Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from the Chairman (Councillor Crozier) and Councillor Newton.

            The minutes of the meeting of 10th December were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 5th January, subject to:

(i)      the omission of the minute under the heading “Land at McClure Street” which, at the request of Councillor Hartley, had been taken back to the Committee for further consideration; and

(ii)     the membership of the Working Group to be established in relation to the Celebration of a Decade of Centenaries being extended to include a representative of the Progressive Unionist Party.

            The Committee considered a further report in relation to the disposal of land at McClure Street, a copy of which is set out hereunder:

“1    Relevant Background Information

1.1The Strategic Policy & Resources Committee, at their meeting on 10 December 2010 granted approval to land at McClure Street being marketed, free of restrictions as to future use and on the basis that any disposal was time bound.   However at full Council on 5 January 2011 the matter was referred back to the Strategic Policy & Resources Committee.

1.2A copy of the previous Strategic Policy & Resources Committee report, which outlines the relevant background, a summary of all the previous Committee decisions, key decisions and details of potential options has been circulated.

1.3It should be emphasised that the key issue affecting the future use of this land is its planning designation.  Furthermore the key issue to be considered in deciding how the Council deals with any disposal of the land relates to the Council’s legislative requirement to obtain best price as set out in the Local Government Act (NI) 1972.  

1.4The previous report highlighted that in order to comply with the LGA (NI) 1972 best price obligation there should be no restriction given as to the future use for social housing.  If the use was restricted to any one particular use this would not allow for any other potential uses and could therefore restrict value and hence potentially not accord with the best price statutory requirement. 

1.5It is important to note that there have been various audit reports in respect of land disposal issues at other Councils.  These have highlighted the legislative requirement to obtain best price, best rent or otherwise best terms in the disposal of land, where the consent of the DOE is not sought.  In order to demonstrate that best price is being established the view is that the land should normally be subject to marketing, subject to certain exceptions.  Open competition is normally seen as the most effective way to demonstrate that best price is being established.    

1.6In the current case with McClure Street, the recommended option for the Council to take in order to comply with its legislative requirements and to demonstrate that best price is being obtained is to advertise the land for sale on the open market free of restrictions as to future use.  Otherwise the consent of the DOE will be required.  Any interested parties are free to make a bid accordingly.  To do otherwise could leave the Council open to challenge.

1.7The previous Committee reports sets out the planning issues which essentially indicate that any proposed development would have to bring substantial community benefit to outweigh the loss of open space.

2    Key Issues

2.1

·         Legislative requirement under the Local Government Act (NI) 1972 to obtain best price, best rent or otherwise best terms in the disposal of land, where the consent of the DOE is not sought.

·         Restrictions on the future use of the land when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 7th January, it had agreed the cash limits for each of the Committees as follows:

            The Director of Finance and Resources reported that, since that meeting, each of the Committees had considered and agreed its Revenue Estimates in line with the aforementioned cash limits.  Based on the Estimated Penny Product of £4,893,170, which had been provided by Land and Property Services, that meant that the District Rate increase would be 2.5% for 2011/12 and would result in a Domestic Rate of 0.3002 pence and a Non-Domestic Rate of 26.2248 pence.  The summary of the key elements of the Council’s finances for the next financial year, as agreed by the Committee, would be as follows:

            Accordingly, it was

      Resolved – That the Council be recommended to approve the expenditure contained within the Departmental Estimates and, further to this, that the following District Rate be fixed to meet the estimated expenditure of the several Committees of the Council for the financial year commencing 1st April, 2011:

Non-Domestic Rate - 26.2248 pence

Domestic Rate - 0.3002 pence

            The Committee approved also the key messages associated with the rates increase, subject to a number of amendments which had been suggested by the Members.

            The Chief Executive reported that he had received recently copies of the draft budgets for the Departments of the Northern Ireland Executive and indicated that he would be submitting a report to the Committee in this regard at its meeting scheduled to be held on 4th February.  The report would include also high level details of the impact on the Council, its services and match-funding projects.

            The Chief Executive explained that, now that the Committee had agreed the Rates for the next financial year, it was time to work through the Council’s corporate priorities, identify and agree the Capital Projects which it would wish to support and work towards a resource plan which would establish how the Council could work together with other Bodies to resource key infrastructure projects within the City.

Noted.

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Budget and Transformation Panel of 13th January.

