Apologies were received from Councillor C Walker, Councillor B Walker, Councillor G Freeman, Councillor Price, Councillor Talbot.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes were agreed subject to Item 8 removing the mention of Councillor Wainwright as he was not in attendance at that meeting.

There were no matters arising.

A47 Alliance

Councillor Plant reported the key points of interest from the meetings of the A47 Alliance.   He advised that the A47 Alliance last met in October 2021 and the campaign to dual the A47 continues.

Councillor Plant reported that the Great Yarmouth Transport and Infrastructure Steering Group had considered the Vauxhall and Harfreys roundabout scheme update material and had provided a response to the National Highways consultation.

Councillor Plant gave an update on the Department for Transport’s Road Investment Strategy  (RIS2) announcement in March 2020 and an update on the progress of the Road Investment Strategy (RIS1) A47 schemes.

Councillor Plant reported that there was no mention of the A47 in the Road Investment Strategy 3 pipeline.  This was discussed at the A47 Alliance meeting in October 2021 and the Alliance is continuing to lobby Government for the essential improvements to the trunk road.

It was agreed that the Council should continue to be represented on the A47 Alliance.

Bowls tournament Working Party

Councillor Fairhead reported the key points of interest from the meetings of the Bowls Tournament Working Party and Members were asked to note the update report for the period 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022. Planning for this year’s Festival is underway. The last Bowls Festival, the 74^th to be held, took place in 2019. Councillor Fairhead advised that the Bowls Festival had been running before the more recent regular Festivals held in Great Yarmouth.

The festival will receive funding from the Great Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement District for the next three years.

Councillor Plant asked if it was felt that GYBC should continue to have representation on the Working Group.  Councillor Fairhead advised that she did not feel it was a necessity for a member to attend and that the Events Team are looking to reform the Group to have a committee from those who play bowls.  It was agreed that more consideration was needed on whether representation on the Working Group should continue.

Councillor Wright suggested that organisations themselves could be consulted on whether they find it useful to have a Councillor sit on that outside body and the benefits it brings for that organisation.

Chamber of Commerce – Norfolk (Great Yarmouth Committee) Chamber Council

Councillor Plant reported that the Council had always had a strong relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and that monthly connect meetings had been held at the Town Hall prior to the pandemic.  A Norfolk wide week-long series of events entitled ‘Festival of Knowledge’ are planned for 22^nd March and GYBC are partnering with the Chamber on this event. Since the start of the pandemic all meetings have now been held online and all details of events are on the Chamber website. The Chamber is directly involved in the proposed Enterprise Hub pilot, alongside the Council and Town Centre Partnership.

Councillor Wright advised that he had not been asked to attend a Chamber meeting and asked how many nominated representatives GYBC have on the Chamber Council.  Councillor Plant advised that meetings had been held online and that it would be checked if Councillor Wright had been invited to meetings.

Councillor Wright referred to Great Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce having an office presence in the town and asked how many Chamber business members are from the Great Yarmouth area.  Councillor Plant advised that he would seek clarification and added that in the past couple of years the Chamber had only been holding meetings online from central Norwich during the pandemic but will have a more local presence with the opening of the new Enterprise Hub pilot as this will bring three agencies into one building.

Councillor Plant supported continued representation on the Norfolk Parking Partnership.

Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area Ltd/Interim Board of Directors

Councillor Plant reported that the Board of Directors had last met on 10^th February 2022 and advised that Asa Morrison had been appointed as CEO of the GYTABIA.  As Councillor Plant was unable to attend the last Board, Councillor Wright provided an update from the meeting. He added that there would be full itinerary of projects this summer and a commitment had been made for the Fire and Water and other events for the next 3 years.   He added that there had been some concern regarding whether £160k should be held back in reserve or spent but it had now been committed to be spent in the next 12 months.

Councillor Wright added that it was important to have representation on the GYTABIA/Interim Board of Directors.

Norfolk Parking Partnership

Councillor Plant referred to the financial report and the reason why the parking enforcement or residents parking had not increased since 2019.  The Norfolk Parking Partnership (NPP) are due to meet on 8^th March 2022 and are looking to adjust the parking fees along Marine Parade, North Drive and South Beach Parade.  Councillor Plant outlined the Civil Parking Enforcement surplus for this year and the forecast proposals for the capital replacement fund at the end of the year for this year and last. Councillor Plant also referred to Norwich City Council’s high deficit which is being looked at with officers at Norwich City Council.

The NPP meeting on 8^th March 2022 will also discuss the residents parking scheme and a review of on street parking tariffs which have not increased for 5-6 years. Following the review of the Resident Zone scheme, other proposals to be discussed include areas of the Zone where shared use bays will be incorporated offering general public Pay & Display parking along with resident parking.

Councillor Plant added that Norwich are considerably cheaper than Great Yarmouth as they are split into different groups, a similar scheme for Great Yarmouth will be discussed at the meeting on 8^th March 2022.

Councillor Wainwright added that it was madness to increase car parking charges at a time when there are increases to other utility bills and asked for clarification on who recommends and makes the decision on these.

Councillor Wainwright asked why improvements could not be made to Roman Place area which is a disgrace.  Councillor Plant added that a project for the area had already been agreed at the last Great Yarmouth Transport and Infrastructure Steering Group meeting.

Councillor Wainwright added that Roman Place is also in Zone A and asked if the NPP meeting would be making the decision as he thought discussions were still ongoing.

