The Committee held a minute’s silence to mark the tragic events in Israel and Palestine.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2023.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Development and Director of Communities

This report provides information on the activities and initiatives to support and develop District Centres. The report describes the progress to date following the findings and recommendations of the District Centres Subgroup, and includes an update on the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF).

The Committee received a report of the Director of Development and Director of Communities which provided information on the activities and initiatives to support and develop District Centres. The report described the progress to date following the findings and recommendations of the District Centres Subgroup, and included an update on the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF).

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Background information;
• The District Centre programme;
• Other activity relating to District Centres; and
• The Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development welcomed that the meeting was being held in Gorton to enable Members to see one of the city’s district centres and the investment that was taking place.  He highlighted some of the challenges that district centres had faced and their importance to the city and Manchester residents.

Councillor Hughes, Ward Councillor for Gorton and Abbey Hey, spoke positively about Gorton Hub, which he reported was very well-used and provided a one-stop shop for everything that people needed, commenting that every ward should have one.

Councillor Reid, Ward Councillor for Gorton and Abbey Hey, reported that she was a member of the Hub’s Strategic Board.  She outlined some of the challenges that had been faced in establishing the Hub, the benefits of having multiple agencies based in the same building and working together and some of work that was still in progress, including the GP surgery moving in, establishing a café in the Hub, getting the top floor of the building fully occupied and sufficiency of car parking.  In response to a question from the Chair about what she would like to see next for Gorton district centre, she stated that she would like to see more partners moving into the Hub and for it to be fully utilised and have a buzz about it every day.  She highlighted how well used the library within the Hub was and reported that it would be used as a Warm Hub again this winter.  Noting the levels of unemployment and lower levels of qualifications in the area, she highlighted that Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES) were based in the building but advised that more courses should be available from this site.  The Chair commented that this issue could be discussed further when the Committee considered an item on Work and Skills later in the municipal year.

A Member commented on the challenges of bringing partner agencies together to create something like Gorton Hub, including the challenges relating to NHS Capital Funding, but emphasised that it was important to do this work in order to create something which met the needs of local residents.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development reported that the Council had learnt a lot from this and other projects about working together with partner agencies, emphasising the importance of getting everyone involved from the start of the process.  He informed Members that the establishment of Gorton Hub had increased footfall in the district centre.  He stated that the Council’s role was as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Report of the Director of City Centre Growth & Infrastructure and Director of Strategic Housing & Development

This report provides an overview of the role, purpose and process of producing Strategic Regeneration Frameworks (SRFs) and Neighbourhood Development Frameworks (NDFs) for different areas of the city. It also provides some case studies of SRFs and a list of existing and upcoming SRFs and NDFs.

The Committee received a report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure and the Director of Strategic Housing and Development which provided an overview of the role, purpose and process of producing Strategic Regeneration Frameworks (SRFs) and Neighbourhood Development Frameworks (NDFs) for different areas of the city. It also provided some case studies of SRFs and a list of existing and upcoming SRFs and NDFs.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Background information;
• SRF/NDF overview;
• Case studies; and
• Summary list of all existing and developing SRF/NDF.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• Developer-led and Council-led frameworks, including how particular areas were chosen for Council-led frameworks and whether there were any opportunities to influence these decisions;
• Consultations, including ensuring that these were meaningful in relation to developer-led frameworks, changing residents’ perceptions, where they believed that these were just tickbox exercises, and ensuring that all communities were reached, noting the number of people in the city who spoke languages other than English;
• Monitoring progress; and
• Ensuring that development helped to address inequality and child poverty in the city.