            The Committee granted authority for the commencement of tendering exercises and delegated authority to the Director of Property and Projects, in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation, to accept the most advantageous tender received in respect of the following:

            The Director of Finance and Resources submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      As part of their planning and budgeting process for 2011/12 departments indicated there may be areas of their workforce which could be downsized as a result of structural improvements, downturn in workload and/or ongoing revenue losses.

      Consequently, the SP&R Committee gave approval on 22 October 2010 to secure a proportion of the 2010/11 under spend to fund potential voluntary redundancies (VR) this financial year.

      It was agreed that specific proposals in relation to potential voluntary redundancies in targeted areas such as Finance & Resources, Parks & Leisure Services and Facilities Management would be developed with a view to bringing these back to standing committees / Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for approval. 

      It was also agreed that that any such proposals would meet the previously agreed principles and criteria in relation to releasing members of staff on a VR basis, namely: the decision to release anyone on VR is dependent on the needs of the council and we retain the right to decide whether or not to accept an employee's application for VR in accordance with the following BCC principles:

·         Prioritisation of VR requests will be based on available finance and the level of savings which may be delivered

·         The VR will avoid the need for compulsory redundancy

·         The need to ensure that essential skills and expertise are maintained

·         All other relevant options have been considered.

·         Any changes to structures will be conducted and implemented in accordance with HR policies and procedures and the Council’s Trade Unions will be fully consulted and agreement sought in relation to all releases

Key Issues

      Departments have now identified those posts which can be deleted through voluntary redundancy with no detrimental impact on the management of the service. The proposed voluntary redundancies are as follows:

      Finance and Resources – Two Secretarial Assistant posts, following reorganisation of existing posts within the department.

      Facilities Management – Two posts (one Working Trades Foreman and one Painter) as a result of an ongoing downturn in work which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future

      Parks and Leisure Services – Six posts of Team Leader in Parks as a result of restructuring previously agreed by committee in October 2010. Three posts in Leisure (one Leisure Centre Manager and two Assistant Leisure Centre Managers) as a result of ongoing restructuring (agreed at Parks and Leisure Committee in January 2011).

      Each of the 13 applications for VR meet the agreed best practice individual payback period ( 3.25 years) with the overall Council payback period being 2.11 years. Any changes to structures as a result of the voluntary redundancies will be implemented in accordance with BCC HR policies and procedures and consultation with Trade Unions.

      Appendix One, which has been circulated for the information of the Members, sets out details of costs and savings, but in summary the one off cost to the Council of releasing the aforementioned staff is £707,192. It is estimated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0Relevant Background Information 

1.1As Members are aware, on the 30th November 2010 the Environment Minister outlined his proposals in respect to the reform of the Planning Service within Northern Ireland. The key proposals included:

1.      On the 1st April 2011, Planning Service functions and staff will have been absorbed into the core of DOE and the Planning Service’s status as an Agency will end

2.      These functions will be taken forward by two divisions i.e.

·         Local Planning Operations Division which will have responsibility for the Development Plan and Development Management functions which will in time transfer to local government

·         Strategic Planning Operations Division which will take forward the responsibilities which will remain with the Department.

3.      The existing six Divisional Planning Offices and two subdivisional offices will be streamlined to five Area Planning Offices based around amalgamations of the proposed 11 council cluster model. Members will note that under these proposals, the new Belfast Area Planning Office will comprise 3 of the proposed 11 new council areas including the proposed local government districts of Belfast, Lisburn & Castlereagh, and North Down & Ards.  The current Belfast Divisional Planning Office covers the areas of Belfast, Castlereagh and Newtownabbey. Newtownabbey will form part of the South Antrim Area Planning Office.

4.      The introduction of a scheme of delegation (still to be published) whereby certain planning decisions would be delegated from the Minister to the Department.

5.      Proposals in regards to reforming the Planning Service’s fees regime.

6.      Announcing the intention to progress with a small number of pilot initiatives from April 2011 to test the working arrangements for the delivery of planning functions by the new councils before they are rolled out across the new council areas.

1.2As part of his announcement, the Environment Minister stated that a detailed Planning Bill would be introduced to the Assembly within the next few weeks for consideration.

2.0Key Issues

2.1Subsequently, on 6th December 2010 the Planning Bill was introduced to the Assembly for consideration. In introducing the Bill, the Environment Minister stated that ‘The proposals in this Bill will transform our planning system. They pave the way for the transfer of planning functions to local government within a timescale and in circumstances to be determined by the Executive. They will make the planning system more effective and speed up decision making’.

