LeadER AND LEAD Member for Strategic Management and Economic Development
DECISIONS made by the Leader and Lead Member for Strategic Management and Economic Development, Councillor Keith Glazier, on 13 July 2021 via Teams
Councillor Geary spoke on item 7 (see minute 6)
Councillor Simmons spoke on items 4, 5, 6 and 7 (see minutes, 3, 4, 5 and 6)
1 Decisions made by the Lead Cabinet Member on 4 March 2021
1.1 The Lead Member approved as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2021.
2 Reports
2.1 Reports referred to in the minutes below are contained in the minute book.
3 Coronavirus (Covid-19) contingency arrangements
3.1 The Leader and Lead Member considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive.
DECISIONS
3.2 The Leader and Lead Member RESOLVED to (1) agree to the continuation of the delegation of authority to the Chief Executive to take any executive decision which she considers appropriate in response to Covid-19; and
(2) review the delegation in January 2022 or as soon as practicable thereafter.
Reasons
3.3 The continued delegation ensures that provision continues to be in place to provide for executive decisions to be taken in response to Covid-19.
4 SELEP Funded Capital Programme Financial Statement - Confirmed Spend for 2020/21 and Forecast for 2021/22
4.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.
DECISIONS
4.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to (1) Note the final 2020/21 spend for the Local Growth Fund programme and the amount of funds re-profiled into the East Sussex County Council Capital Programme;
(2) Note the final 2020/21 spend for the Getting Building Fund programme and the amount of funds re-profiled into the East Sussex County Council Capital Programme;
(3) Note the final 2020/21 spend for the Growing Places Fund programme and the amount of funds re-profiled into the East Sussex County Council Capital Programme;
(4) Agree the confirmed scheme spend profiles for the Local Growth Fund programme for the 2021/22 financial year;
(5) Agree the confirmed scheme spend profiles for the Getting Building Fund programme for the 2021/22 financial year; and
(6) Agree the confirmed scheme spend profiles for the Growing Places Fund programme for the 2021/22 financial year.
Reasons
4.3 Taking into consideration the severe impact of Covid on the delivery of capital infrastructure programmes, East Sussex has continued to be successful in delivering across the Local Growth Fund (LGF), Getting Building Fund (GBF) and Growing Places Fund (GPF) projects, with some slippage in spend in 2020/21 as referred to in section 2 of the report.
4.4 In most cases this slippage was initially anticipated to be short-term in nature with spend occurring in the early quarters of the 2021/22 financial year. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing restrictions put in place since March 2020, has had a major impact on the delivery of LGF and GBF schemes across East Sussex and the wider South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) area, resulting in further slippage across the board on many of the schemes.
4.5 Mitigation has been put in place including: utilising the capital swap option in the SELEP Accountability and Assurance Framework to swap out LGF spend for local authority capital programmes; seeking approval to extend spend and delivery beyond the original Growth Deal deadline of March 2021; and providing interest free flexibility on the repayments of the GPF loans.
5 Growing Places Fund round 3 Loan Funding Agreement - The Observer Building Hastings (Phase 2)
5.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.
DECISIONS
5.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to (1) Approve loan funding, to the value of £1.62m to White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures Ltd as the project delivery body to fund the delivery of the Observer Building Hastings (Phase 2) project, subject to the approval of the business case by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Accountability Board and the provision of the loan by SELEP Ltd to the County Council for the funding;
(2) Delegate authority to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to agree the terms of, and enter into, the loan agreement with SELEP and Essex County Council as the Accountable Body for SELEP Ltd., necessary to secure the funding;
(3) Delegate authority to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to agree the terms of, and enter into, the loan agreement with White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures Ltd in relation to the £1.62m loan funding for the Observer Building; and
(4) Delegate authority to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to approve the terms of any agreements and to take all other necessary actions in respect of recommendations 1 to 3 above.
Reasons
5.3 The development of the Observer Building in Hastings is vital to safeguard and develop the mixed use building in the town centre supporting the local area through addressing both social and economic difficulties. Previous Growing Places Fund loan funding of £1.75m and £1.71m Getting Building Fund monies have been secured from SELEP and Government respectively to deliver Phases 1a and 1b of the project. As a prioritised pipeline scheme, the SELEP has allocated a further £1.62m from its recyclable Growing Places Fund to Phase 2 of the Observer Building project.
6 UK Community Renewal Fund - Grant Agreements
6.1 The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.
DECISIONS
6.2 The Lead Member RESOLVED to (1) Note the submission of the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) bid from the County Council to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 18 June 2021;
(2) Approve revenue grant funding of up to the total value of £5,080,568 to the following eleven East Sussex County Council shortlisted projects, subject to the outcome of the MHCLG project selection process:
(i) grant funding to the value of £705,000 to Lewes District Council to fund the delivery of the ‘Sustainable wine and cultural tourism’ project;
(ii) grant funding to the value of £547,627 to Sussex Community Development Association to fund the delivery of the ‘Minding the Gaps’ project;
(iii) grant funding to the value of £497,243 to Little Gate Farm Ltd to fund the delivery of the ‘Little Gate Supported Employment’ project;
(iv) grant funding to the value of £329,261 to Future Creators and Brighton Domes Festival to fund the delivery of the ‘East Sussex County of Learning’ project;
(v) grant funding to the value of £959,297 to White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures Ltd to fund the delivery of the ‘Hastings Commons’ project;
(vi) grant funding to the value of £636,173 to Napster Group Ltd to fund the delivery of the ‘Hastings 2066 – An Augmented Town and its Digital Twin’ project;
(vii) grant funding to the value of £100,100 to Hastings Voluntary Action to fund the delivery of the ‘VCSE Future Proofing Initiative (Building Community Connections)’ project;
(viii) grant funding to the value of £370,000 to Digital Islands Business Services Ltd to fund the delivery of the ‘Innovation, Learning & Collaboration Platform’ project;
(ix) grant funding to the value of £529,287 to Sussex Innovation to fund the delivery of the ‘The Innovation Masters Programme’ project;
(x) grant funding to the value of £150,000 to Seaford Community Partnership to fund the delivery of the ‘Seaford Sustainable Spaces’ project;
(xi) grant funding to the value of £256,580’ to Hastings Music Festival Ltd to fund the delivery of the ‘Hastings International Piano’ project; and
(3) Delegate authority to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport , as the Council’s appointed UKCRF Senior Responsible Owner, in consultation with the Section 151 Chief Finance Officer, to agree the terms of the UKCRF grant agreement between MHCLG and ESCC and the grant agreements between the County Council and the above project delivery bodies, and take all other necessary actions as required to implement Recommendation 2 above.
Reasons
6.3 The UK Community Renewal Fund monies will support people and communities most in need to pilot programmes as well as new and innovative approaches that invest in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. The outcomes and evaluation of these projects and programmes will help the County Council alongside scheme promoters to develop and refine their projects ahead of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund coming forward from 2022/23 onwards.
6.4 The final list of projects, as set out in Annex 2 was submitted to MHCLG for consideration on 18 June 2021 and these were identified following a thorough assessment and prioritisation process as those that stand the greatest chance of being awarded funding and having the greatest impact on the East Sussex economy.