Agenda item

Documents relating to the Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre Partnership and Portas Pilot Bid are attached.

The Committee received a report informing them of the outcome of the recent application to become a Portas pilot town and plans to resubmit for the second round and updating them on the progress of setting up a town centre partnership for Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre.

There was a one in thirty chance of Newcastle-under-Lyme winning the first round bid to be a Portas pilot town, and it was felt that the Council had done its best. The Council may not have won round one, but what participating had achieved was it had brought partners together who have agreed on initiatives etc that will help to improve the situation with town centres. Work was underway on the second round bid and it was necessary to tighten up the good ideas (of which there were many) from the first round. Members stated the Council’s bid was good, but questioned whether it was too generic and perhaps the shortlisted town centres were more specific in their applications. Furthermore, it was suggested that the link between Keele University and the town centre needed to be emphasised and made more distinctive. Officers stated that Mary Portas had 28 recommendations and the shortlisted town centres may have fit more with her recommendations than Newcastle town centre did. Perhaps some of what this council was doing just did not fit with what Portas wanted. It was felt that intellectually our ideas were good; the summary points could have been sharper though.

Some members had been following the Portas Pilot project from the beginning and felt that many of the towns shown on the television looked a lot worse than Newcastle. They felt that Newcastle should be proud of its bid. Members questioned whether the Council could contact the Local Authorities who had won the first round to find out how they put their bids together. Wolverhampton City Council, who had got through the first stage of the process, had compiled a list of bullet points that councils should be considering if resubmitting their bid. One of the key elements of the pilot was for Local Authorities to share information on improving town centres. Members felt that although winning may be a long shot, the Council must give it its best shot.

Officers highlighted to members the planning permission that had been granted to Marks and Spencer to develop at Wolstanton Retail Park. As part of the conditions attached to the planning permission, Marks and Spencer must give £100,000 to the Council for town centre development, and a further £10,000 per year. The Council would receive money for town centre development one way or the other. Moreover, the Council should not get too caught up in trying to obtain the money. The work that had been done and the partnerships were good. The Council could improve the town centre without the Portas money if necessary. This council could learn from what other towns were doing and could determine what works and what doesn’t.  

Towns that had applied in the first round were automatically entered into the second round; there was no need to reapply. However, if a council wanted to improve their first bid they could do.  The deadline for the second round bid was 30^th June. Members questioned whether the second round bid could be circulated. The Council’s Business Development Officer confirmed it could. The draft bid would hopefully be ready on Tuesday 26^th June, with 48 hours for Members to respond.

Officers stressed the importance of developing Town Centre Partnerships between the Council and local businesses. The partnership in Newcastle town centre was developing into a collaborative relationship and the Council had been trying to cultivate a stronger relationship with local businesses. It was necessary to find the best model to suit the circumstances in Newcastle town centre. There was a range of activities taking place including the annual music festival and the ‘Love Your Local Markets’ event. There was a possibility that a loyalty card/voucher system could be implemented, along the lines of the one in Stafford. There should also be formal town centre management. Members felt that the steps being taken should be totally supported and communication between the Council and businesses improved.

RESOLVED:                        (a) That the information be received

(b) That the second round bid for the Portas Pilot Town

be circulated to Members