ARDS AND NORTH DOWN BOROUGH COUNCIL
2 February 2018
Dear Sir/Madam
You are hereby invited to attend a meeting of the Regeneration and Development Committee of the Ards and North Down Borough Council which will be held in the Council Chamber, 2 Church Street, Newtownards on Thursday 8 February 2018 commencing at 7.00pm.
Tea, coffee and sandwiches will be available from 6.00pm.
Yours faithfully
Stephen Reid Chief Executive Ards and North Down Borough Council
A G E N D A
1. Apologies
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Presentation – Tourism NI
4. Christian Heritage Working Group minutes dated 16 January 2018 (Copy attached)
5. The Most Beautiful Bays in the World Association – Update Report (Report attached)
6. Evaluation of Tourism Events Programme 2017 (Report attached)
7. European Cultural Heritage Fund – Expression of Interest (Report attached)
8. Scrabo Tower Opening – Notice of Motion (Report attached)
9. Bid for Pipeband Championship 2018 (Report attached)
10. East Border Region (Report attached)
11. Attendance to Creative Momentum Programme Closing Conference in Galway – 1st March 2018 (Report attached)
12. Ards and North Down Social Entrepreneurship Programme (ANDSEP) Dec 2015 – Dec 2017 (Report attached)
13. Prince’s Trust Development Awards (Report attached)
14. Regeneration and Development Budgetary Control Report – December 2017 (Report attached)
15. European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014-2020 – Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) – SEAFLAG (Report attached)
16. Village Renewal – RDP Capital Application (Report attached)
17. Improvements to Ballyholme Beach (Report attached)
18. Belfast City Region Growth Deal Update (Report attached)
19. Bombardier Notice of Motion Update (Report attached)
20. Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Muir and Alderman McDowell
This Council notes the substantial opportunities available in light of the planned closure of Kinnegar Logistics Base and agrees that serious consideration should be given to seeking funding for future development as part of the Growth Deal for Belfast City Region, due by September 2018. Furthermore, Council requests officers promptly bring back a report highlighting the process for developing a mixed use Masterplan for the site, which will involve close engagement with local residents, businesses and other key stakeholders, and will produce costed options for regeneration, including transport, public realm and other supporting infrastructure.
21. Any Other Notified Business
Circulated for information:
(i) NILGA Event – Driving Government Locally Summit (Correspondence attached)
MEMBERSHIP OF REGENERATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Alderman Irvine Councillor Ferguson Alderman McDowell Councillor Leslie Alderman M Smith Councillor Menagh Councillor Adair Councillor Smart Councillor Allen Councillor T Smith Councillor Armstrong-Cotter Councillor Walker Councillor Cooper Councillor Wilson Councillor Cummings (Chairman) Councillor Woods (Vice-Chairman) Councillor Gilmour
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ARDS AND NORTH DOWN BOROUGH COUNCIL
CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WORKING GROUP - 16 JANUARY 2018
Minutes:
A meeting of the Christian Heritage working group took place in Bangor Abbey Halls, Bangor at 2pm on the above date.
Present: Deborah Girvan (DG) Alderman, ANDBC (Chair) Alex Irvine (AI) Temporary Tourism Manager, ANDBC Clare Foreman (CF) Temporary Tourism Development Officer, ANDBC Stella Robinson (SR) Friends of Bangor Abbey James McKerrow (JMcK) Friends of Columbanus Bangor Brendan Hehir (BH) Friends of Columbanus Bangor Anne Poots (AP) Administration, ANDBC Father Joe Gunn (JG) St Comgalls Canon Ronnie Nesbitt (RN) Bangor Abbey Jim Wallace (JW) First Bangor Presbyterian
ACTION 1 APOLOGIES Carl McClean (CMcC) - Cllr, ANDBC Rachel Woods (RW) - Cllr, ANDBC Noelle Robinson (NR) - Cllr, ANDBC Gifford Savage (GS) - Friends of Bangor Abbey
NOTED. 2 AGENDA ITEMS
Item 1 – St Columbanus AGM 9-11 March 2018
Friday 9 March: Mayoral Reception and dinner for key members of the Columban Way Association (Bobbio, Luxeuil, ROI and invited dignitaries from AND). Hosted at Bangor Castle. Time TBC dependent on arrivals from Europe being confirmed. AI In addition representatives of Ancora Di Andora (choir) to be invited. (40 strong group attending for weekend and performing free concert).
Confirmation of Mayoral activity to be forwarded to Mayor’s Office. CF
Invitation list of attendee’s to be drawn up. AI
Saturday 10 March 10am Columban Way Association Working Group Meeting. To be hosted at St Comgall’s, Brunswick Road. Lunch for attendees, light buffet. 14:00 Columban Way AGM. To be hosted at Bangor Abbey Halls. Attendance is possible from members of all member associations of the Columban Way. 19:30: Bangor Abbey Choir, Bangor Ladies Choir and Ancora Di Andora concert. Free entry (contributions accepted at the door). Friends of Columbanus Bangor to provide volunteers to FOCB (x6) assist. Notice of Invitation to all Members to be issued via Member CF Services coordinated by AND.
Sunday 11 March Italian delegates depart AM. FOCB to assist in return lifts to FOCB Dublin airport. Tour to be arranged for those staying on the Sunday 11th of local sites of interest.
Monday 12th March
Remaining French delegates to depart. FOCB to assist with FOCB airport lifts to Dublin.
Item 2 – Update on Greenway Strategy
DG updated on the development of the greenway project being carried out by AND and the fact that one section of it would potentially include parts of the Columban Way through the Ards section. Group to be kept updated on any further developments.
Item 3 - HLF cultural and heritage projects submission
The Heritage Lottery Fund are administering a Tourism NI fund of £400,000 for NI for Cultural Heritage projects. AND with partners from Newry Mourne and Down and Fermanagh and Omagh Councils are submitting an expression of interest for funding of an augmented reality project of Columbanus / Early Christian Heritage sites within the NI section of the
Turas Columbanus. If successful it would see technology used to bring to life ancient sites on the route for the visitor and even globally from the comfort of ones home experience the Columbanus sites. Group to be kept abreast of progress.
AOB: None
Date of Next Meeting – Tuesday 27 February 2pm
The meeting closed at 15.30pm
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ITEM 5
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Temporary Head of Tourism Service
Date of Report 17 January 2018
File Reference TO/TD13
Legislation n/a
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject The Most Beautiful Bays in the World Association - Update Report
Attachments None
In April 2017, Council approved a contribution up to £800 (with a further £800 to be provided by Tourism NI), to cover associated costs for a familiarisation trip of Strangford Lough in 2017, by representatives of Office de Tourisme, Vannes. This was to assess whether Strangford Lough would be suitable for nomination of a candidacy for the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Association. Since the approval, the Temporary Head of Tourism has been discussing the potential benefits of such a visit and candidacy, and its potential running costs with Tourism NI and colleagues in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. The following has been the outcome of these investigations:
- Tourism NI has not been able to confirm specific national benefits of the candidacy, however it has offered to send a supporting letter should the Councils choose to pursue the candidacy - A senior tourism colleague in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, has expressed interest in the opportunity, however the Council is not in the position to commit to a joint candidacy nomination, due to their ongoing work
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on Experience Development and alignment of marketing resource at this time.
Further communication from the Tourism Officer in Vannes, France has confirmed the following:
- The Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club was created in 1997. - The club is the owner of the trade mark “Most Beautiful Bays in the World" and has 41 bays members all over the world. - They invite candidacy from areas who live near or by the sea to discuss similar interests/problems – described as a ‘crossroad of exchange and information’ - The brand of Most Beautiful Bays of the World is used by some members for protection and promotion and instils pride in the local community. - Sharing of information can be undertaken at international meetings. - To become a candidate a delegation of 3 would be invited to Brittany, France in April to present on the Strangford Lough area at the General Assembly. - If accepted, the following fees would be applied fees : - 2360€ + admission fees 9440€ (4 years) = 11800€.
Having established the above detail and spoken further to colleagues in Tourism NI, it is clear that there would be limited economic return and tangible practical tourism benefits on this particular membership. At this time, the Tourism unit does not believe that the limited benefits, the required financial contribution and further costs associated with travel due to the presentation requirement, is a good use of resource. Therefore, the nominal budget previously allocated to assist with travel costs for a benchmarking visit by the judging panel will no longer be required or planned. All contacts will be advised accordingly about this decision.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council does not progress with the familiarisation visit or application to ‘Most Beautiful Bays’ at this time.
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ITEM 6
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration, Development and Planning
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Temporary Head of Tourism Service
Date of Report 23 January 2018
File Reference TO/EV38
Legislation N/A
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Evaluation of Tourism Events Programme 2017
Attachments Appendix 1: Events Performance
Background
The Tourism NI Events Strategic Vision 2020 states that ‘events can drive visitor numbers, generate increased spend and provide platforms for the visitor to interact with local culture, local people and explore the landscapes, towns and villages. Events can showcase authentic places and experiences and provide a clear call to action for a potential visitor’. TNI has stated that on average each overnight visitor attending an event spends £55 on commercial accommodation and £18 on discretionary additional spend. All of this is very relevant for Ards and North Down, with tourism events continuing to be a very strong driver for the local economy.
The delivery of events contributes to objectives in relation to two of the four key headings within the Council’s Corporate Plan:
Place: Ensuring we make the very best of the natural, cultural and environmental assets of our borough.
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Prosperity: Ensuring the borough’s towns and rural localities are prosperous, vibrant and attractive.
Aim and Objectives
The aim of tourism events is to deliver a programme of high quality events which showcase the Borough as a premier tourism destination and generates economic benefits by attracting visitors from beyond the borough. Specific objectives are:
1 To increase visitor numbers to the borough. 2 To increase and generate spend in the borough. 3 To act as a catalyst for local businesses to use event opportunities for their development. 4 To use events within marketing campaigns to profile the borough’s authentic tourism products, aimed at key target markets.
2017 Overview
In December 2016 the Council agreed a programme and associated budget for delivery of events between April and November 2017. This programme has now been completed and the vast bulk of associated expenditure incurred, making it possible to assess performance against targets and budget. Formal market research was conducted at 9/14 events (the cost of such research constrains formal research at all of them), enabling estimates of expenditure and the proportion of visitors from a) outside the borough and b) outside NI.
The events programme attracted a total of 168,700 people, exceeding the target by 15% and generating a total of £496,557 of free PR, at an average cost to the Council of £3.60 per person attending. No significant incidents of concern arose at any event, although disabled access was raised by one customer in relation to the Groomsport event in August, leading to a closer focus on this issue going forward.
The average proportion of visitors (ie those from outside the borough or beyond) is estimated at 40.6%, the majority of these being domestic, although the average proportion of visitors from outside NI was just 4.6%.
The following commentary on the individual events refers to Appendix 1, Events Performance. It should be noted that the approved event budget shown in Appendix 1 relates only to event content and marketing, whereas the total cost includes other costs such as those arising from works and cleansing, which are budgeted in other departments. In three cases the event budget was supplemented by transfers from other budgets or external grant (see footnote to table).
Acronyms in the appendix are:
SPA – Spend per Attendee (ie absolute amount spent) CPA – Cost per Attendee (actual event cost/actual attendance) ASG – Attendee Spend Generated (SPA/CPA – the spend generated for every £1 spent by Council)
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Easter Event, Good Friday, Newtownards, Friday 14 April
This event fell short of its attendance target of 15,000, with an actual attendance of 7,000 (46%) with the majority being local residents to the Borough (83%). Difficulties in relation to the choice of date and time plus very wet weather were contributing factors. Although the officers had worked with local traders to encourage extended opening hours, the response was poor and probably impacted on visitor spend, resulting in a ASG of only £2.16, against an average of £3.98 across the whole events programme.
Spring Carnival, Bangor, Easter Monday Monday 17 April Much work had been done this year to address perceived and actual problems with anti-social behaviour at this event. Target attendance was met – although the target had been set lower than in previous years because of the event’s reputation for “trouble”. As a result of extensive partnership work with the PSNI, Chamber of Commerce, Translink, Council Neighbourhood and Environment Team, Street Pastors and the SOS Bus, incidents of underage misbehaviour were minimised and officers are confident that perceptions of Bangor on Easter Monday will have been changed for the better. The event generated one of the highest SPAs in the programme at £17.67, and with cost relatively low was the highest ranked event on ASG. The total cost of the event to Council included elements of town centre activity which were covered by a supplementary budget transfer of £5k from Project 24.
May Day, Holywood, Monday 1st May Attendance at this event almost doubled the target and other results, such as PR value and proportion of visitors from outside the borough, were also very favourable - although it is likely that a large proportion of those attending may have been from the Belfast side of Holywood. The event content and format were amended this year, removing the main stage and replacing it with more ‘walkabout’ entertainment. The traditional Maypole Dancing element once again proved one of the biggest attractors. In terms of CPA the event was the lowest cost in the programme, but also generated a low SPA. The officers would be ambitious of raising this via more intervention with local traders and the Chamber to encourage more shops to stay open on May Day.
Pipeband Championships, Saturday 13 May This event met its attendance target and at a relatively low CPA of £2.03. Once again RSPBNI presented a well organised programme. No formal market research was carried out at this event, however as it is part of a Province-wide competition it can be assumed that most of the competing band members and their supporters had travelled from beyond the borough. The RSPBNI has cited proximity to Bangor town centre, for refreshments etc, as a major part of the appeal of the Castle Park venue, and it is therefore likely that the event boosts spend in the town.
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Armed Forces Day/Sea Bangor, Saturday/Sunday 24th and 25th June This partnership event reaped excellent results both in attendance – target exceeded by 8,000 (16%) - and free publicity (£167,106 secured) for a CPV of only £2.51. ASG was also above average at £4.43 with the event attracting the higher percentage of out of state visitors. As part of a national programme of Armed Forces Day events, coverage from Bangor was used in three out of four available slots on the national Armed Forces bulletins. The event included new successful partnership elements, with SERC and the Chamber, including an ‘Ambassador’ programme whereby local students took on the role of guides throughout the town. Translink also enabled use of their station site to add value to the event, and My Main Street ran a complementary campaign and provided free promotion and marketing of AFD/Sea Bangor activity. The total cost of the event was the highest in the programme at just over £145k however the event budget was supplemented by grants of £20,000 from Tourism NI and £10,000 from the Armed Forces.
Comber Earlies Food Festival, Saturday 17th June Date-wise this event was in competition with the Belfast Tall Ships event, which presented difficulties in recruiting enough artisan stalls, however the attendance target was met and the event undoubtedly benefited from very pleasant summer weather. However ASG was the lowest of the nine events due to a combination of a below average SPA and above average CPA. Despite this, the event’s unique selling proposition - the PGI status of the Comber Early Potato - is recognised as valuable, and going forward there are ambitions to continue to grow this event as a flagship one within the borough’s development as a premier food destination. The event budget shown in Appendix 1 was supplemented by a grant contribution of £3,000 from DAERA.
Summer Entertainment, Sundays throughout July and August, Ward Park This programme exceeded its attendance target by 85% across all Sundays, for a low CPA of £1.31, but in the absence of formal market research, which would be costly across all Sundays, visitor spend or origin is not known.
Portavogie Seafood Festival, Saturday 12 August This is a fledgling event, in only its second year, but attracted an increase in artisan stallholders wishing to participate compared to Year 1. Target attendance was exceeded by 1,000 (22%), with celebrity chef Nick Nairn proving a big attraction. The proportion of out of borough visitors was just below average, although the SPA was one of the highest across the programme at £19.57. The CPA was also one of the highest in the programme at £5.20 however, reflective of the issues to be tackled in mounting an event in a non-conventional event venue, Portavogie Harbour.
Groomsport Music and Fireworks, Saturday 19 August This event achieved its target audience, despite being in competition with Party at the Pitch, Sundown Market and other Open House Festival events on the same date. These competing events may be part of the explanation for a relatively low PR value achieved, especially in comparison to the May Day event in Holywood, which had a
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Donaghadee Lights Up, Saturday 9th September
In its second year, this event exceeded its target audience and performed very well in terms of PR achieved. SPA was high at £18.51 and anecdotally all restaurants and accommodation were at capacity over the course of this event. The CPA (£4.84) is relatively high and reflects the requirement to spend money on new safety measures at the Commons site, on the advice of the Risk team, following experience gained in Year 1. Going forward there are plans to extend the event over several days to derive maximum benefit from the Council’s expenditure.
Seapark Fireworks Display, Saturday 4 November The original date on the weekend running up to Halloween had to be changed due to severe weather, but the event performed well, exceeding its attendance target by 80% despite, or perhaps because of, the change, with potentially fewer competing events. The proportion of both out of borough and out of state visitors was high, likely reflecting Holywood’s proximity to Belfast. ASG was below average but this reflects a much higher than anticipated event cost associated with the rescheduling of the event and consequent duplicate marketing activity.
Bangor Christmas Switch On, Saturday 18 November Work with Bangor Chamber to produce a local market paid off, with this event exceeding its target attendance by 5,000 (50%). CPA was low at £1.82. Once again My Main Street and Translink partnered with the Council to spread event-related activity throughout the town centre and SERC provided Ambassadors to assist those attending. As no formal market research was carried out at this event, no data is available for the proportion of out of borough or out of state visitors – although these would be low as the event is essentially a community event.
Newtownards Christmas Switch On, Friday 24 November This event was well attended, falling just short of the target of 3,500, with Conway Square’s capacity a limiting factor. The children’s parade, led by the Spark drum band, was well received. PR value achieved was good but CPA was also high at £4.89. As no formal market research was carried out at this event, no data is available for the proportion of out of borough or out of state visitors – although these would be low as the event is essentially a community event.
Holywood Christmas Switch On, Saturday 25 November The programme of entertainment delivered by Holywood and District Community Council attracted steady numbers throughout the day, although audience numbers for the library element were low. Overall attendance including the switch-on itself was disappointing at 26% of target – resulting in a high CPa of £8.46, the highest in the programme. As no formal market research was carried out at this event, no data is available for the proportion of out of borough or out of state visitors – although these would be low as the event is essentially a community event.
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Return on Investment
The potential economic return to the Borough from the events programme can be estimated using a range of average spend per person, from £13.33 from our own market research to the £18.00 quoted previously, from Tourism NI, for discretionary spend by overnight visitors. This calculation gives a total estimated spend of between £2.25 and £3.04 million.
Taking TNI’s figure for expenditure on overnight accommodation (£55) together with our average attendance by out of state visitors at events (4.6%), an additional £427,000 might be added, although it cannot be guaranteed that all overnight visitors to our events also stayed in the borough.
One caveat is of course that 60%+ of attendees at events were local, and using the £13.33 figure these would account for £1.44 million of expenditure at events. An undefined portion of this sum is likely to have been spent elsewhere in the borough if not spent at an event that day. All in all, however, it would be reasonable to suggest that the Council’s expenditure on the tourism events programme of £469,500 produced a return in the range £1.5m - £2.5m. Added to this are the intangible benefits for the borough and its residents derived from the programme, of making the best of the borough’s natural, cultural and environmental assets and ensuring its towns and villages are prosperous, vibrant and attractive.
Building on these achievements and lessons learned, next year’s programme of events has already been agreed by Council. Planning for this will also draw on the findings of the Integrated Tourism, Regeneration and Development Strategy, particularly in relation to developing events for visitors, particularly out of state visitors, and associated visitor spend.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Council notes this report.
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Appendix 1, Events Performance
Event Budget Total Cost Target Actual PR Value % of % of Spend Cost per Attendee Attendance Attendance Attendees Attendees per Attendee Spend from outside Borough from out Attendee Generated of State per £1 Friday 14th April £30,000 £26,289.24 15,000 7,000 £20,882 17% 4% £8.11 £3.76 £2.16 Spring Parade Newtownards Monday 17th April £38,300* £45,531.99 15,000 15,000 £20,882 56% 10% £17.67 £3.04 £5.81 Easter Monday Monday 1st May £20,200 £18,352.36 8,000 15,000 £42,521 64% N/A £5.53 £1.22 £4.53 May Day Saturday 13th May £10,000 £10,171.60 5,000 5,000 £39,867 N/A N/A N/A £2.03 N/A Pipeband Championships Saturday 24th & £118,000* £145,387.32 50,000 58,000 £167,106 39% 8% £11.12 £2.51 £4.43 Sunday 25th June AFD/Sea Bangor Saturday 17th June £31,900* £39,613.14 7,500 7,500 £52,706 19% 4% £10.50 £5.28 £1.99 Comber Earlies Sundays July & £19,600 £17,002.10 7,000 13,000 £38,095 N/A N/A N/A £1.31 N/A Aug Summer Entertainment Saturday 12th £28,400 £28,600.63 4,500 5,500 £23,270 32% 3% £19.57 £5.20 £3.76 August Portavogie Seafood Festival Saturday 19th £18,400 £16,393.02 5,000 5,000 £7,882 26% 1% £18.72 £3.28 £5.71 August Groomsport Music & Fireworks Saturday 9th £31,900 £46,015.16 8,000 9,500 £34,327 34% 1% £18.51 £4.84 £3.82 September Donaghadee Lights Up Appendix 1, Events Performance Event Budget Total Cost Target Actual PR Value % of % of Spend Cost per Attendee Attendance Attendance Attendees Attendees per Attendee Spend from from out Attendee Generated outside of State per £1 Borough Saturday 4th £16,200 £25,375.49 5,000 9,000 £23,500 41% 6% £10.25 £2.82 £3.63 November Seapark Fireworks th Saturday 18 £24,100 £27,367.29 10,000 15,000 £10,936 N/A N/A N/A £1.82 N/A November Bangor Christmas Switch On
Friday 24th £14,700 £16,636.58 3,500 3,400 £20,044 N/A N/A N/A £4.89 N/A November Newtownards Christmas Switch On
Saturday 25th £5,300 £6765 3,000 800 £11,756 N/A N/A N/A £8.46 N/A November Holywood Christmas Switch On
Total: £407,000 £469,500.92 146,500 168,700 £513,774 36% 4.6% £13.33 £3.60 £3.98
Where no formal market research was carried out % of attendees rom outside the Borough and spend per attendee are not available.
*Denotes where external grants or transfers from other budgets supplemented the approved event budget; £5k for Spring Carnival, £30k for AFD/Sea Bangor and £3k for Comber Earlies.
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ITEM 7
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Temporary Head of Tourism Service
Date of Report 17 January 2018
File Reference TO/TM4
Legislation n/a
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☐ No ☒ Not Applicable ☐
Subject European Cultural Heritage Fund - Expression of Interest
Attachments
Background
The Heritage Lottery Fund (administrator) and Tourism NI (funder) have opened a time limited call for applications to a fund seeking “innovative” projects to highlight historical and cultural assets in this the 2018 year of European Culture and Heritage.
The first stage is an “Expression of Interest” to be followed by full applications for projects passing this initial stage.
The fund is £400,000 nationwide with an expected 8-10 projects being funded at approximately £40,000 - £50,000 each. The fund is 100% grant if successful. The projects have to be delivered on a partner based application and follow a variety of criteria. The fund is for revenue projects, not capital, with ‘innovation’ being a key criteria.
AND Officers from Tourism, Events, Arts and Museums met to discuss possible expressions and three were put forward for consideration. Two augmented reality (AR) projects and one living history animated based project.
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One of these has been successful through the EOI stage. This is an AR project, partnering with local sites and National Agencies alongside Newry Mourne and Down and Fermanagh and Omagh District Councils, focusing on the subject of the Columban Way Christian Heritage route through NI and covers sites related to this topic. This project has been successful in the initial process and AND has been asked to further work up a full application for submission in February.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Council proceeds with full application to the European Cultural Heritage Fund for a Columban Way Christian Heritage route augmented reality project.
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ITEM 8
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Temporary Head of Tourism Service
Date of Report 24 January 2018
File Reference TO/TD21
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☐ No ☐ Other ☒ If other, please add comment below: no direct Section 75 implications for ANDBC
Subject Scrabo Tower Opening - Notice of Motion
Attachments Response letter HED
Following a NOM, the Chief Executive wrote to the Secretary of State and Historical Environment Division, DfC, to request that the opening hours for Scrabo Tower be extended during summer months and that entry be free of charge.
The Deputy Director of HED, Iain Greenway, has now responded indicating that HED is currently working on an agreement for the 2018 visitor season and considering options for opening hours and an entry fee. Visitor numbers of 4,500 last summer indicated significant interest in the site. There was very little resistance to the entry charge levied last year and HED intends to apply one in 2018 to cover the operating cost of access.
HED will confirm the final details, which may include additional interpretation and exhibits in the Tower, in due course and Mr Greenway has indicated he would be happy to meet Members to discuss further, on request.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Council invites HED to present their plans for Scrabo Tower and their other Ulster attractions within the Borough to a future R&D Committee.
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ITEM 9
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration, Development and Planning
Date of Meeting 08 February 2016
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Temporary Head of Tourism Service
Date of Report 11 January 2018
File Reference TO/EV25
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Bid for Pipeband Championships 2018
Attachments
Ards and North Down Pipeband Championships is a very popular item on the annual events programme and attracted an audience of 5,000 to Castle Park, Bangor in 2017. To secure a competition in their area, Councils are obliged to place a bid to the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, which then considers the request and allocates a date to the successful Councils.
As part of the report submitted to Council for approval of the events programme for the first quarter of 2018, officers had indicated they would work with the Association to explore the possibility of Newtownards as the venue, prior to any bid. Officers from Tourism, Parks and Leisure met to review potential possible sites, however only one possibility was identified in Newtownards, Londonderry Park. At the request of the Mayor, officers also considered Rosemount Estate, Greyabbey.
A site meeting was held on 6 December with the RSPBANI Project Manager and Director at the two sites and their subsequent report has now been received. The two sites were assessed on the following criteria:
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Topography Local amenities Car parking The findings of the Association were as follows:
Londonderry Park There is good access to the site. The topography was deemed possibly suitable, however due to the redevelopment of the park only the playing fields to the right could be used. One obstacle is the cricket pitch which would be required to accommodate two Pipe Band Competitions and a Drum Major competition arena. Given the cricket season would have started, the pitch would be in use by local clubs. There are adequate shops and restaurants in the town centre to serve the event spectators and competitors, however the town centre would not be within easy walking distance and would require shuttle buses to be provided. Car parking is a very significant concern due to the redevelopment of the site, which has significantly reduced the available parking area.
Rosemount Estate, Greyabbey There is adequate access to the site but access to the village via public transport was a concern. The topography of the site was not deemed suitable due to the terrain, with insufficient flat land to accommodate two Pipe Band Competition arenas and a Drum Major competition arena. There are adequate shops and restaurants in the village to serve the event spectators, however with limited choice. There were concerns that there were insufficient tarmac or asphalt areas for car and coach parking. Parking would be confined to grass areas which would not be suitable in the event of heavy rain.
The RSPBANI Branch deemed that for their purposes neither site was suitable to host the 2018 Championships and recommended that the venue remains Castle Park, Bangor on the basis that it has suitable topography, excellent access for visiting bands with a Translink Hub nearby, adequate car parking and a town centre with excellent local amenities within easy walking distance.
Given the RSPBANI assessment, there is no prospect that a bid for the 2018 Championships would succeed based on either Londonderry Park or Rosemount Estate. Their assessment also highlights the lack of suitable Council facilities for events with a large footprint in Newtownards, particularly since the redevelopment of Londonderry Park, which is an issue the Council may wish to consider separately going forward. The issues of adequate physical space, parking and transport links, combined with proximity to shops and restaurants, are particular prerequisites to maximise the success of such events, from the perspective of organisers and visitor attendance.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council approves a bid to RSPBANI to host the Championships on Saturday 12 May 2018 at Castle Park, Bangor.
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Unclassified
ITEM 10
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Economic Development Service
Date of Report 18 January 2018
File Reference 141032 PART 9
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject East Border Region
Attachments N/A
Background:
Ards and North Down Borough Council has been involved in working with the East Border Region Group (EBR) during the last three rounds of European Structural Funds. Ards Borough Council joined EBR in 2003 and North Down Borough Council joined in 2006. Under Interreg III and Interreg IV, EBR has managed the funds on behalf of the thirteen areas involved in the group. Under Interreg IV funding it was estimated that for every £1.00 each Council spent on programmes, £17.60 was leveraged in each area.
Interreg VA and Transnational Interreg V projects will be managed and delivered differently between now and 2023 and it has been agreed by Central Government that any funds committed under the Interreg V programme will be honoured for the period post Brexit. The East Border Region Group has partnered with Intertrade Ireland, Northern Ireland Water and Irish Water (and other smaller partners) as well as with local authorities to bring the expertise necessary to implement any successful projects under these funds.
