Contents
- Meeting Minutes
- Welcome and introductions
- Role and remit of Town Board
- Governance
- Approval of the terms of reference and code of conduct
- Administration and Financial Management Arrangements
- Review of Existing Strategies and Funding
- Prior to the meeting Board Members were sent the data pack provided by DLUCH
- Consultation and Engagement Strategy
- Timeline and Programme
- Any other business
- Action Plan
Minutes
Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 20th March 2024 at Middletons Yard, Potter Street, Worksop S80 2FT
Present in person:
Andria Birch (Chair, AB)), Cllr Julie Leigh (JL), Cllr Keith Girling (KG), Tracey Mace-Akroyd (TMA), Laurie Griffin (LG), Sally Gilborn (SG), David Skepper (SK), Stephen Marwood (SM), Phil Jackson (PJ), George Jones (GJ), Heather Frecklington (HF)
Present via Microsoft Teams:
Brendan Clarke-Smith (BCS), Sean McGinley (SM)
Non-voting Officers:
Craig Taylor (BDC), Natalie Cockrell (BDC), Emma Illingworth (BDC), Joelle Davies (NCC), Giulia Roggio (OPCC), Frankie O’Brien (MPs Office)
Apologies for absence were received from:
Scott Knowles, Lee Eddell, Michael Hirst, Karen Whitlam, Caroline Henry
A verbal declaration of interest was received from Andria Birch for being the Chief Executive of BCVS, which may bid for funding available through the Long Term Plan for Towns. It was agreed that this would also be disclosed in the relevant governance documentation.
The meeting opened at 13:30.
A PowerPoint presentation was displayed.
Each member of the Board introduced themselves, and NC introduced the Long Term Plan for Towns funding.
The Worksop Town Board is the vehicle through which the 10-year vision and 3 year investment plan are developed and delivered covering the three themes:
- High streets, heritage and regeneration
- Safety and security
- Transport and connectivity
It is responsible for overseeing positive progress and delivery of each of the projects within the delivery plan and strategy
BDC remains the accountable body for funding and executing plans.
The guidance states that the Local Authority should invite an independent Chair from the Community or Private sector. Andria Birch, Chief Executive of BCVS has accepted the role of Chair, and Sally Gilborn, Chief Executive of North Notts BID has accepted the role of Vice Chair.
The Town Board should publish membership and governance arrangements (including minutes of meetings and decision logs) on the lead council’s website.
The Board is to meet quarterly as a minimum, and to publish:
- a documented decision-making process outlining the voting rights of the board
- profiles of board members
- all board papers in advance of the meeting within 5 working days
- draft minutes of meetings following the meeting within 10 working days
- final minutes, once approved by the board within 10 working days
- any conflicts of interest reported, within the published minutes
Town Boards should follow lead council governance and finance arrangements when considering private reports, with the default position being that all papers are open to the public.
TMA asked if substitutes were allowed if a member is unable to attend a meeting, and the Board agreed no substitutes would be accepted.
Prior to the meeting, Board Members had received copies of each document which had been drafted by Bassetlaw District Council’s Legal Team.
Feedback from Board members was received and noted, which will be sent to the Legal Team for approval.
It was agreed in the interest of transparency that the governance arrangements extend to any and all positions a Board Member holds, even if that organisation or committee is not a voting member of the Worksop Town Board.
- £20m funding is released over 10 years.
- At the end of the first three-year investment plan cycle, for FY27/28, there will be a built-in ‘check-in’ point, to analyse delivery across the first three years alongside the submission of the next three-year investment plan.
- Towns will have the flexibility to rollover funding into future years until the end of the programme.
- There is no flexibility to draw down early
- 50k capacity funding has been released to BDC, and £200k will be released to the Board in April 2024.
- Total of the funding is £19.51m, the remaining £490,000 is deducted by Government from the total allocated amount, to provide centralised support.
