Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - City Hall, Bradford. View directions

Contact: Palbinder Sandhu 

Items
No. Item

14.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

In the interest of transparency Councillor Green disclosed an interest in Minute 19 as he had been a member of the Executive when the decision was made to undertake restoration and development work at St George’s Hall and therefore would not take part in any discussion about the works.

 

ACTION:       City Solicitor

15.

MINUTES

Recommended –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June and 28 July 2016 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

 

(Palbinder Sandhu – 01274 432269)

Minutes:

Resolved –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June and 28 July 2016 be signed as a correct record.

 

16.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Adam Backovic - 01274 431182)

 

Minutes:

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

17.

REFERRALS TO THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

 

Minutes:

There were no referrals made to the Committee.

18.

CITY CENTRE REGENERATION pdf icon PDF 243 KB

The Strategic Director, Regeneration will submit Document “H” which updates the Committee on progress with city centre regeneration since its Scrutiny hearing in October 2015.

 

Recommended-

 

That the progress on city centre regeneration since the Committee’s  meeting in October 2015 be welcomed.

 

                                                            (Clare Wilkinson – 01274 433537)

 

 

 

Minutes:

Previous reference: Minute 16 (2015/2016)

 

The Strategic Director, Regeneration submitted Document “H” which updated the Committee on progress with city centre regeneration since its scrutiny hearing in October 2015.

 

The Economic Development Programmes Manager delivered a presentation on the improved retail offer in the city centre, the City Centre Growth Scheme and Priority Streets, during which she reported that footfall had increased in the city centre by 24.5% since the Broadway Shopping Centre opened in November 2015.  Darley Street and the top part of the city centre were recognised as challenging areas and Members were informed of work being undertaken to bring back in to use vacant ground floor units in key streets as part of Priority Streets.  It was reported that the Season of Light 2016 was due to be launched soon with the Forest of Light in City Park on 6 October and that it also aimed to attract footfall up to the top end of town. 

 

It was agreed that the 2015 and 2016 footfall figures for Market Street, which had an increased footfall of 82%, would be circulated to Members.

 

The Markets Manager addressed the Committee and stated that the Oastler Centre had seen a decrease of an average of 5,000 shoppers per week since the closure of the Morrisons store in the city centre in April 2016.  He outlined the temporary time limited support, as detailed in paragraph 6.6 of the report, that the Council were offering to support market traders whilst a new user was sought for the Morrisons building.  It was reported that the markets’ footfall had not been impacted upon when the Broadway Shopping Centre opened, but had decreased significantly when Morrisons had closed and the Broadway Shopping Centre had reduced their car parking fees.  He also highlighted the reliance on footfall from the Oastler Centre to Kirkgate Market of which there had been a stable reduction.

 

The Chair thanked officers for the report and welcomed the update.

 

A discussion took place regarding the City Plan.  The Assistant Director, Economy and Development Services informed Members that it had been endorsed by the Executive and that an internal review was considered necessary given the changes that had taken place this year.  Consultations were currently being undertaken with stakeholders and she agreed to present a detailed report to the Committee on the City Plan.

 

A Member expressed his disappointment at the lack of a robust strategic plan for the city centre markets.  He also raised concerns about what would happen in the city centre once the short term plans and assistance to businesses had come to an end.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Markets Manager stated that, following a consultation with market traders, the Council had decided to keep both city centre markets operational and that this decision had been made prior to the opening of the Broadway Shopping Centre.  Investment in the Oastler Centre was due to take place but had been put on hold due to the closure of Morrisons  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

ST GEORGE'S HALL RESTORATION AND DEVELOPMENT pdf icon PDF 409 KB

In accordance with the requirements of Council Standing Order 4.4.1 to report all processed procurement exercises with a total estimated contract value of over £2 million prior to the commencement of the procurement tendering process.  The Assistant Director of Sport and Culture will submit Document “G” which reports on the requirement to procure a construction contract to undertake the works to restore and refurbish St George’s Hall.

 

Recommended-

 

(1)       That the progress with the tendering exercise for the project as detailed in Document “G” be noted.

 

(2)       That a further update be presented to the Committee once the key contractor is appointed in November 2016.

 

                                                                        (Phil Barker – 01274 432616)

Minutes:

In line with Council Standing Order 4.4.1 all contracts with an estimated value of over £2m must be reported to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee before inviting tenders.

 

The Assistant Director, Sport and Culture submitted Document “G” which reported on the requirement to procure a construction contract to undertake the works to restore and refurbish St George’s Hall. 

 

The Chair expressed his disappointment at the delay in the report being presented to the Committee.

 

The General Manager of Bradford Theatres outlined the details of the contract, which included the following works:

·        Stonework, window and roof replacement / restoration

·        Front of house re-modelling and re-decoration

·        Purchase and installation of a passenger lift

·        Glazed front entrance

·        Re-wire and fire alarm

·        Improvements to the stage and auditorium seating

 

He stated that the Heritage Lottery Fund grant was £1.5m and gave a breakdown of the costs of the proposed works which totalled approximately £5.4m.  The improvements would make the venue fit for purpose and there would be a seating capacity of 1350 with restricted viewing seats being reduced to single figures. 

 

The Deputy Manager of Bradford Theatres apologised for the delay in presenting the report to the Committee and stated that the Pre Qualification Questionnaire stage had taken place through the tendering process and four submissions had got through the shortlisting process.  She explained that a decision had been made to appoint a single contractor due to the timescales and complexities of the different elements of the required works.  She reported that a minimum of two apprenticeships would be offered in the specialist area of stone work. Whilst there had been delays, as stated in the report, works were scheduled to commence in early December 2016.

 

In response to Members’ questions, it was reported that:

·        As part of the restoration works there would be more environmentally friendly facilities in relation to lighting in public spaces, windows, the boiler, the heating system and a system to collect rain water for recycling.

·        St George’s Hall was currently closed.  There was a 12 month timescale from December 2016 for the appointed contractor to undertake the works.

·        Bradford’s annual Festival of Remembrance which usually took place at St George’s Hall would be held at Bradford Cathedral during the closure.

·        Difficulties with booking tickets for the Festival of Remembrance would be looked into as well as difficulties raised of buying tickets from some local halls that did not have an online booking system in place.

·        During the closure, a higher volume of events were taking place at the Alhambra Theatre to absorb some events that would normally have taken place at St George’s Hall.

·        Whilst it was not possible to provide the operating cost associated with each seat, the cost was expected to decrease due to the opening of a restaurant and works to make the bar areas bigger.  Following the works, higher ticket sales were also expected due to the number of restricted viewing seats being reduced; ticket sales over the last five years had dwindled  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

REGENERATION AND ECONOMY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2016/17 pdf icon PDF 109 KB

The Chair of the Committee will submit the Regeneration and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2016/17 (Document “I”).

 

Recommended-

 

That the 2016/17 Work Programme continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

 

                                                            (Licia Woodhead – 01274 432119)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Committee submitted the Committee’s Work Programme for 2016/17 (Document “I”).

 

Resolved -

 

That the 2016/17 Work Programme continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

 

ACTION: Overview and Scrutiny Lead Officer