Agenda item

The Acting Divisional Director for Regeneration Skills and Employment will give a presentation to the Panel regarding this item.

The Acting Divisional Director for Regeneration Skills and Employment gave a presentation to the Panel regarding this item. A copy can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

Policy target to deliver 6,700 new jobs in Bath city centre, most of this growth will be accommodated in the Bath Enterprise Area.

Enterprise Area Key Facts:

Covers 98 hectares

36 hectares of developable land, 25% of which is in Council ownership

65,000sqm of new office space in Bath Central Area

7,000 gross new jobs

£343m of GVA pa

3,600 new homes as contributing to Core Strategy targets

Protection for existing industrial locations at Locksbrook & Brassmill

Main focus for the Creative, ICT, and Financial and Business Services jobs needing new business quarters in and adjoining city centre

Emerging plans include:

New Residential Quarter – already delivering at Bath Riverside

Innovation Quarter – Three sites coming forward aimed at the city’s creative and high tech businesses (Bath Quays North (BQN), Bath Quays South (BQS) and Manvers Street)

BQS: Developer interest to deliver creative workspace

BQN: Interest from Dyson Plc to deliver 200ksqm R&D (contribute over 1,300 new jobs and £110m in GVA pa)

BQN: Developer interest from Adapt Properties and Stirling

Manvers Street: Interest from Cubex to provide accommodation to retain BMT in the city

City Gateway – Plans are emerging for Green Park Station and BWR East

Sainsburys: Proposed new supermarket

Pinesgate: Ediston are developing plans

St James West: Plans are being developed to deliver student accommodation

Industrial Quarter – Aimed at the city’s high value engineering and manufacturing sector

Roseberry Place: Developer interest to deliver residential/student accommodation on site next to BWR

Twerton Mill: Application for student accommodation

We have a plan to address challenges that includes:

Strategic flood mitigation

Land remediation

Transportation infrastructure

A more detailed strategy is being developed in the Placemaking Plan to enable delivery and secure funding.

Outcomes:

4,200 Homes = £38m in New Homes Bonus over 20 years

9,200 Jobs = £400m uplift in GVA per annum

New Commercial Floor Space under City Deal = Business Rate Uplift (£4.2m per annum uplift, £70.6m over 25years)

For the Council:

Delivery Corporate Policy and Aspirations

Align Council objectives

Greater certainty of income

For the Community:

Certainty of development

Reassurance of what is protected

Opportunity to contribute to shaping their place

For Developers:

Viable development opportunities

A clear vision, with specific design and infrastructure requirements

Reduced risk and greater certainty of delivery

Bath Sites:

Bath at the moment is a collection of sites with no inter-relationship

Brownfield land remediation – 200 years of contamination

Flood mitigation – significant parts of the EA within Flood Zone 3

Roads & bridges – to unify the area without contributing to congestion having regard to the extra 7000 vehicles in B&NES since 2001

Pedestrian routes & public realm – to increase permeability, pedestrian and cycle activity, access to the riverside and social interaction and dwell-time in public spaces

Park & ride expansion / transit routes – to encourage organic modal shift

Funding secured to date

Already secured funding through RIF to deliver:

£5m for flood mitigation works

£2m for pedestrian footbridge

£4m for removal of gasometers

However, further funding is required

Spatial Framework:

The strategy is essential to enable us to compete within the WoE and nationally for scarce Government funding

Example of other areas that have secured funding:

Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone

£20.9m of Revolving Infrastructure Fund

£2.8m Inward Investment Fund (BIS, HCA)

£11.3m HCA funding

Funding they have applied for include:

£70m for additional transport infrastructure to deliver the 17,000jobs

£55m station enhancement from Network Rail to deal with capacity as a result of EZ (masterplan to begin in October)

£45m RGF money for Arena

£60m for an Energy masterplan from European Funding

Bristol are looking to appoint a Funding Strategist who will be a dedicated resource to find and apply for funding

Birmingham Enterprise Zone

£450m transformation project

Emphasis on creative industries, digital media, professional and financial services (similar to Bath)

£125m investment raised

Emerging Strategy:

Will pull emerging plans together

Provide planning certainty

Target funding

Provide developer certainty

Ensure delivery

Councillor Gerry Curran asked if he could expand more on the term ‘planning certainty’ as the Council aspiration for sites does not always match up with the owners of those sites.

The Acting Divisional Director for Regeneration Skills and Employment replied that planning was at the heart of their work alongside the Placemaking Plan and the Core Strategy. He added that developers want certainty as much as the Council do so we are working with them to find a fit for our vision.

All nine of the developments sit along the river corridor

£100k been allocated provisionally to deliver River Strategy

A proportion of this could be used to deliver the objectives of the Bath Enterprise Area

Our strategy will be more integrated / aligned with:

River Strategy

Transport Strategy

Environmental Strategy

Connectivity Strategy including Broadband

Growth Incentive deal summary:

Government will:

“Provide a licensed exemption from the effects of the resets and levies of the local government finance system in five Enterprise Areas over 25 years (starting April 2014), enabling the West of England to retain 100% of business rates growth in these areas.”

Local authorities will:

“Pool the business rate growth from these five Enterprise Areas alongside that from the existing Enterprise Zone, generating a significant financial contribution to the £1bn West of England Economic Development Fund.”

LEP will:

“Deliver a £1bn programme of investment from the Economic Development Fund to unlock and accelerate economic growth in the West of England.”

City Deal:

1.  The pooled business rates from the EZ and EAs will have three primary calls upon it. To make sure, as far as is reasonably and practically possible, that no individual council is worse off under the growth incentive deal than they would be had it not taken place. To meet the costs of operating the pool and the growth incentive proposition and any contingency for safety nets. (Tier 1)

2.  To invest up to £500m in the £1 billion Economic Development Fund, and through it unlocking the infrastructure investment required to generate additional economic growth. (Tier 2)

3.  To support each council’s budget in meeting some of the additional demographical pressures growth may bring with it to be distributed on a simple formula basis to support revenue pressures - such as in social care, arising from demographic changes. (Tier 3)

Economic Development Fund:

Provides up to £500M to fund projects which accelerate growth in WoE

Total £1bn of investment with other funding streams e.g. RIF, Transport etc.

All EDF Projects subject to Governance and Approval by LEP Board

Subject to availability of funds in the business rate pool

To Fund Approved Infrastructure and Related Borrowing Costs

Projects to be put forward by Lead Authority (indicative list being developed)

Borrowing underwritten by Lead Authority

Delivery Timetable: Needs to be appropriately phased in conjunction with other sites.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones asked what level of stress was being placed upon the Council to achieve the aspirations of the Enterprise Area.

The Acting Divisional Director for Regeneration Skills and Employment replied that a fiscal boundary had been drawn up by the Local Authorities to assess risk and that the figures quoted were conservative.

The Chairman on behalf of the Panel thanked him for his presentation.