Agenda for Enterprise, Employment & Major Projects Cabinet Member Meeting on Tuesday, 16th September, 2008, 5.00pm
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Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 213 KBVenue: Committee Room 3, Hove Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Caroline De Marco, Democratic Services Officer
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PROCEDURAL BUSINESS (a) Declarations of Interest by all Members present of any personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Members regard the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct
(b) Exclusion of Press and Public - To consider whether, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, or the nature of the proceedings, the press and public should be excluded from the meeting when any of the following items are under consideration.
NOTE: Any item appearing in Part 2 of the Agenda states in its heading the category under which the information disclosed in the report is exempt from disclosure and therefore not available to the public.
A list and description of the exempt categories is available for public inspection at Brighton and Hove Town Halls. Minutes: 17a Declarations of Interests
17.1 There were none
17b Exclusion of Press and Public
17.2 The Cabinet Member considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any items contained in the agenda, having regard to the nature of the business to be transacted and the nature of the proceedings and the likelihood as to whether, if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of confidential or exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A, Part 5A, Section 100A(4) or 100 1 of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
17.3 RESOLVED -That the press and public be not excluded from the meeting.
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Minutes of the meeting of the Enterprise, Employment & Major Projects Cabinet Member Meeting held on 10 June 2008 (copy attached). Minutes: 18.1 Councillor Turton referred to resolution (3) of Item 15, “That it be agreed that each of the four main political groups be requested to nominate representatives to join the identified Project Boards.” He asked for details of the nominations. The Assistant Director, Major Projects & Venues undertook to circulate the nominations.
18.2 RESOLVED – That the minutes held on 10 June 2008 be agreed and signed by the Cabinet Member. |
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CABINET MEMBER'S COMMUNICATIONS Minutes: Economic Development update
19.1 The Cabinet Member was pleased to report that a planning application had been received and registered by the local planning authority for the former flexer sacks factory in South Portslade for a commercially led mixed use employment scheme.
19.2 The proposal would bring the redundant factory back into operational use providing a range of uses including new and refurbished offices to assist in meeting the needs of the employment land study, recording studios and performing space to assist in meeting the needs of the creative workspace study and a leisure facility which was much needed in this part of the city.
19.3 The Cabinet Member was also pleased to say that the number of commercially led planning applications received by the local planning authority had not dropped in numbers compared to previous years and there was still developer interest in commercial development proposals in the city despite the credit crunch.
19.4 Economic development officers were also monitoring the number of enquiries to the commercial property database which detailed the available space in the city and had informed the Cabinet Member that the number of visits to the web site was comparable to the same time in previous years, however July and August tended to be quiet months for businesses looking for space to move to. A more detailed analysis would be carried out at the end of the year when the figures would be more meaningful.
American Express and Edward Street
19.5 The Cabinet Member was pleased to report that American Express had committed the future of its European customer services headquarters to Brighton, as was reported recently in the Argus. American Express was the city’s largest private sector employer and they had announced that they would be seeking planning permission for a new building next to the existing Amex House.
19.6 This excellent news for the city showed that Brighton & Hove was a location that offered large employers a great deal in terms of the skills and qualifications of the workforce, whilst the quality of life here helped them to retain those staff. This news was the result of considerable hard work by officers and members working closely with American Express and the Cabinet Member would ensure that officers from Capital Projects and City Planning continued to engage with American Express to bring this new development forward.
City College Brighton and Hove
19.7 The Cabinet Member reported that City College Brighton and Hove had now submitted a planning application for the proposed redevelopment of their Pelham Street campus. This application included a detailed application for a new teaching facility to replace the existing Pelham Tower as well as seeking outline consent for ancillary residential, office and youth hostel accommodation. Again, the college had been working closely with the city council to realise this vision, in particular with the city council offering in-principle support to the college’s bid to the Learning and Skills Council for capital funding to bring investment into the city.
19.8 Councillor Turton passed his congratulations to officers, particularly with reference to the news about American Express. He agreed that the planning application at the former flexer sacks factory in South Portslade was good news. |
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ITEMS RESERVED FOR DISCUSSION (a) Items reserved by the Cabinet Member
(b) Items reserved by the Opposition Spokesperson
(c) Items reserved by Members, with the agreement of the Cabinet Member.
Minutes: 20.1 All items were reserved for discussion. |
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PUBLIC QUESTIONS No public questions have been received.
Minutes: 21.1 There were none. |
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WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS No written questions have been received. Minutes: 22.1 There were none. |
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PETITIONS No petitions have been received.
Minutes: 23.1 There were none. |
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DEPUTATIONS No deputations have been received.
Minutes: 24.1 There were none. |
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LETTERS FROM COUNCILLORS No letters have been received.
Minutes: 25.1 There were none. |
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NOTICES OF MOTION REFERRED FROM COUNCIL No Notices of Motion have been received.