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Since the opening of the latest programme, EBR has applied for, or contributed to the applications of a number of large and small projects on behalf of the region and the ones listed in the synopsis have been either agreed or are being considered under stage 2 and are relevant to our Council area. The total number of projects which EBR has applied for represents a combined investment of €91.13 million from Interreg V however, several projects have secured a financial management role for EBR and not all the projects are relevant to every Council area across the region.
Whilst eligible projects apply across the spectrum of Council Functions, the Regeneration, Development and Planning Directorate is the source of EBR membership funding, consequently Regeneration and Development Committee is the parent Committee to approve continued membership fees to EBR.
Synopsis of Ards and North Down Borough Council’s involvement and opportunities in EBR projects
1. Co Innovate Programme. (Approved for €16.6m) This large “small business support” INTERREG VA project is being led by Intertrade Ireland and EBR and is a partner alongside the Enterprise Agencies, Leo’s and Scottish Enterprise.
Key Outputs: 1,408 SMEs will attend workshops to improve their understanding of the innovation ecosystem on a cross-border basis and their capability to benefit from it business status reviews of 1,408 SMEs to determine progression through the programme development of a new innovation audit tool designed for SMEs and cross border R&I (research and innovation) in-company innovation audits for 469 SMEs with tailored feedback to support the identification of R&I opportunities for these firms and appropriate interventions 94 enterprises will receive an intensive capability development programme to address major internal barriers preventing them from realising their full potential of cross-border innovation 50 enterprises will benefit from research institutions’ input as part of a cross- border innovation internship programme 70 enterprises will receive a qualified graduate supported by a cross-border research institution from another part of the eligible region to work specifically on a new product/process or service development the development of at least 4 R&I focussed networks that span the entire eligible region in areas such as Agri Food and 15 cross-border SME partnerships supported by a research institution at least 5 research institutions will be working with SMEs on a cross-border collaboration and 19 enterprises will work in cross-border collaborative partnerships with grant support
Ards and North Down Borough Council is eligible for all aspects of this project and businesses will be targeted across the area. The local Enterprise Agencies will be responsible for ensuring that companies are selected for the programme. Also EBR will invite EBR Local Authority Economic Development managers to regular Page 2 of 4
Unclassified meetings to brief them on project progress and how local enterprises can avail of this substantial amount of money. The programme is currently underway and it is envisaged that 32 businesses from the Ards and North Down will benefit. Update monitoring reports will be completed at regular intervals throughout the life of the programme.
2. CANN Project. Biodiversity Project (Collaborative Action for Natura Networks) Approved for €8.17 m The main aim of the project is to raise sites to favourable status. The partners are developing a consortium bid to submit to the Habitat and Species Call. Ulster Wildlife will be responsible for assessing sites across the EBR Region for potential participation in the programme. It is hoped to launch the programme in Spring 2018. Note: When assessing the conservation status of habitats, four parameters are considered. These are: range, area, structure and function (referred to as habitat condition) and future prospects. For species, the parameters are: range, population, habitat (extent and condition) and future prospects. Each of these parameters is assessed as being in one of the following conditions: Favourable, Unfavourable-inadequate, Unfavourable-Bad, or Unknown.
3. Bathing Water Quality Project (Stage 2 assessment €1.2 m) EBR is working with a number of key stakeholders including; Ards and North Down Borough Council, Louth County Council, Newry, Mourne and Down DC, UCD (University College Dublin) and AFBI (Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute) to develop a predictive bathing water quality system for use on beaches. UCD are Lead Partner on this bid. One of the pilot beaches which will be used on this project is Ballyholme Beach and the Director of Community and Wellbeing, Graham Bannister, is working on developing this project. Signage will be erected on the beach informing the public of the daily quality of the water. Systems to date have only been able to do this retrospectively.
Summary
This synopsis highlights the extent of Ards and North Down Borough Council’s potential involvement in a mix of INTERREG VA and Transnational INTERREG projects. Projects 2 and 3 above have yet to come on stream. EBR is still waiting for approval for some of these projects. Further reports will be brought in due time to the Committee to update members on the status of these applications.
EBR, through its Steering Committee has the ability to ensure that its members are informed and involved in the development of these projects and any other opportunities coming from the Interreg programmes (all Strands).
Each year the position of Chair rotates among member Councils; for the year 2018, Alderman Jim Fletcher has been appointed as Chair, with the Vice-Chair position falling to Councillor, Aidan Campbell, Monaghan County Council. In total three Council Members represent Ards and North Down Borough Council on the EBR board and are therefore involved with the development of any projects for the benefit
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Unclassified of the Borough. These being Alderman J Fletcher, Alderman B Keery and Alderman A McDowell.
EBR has requested that Ards and North Down Borough Council sets aside £20,000 for the financial year 2018-19 in order to support the expertise and coordination work provided by the group to deliver and implement these projects.
It is clear from the report that the focus of funds has shifted from enterprise to environment and there are less opportunities for SMEs to benefit under business development programmes. However, there are still opportunities to investigate and pursue opportunities under: . Coastal Erosion and Management . Tourism – Ancient Ways, New Ways . Rural Development – Cross Border Co-operation projects . Biomass Supply Chain
Increasingly the annual contribution will represent less value for money as involvement in projects going forward will not yield the same benefits for Ards and North Down as previously and with Brexit on the horizon the opportunities for European funded projects will cease.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that: (i) Members agree to allocate £20,000 funding to the East Border Region Group for the financial year 2018-19 to support the on-going work under the Interreg V programme, to secure funds and ensure the involvement of Ards and North Down Borough Council in these upcoming opportunities, (ii) Reviews the contribution amount in any subsequent year, dependant on project opportunities.
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ITEM 11
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development Committee
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Economic Development Service
Date of Report 18 January 2018
File Reference
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Attendance to Creative Momentum Programme Closing Conference in Galway - 1st March 2018
Attachments Appendix 1: Draft Programme Appendix 2: Programme activities and participants
1. Background
Creative Momentum is an EU project funded through the Northern Periphery & Arctic regions programme running from June 2015 until May 2018. The partners in the project include the lead council in the Republic of Ireland which is the W.D.C. (Western Development Commission), partners in Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the Northern Ireland partner which is the SEED group of councils. SEED is made up of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Ards and North Down Borough Council and Newry Mourne and Down District Council.
Creative Momentum is a €2m, 3-year (2015-2018) transnational project to support the creative industries sector. It is funded by the EU’s Northern Periphery & Arctic Regions (NPA) Programme.
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The Creative Momentum Project targets and supports start-ups and SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) of one or more persons, self-employed freelancers, social enterprises and recent graduates working in the creative industries sector and based in one of the five participating partner regions of the project in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Sweden and Finland. Details on the SMEs which have participated on the programme to date, including those from Ards and North Down, can be found in Appendix 2.
2. Proposal
The lead partner (WDC) is hosting a seminar in Galway on 1 March 2018 to showcase and celebrate the work of the Creative Momentum project. The conference will take place from 1.00pm and finish at 6.00pm. The venue is as yet unconfirmed but will be in Galway City. The conference will include participation from one business from each of the three Northern Ireland Councils involved in the project.
Creative Momentum is inviting one or two members of each of the SEED Councils to attend. It would be anticipated to be one elected representative from each council and, if required, one member of the economic development team in each council to accompany the elected representative.
Bookings have been made at the House Hotel in Galway in anticipation. The cost of the hotel would be covered by the Creative Momentum project this would be for either one or two nights depending on which suited the travelling conditions of those attending
A proposed outline of the conference is attached in Appendix 1.
This event will include presentations from Northern Ireland creative businesses that have received support to attend ceramic events in Sweden through council support as well as a relevant discussion for the creative sector. Speakers have not all been confirmed as yet, but it is expected that one speaker per Council area will contribute to the delivery of the conference programme.
3. Costs
The costs will be fully funded via the Creative Momentum Programme.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Committee nominates one elected member and one officer to attend the closing conference of the Creative Momentum Programme.
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APPENDIX 1
The Western Development Commission (WDC) invites you to the closing conference for
a creative momentum project
Thursday, 1 March 2018
14.00, Venue to be confirmed, Galway
13.30 Registration
14.00 Welcome by the Chair (To be confirmed)
14.05 Opening Address, Dr Deirdre Garvey, Chairperson, WDC
14.15 a creative momentum project: main project outputs, Pauline White
14.30 Video Pitching Toolkit (short intro Henri Finström, then play video example, e- Coach?)
14.40 Creative Trails – new creative trail app launched in Northern Ireland
15.00 Creative Steps 2.0 - innovation process run in all partner regions (will take place in Northern Ireland in March 2018)
15.20 ‘Creativity from the Periphery’ Panel (Kristina Jeppson, Liisa Koivisto, Northern Ireland creative play 1-2 short videos of Swedish and/or Icelandic creatives talking about working from peripheral location
15.45 Questions & Answers
16.00 Coffee
16.25 Arctic Design Week – the World’s Northernmost Design Week, Julius Oförsagd (including video)
16.50 Support for Trade Fairs (report on all creative businesses including Northern Ireland creatives that attended international trade fairs through Creative Momentum)
17.10 Business Model Toolkit for creative industries
17.25 Creative Hotspots – creative industry events in partner regions
17.45 Closing Address, Minister Micheal Ring or Seán Kyne
18.00 Reception & performance
Creative Momentum APPENDIX 2 Events / Opportunities that have taken place Creative Hotspots Activity The Creative Momentum project selects one creative industry event in the partner regions to support and then runs an open competitive competition to support creative businesses to attend these creative industry events.
4 hotspots have taken pace
Creative Hotspot 1
Region Name Creative Subsector Dates Sweden Urkult Craft August 2016
8 creative businesses were supported to attend the Urkult from the partner regions. 3 of these were from SEED
Business Council Patricia Millar Ceramics Ards and North Down Borough Council Journey Man Saddler Newry Mourne & Down District Council Ciara Campell Ceramics Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council
The businesses received support covering travel and accommodation, costs to both attend the Swedish craft festival Urkult, as well as have a stand in it’s prominent market place were they had the opportunity to sell attendees of the festival over 2 days with a footfall of over 5,000. The supported businesses also took part in a Pecha Kucha presentation event at the festival and were given the opportunity to network with creative businesses from across Europe. The project organised for all supported business to visit creative working spaces in the region and hear from the organisers and managers. The supported businesses stayed in the same hotel, travelled together. All businesses reported both international sales as a result of participation as well as developing a list of future potential international contacts.
Creative Hotspot 2
Region Name Creative Subsector Dates Northern Ireland Digital DNA Digital September 2016
11 businesses from across the project partner regions were supported to attend the creative digital DNA event in Northern Ireland. This included attending a Creative Momentum exchange event were they got to meet and network with NI creative digital businesses and hear presentations from gave and app developers from the region.
Creative Hotspot 3
Region Name Creative Subsector Dates Finland Arctic Design Week Design February 2017
15 businesses were supported to travel to Lapland to attend the Finnish Arctic Design Week Festival 6 of which were from Northern Ireland, these were:
Business Council Nick Moffett Design Ards and North Down Borough Council Michael Geddis Ards and North Down Borough Council David Henderson Design Newry Mourne & Down District Council Samantha Moore Silverware Newry Mourne & Down District Council Paper Harmonic Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Design Stics Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council
Northern Ireland businesses were supported through accommodation, travel and participation in the Arctic Design Week Festival. They attended a 2 day conference in Northern Finland and all took the opportunity to be represented at a showcase stand at the event allowing for further engagement with attendees. They were part of networking events on each night and the attendees have all reported an increase in international contacts, and will be reporting back to the project on businesses developed through attendance.
Creative Hotspot 4
Region Name Creative Subsector Dates Ireland Galway Film Fleadh Film July 2017
This open competitive opportunity has been run with the following applicants in the process of waiting to hear if they will be accepted to attend this film festival:
Business Region OMAS Media Limited Ards and North Down Borough Council Guillion Media Newry Mourne & Down District Council
Creative Exchanges activity A number of creative events have been taking place throughout the partner regions of the project, when possible these are being filmed and made available for future viewing on the projects youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeMaPgYYLdI4veF1b4jmxOw
To date the following have taken place in SEED
Name Region Date No. attendees “Why Are You Not Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon 18th May 2016 41 Selling Online” Borough Council “The Practicalities of Ards and North Down Borough 18th Aug 2016 13 Selling Online” Council “Grow Your Digital Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon 28th Sept 2016 19 Business” Borough Council “Developing Creative Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon 16th Nov 2016 28 Networks” Borough Council “NI Creative Trails Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon 28th June 2017 Launch” Borough Council “Making A Living As Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon 29th June 2017 A Ceramicist” Borough Council “Taking a Creative Ards and North Down Borough 24th August 2017 Business Abroad” Council
Assistance to International Trade Fair Activity The Creative Momentum has run 2 open competitive opportunities to support creative businesses to received up to €2,500 in support to attend a trade fair outside Northern Ireland. The following from Northern Ireland have been successful
Name Round Council Details Gall Gael Crafts 1 Newry Mourne & Down Has not attended District Council Emain Publications 1 Armagh City, Banbridge Has not attended & Craigavon Borough Council David Henderson Design 1 Newry Mourne & Down Attended Web summit, District Council Lisbon Nov 2016 Mary Callan Knitwear 1 Newry Mourne & Down Attended Showcase Ireland District Council Jan 2016 Curlew Cottage Design 2 Newry Mourne & Down Attended British Craft Trade District Council Fair April 2017 Algan Arts 2 Newry Mourne & Down Attended British Craft Trade District Council Fair April 2017 Samantha Moore Silversmith 2 Newry Mourne & Down Will be attending Elements District Council Trade fair in Edinburgh Nov 17 Jump The Hedges 2 Newry Mourne & Down Attended Wanderlust event District Council in Germany Sept 17 Discover Ireland Publications 2 Newry Mourne & Down Attended Bolagna publishing District Council trade fair April 2017 Greenans Products 2 Newry Mourne & Down Attended Ploughing District Council Championsips Sept 17 NI Silver 2 Ards and North Down Attending Showcase Ireland Borough Council Jan 18 Andrew Cooke 2 Ards and North Down Attended Kuosto, event in Borough Council Germany in May 17 Design Stics 2 Armagh City, Banbridge Support cancelled & Craigavon Borough Council Torc Product Design 2 Armagh City, Banbridge Yet to attend Trade Fair & Craigavon Borough Council
Online Showcase Platform “My Creative Edge” www.MyCreativeEdge.eu
The online showcase platform for the Creative Industries (created through predecessor project Creative Edge) generated a total of 372 businesses split between the 3 council regions
This platform has now been redeveloped with new functionality and greater speed to allow it to operate on current browsers more effectively and better engage with the creative community. This allows creative businesses in SEED to create a free online profile showcasing their creative business and will then be able to benefit from the online marketing of the platform by the lead partner of Creative Momentum (The Western Development Commission) which is budgeted at €20,000
Creative Trails activity A tender was put out and appointed to Oli/Tour Talk to develop a mobile app to create 2 creative trails within SEED. The App was launched on the 28th June 2017. The aim of the app is to connect creative businesses offering “See and Do” experiences with a previously unconnected market – tourists and visitors to the region.
