Decision details

Bath City Centre High Street Renewal

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Decision status: Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

Decision to submit FBC to access £1.3m Love our High Streets funding to deliver public realm enhancements and a programme of events and animations to the Milsom Quarter. Wider enhancement fund to supplement public realm and broader enhancement activities to support pedestrian priority and café culture in other key city centre locations.

Decision:

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

 

1  Delegate approval to the Director of Place Management, in consultation with the s151 officer, to accept the £1,235K Love our High Streets grant from WECA to be spent over a five year period in line with the Full Business Case and concept design approved.  This will allow full approval of confirmed capital of £1,102k for Bath City Centre High Street Renewal and provides £240K for revenue budget support as outlined in section 5 of this report. 

 

2  Delegate approval to the Director of Place Management, in consultation with the s151 officer, to accept £255k from the WECA Recovery grant offered to deliver phase 2 capital works to bring vacant shops back into active use for cultural and commercial and arts initiatives as part of the ‘vacant unit action project’.  The split between this programme and Commercial Estate Refurbishment and revenue budget support to be confirmed.

 

Reasons for the decision:

This report requests agreement to accept the £1.235m funding from WECA in line with the Full Business Case approved by WECA on 25th June 2021. This report summarises the proposed project scope and includes economic and social impact analysis and a summary of pilot activities and engagement which has informed the project scope. The Report summarises key items of proposed spend, funding approval mechanisms and key deliverables and outputs anticipated.

Alternative options considered:

As per report.

Report author: Cleo Newcombe-Jones

Publication date: 20/07/2021

Date of decision: 20/07/2021

Decided at meeting: 20/07/2021 - Cabinet

Effective from: 28/07/2021

Accompanying Documents: