5.b) St. Patrick’s Day Review and Recommendations and left the room while the item was being discussed.

            The Chairperson welcomed Mr. J. O’Neill and. Ms. M. Doyle, representing the Belfast City and Region Place Partnership, to the Committee.

            Mr. O’Neill described the membership and explained the objectives of the Partnership, namely to:

·          Continue to build collaboration and partnership in the city and wider region;

·          Continue to promote and market the Belfast region outside Northern Ireland;

·          Increase engagement and advocacy with all key stakeholders, in particular, investors and government;

·          Support delivery of the Belfast Region City Deal programme of investment by attracting collaborative partners; and

·          Support delivery of our shared ambition and drive inclusive, sustainable growth.

            He provided an overview of its partnership with anchor institutions, key developers and professional agencies, together with its pillared programming of: Research; Programme; Engagement and Advocacy; and Media and Communication.

            The representatives highlighted the significance of partnership working for continued investment, together with research which had been undertaken by Ernst and Young on the viability of Belfast as an investment proposition. Mr. O’Neil described the development of bespoke digital Belfast Region investment guide and a targeted digital marketing campaign, together with showcase events and conferences attended.

            They advised the Committee of their next steps, which included taking forward their objectives, working collaboratively to support place-based growth proposition for Belfast and wider region;Positively showcasing and positioning the city region as a place for investment; and Positively positioning the city to attract inclusive investment to deliver regeneration and development across the city.

            During discussion, the representatives described the benefits of investing in Belfast and answered a range of questions in relation to the benefits of attending conferences, social engagement, the potential for an anchor community organisation to be included in the partnership, a sub-group for community engagement, and procurement plans. 

            After discussion, the Chairperson thanked the representatives for their presentation and they retired from the meeting.

            Following the presentation, the Director of City Regeneration and Development introduced the following report for Members consideration:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1             The purpose of this report is to:

·        Update members on the Belfast City & Region Place Partnership (BCRPP) 2023 / 2024 Programme.

·        Seek approval to extend Council’s involvement in the BCRPP to 2024 / 2025 .

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to:

·        Note a presentation will be made at Committee from representatives from the Belfast City & Region Place Partnership (BCRPP).

·        Approve that Officers continue to support the delivery of the BCRPP 2024 / 2025  programme including governance processes, administering programme funded expenditure and entering into associated contracts on behalf of and with oversight from the BCRPP and in line with Council’s procurement processes.

·        Approve the Council investment (from existing and approved City Regeneration and Development Budget) as part of the wider public private sector partnership contribution towards the delivery of the BCRPP 2024 / 2025 programme.

·        Approve attendance by senior officers at MIPIM 2025 as part of the BCRPP 2024 / 2025 programme, noting that the BCRPP presence at MIPIM will be funded from the wider public-private sector BCRPP programme budget.

3.0       Background

3.1       Members will recall that this Committee agreed in May 2024 to receive a presentation from representatives of the Belfast City & Region Place Partnership (BCRPP) in June 2024. The purpose of this presentation is to update Members on the 2023 / 2024 programme of work and proposed 2024 / 2025 activities, including priority issues and objectives for the Partnership moving forward.

3.2       The BCRPP, formerly Renewed Ambition Partnership (RAP), is a joint public-private initiative that is delivering a programme of work aimed at ensuring Belfast is positively positioned to continue to attract inclusive investment to unlock and development, regeneration and infrastructure required to deliver on our inclusive growth ambitions.

3.3       BCRPP is supported by public, private and key anchor institution partners. Partners comprise of Belfast City Council, Belfast City Region Deal Partner Councils, Invest NI, Belfast Harbour, Translink, Housing Association representation, Queens University Belfast, and representatives from the local development community bringing forward regeneration and development projects.

