Agenda item

(Report by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place).

 

Councillor Nigel Welton introduced a report by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) providing an update on the Towns Fund and the allocated accelerated grant funding of £750,000 delivered through the mechanism of the Towns Fund to support the delivery of capital projects in the financial year 2020/21, that met the Towns Fund Intervention Framework and would have the greatest immediate impact to aid economic recovery.

 

On 30^th June 2020 the Prime Minister gave a speech and laid put plans for a ‘New Deal’ to support Britain’s recovery putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of a post Covid-19 economic growth strategy. 

 

On 1^st July 2020, the Chief Executive received notification the Boston Borough Council, through the Towns Fund, had been selected to receive £750,000 in accelerated grant funding to support capital projects that would drive jobs growth, create further investment and had the ability to look to build a stronger and more resilient economy for the community.  The notification set out how the grant allocation had been calculated, potential project interventions and a requirement to respond by 14^th August 2020 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) with project proposals.

 

The MHCLG was particularly keen to see, in collaboration with the Town Deal Board, capital projects that responded to immediate challenges and supported the economic recovery including the repurposing of empty commercial buildings, open space infrastructure, improvements to the town centre and, where an immediate benefit could be achieved, demolition or site remediation.

 

The Town Deal Board was the vehicle through which the vision and strategy for the town was defined.  The Board, through a well-evidenced based Town Investment Plan (TIP) would set out a clear programme of projects, collaborating with partners and other public sector bodies to ensure a holistic approach to deliver sustainable long term economic and productivity growth.

 

The Boston Town Deal Board were advised of the accelerated grant on 7^th July and encouraged to suggest potential interventions which related to the emerging investment plan.

 

It was highlighted that consideration should be given to those projects that could facilitate and deliver sustained growth and return the maximum economic Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) for all of the community in the shortest amount of time.   Any project should be in a position to move quickly as funding was only available for the financial year 2020/21. 

 

Listed within the report were potential project interventions which met the criteria set out by the MHCLG:-

 

Haven High Academy – 3G Pitch Development Project - £120,000

 

Haven High Academy was applying to the Football Foundation for funding towards a full size floodlit 3G Football Turf Pitch.  The facility would support students and also provide opportunities for the local community groups to access high quality facilities.  The new 3G pitch would complement existing facilities and promote the academy as the hub of the local community.

 

The cost of a full sized pitch was in the region of £750,000 including professional fees and contingency.  The academy would be using part of their capital reserves towards the project, and seeking other funding to contribute to the partnership funding required.  The contribution requested from the Towns Fund was £120,000.

 

Boston College Digital, Transport and Logistics Academy - £182,976

 

Boston College’s Digital, Transport and Logistics Academy (DTLA) was proposed to introduce new courses that would provide skills training for Lincolnshire’s long established logistics and transportation industry with a focus on digital innovation and technologies for the future. The Academy was due for completion in November 2020.

 

As part of the work of the Town Deal Board, there was ongoing consultation with the logistics industry and the Port of Boston.  The valuable engagement included working with employers to map the current and future provision to meet skills needs, both locally and nationally to ensure that the facilities implemented and course delivered were relevant to the employment opportunities available and enabled industries to continue to grow and develop.

 

As a result of the engagement, Boston College had identified the essential equipment required to accelerate the support for skills and employment for young people and also adult learners who may need to retrain as a consequence of the impact of Covid-19 on the employment market.

 

The acquisition of the equipment and services would enable the full completion of the DTLA which was a GLLEP funded project and destined to support the skills within the key sectors of ports and logistics.

 

Boston Town Heritage Projects - £277,700

 

The Boston Townscape Heritage Project would significantly enhance the eastern area of the town’s historic market place for the benefit of local businesses, community and visitors to the town.

 

Boston’s rich and unique historic environment, dating from the medieval period to the 2th century, would be explored, celebrated and conserved through a scheme of capital works and innovative activity programme.

 

Three individual projects had been identified for support from the accelerated grant funding totalling £272,250 and together with an amount for promotional materials and activity in support of the project totalling £5,450.