The app is currently available free to download on the iTunes app store and the Android store. Businesses currently featured are:
Creative destination Council Project 24 Ards and North Down Borough Council Haptik Ards and North Down Borough Council Boom Studios Ards and North Down Borough Council Top Floor Art Gallery and Open Studios Newry Mourne and Down District Council NI Silver Ards and North Down Borough Council Cooke Ceramics Ards and North Down Borough Council Mourne Creative Newry Mourne and Down District Council Keith Drury Art Ltd Newry Mourne and Down District Council Simply Spun Ards and North Down Borough Council The Craft Room Ards and North Down Borough Council North Down Craft Ards and North Down Borough Council The Journeyman Saddler Newry Mourne and Down District Council Coney Island Design Newry Mourne and Down District Council Kingfisher Craft Newry Mourne and Down District Council Patricia Millar Ceramics Ards and North Down Borough Council Synergy Studios Newry Mourne and Down District Council Turnip House Newry Mourne and Down District Council F E McWilliam Gallery & Studio Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Coucnil Debra Wenlock Art Ards and North Down Borough Council Yard Gallery Ards and North Down Borough Council Down Arts Centre Newry Mourne and Down District Council Doghouse Gallery Ards and North Down Borough Council Studio 14 – Shaw Haper Artist Newry Mourne and Down District Council Mount IDA Pottery Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Ballydougan Pottery Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Millennium Court Arts Centre Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council The Market Place Theatre Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Moneypenny’s Blacksmiths Workshop Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Helen Fitzpatrick Jewellery Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Will Harnett Photography Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Mahvash Interiors Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Keith Shepherd Glass Artistry Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Tommy Makem Arts & Community Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Centre
All Creative businesses in the Creative Trails app are allowed to avail of photographic support, to date the following companies have been allocated this support:
Creative Business Council Top Floor Art Gallery and Open Studios Newry Mourne and Down District Council NI Silver Ards and North Down Borough Council Simply Spun Ards and North Down Borough Council The Journeyman Saddler Newry Mourne and Down District Council Coney Island Design Newry Mourne and Down District Council Mahvash Interiors Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigaovn Borough Council Cooke Ceramics Ards and North Down Borough Council Patricia Millar Ceramics Ards and North Down Borough Council Synergy Studios Newry Mourne and Down District Council
Transnational Peer Mentoring Activity Currently called “Creative”Creative Matching” (this was previously marketed as “Mentoring in Internationalisation”). This activity matches creative businesses from different EU partner regions and then connects them through organised skype sessions over a period of 6 months. This is an ongoing activity with the final call closing at the end of the May 2017. Matches to date are:
Business Council Food Safe System Newry Mourne & Down District Council Strangford Lough Gallery Newry Mourne & Down District Council The Bearded Candle Makers Newry Mourne & Down District Council David Henderson Design Newry Mourne & Down District Council Martin Murtagh Newry Mourne & Down District Council Sticky Fingers Newry Mourne & Down District Council Sarah Majury Art Ards and North Down Borough Council J S Kelly T/A SignArt Ards and North Down Borough Council Welig Heritage Crafts Ards and North Down Borough Council Rachel Sauers Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Mount IDA Pottery Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council WHP Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council
Creative Steps 2.0 activity Creative Steps was run as an opportunity in the the predecessor project Creative Edge. This is an innovation model where emerging creative talent (graduating students/emerging creative businesse) apply a developed innovation process towards real life briefs set by actual creative businesses. The opportunity gives students/emerging creative businesses experience on life briefs as well as exposing them to transnational contacts and developing potential future collaborative projects.
This activity is yet to run in SEED, this is scheduled to begin in late November 2017
The Network of Shared Creative Spaces A list of Creative Spaces have been identified in the partner regions. The project has now started working towards connecting these spaces. This has initially begun through monthly skype meetings between the creative space managers. These meetings are creating a platform for transnational exchange on best practice approaches and discussing areas of future collaboration. Creative Exchange events will be delivered in 2017 to specifically address issues brought up on the calls. Creative spaces have been identified in SEED as follows:
Name Council Bleary Business & Community Centre Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Tommy Makem Centre Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council NAAC Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Danann Crafts Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Innovate: Create: Armagh Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Millenieum Court Arts Cente Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council Creative Synergies Newry Mourne & Down District Council The Hub Newry Newry Mourne & Down District Council Castle Ward Newry Mourne & Down District Council Top Floor Art Newry Mourne & Down District Council Boom Studios Ards and North Down Borough Council Project 24 Ards and North Down Borough Council Haptik Ards and North Down Borough Council Sync Space Ards and North Down Borough Council The Battle Town Gallery Ards and North Down Borough Council Yard Gallery Ards and North Down Borough Council Ards Arts Space Ards and North Down Borough Council
Managers of the creative spaces have been invited to be part of monthly transnational conference calls. These calls are to discuss best practice relating to the management of creative spaces while discussing where there might be scope for potential collaboration. Two of the these calls have so far taken place
Video Pitching Toolkit Three video production companies have been selected to provide promotional videos to supported creative businesses in the SEED region. These are
Business Council BNL Producitons Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Coucnil Slieve Gullion Media Newry Mourne and Down District Council David Henderson Design Newry Mourne and Down District Council
16 SEED businesses have successfully applied to receive video support. These companies are to source 3 quotes from video production companies before the end of September 2017 after which contracts of support will be drawn up. The companies to be supported are:
Name Town Council 1 Brian Ballynahinch Newry, Mourne and Down McKee District Council 2 Pamela Portadown Armagh City, Banbridge and Cassells Craigavon Borough Council 3 Nick Mack Newcastle Newry, Mourne and Down District Council 4 Denise Banbridge Armagh City, Banbridge and Cowan Craigavon Borough Council 5 Jordan Portadown Armagh City, Banbridge and Lewis Craigavon Borough Council 6 Avril Killinchy Newry, Mourne and Down Mandeson District Council 7 Tiaran O Keady Armagh City, Banbridge and Duninchin Craigavon Borough Council 8 Neil Bradley Warrenpoint Newry, Mourne and Down District Council 9 Stacey Armagh Armagh City, Banbridge and Kilpatrick Craigavon Borough Council 10 Sean Gilford Armagh City, Banbridge and O’Dowd Craigavon Borough Council 11 Ruth Holywood Ards and North Down Borough McEwan Council Lyons 12 Mary Callan Newcastle Newry, Mourne and Down District Council 13 Journey Newry Newry, Mourne and Down man District Council 14 Armagh Armagh Armagh City, Banbridge and Rhymers Craigavon Borough Council 15 Keith Portadown Armagh City, Banbridge and Shepherd Craigavon Borough Council 16 Siofra Newry Newry, Mourne and Down Caherty District Council
Partner Meetings Partner Meetings have taken place as follows:
No. Partner Location Date 1. Finland Oulu July 15 2. West of Ireland Carrickonshannon Oct 15 3. SEED Banbridge Feb 16 4. Iceland Akureyei June 16 5. Sweden Storgatan Nov 16 6. Finland Rovaniemi Feb 17 7 Iceland Akureyei May 17 8. SEED Bangor (proposed) Nov 17 9 West of Ireland TBC TBC
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ITEM 12
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development Committee
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Economic Development Service
Date of Report 12 January 2018
File Reference ED35
Legislation Regeneration and Development Committee
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Ards and North Down Social Entrepreneurship Programme (ANDSEP) December 2015 - December 2017
Attachments
Background
Ards and North Down Social Entrepreneurship Programme (ANDSEP) aimed to assist individuals and groups to start-up a social business, encourage existing social enterprises to grow, create related employment and maximise a positive impact on society.
In December 2015, following due procurement, Work West was awarded the contract to deliver the Ards and North Down Social Entrepreneurship Programme.
The programme was designed to provide social businesses and aspiring social businesses with a unique opportunity to gain tailored individual assistance and one- to-one mentoring in order to start-up, grow and develop their activities.
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Places were limited to 35 participants per year over the three phases of the programme, 15 in phase one,10 in phase two, 10 in phase three.
1. Results and Findings
The following table provides a summary of the key quantitative performance indicators relating to ANDSEP and the results to date against targets. It must be noted that the programme’s targets will be monitored for another 18 months after its official completion on 30th November 2017.
Key Performance Targets Actual Projected Comments Indicator Number of groups 15 Target N/A In Year 2 the ED participating in the Achieved Year section approved a introductory and 1: 15 recruited transfer of 4 places (12 investigatory phase Year 2: 11 days) from recruited (4 Prep Stage to Core places transferred to Core (approved by department) Number of groups 10 Target N/A In Year 2 the ED section participating in the core Achieved Year approved a transfer of capability phase and 1: 10 recruited 4 places (12 days) from completing a full business Year 2: Prep Stage to Core plan. 14 recruited Stage Number of groups 10 Target Achieved N/A participating in the post Year 1: 10 start strategic mentoring Year 2: 10
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Key Performance Targets Actual Projected Comments Indicator
Given the long lead For consistency across Group/enterprise annual £180,000 in time required to £622,806 all clients the figure turnover in year 1 set up a new social given is taken from the Sustainable Social enterprise the Business Plan financial majority of the forecasts and excludes Enterprise Ventures ANDSEP the income of existing established in year 1 (total participants have social enterprises that composite value) not yet completed participated on the their first year of programme e.g. Family trading therefore Works, ALT and for consistency the Seacourt Print NI. figures used at this point in time are the figures within the financial section of the business plans prepared as part of the programme. SEE ABOVE REPEAT, £420,000 Given that none of £908,934 The figure given is taken Year 2 the ANDSEP from the Business Plan participants have financial forecast and completed their excludes the income of second year of existing social trading the only enterprises that participated on the figures available at programme e.g. Family this point in time Works, ALT and are the financial Seacourt Print NI. forecasts within the business plans prepared as part of the programme.
Number of jobs created in 20 12.5 year 1(core) Number of jobs created in 35 19 22 To date 19 jobs have combined years 1 to 2 been created / sustained through programme participation with a further 22 jobs projected over the next 12-18 months. The ED Section and Work West are confident that the target of 35 will be met and exceeded.
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Key Performance Targets Actual Projected Comments Indicator 15 Target Achieved: 26 organisations were Number of new 16 trading in December products/services 2017 with an additional developed (core and post 3 projected to start up Start) in year 1 to 2 new ventures in the short-term (<3months) and an additional 3 in a timeframe of <6months and 4 in the long-term (>6months). Average combined funding £250,000 Target Achieved: Application Most social enterprises levered through existing submissions would include any sources of funding (grants, £579,083 pending: revenue funding in gift aid and loans) for year £95,200 their turnover figure 1 to 2. (not capital) since it reflects funding secured for social enterprise activity. We have kept them separate here for ease of navigation.
2. Impact Measurement
A baseline assessment was conducted with clients (Preparatory Stage) at the outset of the programme and this was revisited at the end of the programme to monitor ‘distance travelled’ in relation to the following 7 indicators:
- awareness & knowledge of the social economy sector in Ards and North Down - confidence in terms of future prospects for growth - understanding of the business skills needed for the development of new social enterprises - knowledge & confidence of leveraging additional resources to help the organisation get started - confidence about starting up a new social enterprise - skill level in terms of what is required to set up and run a social enterprise - competence in terms of attaining financial sustainability
Illustrated in the graph below the evidence from the baseline and end of programme assessments suggests that participants experienced significant and consistent improvements as a result of the programme.
Across all indicators, there was at least a 36% improvement which demonstrates the impact of the programme and how the skill level of the participants has
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improved particularly in relation to what is required to set up and run a social enterprise.
Following the programme 75% of the group had a raised awareness of the social economy sector in Ards and North Down and more than 47% of the group had increased their knowledge and confidence of leveraging additional resources to help them get started. This reflects the relatively lower baseline score from participants in these issues and the need to provide services within the programme to develop these base needs.
It is encouraging that at the end of the programme the highest ratings were for levels of confidence in starting a social enterprise but also in future prospects for growth suggesting that the programme has been a catalyst for change.
3. Conclusions and Programme Recommendations
The following conclusions can be made after the two years of delivery:
- A key strength of the programme was the flexibility in the delivery format which allowed Work West as Programme Manager on behalf of Ards and North Down Borough Council to tailor the one-to-one mentoring support to the needs of each individual and group and complement this with other support e.g. through the hub in Year 1.
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- The workshop format worked very well for networking purposes for the clients and a good rapport and operational linkages were established between clients.
- Workshops were necessary due to the low baseline position of knowledge in key areas required to start and grow a social enterprise.
- The workshop topics / trainers were well received by programme participants and client satisfaction was consistently high across all workshops, illustrated by incredibly high levels of satisfaction overall and particularly with the trainers or workshop leads.
- The Delivery Agent’s unique approach of design thinking ‘Ideation’ sessions has been effective in supporting embryonic social enterprises in AND to begin their journey in developing their idea more fully. The use of the Social Business Model Canvas has also contributed to this by providing a simple starting point for early stage enterprises.
- Another key strength of the programme was the rolling recruitment process which allowed Work West to continue to be able to accept applications throughout the two-year programme without having to ask applicants to wait until the following phase of delivery.
- A number of the Preparatory Stage clients were at the very early stages of their social enterprise journey and required additional support through the Social Economy Hub in Year 1 which was provided as appropriate. This low base level means that some will require further support to be able to reach the stage whereby they would be ready for the Core Capability Stage.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council:
1. Notes the content of this report
2. Agrees to proceed with a new two-year Social Entrepreneurship Programme for the period 2018-2020, at an estimated cost of £36,000 per annum, as part of its transferring functions, subject to budget estimates.