2.2The Planning Bill is very lengthy and consists of 248 clauses (200+ pages long) and is the largest Bill to come before the Assembly. A copy of the Bill and Explanatory and Financial Memorandum are available at

      http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/legislation/primary/2010/nia7_10.htm. A high-level summary of the areas covered by the Planning Bill has been circulated for the information of the Members.

2.3The reform proposals as set out within the Planning Bill are comprehensive, and will impact upon every aspect of the planning system, including how development plans are drawn up, how development proposals and applications are managed and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1    Relevant Background Information

1.1The Local Government Division of the Department of the Environment has issued a consultation paper on the introduction of pension rights for elected Members of local Councils.  The deadline for the submission of comments is 28thJanuary.

2    Key Issues

2.1The consultation paper proposes to introduce legislation - the Local Government Pension Scheme (Councillors) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 – which will come into effect from the date of the Local Government Elections in May.

2.2The effect of the Regulations will be to automatically enrol every Councillor elected in May into the Local Government Pension Scheme.  A Member may opt out of the scheme by notifying the Council in writing.  The scheme will be based upon a contribution being made by both the individual Member and the Council, similar to that in place for Local Government officers.

2.3The main difference between the scheme for Councillors and that for officers is that the Councillors’ pensions will be calculated on the basis of career average earnings rather than final salary.  This is seen to be advantageous as the payments which are taken into account in calculating the pension payment are those made under the Local Government (Payments to Councillors) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, namely basic allowance and the special responsibility allowance, and an individual Member may hold positions on the Council which attract higher payments at various times during their career.  Therefore, the career average rather than a final salary calculation would more often than not provide a higher pension payment.  It should be noted that the Regulations do not make any provision for payments made to Members by outside bodies, such as the District Policing Partnership, or payments for acting as Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor or High Sheriff to be taken into account.  The pension will be calculated on the basis of 1/60 of the pay received by the Member for each year of service.   Each year’s pension will then be up-rated with inflation and then aggregated.  This figure will then be divided by the number of years’ service to provide the “average” pay which will then be used to calculate the pension based upon the number of years’ service.

2.4The pension is payable for life and is normally paid when a Member reaches the age of 65.  The proposals also include provisions for:

·         The pension to be increased each year in line with the Consumer Price Index;

·         Members to opt to take a tax-free lump sum on retirement by converting up to 25% of the capital value of the pension at a conversion rate of £1 pension for £12 lump sum;

·         The opportunity for the Member to increase his or her membership by paying additional voluntary contributions;

·         The right for a Member, after 3 months’ membership, to retire voluntarily at age 60 and receive a pension, albeit at a reduced rate;

·         The possibility of a Member retiring from age 55 and receiving benefits  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

            The Committee was informed that the undernoted requests for the use of the City Hall and the provision of hospitality had been received:

            (Mrs. S. Wylie, Director of Health and Environmental Services, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 23rd January, 2009, it had agreed to set up new joint working arrangements with the Public Health Agency and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.  The purpose of that was to create a mechanism to better tackle the health inequalities that existed across the City, which was one of the priorities that the Council had set within its Corporate Plan.  Part of those joint working arrangements involved the establishment of a new unit, the Belfast Health Development Unit, which had been launched by the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in March, 2010.  That new unit incorporated staff from the Council, the Public Health Agency and the Belfast Trust.  The Unit had developed a joined-up action plan across the three agencies to address the priority health problems facing the people of Belfast.

            The Director of Health and Environmental Services explained that the next step in delivering joined-up planning and action was to set up a new Strategic Partnership for Health and Wellbeing in order to:

·         Support a Citywide collaborative approach across sectors to better address the inequalities and health and wellbeing challenges faced within Belfast; and

·         Set the strategic direction for health and wellbeing improvement in Belfast, through the development of agreed priorities for the City and the alignment of corporate plans and resources of the key service providers.

            She reminded the Members that the Council had been successful in being awarded a contract by the BIG Lottery to deliver a community planning pilot.  As a result of this the Committee had established a Cross-Party Reference Group on Community Planning, which had been meeting for the previous two months and included two Members from each of the Party Groupings on the Council.  That Group had agreed that the pilot should focus on health as a theme and it would specifically test how to enable the voluntary and community sector to influence the plans and resources of key statutory agencies.

