Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P. Hammond and Freeman.

  Councillor Galer attended as a substitute for Councillor Freeman

 Councillor Wells attended as a substitute for Councillor P. Hammond

Councillor Plant declared an interest in item 6 in his capacity as the portfolio holder for Highways in his role as a county Councillor.

Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach declared an interest in item 8 in her capacity as a Director of a company that may wish to apply for a grant.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 14 November 2022 were confirmed.

Councillor Jeal reported that with regard to Minute 8 of the previous meeting, the issue of HGVs carrying aggregates from Peel Ports had not improved. Councillor Plant suggested that the situation would improve with the opening of the Third River Crossing. Councillor Wright agreed and suggested taking the matter up with the County Council regarding the possibility of imposing weight restrictions on the roads in question. The Chair agreed that this matter should be taken up with the relevant County Councillor further outside of the current meeting. 

The Committee received and considered the Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee noted the Forward Plan.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Director of Planning and Growth.

The Director of Planning and Growth confirmed that the Harfreys roundabout works were due to be completed at the same time as the Third River Crossing and that work was progressing on the new Vauxhall junction. All three road improvement schemes planned for the A47 in Norfolk had been granted Development Consent Orders but the legal challenge to this would be a matter for the High Court.

Councillor Plant commented that in his opinion the works were needed at the Vauxhall junction before works progressed on the dualling of the  the Acle Straight  as this would deliver much needed improvements.

RESOLVED:-

That Committee noted the report.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Head of Property and Asset Management.

The Head of Property and Asset Management advised that this was an update of the 2018 agreement. She advised that  the main changes included a revision from licence to lease for all six-day traders, who could now open on a Sunday if they wish and that further two-day ‘pop-up’ markets could be held.  The Head of Property and Asset Management clarified that the requirement for all traders to have public liability insurance remained at £5 million.

Councillor Plant asked whether now the six day market traders were effectively in one building, whether their insurance covered the cost of the other stalls not being able to trade if there were an incident. It was advised that this would depend on the nature of the incident and would be for the insurance companies to decide. The Head of Property and Asset Management also advised that the updated policy had been to the Council’s loss adjusters for consideration, and it had been advised that the cover was sufficient. 

 Members were also advised that each unit had been individually fire rated for 30 minutes.

Councillor Wright made reference to the policy where it now  stated that the six-day traders must be open six days and asked if there was any leeway on this matter. The Head of Property and Asset Management advised that whilst works were ongoing on site there was some flexibility, however moving forward it was expected that units would be open fully during the core hours. Councillor Wright asked if there had been objections to this and he was advised that none had been received. 

The Head of Property and Asset Management advised that the Market Policy was a living document and as such, and therefore could be changed or amended as required. Councillor Wells asked whether the stall holders were aware that the policy was a living document. The Head of Property and Asset Management advised that they were as this was now the third version of the policy and the Council always consults the traders and speaks with them on a regular basis. 

Councillor Price advised that he was impressed with the document and thanked The Head of Property and Asset Management for her quick response to an incident last week in the market.

The Chair recommended that section 12.1 of the policy be amended or removed as it stated that new business support could be obtained from Market Gates but advised that, that pilot had now ended and was therefore no longer available. The Head of Property and Asset Management  confirmed this could be removed and suggested that reference to the Market place facility be removed but that it be noted within the Policy that Business Support would still be available.

Councillor Plant asked the Head of Property and Asset Management to clarify whether traders needed public liability insurance or business insurance. It was advised that included within the  the lease was a clause that all traders needed to show proof of public liability insurance, but two-day traders did not need to have business insurance as well.

RESOLVED:-

That Committee 

(1) Agreed to adopt the updated Market Policy.

(2) Agreed that 12.1 within the policy reference to the Market Gates Business Support facility be removed.   

The Committee received and considered the report from the Community Capacity Manager  who advised that the project is due to launch in February 2023.

Councillor Wells made reference to the areas covered within 1.1 of the report and commented that Somerton was the furthest northerly point for the Borough. He also requested that the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust be added as a Tier 2 delivery partner due to the synergies involved. Councillor Wells also declared a Declaration of Interest as he was a director of the trust. The Community Capacity Manager advised that the Preservation Trust would be considered as a possible partner of the steering group. 

Councillor Wells asked whether the two and a half year programme had already started.. The Community Capacity Manager reported that it had already started, and that there was due to be a public launch, this would then continue until March 2025.