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Unclassified
ITEM 13
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development Committee
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Economic Development Service
Date of Report 22 January 2018
File Reference ED35
Legislation Regeneration and Development Committee
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☐ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Prince's Trust Development Awards
Attachments
Background
Under the transferring functions budget, the Council has the ability to support vulnerable groups in our society such as young people with no qualification seeking to become economically active and contribute to our community.
The Prince’s Trust Development Award scheme is a unique scheme exclusively provided by The Trust in Northern Ireland, supporting disadvantaged young people to overcome significant barriers within a short space of time.
As a result of an investment of £2,000 from the Council, The Prince’s Trust targeted Development Awards at unemployed or at risk young people aged 16 -25 who lived within the Borough. The aim was to help over 90% of young people who receive a Development Award to achieve a positive outcome, progressing into education, training or employment.
In 2017/18 the Development Awards scheme supported 9 disadvantaged young people in Ards and North Down Borough Council area with small grants averaging £200 with a maximum up to £500 to help fund courses, professional fees, equipment
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Unclassified needed for a qualification or job, interview clothes, short-term childcare or travel costs essential to help young people develop their skills and qualifications and enhance their ability to gain employment.
Will-it-Work Grants
As part of a package of support to explore enterprise, young people aged between 18 and 30 can explore and test their business ideas, write plans and potentially become self-employed.
A Will-it-Work Grant is a grant of up to £250 that can be used for test trading. The test should be as close as possible to the business model the young person intends to launch.
As a result of an investment of £1,000 for 2017/18 from the Council, the Prince’s Trust targeted Will-it-Work grants at young people from the Council area, aged 18-30 who have completed the 4 day Prince’s Trust Explore Enterprise Programme.
The Will-it-Work grants supported 6 young people in Ards and North Down Borough Council area with a grant of up to £250 to help them test the market as per proposal.
The scheme has been very successful and has met all its target within budget. It is felt that it is a valuable tool for young people to assess their potential and to enter the pre-enterprise pipeline leading to employment or self-employment.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Council notes the report and agrees further support for the Prince’s Trust Development Awards on a similar basis for 2018-19, subject to budget estimates.
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Unclassified
ITEM 14
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Finance Service
Date of Report 24 January 2018
File Reference FIN45
Legislation Section 5 Local Government Finance Act (NI) 2011
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☐ No ☐ Not Applicable ☒
Subject Regeneration and Development Budgetary Control Report – December 2017
Attachments -
This Regeneration and Development Budgetary Control Report covers the 9-month period 1 April to 31 December 2017 and is set out on page 3. The net cost of the services is showing an under spend of £455,189 (14.9%).
Although the Directorate is showing a significant underspend it is important that this is maintained for the rest of this financial year. The Council’s current projected 2017/18 surplus (approx. £658k) is based on the forecast outturns for all Directorates. The importance of having this surplus was outlined at the Special Corporate Services Committee in December as a significant part of it has been allocated to future years to help reduce future rates increases (additional MRP holiday). If the Council’s 2017/18 surplus is significantly lower it will have to reduce the amount set aside for future years which will have an adverse effect on rates increases for those years.
Explanation of Variance
In addition, a Budgetary Control Report by Income and Expenditure for Regeneration and Development is, also, shown on page 3 which analyses the overall favourable variance (£455,189) by expenditure (£355,855 favourable) and income (£99,333 favourable).
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Unclassified
Regeneration & Development
Expenditure - £355.9k (10.3%) better than budget to date. This favourable variance is mainly made up of the following: - 1. RDP HQ - £44.1k favourable as a result of a vacant post (£13.5k) and consultancy (£28.0k). The 2017/18 budget included consultancy for a feasibility study for Exploris Phase 2. This will not be undertaken this year and is now budgeted for 2018/19. 2. Regeneration - £118.3k favourable. This favourable variance is explained by- a. Payroll £81.7k favourable due to vacancies in Urban Development (£20.8k), Rural Development (£20.8k) and Craft Development (£28.5k). The Rural Development post was filled in late November. b. Masterplan Projects are £20.0k under budget to date. This will be underspent this year as work on the Bangor Coastal Masterplan is expected to commence in 2018/19. c. Chamber of Trade activity is currently £14.3k under budget. 3. Economic Development - £31.2k favourable. This favourable variance is explained by: - a. Payroll £38.0k favourable. There are 2 vacant posts within Economic Development. One is expected to be filled in January 2018 with the other not expected to be filled in this financial year. 4. Tourism - £162.2k favourable. This favourable variance is explained by: - a. Payroll £143.9k favourable. A number of vacant posts in Events and Tourism Development are in the process of being filled. b. Events such as the Comber Earlies Food Festival (£5.1k), Summer Entertainment (£5.5k), Easter (£8.8k) and Seafood Festival (£5.4k) are currently £24.8k under budget. c. Donaghadee Lights Up is currently £13.3k over budget due to additional Health & Safety requirements which weren’t budgeted for.
Income - £99.3k (24.3%) better than budget to date. This favourable variance is mainly made up of the following: - 5. Regeneration - £42.9k favourable. This is mainly due to: - a. Revitalisation grants are £44.7k favourable as these are in respect of the 2016/17 year and, as the programme ended in 2016/17, there is no income budget for this year. 6. Economic Development - £41.9k favourable. This is made up of: - a. Signal Centre £15.9k better than budget to date. b. Refund from European Edge Cities Network £11.2k. c. Exploris income is £6.7k better than budget. This is due to the Council’s profit share for 2016/17 being £6.7k higher than the
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Unclassified
estimated amount used when finalising the Council’s 2016/17 accounts. This difference has to accounted for in this financial year so is showing a favourable variance. d. Other small favourable income variances on Workshops (£2.2k), Innovative Development Project (£1.1k) and DETI Transferred Functions (£2.4k). 7. Tourism - £14.6k favourable. a. Income from a range of Council events is currently £8.5k better than budget. b. Cockle Row income is £5.5k better than budget to date. This is mainly due to a £4k contribution from the Ulster Scots Agency towards seasonal entertainment costs.
BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT By Directorate and Service
Period 9 - December 2017
Note Year to Date Year to Date Variance Annual Variance Actual Budget Budget £ £ £ £ %
Regen & Development
300 Regen, Dev & Planning HQ 91,303 135,400 (44,097) 213,300 32.6 310 Regeneration 500,112 661,300 (161,188) 1,023,200 24.4 320 Economic Development 764,426 837,500 (73,074) 1,145,600 8.7 340 Tourism 1,237,771 1,414,600 (176,829) 1,786,700 12.5
Totals 2,593,611 3,048,800 (455,189) 4,168,800 14.9
BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT By Income and Expenditure
Period 9 - December 2017
Expenditure Income Note Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance £ £ £
Regen & Development
300 Regen, Dev & Planning HQ 91,303 135,400 (44,097) - - - 310 Regeneration 693,670 812,000 (118,330) (193,557) (150,700) (42,857) 320 Economic Development 1,005,296 1,036,500 (31,204) (240,871) (199,000) (41,871) 340 Tourism 1,311,576 1,473,800 (162,224) (73,805) (59,200) (14,605)
Totals 3,101,845 3,457,700 (355,855) (508,233) (408,900) (99,333)
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Committee notes this report.
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Unclassified
ITEM 15
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Regeneration Service
Date of Report 24 January 2018
File Reference ED38 - FLAG 2 Fisheries Fund
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2014- 2020 - Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) - SEAFLAG
Attachments NI FLAG Strategy 2018-2020
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has recently approved the attached NI FLAG Strategy 2018-2020. The purpose of this document is to set out how €2.73 million (approx. £2.3 million) of funding will be allocated to the local fishing dependent communities.
It is expected that Newry Mourne and Down District Council, as the lead administrator, will have programme specific staff in post within the next six weeks. In addition, the first set of pre-funding workshops will be held in March / April and potential applicants will then have an opportunity to submit an Expression of Interest application, prior to the official opening of the first call for applications in May.
In preparation for the application process, an internal cross departmental working group will be established to identify potential projects to be taken forward.
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In November 2017, the Council nominated Alderman Carson to represented Ards and North Down Borough Council on the SEAFLAG Board. Alderman Carson has been recently elected as the Chairperson of the Board.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council notes the above.
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NI FLAG STRATEGY 2018 - 2020
mcgarryconsult.com McGarry Consulting | Business Planning & Funding
Disclaimer: McGarry Consulting reserve all rights to this report. This report was prepared for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in line with agreed terms of reference, and for no other purpose. Anyone else who uses, reads or relies on this report does so entirely at their own risk, and by doing so absolves and indemnifies McGarry Consulting of all liabilities. Version: Final Draft (December 2017)
Photos & Images Used: Ardglass Castle (© Ardfern 2010 and used under Creative Commons licence) Kilkeel Trawlers (© Albert Bridge 2007 and used under Creative Commons licence) Annalong Harbour (© Rossographer 2007 used under Creative Commons licence) Portavogie Aerial Shot (from 2014 Portaferry Village Plan)
Nephrops (© Dieno 2008 used under Creative Commons licence) Vector Fish (© OpenClipart-Vectors used under Creative Commons (CC0 1.0) licence)
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime
This strategy is designed to help sustain NI fishing communities. To invest in skills, job creation, enhancing the environment, maritime heritage and improving local governance of local resources. It was determined by local communities for local communities. Local communities who thought what can we do today to best prepare ourselves for tomorrow.
Contents
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
AREA PROFILE ...... 4
SWOT ANALYSIS & NEEDS ...... 9
CONSULTATIONS ...... 12
AIM & TARGETS ...... 14
DELIVERY ...... 16
APPENDICES ...... 18
APPENDIX (I) FLAG-2 Committee APPENDIX (II) FLAG Area – Profile APPENDIX (III) Consultation Contribution Form APPENDIX (IV) Target Information APPENDIX (V) FLAG-1 Spend
ACRONYMS Several acronyms are used in this report. They are listed below to make this report easier to read.
Table 0.1: Acronyms Acronym Full Name A&NDBC Ards and North Down Borough Council CLLD Community Led Local Development DAERA Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs EFF European Fisheries Fund (ran 2007 – 2013) EMFF European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (runs 2014 – 2020) FLAG Fisheries Local Action Group FLAG-1 FLAG Committee/Strategy under EFF (i.e. 2007-2013) FLAG-2 FLAG Committee/Strategy under EMFF (2014-2020) FPO Fish Producers Organisation NISRA NI Statistics and Research Agency NM&DDC Newry, Mourne and Down District Council RDP Rural Development Programme SEA-EMFF South East Area – European Maritime Fisheries Fund SEAFLAG South East Area – Fisheries Local Action Group
introduction
EMFF BACKGROUND The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is a European Structural Fund covering the period 2014-2020. It replaces the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and aims to promote ‘smart sustainable and inclusive growth’ across all sections of the fishing industry. Total EMFF funding in NI is 10% of the UK total, of which €2.73m has been set aside to implement Community Led Local Development (CLLD) strategies in NI. This CLLD strategy document outlines how that €2.73m should be spent.
FLAG CLLD funding is delegated to local partnerships consisting of public, private, and community sector representatives. There are over 2,600 such partnerships now across Europe including 307 fisheries partnerships. Fisheries partnerships are limited to coastal areas and are known as FLAGs (Fishing Local Area Groups). The NI FLAG area – under EFF and EMFF – is known as the South-East Area FLAG and comprises the following fishing dependent villages of south eastern Co. Down:
• Ardglass • Kilkeel (including Annalong) • Portavogie
The South-East Area FLAG (SEAFLAG) is profiled in section 2.
FLAG RESPONSIBILITY A 16-member NI FLAG Committee (known as FLAG-2) was established in October 2017, see Appendix I for details. FLAG-2 members are representative of the local fishing community, and are responsible for managing and overseeing this strategy. Newry, Mourne & Down District Council (NM&DDC) is responsible for the administration and delivery of the strategy on behalf of FLAG-2. NI’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) match-fund the EMFF funding, and are responsible for the overall EMFF fund in NI.
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EMFF PRIORITIES Under the EMFF programme there are six priorities, of which Priority 4 specifically concerns CLLD:
Union Priority 4 –
“Increasing employment and territorial cohesion by pursuing the following specific objective: the promotion of economic growth, social inclusion and job creation, and providing support to employability and labour mobility in coastal and inland communities which depend on fishing and aquaculture, including the diversification of activities within fisheries and into other sectors of maritime economy.”
DAERA directly manages the other five EMFF priorities. If a project can be supported under another priority it cannot be supported under Priority 4.
EMFF – PRIORITY 4 OBJECTIVES Art 63 of the EMFF regulation (no. 508/2014) refers to the implementation of CLLD strategies; and outlines five specific objectives to be supported:
A. Adding value, creating jobs, attracting young people and promoting innovation at all stages of the supply chain of fishery and aquaculture products
B. Supporting diversification inside or outside commercial fisheries, lifelong learning and job creation in fisheries and aquaculture areas
C. Enhancing and capitalising on the environmental assets of the fisheries and aquaculture areas, including operations to mitigate climate change
D. Promoting social well-being and cultural heritage in fisheries and aquaculture areas, including fisheries, aquaculture and maritime cultural heritage
E. Strengthen the role of fisheries communities in local development and governance of local fisheries resources and maritime activities
These five objectives are consistent for all FLAG projects across the EU, and cannot be changed. Therefore, these objectives will guide this strategy and the projects it can support.
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FLAG STRATEGY EVALUATION SEAFLAG submitted their first FLAG strategy in August 2013. In total £2m was subsequently allocated across four themes and programme administration, see Appendix V for breakdown. Whilst there were many successes (e.g. branding, strategic fit, FLAG staff/operations) key lessons learned included:
• Need for targets and indicative spend per theme • Encourage and enable more project applications, especially from private businesses • Ensuring the strategy was in place earlier and promoted widely • Ensure staff training is identified and supplied • Reduce the possibility of underspend
The lessons will be applied throughout this strategy.
REPORT BACKGROUND This strategy builds on the work of the previous FLAG strategy, and its subsequent 2015 evaluation. Additionally, the strategy learns from DAERA research, reports, and other pertinent community led strategies (e.g. village plans, masterplans and Council-led community plans). A public consultation process, involving a series of events in each village ensured direct community input into this strategy. Finally, this document was presented to – and shaped by – the FLAG-2 committee. It has been deliberately kept clear and concise to ensure it is easily read, shared and understood.
