Agenda item

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

 

“1.0         Relevant Background Information 

 

               Role of the Area Working Groups

 

1.1          Members are aware that the Area Working Groups (AWGs) were established last year as a means of connecting Members to local areas in preparation for their role in community planning under the Reform of Local Government. In governance terms, the AWGs were established to have an advisory role, informing the implementation of the Investment Programme.  It was agreed that the AWGs would have no delegated authority and no budget.

 

1.2          Since this time, the AWGs have played an integral role in recommending investment decisions for their areas in terms of the Local Investment Fund, the Feasibility Fund and Local Interventions Funds to the SP&R Committee. It was also previously agreed at SP&R last November that the AWGs would play a central part in the decisions related to the Belfast Investment Fund (BIF) given their knowledge of local areas and projects.

 

1.3          This report should be read in conjunction with the ‘Investment Programme Half Year Update’ report which is also on the agenda at today’s Committee. Members are asked to note Property & Projects is happy to facilitate site visits for Members/Party Groups to any of the Council physical projects (including those funded under the Capital Programme and LIF) as they may help inform future investment decisions under BIF.  

 

2.0          Key issues

 

               Belfast Investment Fund – Update

2.1          Members will be aware the Belfast Investment Fund (previously the City Investment Fund) was established to enable the Council to take a lead role and work in partnership to deliver key investment projects across the city.  Members have been updated at Committee in September and October on the objectives of the BIF and its approval processes. These are reattached at Appendix 1 and 2 respectively for Members’ interest. This approval process reflects the Stage Approval process that SP& R has previously agreed that all Council capital projects must go through whereby decisions on which projects progress are taken by SP&R Committee in its role as the Council’s investment decision maker. The first stage of this process is the development of a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) which will test the four abilities of the projects – i.e. feasibility, deliverability, affordability, sustainability.

 

2.2          The SP&R Committee has already agreed recommendations from the South, East, West and Shankill Area Working Groups in relation to BIF.  Since this meeting the North Area Working Group has also shortlisted a number of emerging BIF proposals. These are outlined in the Table below for Members.

 

2.3         

AWG	Recommended projects	Status
North	Malgrove; Cancer Lifeline; St. Kevin’s Hall; Grace Women’s Centre; Ballysillan Masterplan and the Old Grove site	To be agreed by Committee
West	St. Comgall’s, An Sportslann, Corpus Christi – sports pitches, St Mary’s Christian Brothers – sports facilities, Conway Mill, Belfast Hills, Lionra Uladh (Raidio Failte) and Suffolk community forum – integrated pre-school development at Teeling’s Green	Agreed by Committee 25th  October
East	Strand Cinema Community Arts project	Agreed by Committee 25th October
South	Lagan, Gilpins and Markets Tunnels	Agreed by Committee 20th September
Shankill	St. Andrew’s Church	Agreed by Committee 20th September

 

2.4          Members are asked to asked to consider if they wish to progress the projects as recommended by the North Area Working Group to be  moved to Stage 1 (i.e. the development of an SOC) which will test their feasibility in the first instance.   Members are asked to note that this does not constitute a final decision to invest in any project.  A high level overview of the information that will be assessed through the SOC is attached at Appendix 3. Any costs associated with the development of SOCs will come from the Feasibility Fund.  

 

2.5          Members are asked to note that if they agree the recommendations by the North AWG as outlined above there are now 19 emerging BIF proposals which are being taken forward to Stage 1 – Feasibility. As highlighted last month there are associated resource implications with this, particularly when considered in the context of the other work which the Council is progressing currently in terms of the physical programme with over 70 projects on the Capital Programme; 65 under the Local Investment Fund, the developing Leisure Transformation Programme and the implications of SIF which have not yet been quantified.  If the above projects are agreed, as with the other emerging BIF proposals, a project sponsor (or two depending on project scale) from the Property & Projects Department will be assigned to the emerging BIF proposals. Once these are assigned the project sponsor (s) will be in contact with groups to kick-off the SOC process and agree next steps.