3.4       For the past nine years Council has played a lead civic role in supporting this joint public private sector approach aimed at ensuring Belfast is positively positioned to attract external capital investment required to deliver on our sustainable and inclusive growth ambitions as outlined in the Belfast Agenda. This sets bold ambitions and economic development priorities for the city aimed at delivering inclusive growth. It aims to create a liveable and connected, vibrant and competitive city through prioritising housing-led regeneration; connectivity, active and sustainable travel; and future city centre and wider city regeneration and investment.  It is recognised that a collaborative partnership working approach between the public and private sector is key to successfully delivering on these ambitions, with the BCRPP being an important delivery mechanism. The BCRPP is also an important tool within our wider ‘Position the City to Compete’ proposition  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

            The information contained in the report associated with the following six items was restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following items as, due to the nature of the items, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            Members were also reminded that the content of ‘restricted’ reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as ‘confidential information’ and that no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.  

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development provided the Committee with an update on the Vacant to Vibrant Programme which sought approval for the recommendations from the Vacant to Vibrant assessment panel following the recent receipt and assessment of applications.

            She also outlined the recommendations for the next steps for the Vacant to Vibrant programme following engagement with Members and explained further the proposed research and development work.

            The Committee:

                           I.          Noted the update in relation to the city centre Vacant to Vibrant Programme;

                          II.          Agreed to the recommended grant awards as outlined within Section 3.15 of the report;

                        III.          Noted the update on the next steps of the Vacant to Vibrant Programme; and

                        IV.          Agreed to the recommendations for the Vacant to Vibrant next steps as outlined with Section 3.28 of the report.

            The Committee was provided with an update on the delivery of placemaking and active travel projects including Grey to Green, Active Travel Enablers and Developer Contribution led schemes.

            During discussion, one Member questioned the rationale for determining the boundary maps of the existing schemes, such as the North West Masterplan. The Director of City Regeneration and Development advised that this could be examined across the projects. 

            The Committee:

                             I.        Noted the update in relation to externally funded Tactical Regeneration activity;

                          II.          Noted the relocation of the Queen’s Quay kiosk, originally proposed for Castle Place, to DfC owned lands at Queen’s Quay and the proposed transfer of ownership of the Queen’s Quay kiosk to Maritime Business Trust;

                        III.          Noted the update of the Public Realm Improvement Works delivered via Developer Contributions; and

                        IV.          Agreed that a future report would be brought to the Committee to outline the rationale around red line boundaries including the city centre boundary and various programmes and projects and how this might be looked at going forward.

            The Committee authorised that the outstanding account of £10,668.52 be written off, in accordance with Section M12 of the Council’s Financial Regulations, as outlined in the report.

            The Committee considered the quarterly update on the performance at the Zoo, across the following areas:

·        Visitor Services;

·        Animal Collection;

·        Marketing and Events;

·        Education Services; and

·        Financial performance.

·         

            The Committee noted the Zoo performance update report for the period January to March 2024.

            The Director of Economic Development updated Members on the performance of the Belfast Bikes scheme in Quarter 4 (January 2024 to March 2024) of year 9 of operation.

            During discussion, the Director of Economic Development explained further the limitations of user data and engagement but this could be discussed with the new operator. He also advised that data on vandalism of the Bikes could be explored.

            He pointed out that finding suitable locations for the installation of new bike stands could be difficult but engagement was undertaken beforehand. 

            The Committee:

•        noted the update of the Belfast Bikes performance for Year 9 Quarter 4 (January to March) financial year; 

•        noted the progress regarding phase one and phase two expansion;

•        noted the update that tender will be prepared for procurement of a new Public Bike Hire Scheme;

•        noted the current status of appointing a new sponsor for the Public Bike Hire Scheme; and

•        approved the usage of free memberships, free ride vouchers and ride credits for marketing activity.

            The Director of Economic Development provided a quarterly performance and financial update for the period to end March 2024. He advised the Committee of the future plans for the coming quarter and noted that additional updates would be submitted to the Committee in due course.

            The Committee:

•        Noted the update on city markets – with a focus on St George’s Market; and;

•        Noted the priority actions for the coming quarter and note that further updates on progress will be brought back to future meetings of this Committee.