December 2017 3
area profile
DEFINING SEAFLAG AREA SEAFLAG covers 190 square miles on land encapsulating over 12,000 people. Ardglass, Annalong, Kilkeel and Portavogie are fishing dependent communities and account for the vast majority of the NI Fishing Industry.
Map 1.0: SEA-FLAG Defined Area
SEAFLAG area is defined as a 7- mile radius from the centre of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie.
Map Data © Google 2017
Ardglass, Annalong and Portavogie villages comprise approximately 2,000 people each. Kilkeel is a town with over 6,500 people. Although all are historical fishing communities, each area is unique.
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VILLAGE SUMMARIES Annalong is a coastal village that lies at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. It is 6 miles south of Newcastle on the main A2 coastal route. Originally the village centre was based on its harbour, and its involvement in the granite industry. Annalong services a rural hinterland providing a primary school, church, GP surgery, businesses, services and active community groups.
Ardglass was noted as a prosperous port as far back as the 15th century, when it was Ulster’s busiest port. Sitting by a natural inlet the harbour has two fishing piers and is fairly unique in being accessible at all states of tide. Even today, this sense of history persists with Ardglass having more medieval town houses (four) than any other town in Ireland; and eight archaeological sites in or near the village (e.g. Jordan’s Castle, opposite). Ardglass golf club attracts many visitors, and has the oldest golf clubhouse in the world. It is the smallest of the villages, with lower levels of economic activity.
Kilkeel is known as the capital of the ‘Kingdom of Mourne’. The development of a new harbour in the late 19th century led to Kilkeel expanding to become the biggest fishing port in NI. It is an important local service centre, especially for fishing organisations, producers and fleets. Kilkeel is also within the Mourne AONB and was previously famous for its granite production and dressing skills. It has the youngest population and the greatest number of ethnic minorities
Portavogie’s sheltering surrounding rocks and a sandy beach proved welcoming to boats, and the area was first settled by fishermen. A new industrialised harbour (1985) and a community centre (1999) were both officially opened by the Princess Royal. Located on the east coast of the Ards Peninsula, 16 miles from Newtownards, it acts as a local service centre and attracted significant residential growth in recent years.
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DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE The most recent and comprehensive demographical and statistical research in NI is the 2011 Census. NISRA provides information for each settlement in NI based on the census data as follows:
Table 1.1: NI Census 2011, NISRA Annalong Ardglass Kilkeel Portavogie NI Population (2011) 1,805 1,635 6,542 2,123
Under 16 20.83% 20.0% 21.27% 22.52% 20.95% Over 65 15.79% 16.45% 15.15% 15.11% 14.56% Median Age 38 37 35 38 37
Good Health 76.4% 75.29% 78.6% 76.77% 79.51%
No Access to Car/Van 21.44% 22.33% 21.98% 12.81% 22.7%
Ethnic Minorities 1.45% 1.27% 5.32% 1.87% 3.14%
Degree 14.7% 18.2% 14.74% 12.48% 23.65% No Qualifications 48.64% 45.64% 46.85% 49.97% 40.63% Economically Active 65.17% 59.52% 64.28% 61.08% 66.22%
Notable points are:
• Similar age profile to the NI average, with Kilkeel slightly younger • Significantly lower access to private transport in Portavogie • Higher concentration of ethnic minorities in Kilkeel • Poorer levels of educational attainment, with Ardglass more degree level qualifications • Lower economic activity levels, in particular Ardglass and Portavogie
SOCIO-ECONOMIC & DEPRIVATION PROFILE The NI Multiple Deprivation Measures (NIMDM) 2017 report is the most authoritative and recent analysis of deprivation in NI. It divides NI into 890 zones or Super Output Areas (SOAs). It then ranks them across seven domains before providing a single weighted average ranking. In summary: SEAFLAG covers 10 SOAs, 8 of which are below the NI average with 2 (Ardglass-1 and Kilkeel South-2) among the 20% most deprived areas in NI. Overall SEAFLAG fairs best for Living Environment and ranks worst for Income. More detail and individual rankings in Appendix II.
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FISHING SECTOR Local people consider the fishing sector to be in a healthy state. The NI fishing fleet comprises 351 licenced vessels with an average age of 38 years. Although the NI fleet is the oldest in the UK, they can increasingly be used for alternative reasons (e.g. off-shore guard duty). This brings in new revenue streams without impacting on their quotas. Since 2006, the number of fishermen in NI has increased by 43% - in sharp contrast to the rest of the UK, where numbers have all decreased. As at 2016, there are 700 full-time and 175 part-time fishermen in NI. Fish landings are distinguished between those landed by NI vessels and those landed in NI. By recent standards 2016 was a poor year for NI vessels but good for NI ports and harbours (for full details and further information see Appendix II):
Table 1.2: UK Sea Fisheries Statistics 2016, Marine Management Organisation NI Fishing Sector 2012 2016 5 Year Change Jobs 808 875 8.3%
All NI Registered Vessels Landings - Value £56,300,000 £41,600,000* (26.1%) Landings - Tonnage 51,700 29,400* (43.1%) Price per Tonne £1,089 £1,415 29.9%
Landings into NI by UK Vessels Landings - Value £28,900,000 £28,700,000 (0.7%) Landings - Tonnage 21,000 19,500 (7.1%) Price per Tonne £1,376 £1,472 6.9% *2016 figures distorted by the sale of the Voyager, NI’s largest pelagic vessel. This was replaced by a new 86m Voyager in 2017.
Most NI vessels are below 10m in length. This reduces the regulations they’re subject to and allows them more places to harbour at. Two in five vessels were built before 1980. The NI fishing sector is heavily reliant on just one species. These highlight the need for diversification and modernisation.
202 57% 38%
58% of NI Fishing Fleet by value of all landings of NI vessels are at least is below 10m are one species 36 years old
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Fish is categorised into three types – demersal, pelagic and shellfish. NI fishermen primarily rely on shellfish, in particular Dublin Bay Prawns (nephrops). Nephrops account for 57.5% by value of NI’s entire catch, and 40% by tonnage. Most of the NI catch is exported, with much of the fish bought in local supermarkets exported into NI. Since 1984 the UK has been a growing net importer of fish.
Fishermen are getting older with fewer local young people replacing them. Fishing organisations must search globally for crews. Many now come from the Philippines, Ghana and Eastern Europe. Recruiting, retaining and training crews is an issue. Language proficiency and existing qualifications can also pose challenges. This poses a risk to long-term sustainability and to alternative vessel use (e.g. off-shore guarding) that may require additional training, certification or compliance.
In summary, the fishing sector is diverse and has changed considerably over the last few decades and may change significantly in the future post Brexit. There needs to be a minimum threshold in certain sectors to sustain them and those indirectly relying on them. A focus on innovation and higher value goods is necessary to compete and provide higher margins. Diversification is required to reduce a precious reliance on one key species. Skilled apprenticeships are needed to replace key roles and people who may leave the industry over the next decade.
The fishing sector covers a broad spectrum, including at times competing interests that need to work together in the future. Fishing communities encompasses wider interests still (e.g. public services, community, businesses, sporting, heritage and environment) and need to carefully evolve to sustain and progress themselves in the times ahead.
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swot analysis & needs
SWOT ANALYSIS Based on the research to date, and in line with EMFF guidance a SWOT analysis is outlined below:
Table 2.1: SWOT Analysis – Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses
• Fishing sector is growing (jobs up 43% in the • Low demand for seafood in NI, barrier in itself last 10 years), in contrast to rest of UK and to development of high value products • Alternative income opportunities for vessels • Difficulty in getting young people interested (e.g. guard duty) in the fishing sector as a career • New £30m 86m Voyager launched in 2017 • Fleet is old (~40% built pre-1980) • Strong community spirit • Kilkeel Harbour upgrade delays • Proud maritime heritage • Harbour facilities and need for dredging • Natural environment and setting • Underdeveloped land and derelict/underused • Funding (e.g. EMFF, Coastal Funds, RDP) buildings that take from environment • Recent EI Schemes (e.g. Esplanade) have • Limited transport options for those without improved area access to a car • Strong FPOs that support fishing sector • Attracting visitor spend within village • Dedicated community organisations • Holiday rental accommodation options • Sports clubs play positive role in area • ‘Things to Do’ for young people and visitors • Aquaculture sector is robust • Poor youth, leisure and health facilities, with • Good places to live limited services for older people • Councils working together • Informal places to meet • Established FLAG groups across UK & Ireland • 1 in 2 has no qualifications
NI’s fishing Industry has fared comparatively better than the rest of the UK over the last few decades. Many fishing communities across the UK and Ireland face similar challenges and are testing out ideas to revive the local sector e.g. Last Fisherman Standing (Heritage), Catch Box (Fish Selling) and Fishing School. It is important that NI is willing to work with and learn from other UK, Irish & European FLAGs.
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Table 2.2: SWOT Analysis – Opportunities & Threats Opportunities Threats
• Mourne Way and natural setting • Brexit – uncertainty with respect to long- • Growing tourism industry in NI term regulation, quotas and funding. NI has • Off-shore energy – guarding and facilitating gained from significant EFF & EMFF funding • Harbours are in place and are historical focal opportunities that may not be replaced points for villages • Inability to recruit and retain crews with good • Community and sports clubs keen to improve English, training and fishing skills. skills, capacity and facilities • Training needs study completed but difficult • Growth of online services (e.g. Airbnb, to retain dedicated training range in NI Booking.com) that make it easier to attract • Reduced and/or increasingly centralised and facilitate tourists within the area public services • New village plans for Ardglass and Portavogie • Quotas and regulation (e.g. landed fish) • Maritime history and heritage of wider area • Demographics, older fishermen (and skills) • Internet - making it easier to start, manage not being replaced and ageing population and grow businesses from rural areas • Failure to exploit funding opportunities • Harbour development plans in place • Loss of key people in few key positions • 86m Voyager, largest new vessel in UK/RoI • Delays in funding to key infrastructure • UK opt out of London Fisheries Convention • Loss of critical threshold and/or competition
NEEDS ANALYSIS Needs were also expressed by DAERA and the local community that tie in with findings thus far.
Community Needs Comment cards returned at the public consultations (see p12) highlighted the following needs:
• Harbour Development & Infrastructure • Visitor Accommodation, Services & Appeal • Training – Fishing, Business • Refurb/New Quayside Buildings • Skills e.g. Boat Building, Repairs, Engines, Net Mending • Trailer and Tele-Handler at Ardglass Harbour • Portavogie – Football & Rowing Club Houses Investment
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DAERA – NI Fishing Needs DAERA published a report in 2015 outlining the needs of the NI fishing industry that could be met through EMFF. Of twenty needs identified, eight related to this strategy as follows:
• Ensuring key skills and critical infrastructure are preserved during transitory phases • Encourage diversification into other activities in the marine environment • Support for adaptation to climate and other environmental change • Improve supply chain mechanisms and market access with a view to value adding and delivering higher value prices to fishermen • Addressing price decline • Improving access to credit and other forms of financing • Improving the resilience of operators who depend on very few species • Maintaining a critical mass to ensure viable infrastructure
Further Needs: New village plans are currently being revised and/or created in the SEAFLAG area (e.g. Portavogie). These will be published in early 2018 and will provide more detail on the needs of the specific village areas. They will have a wider remit and be aimed primarily at RDP funding.
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consultations
OPEN & PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS Three public consultations were held in Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie. Phone calls, face-to-face meetings and two presentations to the FLAG committee were also carried out. Public events involved explaining the origins and potential for Priority 4 within the local area. Group discussions followed to address any queries raised. These built on the extensive consultation process previously undertaken by the FLAG strategy and local village plans. All forms, slides and information was available free online.
Representative & Inclusive All sectors within the local fishing communities were represented at the public consultations. One third of attendees were from the community sector, one third from the business sector and one third representing individuals, fishing sector and other groups - including colleges and elected councillors.
Registration details were taken on the night, with attendees asked to complete a feedback form.
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RANKING PRIORITIES As part of the consultation process local people were asked to rank their top three EMFF objectives. This was recorded on the feedback forms provided to the attendees on the night. The forms were then collected and tallied. Funding was then apportioned proportionately to the number of votes cast:
Table 3.1 Community Led Prioritisation of EMFF Objectives Objective % £ Rounded A 26% £526,316 £525,000 B 27% £549,708 £550,000 C 12% £245,614 £245,000 D 22% £432,749 £430,000 E 12% £245,614 £245,000 100% £2,000,000 £2,000,000
PREFERRED METHOD OF SUPPORT To improve the quality and quantity of projects, people were asked what support they would like FLAG- 2 to provide. Respondents were keen for more information, more hands-on help with application queries and more access to professional advice, as illustrated below:
There were many questions and queries with respect to eligibility and specific rules that could not be answered at the events. This indicates interest and the need to provide, and widely publicise, this level of detail as soon as possible to help people prepare potential applications. Further information on the consultation, in particular the comment cards, is contained in Appendix III.
December 2017 13
aims & targets
VISION SEA FLAG is representative of the sectors it supports. It seeks to sustain the fishing industry and associated communities; and encourage a bottom-up approach to developing viable projects.
SEA FLAG vision statement:
“The SEA FLAG has been established to provide support for the sustainable development of the fisheries area. SEA FLAG seeks to address the social and economic issues in the fishing dependent communities through the development of community and private sector capacity to initiate, deliver and manage sustainable projects.”
At the SEA FLAG committee meeting of 22nd November 2017, the following four strategic goals were agreed for the new fund:
1. SEA FLAG fund will be flexible, fair and easily managed 2. SEA FLAG fund will be an open, appealing and accessible opportunity to people, businesses and organisations across the three areas 3. SEA FLAG fund will support a broad variety of quality projects that can be delivered on time 4. SEA FLAG fund will represent a sound investment that improves the social, economic and environmental conditions of the NI Fishing Communities
TARGETS Targets are important to measure performance and prioritise investment. To be effective targets must be meaningful, easily measurable and readily understood. FLAG-2’s targets are based on evaluation of FLAG-1, comparison with RDP (2014-2020), DAERA guidance, consultation feedback and specific wording of EMFF objectives. Full explanatory notes and derivation are contained in Appendix IV.
