Apologies were received from Cllr Keeble with Cllr Barrett in attendance as substitute.  In the absence of Vice-Chair Cllr Keeble, it was agreed that Cllr Sapwell would be Vice Chair for this meeting only.

The Minutes of the Business & Town Centres Committee meeting of 15 October 2014 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record, subject to the following amendment by Cllr Hossack:

181 – Business Directory Update – to enforce the statement in paragraph 2:

A secure database has been populated that would be kept up to date and members suggested this could be utilised for other uses e.g. tendering. 

186 – Council Apprenticeship Scheme

Members expressed concerns and requested a breakdown of the costs provided within the report.

The Chair gave an update on:

Brentwood Night time Action Group (BNAG): It was agreed that BNAG and Renaissance Group would continue as separate groups but BNAG would look to work with Renaissance Group in the future. 

Brentwood School Careers Event: Discussions had been held with Brentwood Learning Partnership (BLP) and Brentwood schools to discuss the Council’s support for a Schools Careers Fair to be held in February 2015.  BLP advised that due to a reduction in the budget, the Partnership had begun to wind down and would no longer pursue the event. Some schools had pursued their own career events instead.  Discussions were held with Essex County Council to establish if there was any support.  No details had been given about whether a Skills Roadshow would be considered for the future.   

Brentwood for Growth:  After an informal meeting with some members of Brentwood for Growth at a networking event, an organised formal meeting with members would take place for those who wished to re-establish relationships with the Council and to explore joint working.  

Teenage Market: The first market would take place in February/March 2015 and be called Teen Traders Market.  

The report introduced a presentation from Partners by Design as one of a number of options to procure a visitor website for Brentwood Borough Council.

Members thanked Partners by Design for their presentation.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.1 . Members were asked to note and provide feedback on the presentation by Partners by Design.

2.2. Members were asked to note that Partners by Design was one of a number of options being considered for a visitor website and that commissioning the project would be subject to future resourcing for the on-going promotion and servicing of the website being resolved as part of the 2015/16 budget setting exercise.

The Community Safety Commissioning Plan set out how the Council would deliver against the Corporate Priorities for a Safer Borough aligned with the Community Safety Partnership’s (CSPs) work relating to anti-social behaviour (ASB) and crime reduction.

Members agreed the Community Safety Commissioning Plan 14-15 (Appendix A of the agenda) on 26 February 2014 at Community Services Committee (Minute ref 317 refers).

The report sought agreement for the re-allocation of the £6,000 budget earmarked for family boot camps to a new project aimed at children and young people from the ages of 5-16 who were survivors/witnesses of violence in the home.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendation in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.1. That Members agree the re-allocation of the budget within the Community Safety Commissioning Plan 14-15 awarded to Family Solutions to be re-allocated to deliver the Moving On project aimed at young survivors/witnesses of domestic violence.

To follow.

In partnership with Brentwood Borough Council, Essex County Council was keen to develop affordable studio exhibition space in central Brentwood, utilising a retail unit in the Baytree Centre, which had been empty for 5 years. 

It was proposed to commission an arts organisation and registered charity, ACAVA (Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art) to undertake a feasibility study to ascertain local demand for the project, the suitability of the identified unit for a temporary lease for a minimum of 2 years,  and to devise a financial and membership model for the studios.

Members thanked Lindsey Strange of Essex County Council, and Duncan Smith of ACAVA for their presentations.  The feasibility study by Duncan Smith would be presented to the Committee in the February/March 2015 meeting.     

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.1To note the presentations and agree to commission ACAVA to undertake the feasibility study, which will ascertain local demand for the project, the suitability of the identified unit for a temporary lease for a minimum of 2 years and devise a financial and membership model for the studios, allocating £1000 from the Economic Development Fund to do so as matched funding.

2.2For a further report to come back to Business and Town Centres Committee with the results and recommendations of the feasibility study. 

 (Cllr Reed declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of having worked with Lindsey Strange in the past).

The report sought to introduce new fixed penalty notices issued under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and to set charges for the penalties introduced.

Environmental Health Manager Mr Carter, informed the committee that the fixed penalty notices were to be used as an alternative to prosecution and to be issued for detrimental, persistent and unreasonable behaviour. 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendation in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.1Members agreed to delegate authority to the Heads of Borough Health, Safety & Localism, Street Scene, Housing and Planning respectively and to such officers of the Council that were nominated by any of them to issue Fixed Penalty Notices under section 53 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 Members agreed to adopt the proposed Fixed Penalty Notice charges at the levels outlined in Appendix A to the report, which were in line with other Essex Authorities.