In response to a Member’s question, the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) reported that SRFs were usually of a larger-scale geographically and delivered over a number of phases, such as Victoria North.  She informed Members that Council-led frameworks were usually determined through need and opportunity; however, where frameworks were developer-led, the Council still played an active role in determining what was acceptable in a particular area.  She advised that consultations were meaningful but that there were parameters for some sites, for example, if a site was a key strategic employment location, it would not be changed to a different use, for example, a public park, but consultation responses would be taken into account, for example, in terms of public spaces within the area.  In response to a further question, she outlined the mechanisms used to consult with residents.  She confirmed that progress was monitored, although in some cases frameworks could be refreshed due to changing circumstances, outlining changes in relation to Central Retail Park, which a Member had referenced.  She reported that the opportunity to purchase land assets was a key factor in deciding to initiate a Council-led framework in a particular area.  She recognised the Member’s point about the pressure that multiple developments happening at the same time could put on communities and outlined work that was done to minimise disruption, including the phasing of developments and clear communication to residents.  She reported that SRFs and NDFs were useful for attracting funding and that having projects in the pipeline meant that, when funding was announced, the city had projects ready to go.  In response to a question from the Chair, she reported that, when a refreshed framework was brought to scrutiny or the Executive, the reasons for the refresh were set out; however, she acknowledged that residents might not see this information and that it was important to maintain good lines of communication with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

The report provides a high level summary of the refreshed Victoria North Strategic Business Plan. The report includes updates on progress made since the Strategic Business Plan was approved by Executive, and scrutinised by this Committee, in February 2020. This includes an update on progress made in delivering the 988 homes covered by the Initial Development Area Business Plan, in addition to a look ahead to the next Development Area Business Plan, together with a summary of the high level opportunities, challenges and risks associated with the overall programme. 

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided a high-level summary of the refreshed Victoria North Strategic Business Plan. The report included updates on progress made since the Strategic Business Plan was approved by Executive, and scrutinised by this Committee, in February 2020. This included an update on progress made in delivering the 988 homes covered by the Initial Development Area Business Plan, in addition to a look ahead to the next Development Area Business Plan, together with a summary of the high-level opportunities, challenges and risks associated with the overall programme.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Governance, decision-making and scrutiny;
• Strategic Business Plan – Joint Venture progress to date;
• Key themes of the refreshed Strategic Business Plan;
• Affordable housing;
• Strategic Investment Plan;
• Infrastructure interventions and Delivery Strategy;
• Delivering social value;
• Social and Community Infrastructure Strategy; and
• Contributing to a Zero Carbon City.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• Solutions to address flooding risks;
• Concerns of existing residents, including about the risk of losing their communities;
• How this work would be monitored to ensure that the project was meeting its original goals, noting that this project would take around 15 years to be fully implemented;
• Was dentistry being considered as one of the amenities that would be needed; and
• Social value including whether information could be provided on whether this enabled residents to access jobs across the income distribution.

In response to a question from the Chair, the Executive Member for Housing and Development clarified that the intention was to deliver 5% affordable housing through planning and a further 15% through grant funding from Homes England.  He confirmed that the levels of affordable housing were being monitored throughout the project and that this would be reported back to this Committee and through other channels.  He acknowledged the point about considering access to dentistry for future Victoria North residents.

The Assistant Director (Major Regeneration) reported that, following geological issues with the original plan to remove a weir in the River Irk, the plan was now to deliver on-plot flood solutions.  He outlined how the Council was working with the Environment Agency on this, finding practical solutions to dissipate the issue without displacing the problem elsewhere, while trying to take as many properties as possible out of a flood zone altogether and take all properties out of flood zone 3. 

The Strategic Director (Growth and Development) reported that the Victoria North Board met quarterly and monitored progress and that every phase of the project was subject to a business plan which was refreshed annually and closely monitored.  She reported that there was a guarantee that anyone who was going to lose their home due to the regeneration of the area would be found a replacement home which met their needs.  She acknowledged the Member’s comment about residents’ existing communities and outlined how residents in Collyhurst were actively involved in the plans for the area, emphasising the importance of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve. 

The Chair drew Members’ attention to the revised work programme for the rest of the municipal year.  He advised that, following a request for a report on the Shared Prosperity Fund, it had been decided that information on this would be incorporated into relevant reports on the Committee’s work programme, rather than the Committee receiving a discrete report on this.

Referring to the minutes of the Committee’s September meeting, he asked that a Member’s request for a figure of the cost of bringing homes in the city up to the required standard be added to the recommendations monitor.  He also asked that a report on Fairer Access to Finance be added as an item to be scheduled on the work programme.  He thanked officers for facilitating the meeting taking place at Gorton Hub.

Decision:

That the Committee note the report and agree the work programme, subject to the above comments.