Agenda item

To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.

A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions.  This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.

The Chairman highlighted to Members that an updated list of the questions had been provided in the supplementary pack and that a period of 15 minutes was allocated to the presenting and responses to, these questions.  There would be no supplementary questions.

Question Submitted by Councillor S Robinson

“Can the portfolio holder inform me what enforcement is being carried out to stop cars parking on double yellow lines?”

The Leader responded that the Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) routinely patrolled the District carrying out enforcement on all Traffic Regulation Orders including double yellow lines.  Last financial year 426 Parking Contravention Notices (PCNs) were issued against vehicles parked on double yellow lines, this financial year due to COVID-19 restrictions the number of PCNs issued so far on yellow lines was 245.  Unfortunately, it was not possible for CEOs to be everywhere all of the time, therefore if Members had any specific areas of concern, they could contact the Parking Team via email bdcparking@bromsgrove.gov.uk  who would do their best to increase monitoring of that area for a period of time.

Question Submitted by Councillor K Van der Plank

“Many of our local businesses are really struggling especially as a result of this new lockdown. Please could the Leader confirm what business grants are still available to businesses in the District impacted by Covid. What is the process for applying for these and the deadline and how is this going to be communicated across the district?”

The Leader responded that the Council had received funding to provide support to any of its businesses that were closed during the November period of restrictions or had been forced to close during the current period of national restrictions.  In addition, it had provided support to hospitality, hotel and leisure businesses that were open during December but were significantly impacted by the tier 2 and tier 3 restrictions that were in place.

The Council has developed a discretionary grant fund for businesses that were not required to close but were impacted by the restrictions.  This scheme would provide support to hospitality and leisure supply chain businesses who would have lost income because their customer base was forced to close.

The schemes could be applied for on the Council’s website; and each application would be considered for eligibility for all the Government support schemes and were being promoted on-line and by social media.  Where contact details were held, businesses would be contacted by text or email and urged to apply directly by the Council.

Question Submitted by Councillor R Hunter

“Please could you update council on what is being done to support those local businesses worst affected by the pandemic. Can you confirm how many Bromsgrove businesses have received the Additional Restrictions Grant since November and how many Bromsgrove pubs have received their Christmas Support Grant?”

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources firstly, asked it to be put on record his thanks to all the teams that had been dealing with the grant applications at this exceptionally busy time. The Christmas Support Payment required an application from the ratepayer and evidence that the pub met the Government’s eligibility requirement.  Officers had identified all the pubs which met the Government’s definition of a wet-led pub for the purposes of the Christmas Support Payment and contacted them by telephone requesting the information needed to award the grant.  The payments to pubs will be made in bulk at the point the applications have been received and determined, which he understood to be imminent.

The Council had set aside £900,000 of funding to provide support to businesses that were excluded from support because they had not been required to close and were ineligible for the mandatory grant schemes.  The scheme was an application based scheme and officers would provide a briefing to Members on the operation of the scheme and current levels of support provided, in due course.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources explained that North Worcestershire Economic Development and Regeneration (NWEDR) was not involved in the direct delivery of the Covid-19 business grants; however, they were promoting them extensively via their website, in weekly newsletters and through their existing contacts.  They were also providing tailored advice to businesses regarding the availability, eligibility and application process for the Covid-19 business recovery grants.

Partners including the Growth Hubs and Worcestershire County Council had provided a number of grants specifically aimed at supporting businesses through the pandemic including small business recovery grants for retailers and the visitor economy; pivot and prosper grants to help businesses adapt their trading models and sustain and grow to support businesses with resilience and transformation projects.  All of the usual business support grants were also available, supporting business start-up and growth. These too were promoted extensively via NWEDR’s website, in weekly newsletters and through their existing contacts.  NWEDR were also providing tailored advice to businesses regarding the availability, eligibility and application process for these business grants.  It was the intention to set up briefings for Members as soon as practicable.

Question Submitted by Councillor S Baxter

“Please can the Leader update the Council on progress with the green borehole district heat network proposal to be sited at Bromsgrove School.”

The Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services responded to this question on behalf of the Leader.  She advised that the Council was successful in its bid to the Government Heat Network Development Unit for funding of a Detailed Project Development of the Bromsgrove Town Low Carbon Heat Network.  A Project Management team had recently been appointed and they would oversee production of a full business case to inform the decision by Council and Stakeholders as to whether to progress to Commercialisation and Build. They would also bid for funding for the Commercialisation/Build phase.

The feasibility study had recommended an open loop ground source heat pump as the preferred option for a low carbon heat source and a location in the vicinity of Bromsgrove School had looked favourable. However, it was important to note that the Detailed Project Development would include a full assessment and refinement of that and all other aspects of the proposed network.

Bore-hole drilling (if that was still the preferred technology) would now take place at the Commercialisation Phase. This followed close liaison with Colchester, who were in the construction phase of an open loop ground source heat pump heat network.  They had found that although an early test borehole was often recommended to de-risk the project, the benefits of this were outweighed by the following:

·       the additional cost and practicalities of bringing drilling kit onto the site twice - once for a test borehole and again to continue with full construction.

·       a single borehole could produce false pessimism or false optimism as it might be an outlier in terms of performance. Instead, the Project Managers would procure a specialist in open loop ground source heat pumps to assess the available information and design the system during the Detailed Project Development phase. There would then be an optional contract extension for those specialists to procure the drilling contractors and manage the borehole drilling and testing during the Commercialisation Phase, assessing and amending their detailed design depending on findings.

The Council aspired to reaching the Commercialisation in 2022 with the build out from 2023 onwards.

Councillor Baxter asked if she could ask a follow up question, but was advised that, as Notices of Motion were being considered again, supplementary questions were no longer being taken.  The Chairman therefore suggested that Councillor Baxter speak to the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services outside of the meeting.

Question Submitted by Councillor S Douglas

“Please can the Leader tell the Council what state of readiness any proposals are for the Bromsgrove Town Centres so that good supported applications can be made for future funding. If a proposal fits a grant criteria, readiness is a key to success. It is sad that we did not qualify for the recent large Government Grants for towns awarded recently.

These plans might include feasibility studies, concept designs/plans and viability appraisals. 

Who is involved in these preparations?

What is the role of town centre councillors particularly in the early stages?

What more can be initiated locally towards implementation?”

The Leader responded that there were three key pieces of work currently being undertaken.  The first was the development of a strategy for all Bromsgrove Centres, the second was the commissioning of urban design and viability advice related to Council owned land in Bromsgrove Town Centre and the third was the commissioning of a Bromsgrove Town Centre 2040 Vision.  Members would also be aware that the emerging Local Plan process included forming a vision for Bromsgrove Town Centre.

The Bromsgrove Centres Strategy was expected to be received from officers working in NWEDR by the end of February 2021.  This study set out suggestions for the enhancement of key retail areas.  The Leader confirmed that she would circulate this to all Members for comment.

In terms of the Council owned land in Bromsgrove Town Centre external support had been commissioned for the development of some proposals.    These plans included feasibility studies, concept designs/plans and viability appraisals. This commission was being managed by officers in NWEDR.  When the consultants had completed their tasks, NWEDR would be preparing a report for Cabinet and Council.  The Leader also commented that it was worth noting that this was the current position and things may change, particularly given the current challenging circumstances, which town centres faced.

The work for the Bromsgrove Town Centre 2040 Vision had been tendered and the successful firm would be appointed by the end of January 2021. The work was co-ordinated by officers in NWEDR who would be supported by the external consultants. A programme of Member, stakeholder and public engagement would be put in place to ensure input from all local key stakeholders, residents, and businesses.  The Leader encouraged all Members to engage with this process.

Members would also be aware from the recently approved Economic Recovery Strategy and also the Economic Strategy itself, that a key role for officers in NWEDR was horizon-scanning for future funding opportunities and Government grants.  The Leader suggested that it was not always the case that worked up proposals improved eligibility for grants, as eligibility criteria were funding programme specific, so ready-made proposals may not necessarily fit the eligibility for a particular funding programme. However, when relevant and eligible, officers could use feasibility studies and viability appraisals, as part of the evidence base for funding applications. 

It was the Leader’s view that all Members had a role to play in ensuring the vitality and viability of Bromsgrove town centre and all its urban centres and the Leader hoped the centres would be well used by all residents.   She encouraged Members to engage in the formal and informal opportunities for engagement which she had outlined in her response.