The report presented the final Economic Development Strategy and Work Plan 2014.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendation in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.1To agree the final Economic Development Strategy and Work Plan 2014 and that it was published on the Brentwood Borough Council website.

The report considered how to maximise the benefits of the first phase of the business directory and it’s future development.

It was decided that a working group be formed of Cllrs Keeble, Newberry and Hossack.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

2.11. That the Committee form a Working Group to consider how best to maximise the benefits of the first phase of the Brentwood Business Directory and plan for future development of the Directory. This would be reported back to either the February or March 2015 Committee.

2.2. That the Working Group be stood down once a report to the Committee is made.

The report provided an update on the following initiatives:

·         Brentwood Business Funding and Advice Event;

·         Proposal for 100 Business Speed Networking Event;

·         Proactions event;

·         Low Carbon Grants for Business;

·         Quarterly Economic Working Group; and

·         Heart of Essex Partnership South East Local Economic Partnership visit.

Termination of Meeting

During the preceding item, in accordance with Rule 28 of Part 4.1. – Council Procedure Rules, the business of the meeting not having concluded by two hours after its start, Members voted to agree to continue with the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

Cllr Kendall MOVED and Cllr Sapwell SECONDED following a full discussion it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY  that:

1.    The report and the progress made on key initiatives and projects be noted.

2.    The proposal to develop the holding of a Business Speed Networking event in February/March 2015 be supported.

3.    Delegated authority be granted to the Head of Planning and Development to finalise the development proposal and to hold the event, subject to first consulting with the Chair of the Business and Town Centres Committee before exercising delegated power.  

The report provided an update on the Brentwood Borough Renaissance Group 2014/15 Workplan and Budget following agreement of the Annual Workplan at the Business and Town Centres Committee on 16 July 2014.

Clive Othen, Chair of Renaissance Group, had given his apologies for the meeting. 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendation in the report.

After a show of hands it was RESOLVED:

1.    That Members agreed the updated Brentwood Borough Renaissance Group 2014/15 Workplan (Appendix A of the Agenda) and noted the progress made on projects.

(Cllr Reed declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of his involvement with Renaissance Group through his employment at Brentwood Theatre and therefore did not vote on this item).   

At Ordinary Council on 22nd October 2014 a petition was presented which called for more parking to protect Shenfield.

The petition noted ‘we the residents of Shenfield and Hutton firmly believe additional parking arrangements are imperative to deal with the inevitable extra traffic once Crossrail arrives. We do not want to see increased parking in residential side streets and oppose the decking of both Friars Avenue and Hunter Avenue car parks and call for these to become “shoppers only” car parks. We urge the Lab/Lib coalition now running Brentwood Borough Council to use the £1.5m, set aside by the previous conservative administration to tackle the parking situation. Any proposal must protect, and be for the good of residents’.

The Council provided 48 spaces in Friars Avenue and 62 spaces in Hunter Avenue, with 2 disabled bays in each car park. It was expected that through the construction phase of the project only 20 spaces would be available in Friars Avenue during the week, with none at weekends, with no loss in Hunter Avenue.

A report was commissioned by the Council in October 2013, which looked at Shenfield Station parking and access (Appendix A of the agenda). The study identified a number of potential schemes, and provided a summary of the benefits to rail users, and the deliverability of the projects (Table 10.1, p52).

The Crossrail project in Shenfield was brought forward, and work would commence in February 2015. This would see up to 28 spaces taken over for the project in Friars Avenue car park during the week. The construction phase was expected to run through to March 2017, therefore there were potential issues with parking during this period.

In the long term, Crossrail predicted a 28% increase in demand by 2026, therefore there was a need to consider alternative parking arrangements to meet this demand, but those would have to be discussed in conjunction with developers, and identified in the Local Development Plan.

It was evident that there were no short term solutions to build additional car parks, as there were no suitable sites available.  Alternative options would have needed to be considered to mitigate any potential disruption over this period, and dialog would be continued with South Essex Parking Partnership and representative of Crossrail throughout the construction period.

Termination of Meeting

During the preceding item, in accordance with Rule 28 of Part 4.1. – Council Procedure Rules, the business of the meeting not having concluded by two hours after its start, Members voted to agree to continue with the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kendall and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendations in the report.

After a show of hands it was RESOLVED that:

1.    The Head of Street Scene liaise with Ward Members and with South Essex Parking Partnership and representatives of Crossrail throughout the construction phase to reduce disruption to businesses and local residents.

2.    Delegated authority be given to the Head of Street Scene, in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 344.