Apologies were received from Councillor Slade, Cllr Wiles and was substituting,  Cllr Ms Sanders and  Cllr Mrs Murphy was substituting.

The minutes of the Economic Development meeting held  on 2^nd September 2015 were agreed as a true record, subject to the amendment made to  Option 1  - Partners by Design 4.2

The Partners by design proposal was presented to the 16 December 2014 Business and Town Centre’s Committee.

Whilst the concept and design were well received, the overall cost of the website of £9,840 only included editorial and maintenance support for one year, with less functionality than the recommended option.

Councillor Kendall asked that it was noted that he agree the alterations.

The report provided updates on the proposal for ‘Opportunity Brentwood’

A suggestion was put forward from Councillor Kendall to give consideration for maximum publicity to be given to this in order to raise its profile by way of media coverage.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor Parker and SECONDED by Councillor Cloke to agree the recommendations in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.            To support Option D and the request from Beckett Keys School and the Endeavour School to take part in “Opportunity Brentwood” in October 2016 in partnership with Thurrock Council/“Opportunity Thurrock”.

2.            That the implementation and resourcing of this project (£500 per

school) be undertaken within the delegated authority of the Head of Service (Planning and Development) and Chair of the ED Committee utilising the 2016/7 Economic Development Budget.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION

To progress the project proposal for “Opportunity Brentwood” for 2016/7 in

order to support the skills and employability priority of the Brentwood

Economic Development Strategy.

The report outlined the Essex Rivers Rural LEADER funding programme

and the actions proposed to promote this to businesses and parishes

within the Brentwood Borough.

Councillor Tee suggested that CVS could be used when looking at eligibility.

A request was made by Councillor Murphy for consideration to be given to rural areas and villages at some point in the future, to see what they have to offer.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor Parker and SECONDED by Councillor Cloke to agree the recommendation in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.     That the Essex Rivers Rural LEADER funding programme be

promoted to businesses and parishes within the LEADER area of the

Borough using option 2 to encourage grant applications that

support the rural economy and services

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION:

To promote the Essex Rivers LAG Rural LEADER programme to the

businesses and communities in the LAG area of the borough, to

encourage grant applications to be submitted and projects to be

implemented to support the Rural Economy and Business Development

priorities of the ED Strategy. Option 2 is the preferred option as it

provides a variety of approaches to support this agenda to a wider range

number of target beneficiaries and works with a range of partners.

The report provided an update on the Brentwood Borough Renaissance

Group 2015/16 Workplan Budget and progress on projects and initiatives.

On the 4th March 2015 Council approved the budget for 2015/16.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor Parker and SECONDED by Councillor Tee to agree the recommendation in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.     To note the updated Brentwood Borough Renaissance Group 2015/16 Workplan Budget (Appendix 1) and progress made on projects and initiatives.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION:

For the Committee to agree the 2015/6 BB Renaissance Group Workplan

Budget.

In accordance with Rule 28 of the Council’s Procedure Rules, the business of the meeting not having been concluded by two hours after its start, the Committee voted to continue with the meeting for 30 minutes.

Brentwood is set to be the start of the line for the most significant new rail

service in the UK in a generation.

Crossrail services are scheduled to begin in Brentwood in May 2017. The Shenfield to Liverpool Street station service will be Stage 1 of this multi-million pound, state of the art rail service.

The introduction of Crossrail will attract national and international news attention and so Brentwood Borough needs to be in a position to maximise the benefits this can bring to local residents and businesses.

Although no firm plans have been prepared by Crossrail yet relating to the

grand opening ceremony, it is important that Brentwood Borough Council positions itself in such a way that it is able to be a key partner to benefit from this project and influence how such celebration events will take shape in our

Borough.

The Council also needed to ensure that the anticipated media attention is focused on what is good about Brentwood, its residents and its businesses.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor Parker and SECONDED by Councillor Cloke to agree the recommendations in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

1.         Agree to engage proactively with Crossrail and its partners to ensure that Brentwood residents and businesses maximise the benefits from the opening of the Crossrail services in 2017/18 at both Shenfield and Brentwood stations.

2.         Agree to promote Brentwood Borough Council as a key partner at the launch celebrations in May 2017 and delegate authority to the Head of Planning and Development and Chair of Economic Development to Committee to secure this.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS:

To engage proactively with Crossrail and its partners to ensure that Brentwood residents and businesses maximise the benefits from the opening of the Crossrail services in 2017/18 at both Shenfield and Brentwood stations.

To promote Brentwood Borough Council as a key partner at the launch celebrations in May 2017 and delegate authority to the Head of Planning and Development and Chair of Economic Development to Committee to secure this.

There was no urgent business however, Councillor Mynott did refer to an article that appeared in the Gazette concerning comments made about the Town Centre by Councillor Parker.

Councillor Parker advised, that the article was incorrect. Councillor Parker  also confirmed, that he had made a comment about William Hunter and the printed comments were incorrect.   Councillor Parker will be writing to the Gazette.

Councillor Parker also added that he would have liked to have made a statement about William Hunter Way and the Town Hall at last Council however, he was not in a position to do so at the time but that it was still with the LDP.

The meeting concluded at 9.00pm.