 

 

3.0          Local Investment Fund – Update

 

3.1          Members will be aware that an integral part of the Investment Programme was the establishment of a £5million Local Investment Fund which was designed to support the delivery of key local regeneration projects in neighbourhoods. At the time of establishment it was intended that the lifespan of LIF would be over the current council term (i.e. up to 2015). To date 67 projects have been recommended in-principle for funding; of which 65 remain following 2 groups withdrawal from the process. Out of these, 33 projects have fully progressed through due diligence process; representing £2,062,502 of committed funding.

 

3.2          Members, through the recent round of AWGs, have been updated that some of the recommended LIF projects have made limited progress in terms of going through the due-diligence process which the Council has established to ensure that proposals are properly and rigorously scrutinised.  This has been due to a range of factors including the groups’ capacity to manage capital projects, the scale and complexity of some schemes and the fact that many are reliant on match funding that is not yet in place, particularly from the Social Investment Fund (SIF). At this point it is likely that some of these schemes may not complete by the end of the current Council term and/or many have to de-commit their in principle funding. Members are asked to note that even projects which have gone through due-diligence may still not complete due to a range of external factors including planning, match funding and other technical issues. Members may therefore have to to reconsider these schemes and there may be an opportunity to reallocate monies to alternative projects or existing LIF projects which require additional funding.   

 

3.3          In the first instance, and to help inform AWGs about which projects are likely not progress and how much additional monies may be available for reallocation, it is proposed that the Director of Property & Projects writes to all groups who have not yet been through the due-diligence process and requests that all outstanding information is provided by the end of January 2014. Members, through the AWGs, will continue to be kept up to date of the progress of LIF projects and in the interim, AWGs will be asked to consider alternatives for any potential reallocation which could include additional money to existing schemes, removing the requirement for match funding and/or progressing new schemes. 

 

3.4          As outlined above, some LIF projects are dependent on match funding being secured and this is a key reason why they cannot be progressed through the due-diligence process.  One of the key match funding streams for projects is SIF and some Area Working Groups have requested that a letter is sent to OFMDFM expressing their concern about these delays. However it is understood that there may be announcements in relation to SIF in the coming weeks.  The Committee is therefore asked to consider if it wishes to send a letter on behalf of all the AWGs in this regard.

 

               Specific projects issues – Walkway Community Association

 

3.5          In October 2012 the SP&R Committee agreed, in principle, to provide LIF support to the Walkway Community Association’s Open Space development project up to a value of £250,000 (Ref – ELIF008).  The Walkway Community Association has developed a draft concept plan to include a MUGA and a play park on the land.  This is outlined in red on the plan attached at Appendix 4. Members are asked to note that the land required for the project is owned by the DRD Roads Service. DRD is reluctant to enter into a lease arrangement with the Walkway Community Association and their preference is to enter into a lease with the Council.

 

3.6          The land forms part of the Comber Greenway and is currently zoned within the draft BMAP as EWAY and it is within the protection line for the Comber Route E14 road scheme. The current proposals for the Belfast Rapid Transit are that it will run along the Upper Newtownards Road rather than the Comber Greenway, therefore the land will not now be required for the EWAY. In addition, the DRD Minister, Danny Kennedy, has confirmed DRD’s intention to abandon the E14 Road Scheme on the adoption of BMAP (now scheduled for Spring 2014)and thereafter the land could then be subject to the normal land disposal process, should this be deemed appropriate.

 

3.7          The Estates Management Unit have had discussions with DRD Roads Service to clarify the way forward. Roads Service have agreed to initiate the disposal process on publication of BMAP and it is noted that the publication of BMAP is at the discretion of Planning Service and is currently scheduled to be published in Spring 2014. In the interim Members are asked to agree that officers continue to progress discussions with Roads Service with a view to acquiring, by way of long lease, this land and progress discussions with Walkway Community Association with a view to sub letting said land with a further report to be brought to this Committee in due course. Members are asked to note that Walkway Community Association will be responsible for the maintenance and the long term sustainability of the facilities.