            The new Belfast Strategic Partnership for health and wellbeing would be made up of representatives from the following sectors:

·         Statutory sector, such as the Council, the Public Health Agency, the Belfast Health and Social Services Trust, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Education sector;

·         Private sector;

·         Community and voluntary sector, including representation from the five Belfast Area Partnership Boards and community nominees put forward at a recent community sector workshop; and

·         Local Elected Members.

            That Partnership would set the health and wellbeing priorities for the City in the form of a Citywide plan and would be supported by the Belfast Health Development Unit.  The first meeting was scheduled to be held at 11.00 a.m. on 8th February in the Group Space, Ulster Hall.  It would meet approximately four times a year.

            Accordingly, it was recommended that each of the Party Groupings on the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

            (Ms. J. Minne, Head of Human Resources, and Ms. C. Christy, Principal Human Resources Advisor, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Purpose of report:

      The purpose of this report is to provide Members with an overview of the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Health Employment Partnership and examine the possibility of developing a similar employment partnership scheme for the council.

Relevant background information:

      At its meeting on 1 December 2010 the council acknowledged the work of the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Health Employment Partnership.  It noted the provision of pre-employment training and support to 300 long term unemployed and that 143 of these long term unemployed people secured employment in Belfast HSC Trust.  It was agreed that this matter be referred to the Strategic Policy and Resources to examine the possibility of developing a similar employment partnership scheme for the council.

      The Health Employment Partnership.

      The Health Employment Partnership (HEP) was developed as an output of the work of the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Task Forces and is a unique partnership involving Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, UNISON and the community.  HEP is a regeneration initiative that has sought to target the most disadvantaged areas in West Belfast and Greater Shankill, its aim being to demonstrate that the health and social services sector can make a substantial contribution towards regeneration by addressing worklessness and poor job progression. The project is focussed upon two core areas of work:

·         Pre-employment support - targeted at the unemployed and economically inactive, by providing training relevant to jobs in the health sector as well as general job search support and personal skill development. 

·         Job progression - targeted at staff already in entry level positions in the health sector, providing training and development to assist with career progression. 

      An independent evaluation of the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Health Employment Partnership concluded that the Partnership’s employment programme has been very impressive and value-for-money, with a job conversion rate of 47% and a cost per job outcome that compares very favourably with other DEL employability initiatives and a boost to the local economy of around £1 million each year.  Through the programme, 143 people got jobs with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.  In addition, over 300 staff in the Trust received training to help them develop their careers, and 36 entry-grade staff have already obtained promotion.

      The initial feasibility study was funded by DEL and the project was then funded by the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety, under the Renewing Communities Programme.   While £1million was initially allocated to the HEP, the total project cost was £670 000 spent over the three years of the project which ran between 2007 and 2009. 

      Funding has now ceased for the HEP and future funding opportunities are currently being explored with DHSSPS, DEL and DSD. 

Existing employability initiatives in Belfast City Council

      Young Persons Employment Initiative

      The council has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

            The Director of Property and Projects submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

 “Purpose of Report

1.1The purpose of this paper is to update Members on the status of council led projects under Peace III Priority 2.1 ‘Creating Shared Public Spaces’ call for capital projects and to inform Members of a request from the Falls Community Council for the Council to act as the lead partner on its Peace III application to develop a shared space on the site of the former school at St Comgall’s. 

Relevant Background Information

2.1Members will recall that the Strategic P&R committee at its meeting in October 2010 was informed that SEUPB had reopened the call for bids under Priority 2.1 ‘Creating Shared Public Spaces’ of the Peace III programme with a closing date for applications being 17th January 2011.

      As Members are aware, under this priority SEUPB is seeking strategic physical project submissions that can be easily recognised as a Peace III project after the programme completes in 2015.  The central issue that projects need to demonstrate is their ability to deliver peace and reconciliation outcomes and to be iconic, transformational projects that would provide a lasting legacy to the PEACE III programme. All monies under this call have to be committed by December 2013 and spent by mid 2015 so the timescales are extremely tight for capital projects.

At the Committee meeting in October a long list of projects were presented for consideration of Members for submission under this priority. It was also agreed that the Council should only submit 1 or 2 very well defined projects under this call in order to maximise its chances of a getting a successful application under this call. 

      At this meeting the following decisions were therefore agreed in relation to projects - 

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1    Purpose

1.1To update Committee on the North Foreshore project, the first meeting of the political steering group and to seek approval for subsequent actions.