Minutes: 26.1 There were none. |
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MATTERS REFERRED FOR RECONSIDERATION No matters have been referred. Minutes: 27.1 There were none.
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REPORTS FROM OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEES No reports have been received. Minutes: 28.1 There were none.
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COMMUNITY STADIUM - LANDOWNER APPROVAL TO NEW PLANNING APPLICATION Report of the Director of Cultural Services (Late report to follow). Decision: (1) That the Council as landowner approves the form of the planning application for stadium changes and chalk reprofiling which is proposed to be submitted by The Community Stadium Ltd for consideration by the council as Local Planning Authority. Minutes: The special circumstances for non-compliance with Council Procedure Rule 23 and Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act as amended (items not considered unless the agenda is open to inspection at least five days in advance of the meeting) are that the report was reliant on information provided by a third party and it was not possible to review such information and include the necessary information and date within the despatch deadline.
29.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Environment which sought the council’s approval as landowner of the major part of the site for the Community Stadium to the form of the proposed new planning application for the development (for copy see minute book.)
29.2 Councillor Turton asked officers to explain BREEAM in paragraph 5.4. The Architecture & Design Manager explained that this stood for The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. This was a method of assessing the environmental impact of new buildings.
29.3 Councillor Turton asked when the Cabinet Member would receive the report addressing the Club’s business case. The Project Officer replied that the report would be submitted to the Cabinet Member Meeting in November.
29.4 Councillor Turton referred to paragraph 7.4 and expressed concern about the rising cost of steel. This was another matter to consider when the club made their business case. The Cabinet Member replied that he was fully aware of the increase in costs and he and his cabinet colleagues would keep this under review.
29.5 RESOLVED - (1) That the Council as landowner approves the form of the planning application for stadium changes and chalk re-profiling which is proposed to be submitted by The Community Stadium Ltd for consideration by the council as Local Planning Authority. |
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Social Enterprise Strategy
Report of the Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Additional documents: Decision: (1) That the strategy be formally endorsed and adopted for the contribution it can make to the economic, social and environmental life of Brighton & Hove.
Minutes: 30.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which requested approval and endorsement for the Brighton & Hove Social Enterprise Strategy. The strategy aimed to harness the energies of key Individuals and organisations to encourage and support the development of trading with a social purpose. Implementation of the strategy would result in economic, social and environmental benefits for Brighton & Hove (for copy see minute book).
30.2 The Head of Arts and Creative Industries introduced Thea Allison from the Brighton & Hove Businsess Community Partnership (BCP). Ms Allison presented the strategy.
30.3 The Cabinet Member thanked Ms Allison and passed on thanks to staff at the Brighton & Hove Business Community Partnership and staff within Arts and Creative Industries at the council.
30.4 Councillor Turton expressed his support of the strategy. He referred to priority 6 (Maximise local economic impact). He asked how robust this would be in winning contracts in the light of the credit crunch.
30.5 Ms Allison replied that business clients all indicated that they put more energy into community engagement in hard times. Meanwhile businesses that saw community engagement as core to their being would continue to support the partnership. The Director of Cultural Services reported that 48% of all council contracts went to social enterprise businesses.
30.6 The Head of Arts and Creative Industries informed the Cabinet Member that there would be an update report in six months.
30.7 RESOLVED - (1) That the strategy be formally endorsed and adopted for the contribution it can make to the economic, social and environmental life of Brighton & Hove.
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OPEN MARKET PROJECT UPDATE - PROPOSALS FOR SUPPORTING THE RELOCATION OF FIELD TYRES - Exempt Categories 1, 3, 5 & 6
Report of the Director of Cultural Services (copy attached). Decision: PART TWO SUMMARY
31.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which explained that the current redevelopment proposals for the Open Market site were incompatible with the continued presence of Field Tyres on site. The report, in line with previous decisions to proceed on the basis of the current proposals, therefore sought Cabinet Member approval to provide a package of support to Field Tyres to facilitate relocation of the business in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the Open Market.
31.2.1 RESOLVED – (1) That the council be authorised to provide appropriate support to Field Garage (Brighton) Ltd to facilitate the relocation of its tyre supplying and fitting business to alternative premises in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the Open Market.
Minutes: PART TWO SUMMARY
31.1 The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Cultural Services which explained that the current redevelopment proposals for the Open Market site were incompatible with the continued presence of Field Tyres on site. The report, in line with previous decisions to proceed on the basis of the current proposals, therefore sought Cabinet Member approval to provide a package of support to Field Tyres to facilitate relocation of the business in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the Open Market.
31.2.1 RESOLVED – (1) That the council be authorised to provide appropriate support to Field Garage (Brighton) Ltd to facilitate the relocation of its tyre supplying and fitting business to alternative premises in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the Open Market.
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