Minutes:
The information contained in the following report is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.
(Mr. S. Bedford, Deloitte, attended in connection with this item)
The Chief Executive reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 12th August, it had considered the Belfast City Centre Retail Positioning Study which had been carried out by Javelin. The Study had outlined that there was significant room for retail growth in Belfast over the next number of years and that Belfast should focus on attracting more aspirational retailers into the City Centre, such as John Lewis Partnership or an equivalent.
The Chief Executive pointed out that the City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy (CCRIS) had been endorsed by the Council at its meeting on 1st September, 2015, and that a small City Centre Development Team was being established within her department to progress the recommendations and actions within the framework. She advised that, while the team was currently resourced in a temporary capacity, it was intended that this team would be populated with Council employees by early 2016. She advised that a great deal of work had taken place in the background and that, over the next few weeks and months, officers would bring updates on this work to the Committee for its approval.
The Members were advised that, over the last nine months, the Programme had evolved from a handful of projects to around forty separate projects which were now underway within the city centre. The Chief Executive advised that these projects could be broken down into a number of categories, namely, Flagship Projects, Early Wins Programme, Key Sites/Development Areas, Policy Development, Funding and Finance, Infrastructure and Go to Market. She advised that, while the CCRIS had only just come into force, much progress had been made in developing a coherent programme of work which was designed to deliver both in the near future and long term in line with the City’s aspirations. She advised Members that the priorities in the coming months would be:
1. To commit some of the City Centre Investment Fund on an appropriate basis to support the strategy, with the first tranche of funding being committed before March 2016;
2. To put in place new more detailed plans and strategies for Linen Quarter, Western Quarter, North East Quarter etc. In regard to both Linen and Western also commit funds to delivery. It was expected that this would be achieved by Spring 2016;
3. Establish clear investment plans for a new cultural/creative centre including a new visitor attraction in Belfast City Centre, the plans for which were expected to be completed by Summer 2016;
4. Work with the Transport Hub Programme Board to deliver a full business case for the Hub project. This should be achieved by Spring 2016.
5. Secure a new scheme for the North East Quarter project and also secure a new anchor department store for Belfast. It was hoped to achieve this by the end of 2016.
6. Deliver a highly successful MIPIM for Belfast in March 2016.
7. Continue to work with the private sector to encourage more investment in Belfast. We already have a number of new ‘entrants’ to the Belfast market and we would like to encourage more.
After discussion, the Committee noted achievements to date which included:
1. 1,800 new hotel beds were in the planning pipeline, all of which have an operator attached. The hotels would support the Waterfront Hall and increased demand from both visitors and businesses. Hotel occupancy in Belfast was at 80% in 2015, the highest of any UK provincial city.
2. there were 7 planning applications submitted for new office space, two of which would deliver around 200,000 sq ft of new Grade A floor space. There was demand for new space across the market.
3. new retailers were coming to Belfast and, through the work undertaken on behalf of the City Council by Javelin, there was more unsatisfied demand to be accommodated. The Council was working with investors to bring forward schemes to meet this demand; and
4. Student Housing – the Council was working closely with developers and other stakeholders to manage the supply of student housing to try to ensure that the city would have enough to meet demand but not too much. The aim would be to deliver 3-3,500 new student beds in the City Centre by 2018.