2    Background

2.1The North Foreshore is a former landfill site owned and operated by BelfastCity Council.  Although the site closed as a landfill in 2007 it does and will remain a major environmental liability due to the nature of the material deposited as landfill.

2.2There are consequently a number of ongoing actions such as the completion of site capping, management of methane gas and leachate, continual monitoring and assessment as the physical nature of the landfill changes over time.

2.3The site also provides opportunities in that it is a large scale open space, well located for commercial purposes and with good transport links.

2.4The Council has attempted to realise some beneficial development on the on a number of occasions including the Giants Park lottery bid and the energy to waste plant but such major development has been hampered by the high cost associated with installing the necessary infrastructure on such difficult made up ground as well as a lack of consensus on what should be developed.

2.5The Council did install electrical supply infrastructure to the site and a number of smaller developments have taken place such as gas to electricity generation which is producing an income for Council; a waste transfer station and negotiations are ongoing on regard to both a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant and a composting facility.  There is also a Peace 3 bid for a sports Village which is detailed in a separate paper on this agenda.

2.6The committee has agreed to establish a North Foreshore political steering group to drive and direct the development of the overall site via an oversight board of COMT.

3    Key Issues

3.1The political steering Group (SG) held its first meeting on 16 December 2010 to consider a number of issues.

3.2The initial meeting consisted of the chairmen of the four relevant committees i.e. SP&R, P&L, H&ES and Development.

3.3The SG agreed to expand membership to include one additional party group member from the two North Belfast electoral areas.  Committee endorsement of this recommendation as with any SG recommendations is required.

3.4The SG then received a summary of a cross departmental officer workshop which had considered various ideas for the site, their relevance to Belfast and most importantly although most difficult how could any such ideas be delivered.

3.5There are no immediate and obvious answers as to how the crippling infrastructure costs can be overcome but the SG agreed on the following points.

·         The Council alone does not have the financial resources to fully develop the site

·         The Council alone does not have all the necessary expertise

·         Time is a major consideration as it will take decades to fully develop this site and phasing will be important

·         The benefits of any development  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15b

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, as part of the City Investment Strategy, had agreed to co-ordinate the acquisition of lands to enable the Connswater Community Greenway to proceed.  It was reported that two areas of land had been identified as being required to help complete the Greenway route and associated landscapings.  The first was an area of 0.137 acres of land at Elmgrove and Council officers had agreed, subject to the Committee’s approval, to purchase the land from the Belfast Education and Library Board at a cost of £4,000.  The second was an area of 6.38 acres of land at Orangefield and Grosvenor schools.  Subject to the Committee’s approval, Council officers had agreed to purchase the lands from the Belfast Education and Library Board for the sum of £245,000.

            The Committee granted approval for the purchase of the two areas of land as outlined.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 19th June, 2009, it granted approval to the disposal of the former Civic Amenity sites at Seapark Drive, for the sum of £70,500, and Primrose Street, together with an adjoining piece of land owned by Ligoniel Pigeon Society Social Club, for the sum of £115,000, of which the Council would receive a pro-rata apportionment of £85,000.

            The Director of Property and Projects reported that both sales had subsequently fallen through and, despite continued marketing, there had been no further expressions of interest.  Therefore, as an alternative to outright disposal, it might be possible, subject to demand, to lease both of the sites for storage/small business use in the short term.  If there was interest in leasing the premises, then that could provide an income stream to the Council, pending an improvement in the residential market and availability of capital.  In the case of Primrose Street, it would only be the Council-owned premises that would be offered to let.

            The Committee agreed that the sites at Primrose Street and Seapark Drive be advertised to let on the open market, with a report being submitted in due course seeking approval on the terms of any proposed letting.

            The Committee was advised that the Council currently leased land at M2/Duncrue Place to a number of different tenants for a period of either 99 or 125 years.  A further area of land consisting of 685.8 square metres had been retained by the Council.  In March, 2002 that area had been sold erroneously for £10,000 by the Department for Regional Development by way of a 999 year lease.  The Estates Management Unit had become aware of the Department’s mistake in December, 2003 and despite claims by the Department for Regional Development that it was under its ownership, Council officers had proved successfully that the Council did have title to the land.

            The Director of Property and Projects explained that the Department had suggested that it return the £10,000 consideration monies which it had received and that in return the Council would execute a Deed of Rectification in favour of the purchaser on the same terms that existed currently between the Department and the purchaser.  However, under the terms of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, the Council could only dispose of land on the best terms available and Council officers had been firmly of the view that if the Department for Regional Development simply gave to the Council the money which had been received by it that would certainly not represent disposal on the best terms available.

            Following further discussion, the Department of Finance and Personnel, in July, 2007, had agreed to pay the full market value of the land that had been sold erroneously by the Department for Regional Development and had subsequently appointed the Land and Property Services Agency to assess the market value.

            In May, 2010, Land and Property Services had reported the following valuation to the Department of Finance and Personnel’s solicitors:

·         Estimated 2002 value - £50,000;

·         Estimated 2007 value - £170,000

·         Estimated 2010 value - £80,000

            Following further protracted negotiations, the Estates Management Unit had obtained an agreement with the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department for Regional Development to sell the land at the 2007 value, namely £170,000.

            The Committee granted approval for the disposal of the lands at Duncrue Place to the Department for Regional Development in the sum of £170,000.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

1.1Members will be aware that the Committee has delegated authority for routine requests for use of the City Hall grounds etc. to the Director of Property & Projects, on the basis of an agreed set of criteria. However it was recognized that there would still be occasions on which the nature, scale and/or scope of the request means that it is appropriate to place the matter directly before the Committee. The request detailed below falls into this category, and the direction of the Committee is therefore sought.

1.2A formal request has been received from Tesco to organise a ‘Taste Northern Ireland’ consumer food event in the grounds of the City Hall in late August or early September 2011 (exact dates to be confirmed). Essentially this would involve Tesco inviting local food and beverage producers to participate in a 2 or 3-day event aimed at show-casing local produce to consumers.

1.3The event would take place in a covered marquee which would be approx. 1,300m² in size. Exhibitors would populate stands with their products, literature and own branding, often adding cookery demonstrations and other similar activities to add interest. They may make sales direct to the public and can also issue vouchers which consumers can use in-store. A cookery kitchen inside the marquee would operate for the duration of the event, giving local restaurant chefs the opportunity to promote their businesses to potential customers in addition to providing educational cookery sessions etc. A ‘kidzone’ would be provided for visiting children, themed around food production. Similar events have been held at other venues in recent years (including one in partnership with GlasgowCity Council) and have apparently attracted attendances of up to 12,500.

1.4The various exhibitors would pay exhibitor fees to Tesco in order to participate in the event, however the Tesco application emphasizes that “in return for exhibitor fees we will provide logistical and other support, plus a marketing campaign which will drive high visitor numbers. The event is non profit-making and Tesco will be far and away the main funder”. It should, however, be noted that the entire event would carry fairly prominent Tesco branding.

1.5No fast-food or similar vendors are permitted to participate, so there would be little in the way of direct competition with city-centre based retailers. The organisers do not require any access to the main City Hall building, although they will require use of the electrical infrastructure to provide power to the various appliances etc.

1.6In terms of marketing, the event would be promoted via ‘billboards, a partnership with a local radio station, a PR campaign, leafleting at busy locations around Belfast and leafleting in all local Tesco stores’.

1.7Tesco has indicated that there may be an opportunity, if desired, to develop a joint message with BCC in relation to the in-store leafleting and marketing campaign. Tesco has asserted that that it would be willing to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17b

            (Mrs. H. Francey, Good Relations Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Good Relations Partnership of 10th January.

            Belfast Blitz

            Arising out of discussion on the previous matter, a Member referred to the proposed Blitz Commemorations 2011 which had been approved.  He pointed out that there was a Blitz plot within the City Cemetery and requested that the Parks Section be requested that it be cleaned and tidied and a surround provided.  He made the point that the Lord Mayor, at that time, had unveiled a commemorative stone at the plot in 1953.

            The Committee agreed to this course of action.

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Memorabilia Working Group of 17th January.

            Community Relations Council

            The Chief Executive referred to a conference in relation to a Decade of Centenaries which was being organised by the Community Relations Council on March 23rd.  He indicated that the Council had been requested to host the event in the City Hall.  He made the point that, whilst there was delegated authority to approve the hosting of events of this nature, he thought it was appropriate to seek the Committee’s approval.  He suggested also that, since the Committee the previous month had agreed to establish a All-Party Working Group to consider historic centenaries, the event would provide that Group with an excellent opportunity to discuss the principles which should be applied to events of that nature.

            The Committee agreed that the Council host the aforementioned event in the City Hall and that the Members of the All-Party Working Group on Historic Centenaries be authorised to attend.