Venue: Multi-Location Meeting - Gloucester Room, Guildhall / MS Teams. View directions
Contact: Scrutiny Officer 01792 636292
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Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests Minutes: No interests were disclosed. |
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Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips Minutes: None. |
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To receive the
minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree as an accurate record. Minutes: The Panel agreed the minutes from previous meetings. |
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Public Questions Questions can be submitted in writing to Scrutiny scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk up until noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Written questions take precedence. Public may attend and ask questions in person if time allows. Questions must relate to items on the open part of the agenda and will be dealt with in a 10 minute period. Minutes: No questions were submitted by members of the public. |
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Audit Wales Report - Town Centre Regeneration PDF 176 KB Invited to Attend: Cllr Robert Francis-Davies – Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration
& Tourism Paul Relf – Economic Development and External Funding Manager Minutes: Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet Minister for Investment,
Regeneration and Tourism and Paul Relf, Economic Development and External Funding
Manager attended to
discuss this item. The following points were made – ·
The Audit Wales report reflects back on a number
of decades and captures the changing needs and uses of city centres across
Wales. The report doesn’t cover
anything that was unknown or unfamiliar to Council Members and officers. ·
There is positivity with the progress in Swansea
City Centre compared to other cities, and there is ambition for Swansea to
continue growing and developing. ·
There are increasingly more private sector
schemes with additional funding to plug the viability gap which can be a mix of
loan and grant provision. This helps to reduce risk and enable private sector
investments. ·
95% of businesses in Swansea are microbusiness
which is defined by those who employ under 250 staff. ·
City centre needs change over time and getting
the right balance is key. Going forward the city centre will provide a mix of
uses with flexible spaces that can be changed as needs change, smaller units
have proved popular. Housing above shops has been added forming new communities
and increasing trade. ·
Communication channels with public bodies are
important with dialogue across all sectors taking into account procurement
frameworks particularly when resources are scarce. This allows for decisions to
be made quickly when needed. ·
The city centre and the district centres are
eligible for place making grant support and the creation of a Place Plan. Place
Plans have an agreed template for formulation which takes an action based
approach. ·
Swansea is the biggest user in Wales of the Town
Centre Loan Fund. ·
Enforcement Action Plans are created with the
support of Welsh Government, which supports resolution before the point of
enforcement. ·
The Economic Recovery Fund has also been a
helpful source of funding and supports microbusinesses across the county. ·
The audit report comments on the Town Centre
First Policy not yet being fully embedded. The Council are using Place Plans to
pull together all the different strands of this Policy. This is an ongoing
journey to keep all these things in balance, listen to what people want and
nudge things in the right direction. ·
This is an all Wales audit, the first one that's
been done for a while for this sector. Comparisons against other Local
Authorities in relation to the audit would be useful but are not available. ·
Guidance and strategy from Welsh Government's
for Local Authorities would be helpful to mitigate the inconstant approach
across Wales mentioned in the Audit Report. ·
The
considerable investment going into Swansea is unique and needs to be treated as
such, a big change and money spent is required to achieve this. |
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Regeneration Programme / Project Monitoring Report PDF 203 KB Invited to attend: Cllr Robert Francis-Davies – Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism Phillip Holmes – Head of Planning and City Regeneration Huw Mowbray – Development and Physical Regeneration
Strategic Manager Additional documents: Minutes: The latest regular monitoring report on regeneration
programme / projects was presented to the Panel, for any comments / views on progress
and achievements. Huw Mowbray, Development & Physical Regeneration
Strategic Manager, provided relevant updates on the following: Copr Bay: • Snagging
works are being completed at the moment with costs being met by the contractor. • Ticket
sales at the Arena have gone up to over 200,000. Sales are positive with plans
to break into the conference market. • Resolution
is ongoing with the North Block regarding the paint on the steelwork. • Venue
capacity is variable depending on a seated or standing set up. • There have
been funding issues with the hotel however it now has a developer. A town
centre loan is secure to help deliver the hotel with a report to Cabinet in due
course. • Further
hotels in the city will enable future ticket sales at the Arena. The Marriott
has also recently refurbished. • The bridge
has just been shortlisted a planning award. • Maintenance
in the play park has been identified and awaiting arrival of parts. Shaping Swansea: • As the
Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bid was unsuccessful,
discussion with Welsh Government around other funding sources is ongoing. There
will also be another round of LUF bidding. Swansea Central North • Talks are
taking place with Urban Splash regarding the delivery programme and strategy
for the first phase of development. • Discussions
are being held with Welsh Government regarding a small element of gap funding
where the majority of funding would be provided by private sector funding via
Urban Splash. • Shared
Prosperity Fund and Transforming Towns bids are also in development. 71/72 The Kingsway: • Construction
is advancing. The building is now up to the first floor level. • 25,000sq
foot is currently let, letting and branding agents are currently being procured
to market the rest. • There have
been some supply chain issues but the Council have a fixed price contract,
compromises with the developer are made when appropriate. Civic Centre redevelopment. • Meetings
are being held with Cadw regarding the potential
listing of the Civic Centre. • Urban
Splash are working on designs. Tan 15 Development and Flood Risk: • Welsh
Government have gone out for consultation again and the original draft has been
suspended. • There have
been some substantial changes in the Welsh Government approach and there is
positivity that the new draft will strike a better balance between flood risk
and development. • Tan 15 will
affect the many coastal towns and cities in Wales and not just Swansea. • The Welsh
Local Government Association and planning officers have made a number of
recommendations. Skyline • The initial
public consultation has been completed with a large turnout with overall a
positive response. Consultation reports will be submitted as part of the
planning application with a submission aim of July 2023. • As well as
a £3 million grant from the Welsh Government, there is an ongoing discussion
with Skyline about funding. Skyline are putting in around £36m however in order
to meet their internal rate of return (IRR) a further investment may be needed. • An annual
pass for Swansea residents will be available for £40. • Building
works are due to commence around December 2023/January 2024. • The
Highways department are continuing to look at options for the park and ride and
continue to have ongoing discussions with the stadium. Powerhouse Redevelopment Hafod Copperworks: • Penderyn have taken partial occupation. Fit out started in
February. • An outcome
is imminent for further funding to cover additional costs. The Laboratory Building: • This is
ready for refurbishment. Now the LUF Bid has been confirmed discussions are
being held to move this development further on. Lower Swansea Valley • Teams are
just starting to be put in place for this development which has an estimated
completion date of March 2023. • Further
detail on this development will be provided in due course. Palace Theatre. • The
estimated completion date in the end of 2023. • Programme
is still in development however completion target is December 23/January 24. • This
development has received positive feedback from the Theatres Trust. • Tramshed have agreed to lease the building. Inward Investment • The Council
hosted a day with the Welsh Government Invest Team highlighting Swansea's
offer. Copperworks Pontoon: • Side
railings are currently being installed. Lighting along part of the footpath
will be completed shortly. • The lease
been completed with the Duke of Beaufort’s Estate. • Site
investigations are being carried out. • Survey
works have commenced for the Boardwalk towards the Hafod
area. • Three
further pontoons are also in development. Urban Splash are developing one on
the St Thomas side of the river, and there are an additional two further
pontoons at High Street and near the Stadium. There is no current time frame
for these and will be part of a later development phase. • Repairs to the nearby Bascule Bridge are progressing. |
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Minutes: The Panel noted the Work Plan. |
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Letter to Cabinet Member - Investment, Regeneration and Tourism PDF 228 KB |