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Table 4.1 SEAFLAG Funding Targets – Split by Objective Indicators A B C D E Total Fund £525,000 £550,000 £245,000 £435,000 £245,000 £2,000,000 Project Spend £1,165,000 £1,220,000 £340,000 £600,000 £340,000 £3,665,000 Projects Funded 12 13 4 7 4 40
New Jobs (FTE) 14 15 7 12 7 55 New Business 8 8 1 3 2 22
New Product or 4 4 Service 10 New 16 56 8 15 35 Qualification 150
Improved 1 3 2 Facilities 6 Social Well-Being 1,000 3,000 2,000 6,000 Environmental TBC
All targets must be achieved within the SEAFLAG timeframe and be verified by DAERA. Primary targets are new jobs and new businesses, as highlighted above. Indicative funding guidelines are below based on research and consultation feedback to date. These should be re-examined in March 2019, as part of the wider interim review. Grant rates (bottom row) are set by EMFF and non-negotiable. £50k 40 £125k
average project grant number of projects project grant cap
50% 5% 80% max grant rate for max grant rate for non- min cash contribution commercial projects commercial projects
December 2017 15
delivery
MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE Experience from administering, delivering and evaluating FLAG-1 should provide a solid base to work on. Having DAERA Fisheries Team, NMDDC, and FLAG Committee meetings in the same place should also facilitate communication and working relationships. New personnel will be required immediately to set-up and run the SEA-EMFF team. Prospective SEA-EMFF team members should be familiar with fishing communities, funding programmes, social media and engaging with local communities.
Panels, policies and training need to be put in place in respect of project assessment, selection, appeals, monitoring and procurement. Given the EMFF 2014-2020 timeframe it is important that all eligibility and application rules are clarified by March 2018. A call for applications should then be opened as soon as feasible. All parties must be clear as to roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures and be suitably trained for those roles. Perception, and governance, wise it is crucial that a robust conflict of interest policy is in place and that all projects are independently assessed. In addition, all selection, assessment and monitoring records should be retained and stored securely.
SUPPORTING APPLICATONS To fulfil their strategic goals, SEA-EMFF should support potential applicants by way of:
• Clearly defining eligibility rules, targets, timeframes and guidelines before first call opened • Promoting call widely and equally across the three main fishing communities • Ensuring at least an 8-week window for applications to be submitted from call opening • Offering roadshows to promote fund, clarify key issues and outline scoring matrix • Encourage groups to consider joint applications that lead to stronger projects • Sign-posting potential financial support (e.g. match funding and working capital) providers • Sign-posting a variety of community, public and private sector partners who can offer advice
SEA-EMFF should consider engaging professional advice and consultants to assist applicants, where workshop feedback and/or application numbers (e.g. registrations) indicate this is required.
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MONITORING SEA-EMFF need to decide on milestones, monitoring, evaluations, phased or performance based payments and clawbacks. This is to reduce risk of underspends, ensure individual project targets are realistic and that overall SEA-EMFF funds are invested fairly, sustainably and successfully. Monitoring should be a standalone agenda item at each SEA-FLAG meeting.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATION SEA-EMFF should create an outline marketing strategy at the outset and review it regularly, and the resources available to sustain it. In addition to an updated website, SEA-EMFF should sustain twitter and Facebook accounts as low cost efficient and speedy ways to connect with people. These should be in place before the workshops and mentioned prominently in all other promotional material. Social media use should be proportionate to marketing goals and in line with respective employer policies.
A series of workshops should be held when the first call is announced, and promoted widely online and via press releases and press adverts. All FLAG-2 members should be requested to promote details of the new SEA-EMFF fund on their websites, communiques and member correspondence. Marketing effectiveness should be included in the interim review.
December 2017 17
appendices
APPENDIX (I) FLAG-2 Committee
APPENDIX (II) FLAG Area – Profile
APPENDIX (III) Consultation Contribution Form
APPENDIX (IV) Target Information
APPENDIX (V) FLAG-1 Spend
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APPENDIX (I) FLAG-2 Committee
Table 5.1: FLAG-2 Committee Name Organisation Alan McCulla ANIFPO Alderman Angus Carson Ards & North Down Borough Council Caroline Nolan Strangford Lough & Lecale Partnership Councillor Dermot Curran Newry Mourne & Down District Council David Henderson David Henderson Design David Vint Southern Regional College Harry Wick NIFPO James Cunningham Kilkeel Chamber of Commerce Janice Symington Down Business Centre John Rooney Scampi Processors Association Katherine Coffey NI Women in Fisheries Kevin Quigley NIFHA Lynn Gilmore Seafish UK Martin Carey Mourne Heritage Trust Nicholas McCrickard County Down Rural Community Network
As at 30th November 2017
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APPENDIX (II) FLAG Area – Profile
FISHING SECTOR - PROFILE Overall, the NI fishing sector is considered to be in a relatively healthy state with a fleet of 351 licenced vessels. EU regulations, quotas, funding and environmental guidelines heavily influence the local fishing sector. Fishing sector is diverse and includes: trawlers, fishing boats, inshore fishing, aquaculture, producers, processors, harbours, auctioneers, boat builders and repairers, crew, fishermen organisations, training providers, and those selling or distributing final fish products. Many other local businesses and families rely indirectly on the fishing sector.
Fish is categorised into three types – demersal, pelagic and shellfish. NI fishermen primarily rely on shellfish, in particular Dublin Bay Prawns (nephrops). Nephrops account for 57.5% by value of NI’s entire catch, and 40% by tonnage. Most of the NI catch is exported, with much of the fish bought in local supermarkets exported into NI.
Overall the UK fishing fleet is the second biggest in the EU by gross tonnage, although the number of vessels has fallen 29% between 1996 and 2016. In NI, there are 351 fishing vessels, of which 202 (58%) were under 10m and 149 (42%) were over 10m (UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency and Fisheries Administration). The NI fishing fleet is older by comparison to the UK fleet, with 41% of vessels built before 1980 and two-thirds before 1990. Many NI vessels are therefore less efficient and costlier to run than other UK vessels.
NI is home to two of the larger Fish Producer Organisations (FPOs). NIFPO has 239 members and is the second biggest in the UK. Anglo NI FPO (ANIFPO) has 76 members and is the 6th biggest in the UK. Since 2006, the number of fishermen in NI has increased by 43% - in sharp contrast to the rest of the UK, where numbers have all decreased. There are 700 Full-time and 175 part-time fishermen in NI. The dangers are ever present. In the last five years (2012-2016), there have been 961 accidents across the UK fleet resulting in 34 fatalities and 60 lost vessels.
NI Landings – show decrease (see graph). Fishermen can choose were to land their fish based on harbour accessibility, producer availability and prices. Producers require a minimum throughout to be viable. Non-NI vessels can land at NI ports and vice-versa highlighting competition for boats and producers. The gradual phasing in of the Landing Obligation (Discards Ban) will present a challenge to fishermen and producers. The legislation is complex but in simple terms seeks to ensure that all fish caught at sea are landed.
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Noble Indicators | NI Multiple Deprivation Measure - PROFILE
The ‘Noble Indicators’ are used to measure deprivation within NI. The most recent Noble report was published in November 2017. Noble Indicators are named after the original author, and categorise deprivation across seven domains (often referred to as ‘indicators’). For statistical reasons NI is divided into 890 zones, called Super Output Areas (SOAs) with a population of approximately 2,100 each. Deprivation statistics are scored for each domain and then each SOA is ranked from 1 (most deprived) to 890 (least deprived) within that domain. The Multiple Deprivation Measure (MDM) is a weighted average of the seven domains, providing a single unified deprivation rank. The SOAs for the SEAFLAG area and their noble indicator scores are highlighted below:
Table 5.2: NI Multiple Deprivation Measures 2017, NISRA Ardglass 1 Ardglass Annalong 1 Annalong 2 Kilkeel Kilkeel Kilkeel Kilkeel Portavogie Portavogie 2 Central 1 Central 2 South 1 South 2 1 2 MDM 176 305 363 187 540 258 500 113 225 472
Income 285 302 169 66 376 445 570 78 226 457 Employment 115 263 574 300 534 177 412 122 218 445 Health Deprivation & 204 372 590 288 570 212 514 158 276 438 Disability Education, Skills & 175 474 441 282 405 272 335 201 208 419 Training Access to Services 227 104 153 302 563 383 345 401 203 157 Living Environment 612 350 236 563 437 234 623 365 763 691 Crime & Disorder 259 449 530 355 333 185 190 228 414 545
8 of 10 SOAs are below the NI average with 2 (Ardglass 1 and Kilkeel South 2) of the 10 among the 20% most deprived wards in NI. Kilkeel shows the stark difference between two neighbouring SOAs. SEAFLAG is considered above average for Living Environment but worst for income.
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APPENDIX (III) Consultation Contribution Form
SURVEY FORM
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SURVEY FORM - FEEDBACK: Comments and feedback contained in the collected consultation forms:
ARDGLASS • More information through social media (Fishing Sector) • Tourism should be a priority (Business Sector) • Too much paperwork (Individual) • Advice on Governance Being in Order (Community, Business, Fishing Sectors)
Sample Project Sizes: £400k
KILKEEL N/A
PORTAVOGIE • Is there a need to help people in the local area to identify suitable project and then do preparation work? (Councillor) • New Fishermen cannot avail of funding as can’t submit 3-year accounts. Can you not have some form of funding for new fishermen/vessels to make vessels safe i.e. life rafts and jacket with PLBs (Business & Community Group)* • More funding available (Fishing Sector)
*Eligibility guidelines and application processes have changed in recent years. They will now facilitate a broader range of applications. Also, new businesses are a primary target under the new strategy.
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COMMENT CARDS – NEEDS OF THE AREA: Comments received via individual comment cards spread throughout the room.
ARDGLASS:
Ardglass Harbour Developments: (1) Harbour Deepening Technical Study (~£60,000) (2) Fishing Boat Repair Facility (Slips? x2) – Technical Study
Community Investment Infrastructure Facilities
Tourism Increased Beds Visitor Services Visitor Attractions Visitor Recreation
Infrastructure for Industry Ensuring the Harbour is Operating at Full Capacity
Holiday Accommodation
Local training needs to be identified Local delivery of requirements of maritime courses Educating local business owners of subsidies and training support available
Tourism to be enhanced to the standard of towns such as Newcastle and Carlingford
Refurbishment & development of old Quayside Buildings Provision of new buildings to be used by fishing fleet for repairs/gear/storage etc
Increase in Maritime Skills Facility for Recreational Water use – Rowing & Boat Building
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Investment in Skills Wood Work Boat Building Boat Repairs
Touring Caravans Motor Homes Camping Glamping Air BnB
Jobs Environment Somethings to draw more tourists to the village, and accommodation to keep them
Regeneration of harbour facilities to enhance employment and create job stability and variety
Job Creation Refurbish Ardglass Arms to provide bar & accommodation
Trailer & Tele-Handler An adjustable boat submersible trailer of 15 tonne capacity (~£50,000); and a tele-handler to manoeuvre it. This would facilitate the majority of leisure craft using the marina and also fishing boats up to 15 tonnes. All of which need to be lifted to dry storage and repairs at least once a year. This would also act as a pilot scheme for a major hoist for larger fishing boats. A hoist would allow the trailer to move the lighter boats to other work areas. The tele-handler would be of great benefit to the fishing and leisure boats in its own right.
Community owned and managed motor home parking facility at the marina.
KILKEEL N/A
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PORTAVOGIE
Football Club – Clubhouse 250+ children from multi-cultural society Building for Mental Health awareness talks Finish project already started with 4G pitch
Football Updated facilities (i.e. Clubhouse)
Portavogie Regeneration Forum Coffee Shop (social enterprise) Museum (Fishing) Develop tourism SFITA Net Mending Workshops Engineering Course – Needs Working Engine & Place to House it
Portavogie Coastal Rowing Club Boathouse somewhere to store 2 boats and equipment Somewhere to launch the skiffs from
Focus on safety training in fishing industry Investment in training – new regulations ILO-88 and STOW-P
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APPENDIX (IV) Target Information
TARGETS Targets are important to measure performance and prioritise investment. To be effective targets must be meaningful, easily measurable and readily understood. No targets were set for the previous FLAG- 1 funding. However, the FLAG-1 evaluation and A&NDBC’s new RDP provide a guide as follows:
Table 5.3: Comparative EU Funding Targets Indicators Unit FLAG-1* RDP^ (2014-2020) Total Fund £716,024 £3,085,000 Per New Job 27 £26,519 £20,986 Per Job Safeguarded 130 £5,508 Per New Business 30 £23,867 £25,000 Per Existing Business £50,000 - £75,000 Per Qualification 102 £7,020 *FLAG-1 Theme 2: Business Development and Diversification ^RDP Business Investment Scheme
Under the RDP’s Rural Basic Services Programme £2.055m has been set aside for improving 15 community and youth facilities. This averages at £137,5000 per facility, with individual caps set at £300,000 for a community facility and £50,000 for a youth facility.
FLAG-2 TARGET INDICATORS Applying the same indicators to the FLAG-2 Fund:
Table 5.4: FLAG-2 Target Indicators Indicators Average Unit FLAG-2 Notes Total Fund £2,000,000 Leverage 1.83 £3,665,000 1 Projects Funded £50,000 30 2 New Jobs £25,000 55 3 New Business £25,000 22 4 New Product/Service £75,000 8 5 New Qualification/Skills £7,500 130 6 Improved Facility £125,000 5 7 Social Well-Being Activity Sessions 5,000 8 Environmental TBC 9
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Table 5.5: FLAG-2 Target Indicators – Explanatory Notes EXPLANATORY NOTES 1 Under FLAG-1 the fund-project leverage ratio was 1.68, i.e. for every £1 funded via FLAG 68p was provided in match funding. Match funding ratios have changed for FLAG-2. Therefore, assuming that objectives (a)-(b) are funded at 45% (90% of 50% cap on commercial projects); and objectives (c)-(e) funded at 72% (90% of 80% cap for non-commercial projects) and allowing for rounding the new leverage ratio is 1.8325. Equating to a total estimated project cost of £3,665,000
2 Under FLAG-1, excluding outliers (projects over £200,000 or under £5,000) the average project investment was £48,630. Rounding this up to £50,000 keeps it consistent with FLAG-1 and in line with the “relatively small local projects” guidance provided by EMFF.