            The Director of City Regeneration and Development and the Development Manager provided an update to Members on the ongoing activities as part of the UP2030 Net Zero Neighbourhoods Project including stakeholder engagement, workshops, partnership working and highlight upcoming milestones.

            The Committee was reminded that, in March 2022, the Council was invited to participate in a three-year Horizon Europe consortium funding application from the Urban Planning 2030 (UP2030) fund to guide cities through the transitions required to meet their climate neutrality ambitions. As reported in November 2022 and March 2023, the City Regeneration and Development and Climate teams were successful in joint bid of €204,250/£176,024 to further an integrated approach between urban planning, achieving net zero and aspects of resilience. It was noted that Belfast was a pilot city within the Horizon UP2030 project which would focus on the development of a net zero neighbourhood framework and toolkit and the use of climate tools to support analysis, mapping and engagement in city neighbourhoods.

            It was reported that, as agreed at the Committee in March 2023, the geographic area of the UP2030 pilot covered an area bounded by May Street and Shaftesbury Square, and the Gasworks and Great Victoria Street, and adjacent city centre communities in the Market, Donegall Pass and Sandy Row, and to include the area bounded by the M1, the Inner Ring and Divis Street, which aligns with A Bolder Vision, Net Zero Roadmap, and provided a holistic mix of local communities, city centre living, commercial and tourism and hospitality. However, it was impressed that, whilst this work was undertaken within a defined boundary, the purpose was to produce a framework that could be adapted and used within all communities and districts to set forward net zero tailored approaches, attract funding and deliver climate adaption plans tailored for the uses of that specific district.

            The Development Manager advised that the primary focus of UP2030 was on the development of a Net Zero (NZ) Neighbourhood Framework that was shaped around three thematic areas: active travel, greening and retrofit.  These themes linked across to the UP2030 pillars of a fair and just transition, carbon neutrality and resilience.

            She highlighted that Cities accounted for 70% of the global CO2 emissions and consumed 78% of the world’s energy. The UP2030 project was about recognising the role cities play in achieving net zero by 2050, and the sequence of actions and transitions that would be required by 2030 to ensure this target ambition is met. The ‘5UP’ approach guides the work of the project and the considerations required for the development of a framework for creating a net zero neighbourhood:

•        UP-Dating: Identifying the needs and barriers, and reviewing the processes, planning codes and policies that should be urgently updated to create future proofed NZ neighbourhoods;

•        UP-Skilling: Building capacities to upskill the entire stakeholder ecosystem, from city departments to urban practitioners to the construction industry, through to citizens;

•        UP-Grading: Considering the transformation at the suitable physical scale;

•        UP-Scaling: Scaling solutions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report

1.1             The purpose of this report is to provide Members with an update on

·        St Patrick’s Day Celebrations 2024

·        forward planning for 2025

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to:

·        Note the contents of the report

·        Note the Year 2 award for Fe?ile an Phobail

·        Note the approach to Lot 2 for retendering

·        Agree to a funding allocation of £30,000 to Conradh na Gaeilge as per 2024 which will be drawn from existing budgets.

·        Agree the way forward in respect of the Parade, with officers recommending option 2.

·        Agree to officers arranging a member workshop to review lessons learnt.

·        Agree the proposed allocation of £300,000 from pre-agreed departmental budgets for the St. Patricks Day Festival to be allocated as below,

-       Parade/Pageant - £95,000

-       City Centre Weekend Music Programme - £90,000

-       Cross City Music Showcase (£50k) – Awarded for year 2 to Féile an Phobal

-       Conradh na Gaeilge - £30k for delivery of Seachtain na Gaeilge

-       Marketing/Engagement/Logistics - £35,000

3.0       Main report

3.1       St Patrick’s Day 2024 Process

            Belfast City Council’s previous model for the delivery of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Belfast, consisted of a Carnival Parade along a city centre route, followed by a free music concert for all ages in the city centre from 1.30pm - 4pm. In 2021, a new approach was adopted for St Patrick’s Day Belfast 2022 and 2023. Following an Expression of Interest process, Council agreed to directly invest in the local sector through four Creative Development Awards. These projects then progressed from feasibility to pilot stage for the Festival in 2022. Following the delivery of the pilot projects in March 2022 an evaluation process was completed, with all four projects again supported in 2023.

