Agenda item

            The Director of Development submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“1     Relevant Background Information

1.1 There are a number of strands of work being taken forward at present to prepare for the transfer of several new functions to the Council as part of the Local Government Reform (LGR) programme.  A number of these functions are closely related including urban regeneration and community development, statutory planning and local economic development responsibilities.  The introduction of the new Community Planning framework will also be a significant factor when considering a future regeneration policy development.

1.2 Initial work has focussed on developing a baseline position for these functions insofar as the information that can be verified at this stage.  This has begun to identify some of the key strategic issues which need to be given focused consideration in moving towards transfer.  In relation to urban regeneration, this includes the need to effectively balance business continuity at point of transfer on 1st April 2015 with the opportunity to deliver a ‘transformed’ and integrated place shaping agenda over the longer-term (i.e. from 2017).

1.3    The transfer of a range of functions as part of LGR, including responsibilities for regeneration and statutory planning, offers an unprecedented opportunity for the Council to address these challenges in a more co-ordinated and productive way.  The Council will be able to lead the development and implementation of localised policies which stimulate investment, create jobs and support sustainable growth in the local economy. As a result the new Council will be able to pro-actively influence investment, tourism, development and regeneration across the city.

2       Key Issues

2.1 The Department of the Environment expect each of the 11 new Councils, as part of their new statutory planning function, to develop and adopt new local Development Plans for their area by 2017.  Development Plans apply regional policies at the local level, setting out the policy framework and land use proposals that will be used to guide development decisions within the local area.

2.2 The statutory planning policy context for Belfast will be set out in the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP), which is due to be published before the transfer of the planning functions in 2015.  This new BMAP, on adoption, will formally replace the existing Belfast Urban Area Plan 2001 as the statutory Development Plan for the City.  Although yet to be adopted, the significant delay in formally approving BMAP means that it is already dated.

2.3 Whilst many of the localised neighbourhood-level policies may still be considered relevant, the economic circumstances have changed significantly since BMAP policy was drafted. It is therefore recognised that those elements of the plan relating to the City Centre in particular are in need of review and policies revised to account for the economic downturn, changes to consumer patterns, the high level of vacant properties and take account of emerging projects planned for the city such as the relocation of the University of Ulster.

2.4 As a result of the LGR the Council will have responsibility for the development of an overarching Strategic Planning Framework for the City and a more specific Local Plan Policy document.  Although the Council cannot formally commence the preparation of these Development Plan Documents in advance of 2015, Planning Service wish to undertake early pilot work with the Council and the Department for Social Development (DSD) to develop a policy framework which fully integrates planning, regeneration and economic development.

2.5 This will be a significant departure from current arrangements and represents a new approach to planning development and regeneration in NI which has not been possible due to related functions being dispersed across a number of departments and agencies. This has however been more common practice for a number of successful cities across the UK and Ireland, including Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.

2.6 To successfully deliver this new Strategic Policy Framework it is proposed that the Council secures independent specialist support, with international experience in strategic planning, to supplement existing officer knowledge. This would provide a high-level focus to develop a shift towards a new, integrated development and regeneration approach based on a clear strategic agenda. 

2.7 Given the changed economic context within Belfast and the number of significant developments proposed in the City, the initial focus for this work would be on the ‘core city’ area.  This would provide a strategic context for proposals and emerging regeneration projects including: the proposed University of Ulster Campus; potential BBC relocation; the opportunity for enhanced accessibility through rapid transit; the integrated transport hubs; emerging plans for City Gateways (such as the Northern Corridor and Shaftesbury Square) and issues associated with the development of the Harbour Estate (City Quays, Titanic Quarter etc). Developing integrated proposals for the ‘Centre City’ also aligns with the emerging recommendations from the Belfast City Masterplan Review.

2.8    The appointed consultants would also be tasked with developing an approach that addresses thematic challenges including, city centre living, repopulation, student housing and capturing the benefit of regeneration for the communities of Belfast. The specific objectives would focus on securing economic growth, capturing benefits for residents, addressing quality of life issues and creating neighbourhoods of choice.  This work in turn would provide a policy basis for developing similar regeneration plans across other areas of the City. An outline of the proposed Terms of Reference for this work is set out in Appendix 1

3       Resource Implications

3.1    Within this context, a budget of £250,000 is requested from the £2m non-recurrent convergence budget agreed by the VTC and SP&R for the procurement of consultants to support the development of a functional and integrated approach to urban regeneration in the longer term.  This is based on the experience from other cities who have undertaken similar work and will allow early work to be undertaken to set the strategic context for a range of future initiatives.

4       Equality and Good Relations Considerations

4.1    Proposals developed for the future delivery of a transferred and transformed urban regeneration function will be subject to full Equality and Good Relations screening.

5       Recommendations

5.1    It is recommended that Members:

         Approve the procurement of independent expert support estimated at £250,000 (from the agreed £2m non-recurrent convergence budget) towards pilot work with Planning Service and DSD to develop an integrated and functional approach to the future development and regeneration of the city.”

            After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendation.