Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence]. 

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Claire Simm, Cllr Paul Birch and Cllr Craig Collingswood. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

Cllr Simkins, Cabinet Member declared an interest under the Inward Investment item as a Board Member of West Midlands Trains.   

[To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]. 

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2022 were approved as a correct record. 

[To receive a briefing note and a presentation on Inward Investment]. 

Briefing Note is marked: To Follow. 

The Director of Regeneration gave a presentation on the subject of Inward Investment, a copy of the slides presented are attached to the signed minutes.  He showed a short video on the Wolverhampton Investment Prospectus and spoke on the assets and opportunities within the City.  There were a lot of opportunities coming forward in the future.  Now i10 and i11 were fully let there was a need for more and better commercial office space.  They were consequently looking to develop a project known as Interchange 8. 

The Vice-Chair asked what assurances Officers were able to give that some of the projects highlighted in the presentation would come to fruition.  He referred to the West Side Project which had been presented to Scrutiny in the past, but which was no longer going ahead in the form that had been detailed. 

The Director of Regeneration with reference to West Side explained that the Council had exhausted all opportunities with the developer Urban & Civic.  The project had started with a large capital receipt due to the authority and ended up with Urban & Civic asking the Council to under write a significant amount of funding.  This was considered too much of a risk for the organisation.  The demand for a hotel had not gone away and the need to develop a new one for the City.  A new hotel would require significant investment by the authority, unless a partner could be found to develop one.

Members discussed funding arrangements for regeneration projects in Wolverhampton.  The Chair and Vice-Chair asked for an update on this matter at a future meeting. 

A Panel Member asked how the Council was going to promote diversity in the City within regeneration.  He asked about the opportunities that would be available.  The Cabinet Member for Inclusive City Economy referred to a diversity project that had been put in pace which was the glazed café.  The Art Gallery put on regular cultural events.  They would be working with providers in the sector to see what cultural events could be arranged.  Members and Officers had a detailed discussion about attracting a diversity of businesses in the City. 

A Member of the Panel remarked that there were insufficient hotels in the City.  She was aware that the Mercure Wolverhampton Goldthorn Hotel on Penn Road would soon be lost to the Supermarket Chain of Lidl.  The choices had been very limited for people to stay in the City during the Commonwealth Games Cycling Trial.  She asked if a more aggressive approach was needed to attract investment for Hotels in the City.  Her second question related to the number of people using the new train station in Wolverhampton and whether there was data monitoring the numbers passing through the station. 

The Director of Regeneration responded that when considering new hotels, the location was very important.  A City Centre location was going to be very important for the Council because that would support the Civic Halls, the Art Gallery, the University and local businesses.  There was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

[To receive a briefing note and presentation on the visitor experience, culture and leisure offer]. 

Briefing Note is marked: To Follow

The Director of Communications and Visitor Experience introduced the slides on the Visitor Experience, Culture and Leisure offer in Wolverhampton.  He stated that the Council was already an Events City.  IPW Consultants had provided the information for the slide on Events City, it stated the following was applicable to Wolverhampton: -

·       1000+ events a year

·       30,000 football visitors every fortnight

·       300,000 per year to the Grand Theatre

·       Estimated 300,000 to new Civic Halls

·       120,000 visitors to the Racecourse a year

·       Admired civic / community events programme

·       Range of local events delivered by partners (e.g., BIDs) and event companies

The Director of Communications and Visitor Experience commented that the Council made a significant contribution to the City wide programme through investment in arts, culture and city events.  The Council had five venues which were used for major events and they had 76 outdoor events each year.  273,000 visitors in 2021/2022 came because of the events held by the Council.  There was £650,000 in direct economic impact as a consequence and £9 million in in-direct economic benefit.  The £9 million figure was based on the West Midlands in the 2015 Great Britain Day Visits Survey. 

The Visitor Economy Manager spoke about the Commonwealth Games Cycling Time Trial.  The start and finish line had been hosted in West Park.  20,000 attended across the event and people also lined the streets of the City, representing an indirect economic benefit of £665,000.  The event received global TV coverage.  The Fireworks spectacular had been hosted in partnership with Dunstall Racecourse in November 2021.  A profit of just over £11,000 was raised and 15,000 attended the event, representing an indirect economic benefit of £500,000. 

