Agenda item

            The Strategic Director, Place and Economy submitted the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to provide proposals on a refreshed approach to city centre governance in the context of existing and established Community Planning structures.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Agree to proposed refreshed approach to city centre governance in the context of existing and established Community Planning structures.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Members will be aware of the city centre governance arrangements agreed by this Committee in 2022. These were designed and implemented with relevance to a specific point in time which allowed responses to the emerging and often sensitive and difficult issues and anchored within established Community Planning Structures.

3.2       As the operating environment and circumstances have changed, and taking account of feedback on duplication from representatives in relation to the various groups that had been established, it is timely to revisit the governance and delivery arrangements which had been initially put in place for the city centre, with a view to streamlining, integrating and refocusing to ensure that they are fit for purpose and remain relevant to all involved. In addition, work on the stocktake of the Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy (BCCRIS) was completed last year and recommended ‘a multi-agency approach to place keeping and city management’.

3.3       This is line with the refresh of the Belfast Agenda, following which Community Planning Partnership partners agreed to revisit the associated governance arrangements to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose.

3.4       Reflecting on the BCCRIS stock-take and status of initiatives, as well as engagement with and feedback from key stakeholders/partners, it is proposed that we seek to consolidate the Multi Agency Operational (Tasking) Group and FCC Leadership Group into one group ‘City Centre Leadership Coordination Group’ (illustrated in Appendix 1).To ensure a cross sector shared partnership approach it is proposed that this is anchored as per the initial governance under the auspices of Community Planning. This will ensure a multi-agency approach with representation across the public, private and third and community sectors. The proposed draft TOR are set out below to provide Members with a sense of purpose to this proposed forum:

a)     The Group as anchored with Community Planning structures, will contribute to realising the shared vision and ambition as set out in the Belfast Agenda; encouraging greater coordination and collaboration across partners in relation to the city centre to deliver our shared vision of creating ‘a vibrant, unique and thriving place where people spend time, live, work, visit and invest’.

b)     To ensure that a fit-for-purpose vehicle exists to raise and expedite issues relating to the priorities for the city centre across the five pillars of Regeneration & Connectivity; Business Investment, Animation & Distinctive Offering, Clean, Green Inclusive & Safe and Vulnerability.

c)     To enable engagement, discussion and collaboration between key public and private stakeholders (including central and local government, anchor institutions, retail, business and umbrella organisations, developers, community, third sector and other relevant city centre stakeholders) to delivery activities aligned to these pillars.

d)     To support the delivery of priority projects that support the agreed vision for the City Centre.

e)     To provide a forum to develop shared messaging and joined up communications on matters pertaining to the Belfast City Centre.

f)       To be a vehicle for engagement with wider community interests.

g)     It would be expected that respective organisations filter updates and messaging as appropriate through their networks to ensure communication of relevant areas are understood across the board.

h)     The group will provide a forum to allow all stakeholders to feed in relevant workstreams / updates relevant to the ongoing and future success of the city centre.

i)       To monitor overall progress; and to review and update the objectives and priorities at least annually.

j)       Representatives on the group should be of sufficient level where they are able to convey issues, opportunities etc back into the relevant leadership / governance of their respective organisations as appropriate.

3.5       It is proposed that the meetings are organised and structured around the pillars of the Future City Centre (FCC) programme. This is aligned to the priority area under the Our Place thematic area of the Belfast Agenda, providing an opportunity for reporting into the City Centre All Party Working Group, relevant committees and the Community Planning Our Place Board. 

3.6       It is not proposed to change arrangements in relation to Complex Lives, which are deigned to focus and coordinate multiagency support in relation to a specific group of vulnerable individuals who are experiencing very complex issues.

3.7       Positive discussions have taken place with officials in the Department for Communities and Department for Infrastructure on the refreshed governance proposals for the city centre.   

3.8       Financial and Resource Implications

            None

3.9       Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

            None associated with this report.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.