- Funding profile from DLUHC
- The Board will need to appoint the following roles;
- Secretariat support
- Officer and project management support
Board members discussed the Worksop Master Plan and Bassetlaw Local Plan, pre-existing documents, which are available from BDC to inform the Board’s projects.
It was agreed that the Board would have its own creative scope, and could identify projects outside these documents, provided they deliver against the interventions from DLUHC and where appropriate, a business case was provided.
The Environmental Constraint Report from the EA was discussed, and Board Members agreed to share any other existing strategies from their own organisations which might be of relevance to the Worksop Town Board.
Bassetlaw District Council have agreed to keep the Worksop Town Board updated on the funding streams below, as the projects may be taken into consideration when determining its own interventions;
- Levelling Up Fund 2
- Levelling Up Partnership Projects
- Health Check for Town Centres
- Thriving Neighbourhoods
- Health and Wellbeing Centre at the Priory
- Street scaping
- Creative Village
- Family Hub (bring delivered with NCC)
SM observed that there may be other funding streams the Board should also consider, such as the Natural Flood Management Project, through which Shireoaks and Worksop have received £1.2m.
KG discussed the East Midlands Mayor who will take office in May 2024 after the upcoming elections, and potential funding and regeneration projects that could be delivered through its office.
It was noted that other funding streams are to be aware of, it is not a requirement of the Long Term Plan for Towns Funding to receive any match funding, and any projects will need to be deliverable by the Board in isolation.
It was agreed to interrogate the map provided to ensure that the Priory Gate House as BCVS building was in the benefit area, as this is a heritage asset.
HF and GJ introduced themselves as working for Focus Consultancy, who have been procured by BDC using the £50k in capacity funding released to Local Authorities.
Focus will support the Worksop Town Board with Public Consultation, the 10-year strategy and 3 year investment plan.
There will be surveys produced for Businesses and Residents, available online.
Focus have asked members of the Board to communicate any events already planned to take place which they can attend.
BDC Comms will design and deliver a campaign to promote the Board and the public Consultation, KG offered the support of NCC Communications Team.
Members of the Board agreed to publicise and circulate the consultation with their own networks and contacts.
From 1 April 2024 to 1 August 2024:
Town Boards submit their Long-Term Plans (comprising their 10-year vision and 3-year investment plan) from 1 April and before 1 August. The Plan will set out how funding will be allocated and spent.
The earlier the Town Board is established, and Plan submitted, the quicker funding can be unlocked by DLUHC.
DLUHC assess plans as they come in, and release 2024 to 2025 capital and revenue funding once plans are approved.
Public consultation is scheduled to start at the beginning of April
The Board agreed to hold monthly meetings in May, June and July to expedite the production and submission of required documentation, dates to be sent out after this meeting.
No AOB was raised.
The meeting closed at 15:00.
Action Plan
| Action | Assigned To | Date Action Agreed | Deadline | Notes | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Send out Guidance and Intervention to Board Members | Emma Illingworth | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | Yes | |
| Amends to Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct to be noted, and sent to BDC legal department for review and approval | Emma Illingworth | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | Yes | |
| Poll for meeting dates in May, June, July | Emma Illingworth | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | Yes | |
| Speak with ICT regarding a SharePoint for the Board | Natalie Cockrell | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | Yes | |
| GIS map of the proposed town centre boundary | Natalie Cockrell | 20.03.2024 | 31.03.2024 | Yes | |
| Board Members to review draft TOR and COC attached, disclose any interests in the space provided and return. These will then be published in line with the guidance. | All | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | ||
| Each Board member to send a headshot, and 250-word (maximum) biography for publication on the BDC website in line with the guidance | All | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | ||
| Board Members to circulate any relevant project or funding streams which are taking place via their own organisations, which the board may want to take into consideration when determining its own interventions | All | 20.03.2024 | 17.04.2024 | ||
| Board Members to circulate comms campaign (provided by BDC) around surveys once they are live | All | 20.03.2024 | Early April | Comms campaign is currently being put together |
Last Updated on Thursday, July 18, 2024