The Visitor Economy Manager presented a slide on the Grand Slam of Darts.  This has been hosted at Aldersley Leisure Village in November 2021.  The event had a budget of £7,320 and there was an income of £70,000 from the event.  12,500 had attended and this represented an indirect economic benefit of £420,000.  A large production crew had stayed in the City for 2 weeks at an estimated cost of £140,000.  There had been global TV coverage via Sky Sports.    

The Visitor Economy Manager stated that the World Snooker Player’s Championship had been hosted at Aldersley Leisure Village in February 2022.  There was no budget for the event and it cost £9,416.  4000 people had attended the event, representing an indirect benefit of £140,000.  A large production crew stated in the City for two weeks at an estimated cost of £200,000.  There had been global TV coverage via the BBC. 

The Visitor Economy Manager presented a slide on Vaisakhi Mela.  There had been a celebratory event in May 2022. The budget for the event had been £15,000 and it had cost £14,700.  23,209 had attended the event, representing an indirect economic benefit of £770,771.  Local leaders took the opportunity to urge attendees to take up the Covid-19 vaccination.  There had been coverage on Midlands Today and ITV Central.  She listed a number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To receive a presentation on City Public Realm Works]. 

The Temporary Director of City Housing and Environment presented slides on the City Public Realm Works.  Phase 1 (Victoria Street) was currently on programme to deliver a new events square to support the Events Programme in the City.  Phase 3 (Civic Halls) was currently on programme to deliver a completed scheme for handover to the Civic Halls operator.  The project was funded by the Future High Street Fund. 

The Temporary Director of City Housing and Environment stated a group had been established which met on a monthly basis to talk to traders about the progress of the works.   It also provided feedback on specific issues and sought to obtain their ideas about events the City could hold in the space.  Social media provided updates on the works and helped to communicate that businesses were still open.  They had secured a business independent advisor to help the Council work with the local business in the area.  It had been an intense period of work which had its challenges. 

The Chair asked where the project could be improved.  The Temporary Director of City Housing and Environment responded that there had been some challenges with engaging with some of the businesses.  When works were about to start the City was still in Covid lockdown and some of the messages and leaflets couldn’t be sure had been received and read.   During the works a large damaged sewer had been identified with a 3 meter void, which needed to be repaired by Severn Trent, meaning that the work programme had to be changed. 

The Head of Enterprise added that the Independent Business Advisor had helped with the communication.  Some businesses had changed hands and there had been new businesses established. 

A Panel Member praised the plans.  They asked about car parking for the disabled and the vulnerable in the public realm areas.   He stated that there had been problems in Bilston during the WMCA Tram works.  He asked why an independent advisor had been employed after the traders had complained because it could have been foreseen there would be problems.  He asked if an impact study had been completed before the works commenced.  Six months into the works, traders were still struggling and he believed they had not yet received any compensation from the Council for profits lost. 

The Temporary Director of City Housing and Environment responded there were plans for parking for the disabled.  They had also been working with the traders to ensure they were aware of these plans.  There was a liaison Officer employed, but it was true that they had not foreseen the extent of the impact on the traders.  Coming out of a pandemic, switching in retail behaviour and the pandemic meant it was hard to predict the level of impact. 

The Head of Enterprise acknowledged that a lesson had been learnt on the extent of liaison required with traders for the Public Realm project.  Strong robust data and analysis was required on any level of compensation and support to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[To consider the Scrutiny Work Programme]. 

The Vice-Chair asked for City Centre Regeneration to be added to the work programme for the Economy and Growth Scrutiny Panel, after it had been considered by Scrutiny Board.

The Panel gave a vote of thanks to Julia Cleary, the Scrutiny and Systems Manager who was leaving the Council.  They commended her on her professionalism and work for the Council over the last seven years. 

Resolved: That City Centre Regeneration be added to the agenda for the February 2023 meeting of the Economy and Growth Scrutiny Panel.   

Resolved: That the Work Programme be agreed for the Economic and Growth Scrutiny Panel.

[The date of the next scheduled Economy and Growth Scrutiny Panel is 30 November 2022 at 6pm]. 

The date of the next scheduled Economy and Growth Scrutiny Panel meeting was agreed as 30 November 2022 at 6pm.