 

• 16 Market Place – Had been granted listed building consent and planning permission. It had been out to tender and was currently awaiting a final tender return.
• 17 Market Place – Planning permissions had been granted, the tender process was also complete and the project was currently awaiting a grant offer so works could proceed on site.
• 8 Dolphin Lane – Planning permissions had been granted and it was currently out to tender.
• Publicity and promotion for all of the above to include the Accelerator Fund and the Boston Town Deal within the wider project funding partnership.

 

Experience Boston: Travel, Trade and Influence - £80,000

 

The project would build on an increased local, regional, national and international profile of the town and port as a quality historic and cultural visitor destination, bringing wider benefits to local visitor economies and driving increased opportunities for investment.

 

This would be a significant opportunity to add to current public realm improvements within Boston, helping inform locals and visitors to Boston’s rich heritage, and build on the placebrand, wayfinding and design toolkit developed in the successful HLF project ‘Boston: Explore and Discover’.

 

PE21 Feasibility Funding - £50,000

 

To test and underpin the interventions, recommendations and the viability of the PE21 Masterplan and market demand post Covid-19, a feasibility study was required to be commissioned to fully understand the sustainable and economic potential the PE21 vision could deliver.

 

The report would consider current and projected future uses and market demands, which would ensure a more robust assessment on uses, values and deliverability to enable a better and clearer policy on approach and opportunity.

 

 

The Sanctuary, Restore Church - £200,000

 

The Sanctuary would be an inclusive community hub that focused on supporting homeless and vulnerable people in the broadest sense, providing a range of services and opportunities to support people into accommodation, training, education and work.

 

As a project the Sanctuary would seek to provide:

 

·         Self-contained accommodation with support.

·         Emergency access accommodation to support the most vulnerable within the community.

·         A Community Café offering training and volunteering opportunities as well as a revenue source to support the wider project.

·         A Community Supermarket, that like the café, would offer training, skills development and practical opportunities to the community, residents of the accommodation, as well as providing food schemes to help individuals and families in need.

·         Multi-agency space where support, training, advice and advocacy could be delivered.

·         Adaptive and inclusive spaces that could be used by small social enterprise and clubs.

·         The total cost of the project had been assessed at just under £1.5 million (including contingency).   

 

A suitable premise for sale had been identified within the PE21 area and discussions commenced with the agent.  Funding of £200,000 was being sought from the Towns Fund towards the purchase cost of £650,000.  The remainder of the purchase cost would be funded by social investment from a provider with whom the Church had a strong existing relationship.

 

The projects selected were seeking to maximise the impact the funding stream could have on the greatest number of residents within the Borough.  These included an emphasis on skills and education, the quality of the town centre offer through enhancing the heritage offer, the promotion of Boston as a place to visit, support for the most vulnerable residents and improving the quality of the health of the Borough.

 

This would only happen if the Council agreed the identified projects aligned to, or had a relationship with, the emerging TIP.  Written confirmation was required to be submitted to MHCLG by 14 August 2020, outlining the potential projects, and agreement from the Council’s Section 151 Officer that any spend drawn down from the accelerated grant, represented good value for money, could be delivered in the financial year 2020/21 and was in line with the Towns Fund Intervention Framework.

 

The report had been considered by the Boston Town Area Committee at its meeting on 5 August 2020, and the proposed projects endorsed.

 

Members welcomed the report, expressed their support for the potential project interventions and for the bid to be submitted to MHCLG by 14 August 2020.

 

Council thanked the Town Deal Team for all the hard work and enthusiasm that had been put into bringing the proposals together.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Nigel Welton, seconded by Councillor David Brown and

 

RESOLVED   1.         That the sum of £750,000 Accelerated Grant funding to support capital projects  that respond to immediate challenges and support the economic recovery of Boston, be noted and included in the 2020/21 Capital Programme.   2.         That the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) be authorised to confirm in writing to Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government by 14th August 2020 of the project proposals and that they were in line with the Towns Fund intervention framework as set out in the Towns Fund further guidance.

 

(Having declared an interest in the above item, Councillor Anne Dorrian

left the meeting during the debate and vote thereon)