Councillor Wright asked with regard to staff for the project and was advised that the project would be taking on three part time staff.

The Chair thanked the Community Capacity Manager for the report.

 Councillor Plant asked whether recommendation (b) should include East Suffolk Council and was advised that it should.

RESOLVED:-

That the Economic Development Committee

a. Noted the successful grant award from Spirit 2012 from its ‘Volunteering Cities’ fund shared between Great Yarmouth Borough Council and East Suffolk Council.

b. Agreed that Great Yarmouth Borough Council and East Suffolk Council will act as Accountable Body for the award which follows on from the joint bid between to become the UK City of Culture. 

c. Supported the key aims and deliverables of the Spirit 2012 ‘GY&ES Cultural Connections’ project as set out in this report. 

d. Requested that an annual update report be provided on deliverables and outcomes.   

The Committee received and considered the report from the Economic Growth Manager.

Councillor Wright stated that anything that could be done to encourage young people into work was a good thing but he raised some slight concern with regard to the underspend on the Apprenticeship Levy as he commented this would be claimed back by the Government if not spent. He stated that employers within the Borough should be encouraged to take on apprentices.

Councillor Wright raised further concern in that there had been a huge decrease in the number of apprentices from 2015 – 2020. The Economic Growth Manager advised that there was an increase in apprenticeships from 2021-2022 which showed positive action was being taken. Councillor Wright advised that he was pleased that the number of apprenticeships was now on an upward trend. He also commented that he was aware of the effect that Covid had had.

Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach asked whether key employers in the area were taking on apprentices and whether local colleges were offering the right Level 2 and 3 courses to enable local employers to take on apprentices. She stated that Easton College no longer provided a horticulture apprenticeship, which was important for tourism locally. The Economic Growth Manager advised that the council would be recruiting a Skills Manager to act between the council and the colleges. She further stated that this was seen as important part of the future and Members supported this approach for the Borough. 

Councillor Plant referred to Section 1.1 of the report, which showed that Norfolk was doing better than the country as a whole. He advised that Great Yarmouth has specific requirements, and it was a question of working with the local colleges to meet these requirements.. He felt that the new post would help in this regard.

Councillor Price agreed and welcomed the initiative. He asked whether contact was made with other bodies such as City and Guilds with regard to courses. Councillor Plant advised that the County Council undertook this piece of work.

Councillor Talbot advised that catering apprenticeships were needed in Great Yarmouth due to the high number of that type of business and asked whether students had transport to Lowestoft. The Economic Growth Manager advised that there were ongoing conversations with the college with regard to a new catering facility in Great Yarmouth. The Chair asked The Economic Growth Manager if she would be able to find out whether the levy would pay for transport and stated that the National Apprenticeships Week would be the ideal platform to promote the new Skills Manager and how that role would build on the success of apprenticeships in Great Yarmouth.

  ACTION:-

The Economic Growth Manager, to ascertain whether the Apprenticeship Levy would pay transport costs.

 RESOLVED:-

The Committee received and considered the report from the Renewables Marketing Manager who advised there was a recommendation, ‘To endorse the future programme 2023/2024’, missing from the report.

The committee was shown a 3D rendering of the O & M Campus.

Councillor Jeal was concerned that the video did not show the security gate which was in situ and that members of the public might see this as open entry into the port area.

Councillor Wright was concerned about the positioning of the pontoons and what effect they might have on river vessels/river flows. The Director of Planning and Growth advised that it had been modelled (through national experts in this field) as part of the O & M project to not show any effect.

Councillor Walker advised that many years ago there were plans to close South Denes Road and asked whether this was still the case. The Head of Planning and Growth advised that this was not included in the current plans. 

RESOLVED:-

That the Economic Development Committee

1. Reviewed and commented on the GENERATE Marketing and Promotion Interim Update report. 

2. Endorsed the 2023/2024 programme.   

The Committee received and considered the report from the Economic Growth Manager.

The Chair thanked officers for their involvement in the successful pilot scheme and hoped that momentum could be maintained to encourage further business start-ups and provide help for current businesses.

RESOLVED:-

That the Economic Development Committee

1) Acknowledged the success of the ‘Enterprise Hub’ pilot as an intervention delivering on-the-ground business support in Great Yarmouth. 

2) Noted that the final outcome figures presented in the appended Dashboard Report (Annex A). 

3) Requested officers continue to explore opportunities for collaboration and/or further sources of funding to enable the learning from this successful pilot to be sustained within the borough as outlined in Section 5 of this report. 

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