Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach.

There were no declarations of interest declared at the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2019 were confirmed.

The Chairman reported that there were no matters arising from the above minutes.

The Committee received & considered the Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee note the Forward Plan.

Mr Allfrey reported that to date, poor progress had been made by Highways England on the delivery of the proposed A47 junction improvements in Great Yarmouth. The only completed works, delivered by Norfolk County Council, was the improvement of the right turn out of the Vauxhall Station junction.

Mr Allfrey informed the Committee that there was potential for additional delays to the delivery of the Vauxhall roundabout improvements as a consequence of Highways England waiting to see what impact the Third River Crossing has on road network performance. However, the modelling work already undertaken indicated a clear need for an improvement at Vauxhall roundabout, with or without the Third River Crossing.

Mr Allfrey explained that it had been agreed that with the delivery of the Third River Crossing  it made sense for improvement at Gapton roundabout to be put on hold to better understand the positive impact of the new crossing.The Third River Crossing works are scheduled to commence late 2020.

Members were unhappy that no works would be undertaken at the Gapton roundabout until the effects of the Third River Crossing were known as this area suffered from horrendous traffic jams at peak times. Members asked that the introduction of yellow boxes or the removal of the traffic lights be considered to help the traffic flow. Mr Allfrey agreed to forward Members concerns to Highways England.

Mr Allfrey reported that it was essential that Norfolk County Council & Great Yarmouth Borough Council continued to lobby for the Vauxhall improvements to be delivered as soon as possible and these remain in the current RIS1 programme which was supported by the A47 Alliance & Brandon Lewis MP.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee note the progress of the Great Yarmouth RIS1 projects to date and agree to continue to support the County Council & A47 Alliance to maintain ongoing lobbying to see the projects, particularly the Vauxhall roundabout , delivered as soon as possible.

The Development Director reported that the Committee was asked to note the Economic Development element of the Annual Performance Report for 2018/19 which, together with elements from other service committees, made up the Annual Performance Report 2018/19, which was noted by Policy & Resources Committee on 11 June 2019.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee note the Economic Development elements of the Annual Performance report for 2018/19.

The Development Director reported that the way in which economic development was delivered to support new and growing businesses in the borough had changed recently. 

The Development Director reported that an Economic Development Officer had now been recruited and would join the Council on a permanent full-time contract contract from 29 July 2019. Also, full-time Business Advisor was recruited in Spring 2019 using Coastal Community Fund (CCF) monies for a period of 12 months.

Members felt that the role of Business Advisor was imperative to the successful delivery of economic development in the town and asked that the post holder be reviewed after an initial six month period with a view to looking at offering a three year contract, subject to a successful review & budget.

The Development Director reported that the report contained proposals to consolidate economic development functions, business advice/support and inward investment under the established EnterpriseGY brand and channels and provide additional continuity with the Spirit of Enterprise Awards.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee approve the consolidation of external branding for economic development functions as outlined in Section 4 of the report.

Mr Allfrey reported that the results of the statutory pre-application consultation on the Third River Crossing were being documented into a consultation report which would form part of the documents to be submitted in the application for a Development Consent Order (DCO). The consultation report documented all the matters raised by consultees and the matters raised had been considered and some minor changes to the scheme had been proposed as follows:-

• Minor changes to the red line boundary,
• Removal of the large commercial vessel waiting facility to the south of the crossing;and
• Changes to help mitigate the impact of the scheme on the Mind Community Roots site.

Mr Allfrey reported that further localised consultations on these changes had been undertaken and the results were included in the consultation report and the DCO application documents.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee notes progress of the project to date and the summary of results from the pre-application consultation.

Mr Parkes reported that to date, the Transport Strategy appraisal material had been collated into the Stage 2: Option Appraisal Report and a working draft Stage 3: Strategy Report had been prepared for public consultation. Both of these reports had been presented to, and endorsed by, the Great Yarmouth Transport & Infrastructure Steering Group on the 20 June 2019.

Mr Parkes reported that with regard to public consultation, there were two options to consider:

• Option 1

Invite the stakeholder group to a meeting and present the agreed Stage 3: Strategy Report material and circulate it to them for comment prior to finalising the document with Members; or

• Option 2 

Carry out the same stakeholder event as in Option 1, followed by a four week public consultation with the consultation material being available online with the ability to leave feedback.

Members reported that some confusion had arisen from the large agenda report and asked that a copy of the working draft Stage 3 report be circulated to all members of the Committee for them to consider and to provide feedback within two weeks.

RESOLVED:-

(i) That the Committee endorse the attached Stage 2 and working draft Stage 3 reports,

(ii) That the Committee endorse Option 2; stakeholder plus public consultation; and 

(iii) That the Committee endorse the next steps for finalising the Transport Strategy after the consultation.

The Chairman reported that there was no other business being of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration.

RESOLVED:-

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act.

The Committee received and considered the minutes of the Great yarmouth Town Centre Masterplan Members Working Group.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee note the minutes.