Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from John Adlen, Andy Butler, Reverend David Edwards, Mark Hills and Simon Yates.

To receive any declarations of interest.

As the Towns Fund Progress Update had become a standing item on the agenda, it was agreed that the following declarations of interest would be recorded and used for all future meetings where this item would be discussed:

Adam Knight declared an interest in Crewe Lyceum Theatre and HQ Theatres (for the Power House project).

Dr Kieran Mullan MP, in the interest of openness, declared that he supported the Whitby Morrison ice cream element of the heritage centre fund and the wishing well element of the pocket parks fund.

Councillor Nick Mannion, in the interest of openness, declared that he is an elected Member of Cheshire East Council which is the accountable body for the programme and requested that this standing declaration be recorded for any Cheshire East Councillors who may attend the meeting in future.  Cllr Mannion also declared that he chairs the Council’s Economy and Growth Committee which has regeneration within its remit. 

Jasbir Dhesi declared that Cheshire College is a named beneficiary of the ice cream element of the heritage project and that the college is also supportive of a number of the other projects.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous virtual meeting held on 4 March 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2022 be agreed as a correct record. The Chair went through the list of actions from the previous virtual meeting and updated members on the status of each action accordingly.

To receive a detailed update on the Towns Fund and Accelerated Funding Projects.

The board received an update on the Crewe Towns Fund Programme, outlining how things have progressed since the last meeting and any particular areas which would require consideration by the board. The following updates were received:

Power house – A presentation was provided by Cheshire Easts Arts, Heritage and Museums manager. The Board heard how the Powerhouse would be a purpose built fully accessible music venue in the heart of Crewe on the sight of the current northern market shed which had the benefit of being within Cheshire East Council’s ownership. Alternative sites had been considered but dismissed due to purchase prices, compulsory purchase orders, lack of space and not the right layout or footprint.

Although the project came within the towns fund envelope funding would be reviewed as part of the RIBA stages of design. There had been discussions with the Arts Council who had potentially expressed an interest in providing revenue funding for the project.

The work on site would hopefully commence in October 2023 with a view to opening in autumn 2025.

Discussions in respect of vehicular access in to the facility were ongoing with the highways team.

It was reported that the Power house project had previously gone to amber on the dashboard due to a change in personnel and procurement but following the draft RIBA 2 report and reassurance from the design team this had returned to green.

Cumberland Arena - Although funding received through the Towns Fund was lower than what the designers had wanted additional funding was being sought.

Warmer Homes – Due to cost inflation the proposed funding for the scheme would no longer provide all of the desired outputs therefore the number of properties in the scheme would be reduced slightly.

LY2 – As reported previously there had been delays within the planning department which were being addressed. However despite assurance that this continued to be a priority for officers, the Board expressed their dissatisfaction on the lack of progress being made.

As well as the planning risk there was also the risk due to cost inflation, it was proposed that a risk workshop be arranged for the TIP sub group who would then report back to board.

RESOLVED

That the update be noted.

To receive an update on investment plans for the Crewe campus.

The board received a presentation from the Principal/CEO of Cheshire College - South & West in respect of the Institute of Technologies (IoT’s) Government initiative to address the shortage of high level technical skills within the economy. Crewe had been one of the successful applications.

The board heard that the initiative would create jobs in lecturing and engineering, bring higher education back to the forefront of Crewe and address the current, and predicted technical and skills shortage in Crewe.

The board welcomed the initiative and saw it as a real positive for the area. The link with the work of the board and how best to support and promote the initiative would be discussed following sign off of the design stage.

RESOLVED

That the update be noted.

To receive a sub-groups update.

Due to time constraints it was agreed that an update on the Sub-Groups would be provided at the next meeting.

To receive an update from the Communication & Engagement Sub-Group.

The board received an update which included the additional work on updating the website and the work which has now been completed on the spoken word videos, which would be shared with the board.

The board provided comments in relation to the following

-       The requirement to provide a standardised message when relaying communication and engagement work;

-       Working with partners and stakeholders to give some consideration to funding for communications around delivery and impact for each project;

-       How the community can lead and fed in to the engagement work;

-       Whether additional resources would be required moving forward with the projects.

RESOLVED

It was agreed that further discussions would be held outside the board meeting on future communications and the delivery of these.

To receive an update from the Director of Growth & Enterprise.

The board received an update from the Director of Growth and Enterprise on the bid for the Great British Railway headquarters. An expression of interest had been submitted on the 16 March 2022 and shortlisting was expected in May. The board were thanked for the input they had provided.

RESOLVED

That the update be noted.

To put forward any other items of business.

There were no items of other business raised.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 29 April 2022 commencing at 9.30am.

RESOLVED:

That the next virtual meeting be held on Friday 29 April 2022.