[Portfolio Holder for City Economy Statement and Questions and Answers Session].
Minutes:
The Chair referred to the tabled documents at the meeting, which included a document with answers from the Portfolio Holder for City Economy to all the questions that had been submitted in advance by Members of the Panel and a copy of the key achievement slides from his PowerPoint presentation on his portfolio (copies of which are attached to the signed minutes).
The Portfolio Holder outlined the areas which fell within his responsibility. He highlighted the fact that sustainability fell within his responsibility because he was Chair of the Sustainability Advisory Board. He was particularly pleased with the Crowd Fund Wolves Project and the partnership working with the University and College.
The Portfolio Holder highlighted some of the key achievements over the last few years. In 2015 the Jaguar Land Rover Engine Processing plant had begun production, the University of Wolverhampton opened its new business school, the online bicycle retailer Wiggle opened its warehouse in Bilston and Wolverhampton was ranked fourth best place to start a business in the UK. In 2016, the i10 the first Grade A office space in Wolverhampton opened, the Westside Development was announced, the Bilston Urban Village construction had begun and unemployment significantly dropped within the City. 2017 saw the launch of the Wolves at Work project, the Council being awarded the Local Authority of the Year Award at the MJ Awards and the new Debenhams being opened at the Mander Centre. In 2018, the new City Centre Market had opened, the old Railway station demolition process had commenced and ebay had held the first retail revival training session in Wolverhampton, the first in the UK.
The Portfolio Holder commented that the latest statistics showed 2 million people visited Wolverhampton each year and nearly 2 million people lived within a 30 minute drive of the City Centre. He was pleased to report that Wolverhampton was within the top ten growth areas in the UK. The City was also doing well in job creation and business start-ups. In addition, Wolverhampton was a leading retail hotspot for investors outside London.
The Portfolio Holder commented on the very successful Parade the Council had arranged to mark Wolverhampton FC promotion to the Premier League. He also made refence to the development of the i9 building and the successful Wire Awards. He gave some details on the Council’s, City Strategic Economic Plan, 2019-2024. The Council had received £6 million in funding for broadband development.
A Member of the Panel referred to a recent article in the national media, where following a national survey, Wolverhampton had been ranked as the second worst City in the United Kingdom. He asked for the Portfolio Holder’s opinion of the survey and how the Council had responded. The Portfolio Holder responded that the number of parks and open spaces included in the survey for Wolverhampton had been wrong. The statistics the survey relied on were not accurate.
A Member of the Panel referred to the question that had been raised about the Civic Hall project. He had recently attended a site visit with the Audit Committee. Many Members had left the site visit with concerns about the project in terms of the timetable and cost. He asked the Portfolio Holder if it would be possible to have a set completion date for the project. The Portfolio Holder responded that there was a specialist group entitled, the “Capital Projects Members Reference Group” monitoring the Civic Hall Project. The Lead Contractor had gone through the costs and the timescale with the group recently. He was happy to share the details with him.
A Member of the Panel asked the Portfolio Holder, if there could be more innovation within Wolverhampton, for issues such as the housing shortage. The Portfolio Holder responded that there was now the City Commission and the Council were trying everything they could in terms of innovation. The Council had to be careful regarding what buildings they converted to residential within the City Centre as it was important to ensure quality and for them to be attractive to people.
A Member of the Panel raised the subject of footfall figures for the City Centre. He wanted a system in place in the City Centre which could record footfall figures accurately and give the actual numbers rather than estimates based on survey information. He was of the view that accurate footfall figures could be used to the Council’s advantage to further economic development within the City. The Portfolio Holder responded that the Business Improvement District (BID) had experienced some issues with trying to record footfall accurately in the City Centre. The Smart technology that was arriving in the next 1-2 years would enable accurate footfall figures, which meant the Council would no longer be reliant upon the BID for footfall data for the City Centre.
The Chair raised the concept of marketing for Wolverhampton. She believed there needed to be an overall strategy. She was aware that there had been some work completed on a logo for Wolverhampton. The Portfolio Holder responded that the work on the branding had involved consultation with the leading local businesses, the University, the College and the NHS. The Consultants employed by the Council to undertake the project had worked with the Economic Growth Board. The video that coincided with the branding was completed in consultation with local community groups, residents and businesses. They were currently in discussions with local businesses as to how they would use the video and branding as part of their marketing tools. He suggested that the branding for Wolverhampton and strategy would be an appropriate item for the Scrutiny Panel to consider in the future. A Member of the Panel commented that how the City of Wolverhampton was marketed on a global scale was discussed at the Scrutiny Panel during a meeting in 2013.
A Member of the Panel asked when the results would be made available from the West Side Link Development Consultation. The Director of Regeneration responded that they were still continuing the consultation on the part relating to the pedestrianisation of Lichfield Street. The Chair stated they had received a presentation at the Labour Group recently, and she expressed concern that there was no detail given on a business case for the project, including the costs and how these would be recovered following completion.
A Member of the Panel asked how the City could compete with cities like Birmingham to attract investment. The Portfolio Holder responded that recently the Building Strategy had been launched which incorporated the work taking place on the Canal Side Quarter, the Railway Station and surrounding area. Part of the development by the Railway station was the state-of-the art i9 office development. The ongoing building work and the rising rental fees in Birmingham would mean Wolverhampton would be an attractive offer.
A Member of the Panel asked about the latest position regarding the old eye infirmary on Compton Road which was owned by the NHS. The Director of Regeneration responded that an enforcement notice had been served upon the NHS. There had also been two offers from the Council to acquire the site, which had been rejected by the NHS, as it was not within their valuation. He understood that the NHS had recently accepted an offer from a third party to acquire the site. They had not had this information confirmed and he did not know if there were conditions attached to the offer. The Managing Director of the Council had written to the Chief Executive of the RWHT asking for clarification of the position and requesting that the Trust make the buyers aware of the enforcement order on the site.