 

4.0          Local Intervention Fund

 

               Shankill AWG -  Local Intervention  

 

4.1          The Shankill AWG made the following recommendation for the consideration of the SP&R Committee in relation to their Local Intervention Fund money:

 

£	AWG Comments
£40,000	That £40,000 be allocated from the Shankill’s AWG’s Local Intervention Fund to support a range of community events and activities in the run up to Christmas designed to animate the local area, bring people together and contribute to local businesses

 

5.0          Area planning

 

5.1          Members will be aware that they have previously agreed to look at the development of area plans within the context of the emerging community planning framework. Members are asked to note that a scenario planning workshop was held with the Inner South NRP in October to look at proposals for the broader Markets, Lower Ormeau and Donegall Pass areas. This workshop was attended by local community representatives, local Elected Members and officers from departments/services across the Council.  The planning session was very well received and it is intended to follow this up with further scenario planning workshops in Falls/Lower Divis and Andersonstown in the coming months.  The outcomes of workshops such as these, together with other masterplans which are being led by DSD and the various NRP plans which are already in place, can provide a nucleus for the development of area frameworks which in turn can help inform Members’ investment decisions. 

 

6.0          Resource Implications

 

               Financial: BIF - Any costs associated with the development of Strategic Outline Cases for emerging BIF proposals will be met from the Feasibility Fund.

               Human: Officer time in working with groups on developing their project proposals

 

Assets: none at present

 

7.0          Equality Implications

 

As part of the Stage approval process, a screening will be carried out on each project to indicate potential equality and good relations impacts and any mitigating actions needed.  

 

8.0          Recommendations

 

               Committee is asked to note the contents of this report and

 

               Belfast Investment Fund

 

-       agree the request from the North AWG that their shortlisted BIF projects (St. Kevin’s Hall; Malgrove; Grace Women’s Centre; Cancer Lifeline; Ballysillan Masterplan and Old Grove site) are progressed to Stage 1 and the development of SOCs to test their feasibility, affordability, sustainability and deliverability.  Members are asked to note that this does not constitute a final decision to invest in any project

 

-       note the associated resourcing implications and that a project sponsor (or two depending on project scale) from the Property & Projects Department will be assigned to the emerging BIF proposals. Once these are assigned the project sponsor (s) will be in contact with groups to kick-off the SOC process and agree next steps.

 

               Local Investment Fund

 

-       note that some projects which have been recommended for in-principle funding under LIF have made limited progress in terms of going through the due-diligence process and agree in the first instance that the Director of Property& Projects writes to all groups in this situation to request that all outstanding information on projects is received by the end of January and to also note that even projects which have gone through due-diligence may still not complete due to a range of external factors including planning, match funding and other technical issues

 

-       note that AWGs will continue to receive updates on the status of all LIF projects in their areas in the coming months which will help inform decisions re re-allocations of LIF monies to existing or alternative projects

 

-       note that some AWGs have expressed concern over the ongoing delays in decisions regarding SIF projects and the impact that this is having on groups seeking match funding and have requested that a letter outlining these concerns is forwarded to OFMdFM.  However it is understood that announcements regarding SIF may be forthcoming and the Committee is therefore asked to consider if it wishes to write to OFMdFM on behalf of the AWGs in this regard

 

-       Walkway Community Association (ELIF 008) – agree that officers progress discussions with Roads Service with a view to acquiring, by way of long lease, the land outlined red on the plan at Appendix 4 and progress discussions with Walkway Community Association with a view to sub letting said land with a further report to be brought to this Committee in due course

 

Local Intervention Fund

 

-       agree the Local Intervention recommendation as proposed by the Shankill AWG

 

               Area Planning

 

-       note a scenario planning workshop was held recently with the Inner South NRP and it is intended to run similar workshops in the coming months in the Lower Falls/Divis areas and at Andersonstown.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.