Councillor Plant clarified that the NPP are a decision making Board and detailed the recommendations that the meeting will consider.

Councillor Wainwright reported that it must not lose sight that residents parking is there for a reason as it is in a tourism area where residents have problems parking.  It is a necessity for people to park.  He added that he supported residents parking but that it is not there as a money-making scheme.

Councillor Plant confirmed that the increases are to cover costs and not for profit making. He also agreed that the NPP should not take on Norwich City while it is in deficit and a loss making scheme.

Councillor Wainwright reported that he was disappointed that following discussions, the NPP were a decision making committee when there had not been answers to discussions at the Transport and Infrastructure Steering Committee.

Councillor D Hammond referred to a report in 2019 which approved surfacing improvements to Roman Place.

Councillor P Hammond asked if the towns in north Norfolk will be paying the same as Great Yarmouth as Great Yarmouth had the highest fees in Norfolk and areas such as Sheringham and Cromer should be paying the same.

Councillor Plant replied that all other councils who pay into the NPP, will be paying the money agreed.

Councillor Plant supported continued representation on the Norfolk Parking Partnership.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Renewables Marketing Manager which updated members on GENERATE, formerly the Norfolk and Suffolk Offshore Wind Competitive Positioning Programme, and the delivery of a coherent, co-ordinated and collectively owned brand, offer, identity and marketing strategy to complement other strategic and capital initiatives and drive energy sector investment.

The Renewables Marketing Manager summarised the work strands since the last report to Committee, and the progress against targets.

Councillor Plant asked if GENERATE would be attending events this year with the East of England Energy Group.  The Renewables Marketing Manager reported that GENERATE would be a key partners at the Southern North Sea Conference in May but would not be attending ‘Energising Essex’ as this is more for EEEGR members and that 90% of GENERATE’s time is getting investment for Norfolk and Suffolk.

Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach asked if, in reaching the marketing targets, would the outcomes in paragraph 3.5 be met.   The Renewables Marketing Manager advised that a full report/update will provided in the Summer.

Councillor Plant referred to paragraph 4.1 and asked if there is confidence that GENERATE is seen as a recognised brand in the energy industry and a respected brand.  The Renewables Marketing Manager reported that this was definitely more the case than with the EEEZ, and reported that regionally, expectations were being exceeded.  The All Energy Industry Council are using the brand and working closely with Renewables UK who are event organisers.

The Head of Inward Investment added that previous committee reports had focussed on events and that the marketing strategy will be measured against the entire strategy, more than the Key Performance Indicators, and will be more about how investment opportunities will be landed.

Resolved:

That the Committee endorse the marketing activity to date and the forward plan to generate inward investment prospects/leads and continue to embed the new brand into the wider energy sector.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Regeneration and Funding Manager which updated Members on the progress made on the development of a pilot Enterprise Hub concept in the Town Centre as part of the New Anglia LEP led ‘Enabling Self Employment in Norfolk’ project.

The Head of Inward Investment reported the salient areas of the report and referred to paragraph 1.3 which detailed that GYBC had been earmarked £117,818 of funding in November 2021, from the ‘Enabling Self Employment in Norfolk’ nine-month partnership demonstrator project. The CRF funding concludes at the end of June 2022.  The Town Centre Partnership also has funding to support the Enterprise Hub model and along with the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce will co-locate in the hub based in the Town to provide in-person start-up and business advice and support.

The Head of Inward Investment reported that an options appraisal had been carried out for the Enterprise Hub model and the preferred location was the Greenwoods building. It was noted that any funding would be spent on assets which would be for GYBC to keep and could then be used at a later point for another model.

The Head of Inward Investment highlighted the outputs/deliverables detailed in paragraph 2.10 and advised that the project needs to be delivered by the end of June. Everything is ready to go as soon as the New Anglia LEP have provided a contract. GYBC will not be match funding, GYBC input will be officer time but the outcomes will be significant.  The project will be used to monitor need and demand and inform future strategy including any future bid to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Referring to paragraph 3.1 it was noted that due to delay in the CRF funding, the costs of £22,267 should be for 2 quarters and not 3 as is detailed in the report.  The final Business Advisor post has not been appointed to but an offer has been made. The existing Business Advisor contract would be extended.

Councillor Wainwright asked if other buildings had been considered other than the Greenwoods building which was looked at previously for a Heritage Centre and is a high profile location in the town. The Head of Inward Investment reported that in terms of location choice, this has not been confirmed as a contract had not been received for the funding from the New Anglia LEP.  The Options Appraisal had considered alternative locations including Market Gates and Market Place and looked at the vacancy rates in the town and that a space is needed that isn’t too vast and intimidating for people visiting the hub.  It was added that the Enterprise Hub pilot is only until June and when complete the heritage centre project could continue.

Councillor Candon thanked officers for the report and was pleased to hear that any assets purchased would come back for future projects.  He added that whatever the location for the Hub he fully supported what the centre would be for and was a good example of the support for those wanting to start a business and will help self-employment to be a viable route to help the economy of Great Yarmouth.

Councillor Plant added that this is a small amount of money for any project.  The Head of Inward Investment replied that the funding had been reduced due to the timescale, the project was just a pilot but would lead to support any future bids e.g. the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Resolved:

That the Committee endorse the content of the report.

Councillor Plant informed the Committee that Michelle Burdett was soon to leave GYBC and praised her work while at the Council and wished her well for the future.

Councillor Wainwright also praised her work especially with the Covid and ARG Business grants and wished her well for the future.