            2024 Approach

            It was further agreed at CG&R in September 2022, that a new Design Contest would be run in a timely manner for any required service contracts to support the delivery of St Patrick’s Day in 2024 and beyond. This was conducted with the support of CPS to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Publics Contracts Regulations.

            A tender for a similar approach to the Expression of Interest was developed and as before, fully aligned to the Cultural Strategy.

            This resulted in four Lots being offered for:

·        A Parade / Pageant (£95k)

·        City Centre Weekend Music Programme (£70K)

·        Cross City Music Showcase (£50k)

·        An ‘Open Call’ (£50k)

            The remaining budget was retained for parade logistics (circa £35k) and some other programming and marketing activity.

            The outcome of this process was that one submission was received for Lot 3 only, which was subsequently awarded to Fe?ile an Phobail. Lots 1, 2 and 4 received a Nil return.

            Further to discussions with CPS, Beat Carnival and Tradfest were approached at the end of October 2023 to deliver the Parade element and City Centre Weekend Music Programme respectively. Tradfest subsequently agreed to deliver Lot 2 and this was agreed at SP&R  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members on the progress of work on the new Neighbourhood Tourism Investment Programme, outline the proposed commissioning model and advise on next steps.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Committee is asked to:

·        Consider the updated findings of the Neighbourhood Tourism Investment Programme approach as contained within this report

·        Approve the commissioning model detail proposed, and associated next steps.

·        Approve the remaining financial allocation from the £500,000 allocation from the City Deal Reserve for a two year pilot programme with allocations of, £250,000 to Strand 2 & across the two year period. 

·        Note that funding was approved for EastSide Tourism and Fáilte Feirste Thiar (previously ‘City Connections Programme’) by Committee on 10^th April 2024. This initial investment programme phase will continue to support the work of both organisations for two years, with support of £62,500 to be released to each per annum via a funding agreement. 

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Strategic Context:

            Council’s ten-year tourism strategy, Make Yourself at Home, commits to developing a Neighbourhood Tourism Investment Fund, recognising that regenerative tourism is driven by the relationship between people and place and that there are strong opportunities to share tourism’s economic benefits beyond the city centre and for local tourism to contribute to the city’s growth.

            Members will be aware that investment was approved in June 2023 for a two-year programme to ‘develop and enhance tourism products and experiences across the city, sharing and distributing the benefits of a vibrant tourism sector throughout local neighbourhoods. In April 2024, approval was also granted to fund EastSide Partnership and Fàilte Feirste Thiar under the City Connections programme.

            Earlier this year, the Tourism unit oversaw an extensive programme of independent research and engagement with a series of public workshops across the city.  Flowing from this work are recommendations and timelines to inform a two-year investment programme, including considerations to support capacity, skills and visitor servicing interventions.

3.2       Engagement process and issues identified:

            At April 2024 Committee, Members were presented with an extensive overview of the engagement work undertaken:

            Stakeholder motivation for attending the workshops tended to be for one of three reasons:

a)     A small number had ready formed ideas or projects in different stages of development. This included plans to expand or diversity an existing product or experience. Others needed market testing, piloting, prototyping, feasibility and other research.

b)     Many were at the start of their journey, recognising neighbourhood tourism as an opportunity for their organisation or area or wanting to find out more about potential benefits and opportunities.

c)     Others were motivated simply by their pride and passion for their area and a desire to advocate for council or others to do more, rather than by an interest in developing neighbourhood tourism themselves.

3.3       Overview of Key Engagement Findings:

            Many participants were new to the concept of market segmentation. It was noted that further education and exploration may  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

            The Committee noted that the Housing Led Regeneration All Party Round Table planned for the end of June would be rescheduled to a later date.