Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Corporate Director of Regeneration Economy and Growth whichprovided a progress update of the consultation period for the Long-Term Plan for Towns Programme ( LTPT) and set out the activities initiated and consultation feedback to ensure a Town vision and accompanying 3 Year investment plan could be submitted to Government by 1 August 2024 (for copy see file of minutes).

The County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner mentioned that she was also a member of the Darlington Town Board which may be helpful for information sharing. The Chair revealed that a survey had been carried out by Zen City across different towns.  The results were expected to be published on 20 June 2024 and may be useful for the Spennymoor Town Board’s consultation programme. 

The Economic Development Manager provided a detailed presentation which focused on the governance structure for the Spennymoor Town Board for when the submission was made on 1^st  August 2024, how the money would be spent and how to identify future investment. He highlighted that there would be three working groups:

i)               Transport and Connectivity;

ii)             High Street, Heritage and Regeneration; and

iii)            Safety and Security

The working groups would pull together ideas that would feed into the investment plan.  They would run a month in advance of, and feed into board meetings. The Project Manager would sit on all three working groups and the DCC Technical Officer Group would consider any issues arising from the three working groups. The working groups aimed to identify projects to link together to distinguish what other people did to establish what could be improved for quick wins before the submission deadline.  The importance of obtaining feedback from the working groups to show what was being done and respond to what had been raised by people in the town was noted.

The County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner mentioned that the next police and crime panel would look at heritage and cultural crime.  The office dealt with issues that included off road bikes, road safety, and drink driving campaigns.  They were also involved in a national campaign that dealt with drug abuse by drivers which led to offenders having their licenses confiscated and vehicles seized. This linked into ongoing work around young people who used nitro oxide (laughing gas) and the risk of vapes that had been adulterated with synthetic drugs and naloxone for drug overdoses.  They wanted more involvement with children and young people and funded a Friday night club to divert young people away from negative activity.

The Chair suggested that a scoping exercise be carried out to create a stakeholder map of activities, who had similar interests, what influence they had and any decision makers identified to share information. The Community Economic Development Manager commented that this work had already commenced and agreed to link in with theCounty Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office to seek working group representation from the police for the working groups. It was also suggested that a subgroup be established for young people to share their views that could be incorporated into the business statement to provide for a holistic view on regeneration.

The Economic Development Manager added that further programme guidance for the LTPT had been published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in May 2024 in relation to the submission on 1 August 2024 reaffirmed a co design alignment along with a ten year vision and three year investment plan.   

There was still no template available for the investment plan and DLUHC had encouraged the use of diagrams, graphs, logic chains and a summary in the submission rather than words. There was clarity on the way the government would sign off on the programme for spending the money that needed to be demonstrated with evidence. 

The Chair advocated for a clear vision to be established that could be used to look at how the town could be changed to encourage other businesses to set up in Spennymoor to provide a more diverse shopping offer.  There was a requirement to reduce the vacancy rate as low as possible and support established businesses to increase sustainability There was a need to change the perception of Spennymoor’s reputation to be a great place to visit, building on the family fun day that had been a huge success in bringing people into the town. It was suggested that specialist markets and events could be introduced which could become a legacy like Bishop Auckland Food Festival. It was proposed that potential subsidies could be given to the private sector to make it financially viable to encourage further investment to increase money for the town.

Resolved:

That the progress with consultation and engagement events to underpin the LTPT programme submission be noted.