3 DAERA has confirmed that SEAFLAG funding should provide 55 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs. This equates to £36,364 grant per FTE job, and is a higher amount of assistance per job than under RDP (Business Investment Support) or FLAG-1
4 DAERA has confirmed that SEAFLAG funding should provide 22 new business. New businesses should have assistance capped at £25,000. This is consistent with RDP funding caps, in line with ratio under FLAG-1, EMFF (UK) goals and desire to encourage a variety of projects. New business will require significant match funding (minimum 50%), so caps also need to be cognisant of that. All caps will be examined as part of the interim reviews
5 Established businesses should be able to secure up to £125,000 to develop new products and services. EMFF specifically references “adding value”, “promoting innovation” and “supporting diversification”. Along with job creation these should be easier for an established business seeking to invest. Eight commercial businesses should be supported.
6 Life-long learning was mentioned within (B) with improved governance mentioned in (E). Research and consultations identified demand for improved skills within non-commercial sector. Qualifications vary considerably in scale and sophistication, with new skills hard to measure. However, each new business, new job, new product and service will also require some level of new training. There were 130 qualifications provided under FLAG-1, and a similar target seems appropriate under FLAG-2 with most under objectives (B) & (E).
7 Research and consultations reviewed a need for new and improved facilities. Based on RDP average of £137,000 and requirement for ‘relatively small’ projects there will be a cap of
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EXPLANATORY NOTES £125,000 per community, social well-being and maritime cultural heritage project (e.g. facility improvements). The target is between 4-6 facility improvements, funded through objectives (C)-(E).
8 Each facility improvement should create a minimum additional 1,000 activity sessions per annum, based at or from the improved facility. There is a combined minimum target of 5,000- 6,000 sessions across the SEAFLAG area. This will be primarily from Objective (D), but will also be applied to Objectives (C) and (E).
9 Environmental Targets are to be confirmed on a case by case basis, but should refer to a clearly recognisable, independent and authoritative target. This will be examined closely in the post project evaluation.
Job Safeguarding has been excluded among the final targets as it not required by DAERA or RDP; or mentioned by EMFF. EMFF specifically refers to “job creation” and provides a clear target of 55 FTE new jobs.
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APPENDIX (V) FLAG-1 SPEND
FLAG-1 SPEND Under FLAG-1 Strategy, launched in August 2013, £2m was allocated to 21 projects and programme administration as follows:
Table 5.6: FLAG-1 Spend FLAG 1 Themes Project Grant Match Funding Total Cost Community Development 2 £419,071 £159,998 £579,069 Business Development & 12 £639,209 £1,181,877 £1,821,086 Diversification Tourism & Leisure 3 £634,095 £0 £634,095 Development Technical Assistance 3 £64,965 £12,810 £77,775 Programme Admin 1 £242,512 £0 £242,512 TOTAL 21 £1,999,852 £1,354,684 £3,354,536
Based on figures supplied by DAERA in October 2017
December 2017 30
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Unclassified
ITEM 16
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Regeneration Service
Date of Report 23 January 2018
File Reference 160135
Legislation N/A
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Village Renewal - RDP Capital Applications
Attachments N/A
Background
As Members will be aware, the Rural Development Programme provides funding support for village renewal through needs identified within integrated village plans. A village plan is a working document which has the support of the community and provides a needs-based strategic framework to co-ordinate specific development actions.
Following on from the Village Action Plan prioritisation process which took place at the end of 2016, meetings to discuss Council led projects with village groups are ongoing to identify suitable projects to meet the Rural Development Programme’s eligibility criteria. The following projects have been identified, in consultation with the local community groups and Council officers:
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Unclassified
Ballywalter
The development of Ballywalter Harbour
In September 2017 Council approved that Harbour Improvements be undertaken in Ballywalter and that an application for funding to the Rural Development Programme be prepared by officers. Due to the availability of funding for harbours from a separate government department, the emphasis of the funding application to the Rural Development Programme has changed and proposes to focus on an application for low level lighting of the promenade to include the play ship, access to the beach from the car park, additional seating and Aire de Service points.
In addition, it is proposed to carry out a technical study on the Lime Kilns. The Lime Kilns in Ballywalter ceased to operate commercially in the 1930s. The structure is currently underutilised and the Community have expressed a wish that it be restored to become a heritage feature in the Village. In addition to the benefits this would have on the village, there is potential to attract tourists and schools. The initial stage of this project is to appoint a consultant to develop a study into the Lime Kilns, which will seek to explore their potential restoration from a tourism, heritage and educational perspective and to provide options for the restoration works and the marketing of the site, which will be used as a business case to secure funding as and when it becomes available.
Therefore, it is now possible to implement a larger project incorporating the harbour and promenade which will bring about wider benefits for the long-term regeneration of Ballywalter Village. Officers recently met with seven members of the local Community group, where the majority present were in favour of this project seeing the positive benefits this could bring to local residents and the potential to increase the number of visitors to the area.
It is estimated that these works will cost up to £100,000, however, this may change on the completion of full technical drawings and procurement. There is a potential to obtain funding of at least £50,000 from the Village Renewal Scheme.
Cloughey
The development of Warren Carpark
Cloughey’s Village Plan identified improvement works to Warren Car Park. From initial discussions with community representatives, it is felt that these improvements are still a priority project for the Village. However, this will be discussed in more detail as part of the review and update of their Village Plan. In the interim, officers will further investigate development options in terms of softening the landscape of the carpark and the associated costs.
It is estimated that these works will cost up to £100,000, however, this may change on the completion of full technical drawings and procurement. There is a potential to obtain funding of at least £50,000 from the Village Renewal Scheme.
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Unclassified
Groomsport
Environmental Improvement Project
As part of the review and updating of Groomsport’s Village Plan, an Environmental Improvement Scheme has been identified, which contributes to the revitalisation of Groomsport Seafront, including new planters and the resurfacing of pathway from the Main Street to the beach. Further consultation is required with community representatives and relevant Council departments to finalise the exact details of the scheme.
This project would enhance the existing walkways, increasing accessibility for existing users and visitors. It is felt that it is important to build on the success of Ulster in Bloom and Best Kept Village by using this funding opportunity to address the findings identified in these reports.
It is estimated that the Environmental Improvement Scheme would cost up to £50,000, however this may change on the completion of full technical drawings and procurement. There is a potential to obtain a minimum of £37,500 from the Village Renewal Scheme.
Carrowdore
Environmental Improvement Project – Technical Design
It is highlighted as priority in the review and updating of Carrowdore’s Village Plan that the village requires an environmental improvement scheme to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the village and create a village heart. The proposed scheme would include the provision of street furniture, landscaping and picnic facilities.
It is estimated that the technical design phase of this project will cost up to £6,665, subject to a quotation exercise. There is a potential to obtain £5,000 from the Village Renewal Scheme and an indicative match funding requirement of £1,665 from Council.
Conclusion
Subject to Council approval, officers will liaise with community representatives in Ballywalter, Cloughey, Groomsport and Carrowdore to ensure that the proposed projects reflect priorities as per their Village Plans.
However, due to the time constraints and the requirement to put in place funding pre- requisites linked to the Rural Development Programme (Village Renewal Scheme), officers request approval to progress the development of these projects to full application stage (as outlined above) to secure this funding for the benefit of the rural villages in the Borough.
It is estimated that an indicative match funding requirement of circa £110K will be required from the Council to implement the proposed projects. A budget provision for this is included in the Council’s Capital Plan.
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Unclassified
A further report will be presented in due course.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council agrees the above.
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Unclassified
ITEM 17
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Regeneration Service
Date of Report 16 January 2018
File Reference REG 37
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Improvements to Ballyholme Beach
Attachments Appendix One - Proposed scheme and costings
Following a Notice of Motion, it was agreed to request a report on the upgrading of the beach, promenade and facilities at Ballyholme. Officers in the Assets and Property Services Section have reviewed the area and considered the comments made by the elected members at the Regeneration and Development Committee. They have subsequently produced a map, Appendix One, showing the areas and what could be done at each. If all this work was to be undertaken a budget, circa £280K, would be required.
Currently no capital budget request has been made for this area as part of the rate setting exercise. However, as part of the new Planned Maintenance Schedule minor works to the Ballyholme Beach location will be undertaken in the next financial year.
As members will be aware the Council has agreed, subject to budget setting, to undertake a Coastal Masterplan for Bangor. This will be a comprehensive review of the area from Pickie Park to Ballymacormick Point. Substantial capital investment would be required to deliver the out workings of the Plan and a provision has been included in the Council’s Capital Plan. If this proposal proceeds as planned, it is
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Unclassified envisaged that works to the Ballyholme Beach area will commence in the financial year 2019 to 2020.
RECOMMENDATION
In light of the above it is recommended that the Council does not proceed with the works to the Ballyholme Beach area at present, but waits until the Coastal Masterplan is completed and the agreed works programmed into the overall schedule.
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J Replace existing railings with type F E more fitting of the area. Cost - Provide a lifeguard watch EDVHGRQOLQPDQG J WRZHUKXW&RVW end posts. depending on services. Staffing G costs should also be considered.
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ARDS AND NORTH DOWN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Assets and Property Services Department
PROJECT: Ballyholme Promenade
DRAWING: Proposal Plan
DRAWN BY: SCALE: AS NTS CHECKED BY: DATE: GA 28/11/17 Choose a Report Classification
ITEM 18
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Choose a Report Classification
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development Committee
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Chief Executive
Responsible Head of Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning Service
Date of Report 05 February 2018
File Reference RDP22
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Belfast City Region Growth Deal Update
Attachments Belfast City Region Deal Digital Infrastructure Strategy
Council approved Ards and North Down Borough Council’s participation in the development of the Belfast City Region Growth Deal in August 2017. Work continues apace across a number of work streams, under the key priority areas of Infrastructure, Innovation and Employability and Skills including:
Employability and Skills. The University of Ulster is currently completing the Skills Barometer for the Region. The Colleges, including SERC, are currently developing an Employability and skills paper for consideration.
Industrial Strategic Framework. This will provide a strategic framework which supports the delivery of the UK and NI Industrial Strategies at a Belfast City Region level and underpins the development of the Belfast City Region Deal. Council’s are collectively developing the Framework with the Draft Strategic Framework planned for end February 2018.
Page 1 of 3
Choose a Report Classification
Digital Infrastructure Strategy. Digital infrastructure and connectivity has been agreed as a key priority area within the Belfast City Region Deal. Future Cities Catapult have been engaged to support the development of a Digital Infrastructure Strategy for the Region, details on this are included in Appendix I. Draft Strategy planned for end of March 2018.
Infrastructure Business Case. KPMG are currently working with Council’s to develop an agreed refined ‘Medium List’ of projects which will be used as the basis for further consultation and negotiation with UK Government and Northern Ireland Civil Service. This will be undertaken by end April 2018.
The Qualitative Impact Assessment will assess potential projects against: Strategic Sectoral Alignment Long List – demonstrates how the (65) project supports one of the priority growth sectors identified within the Belfast Initial Medium List Region Industrial Strategic (c 40) Framework Project Impact – demonstrates how the Qualitative Impact project supports Assessment employment opportunities (KPMG) and/or productivity. State of Readiness – Refinded Medium projects should be capable List of being delivered within a (c 25) 10 year timescale. A high level funding plan is also
required.
As agreed by Council in November 2017, Ards and North Down projects currently being submitted to KPMG include:
1. Whitespots Regional Park, including WWI legacy and Mining Heritage. 2. Bangor Waterfront Masterplan (Pickie to Ballyholme with a major tourist attraction) 3. Business Enterprise Zone/Park 4. Extension of the Belfast Rapid Transport to Newtownards. This will be further discussed with DfI. If agreed this may become a regional bid across four Council’s. 5. Broadband connectivity. This forms part of the Digital Strategy as outlined above.
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The initial medium list included a possible station halt at Belfast City Airport and improvements to the Ards Peninsula Coastal Road. These are currently being discussed with DfI and Translink and may form part of the regional city bid and/or other possible funding streams.
The next steps in securing the Belfast Region City Deal include:
All council partners have agreed to the principle that any required studies or reports to progress the Belfast City Region Deal will be jointly commissioned, with costs being apportioned on the basis of each council’s estimated penny product (EPP). This equates to c12% for AND Council, with a budget allocated within the 18/19 estimates.
The next Joint Elected Members Engagement Forum is scheduled for Monday 12th February 2019 in Downshire Civic Centre, Downpatrick. Members will receive an update on the progress to date and key milestones and hear from Greater Manchester on how they developed and delivered their City Deal.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Council approves this report.
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WEDNESDAY, 24 JANUARY 2018 VERSION 3
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY A proposal to co-develop a Digital Infrastructure Strategy to unlock opportunities for inclusive economic growth, and to support the Belfast City Region Deal Ambitious Proposition.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 1
Thank you for considering Future Cities Catapult for your proposed Digital Infrastructure Strategy which will support and make the case for Digital Infrastructure in the Belfast City Region Deal and Ambitious Proposition.
The following proposal builds on our meeting and presentation to the Chief Executives of the Belfast City Region Deal Governance Forum and the SRO for the City Deal, Ronan Cregan, which took place on 10th January 2018. The proposal includes two key deliverables in April 2018. These are a Belfast City Region Digital Infrastructure Strategy, and a Portfolio of Digital Infrastructure Projects Selected for Potential Inclusion in the City Deal.
The proposal has been designed to deliver a standalone Digital Infrastructure Strategy to support the digital infrastructure ask of the Ambitious Proposition while looking at the opportunities for digitalisation across the other four pillars of the City Deal. It will also lay the foundations
for the development of the Project Initiation Documents as requested by
DCLG.
Once you have reviewed this document we will arrange a time to talk you through our proposal and address any questions you may have.
Yours Sincerely,
Erin Walsh Head of City Strategies at Future Cities Catapult [email protected] | 07718584315
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 2
1. WHO WE ARE 3
2. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND BRIEF 4
3. MAKING THE CASE FOR DIGITAL
INFRASTRUCTURE 5
4. PROGRAMME OF WORK 9
5. PRICING 10
6. MEET THE TEAM 11
Contents 7. APPENDIX: PROJECT PLAN 13
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 3 1. Who we are
Future Cities Catapult is a Government-backed global centre of excellence in urban innovation. We champion innovation and technologies that increase the productivity, inclusivity, resilience and sustainability of cities and communities. This is supported by our network of collaborating cities where we test and develop new products and services with the aim of accelerating them to market. We help build investment cases to enable the adoption of these innovations that will help to transform cities on a global scale.
At our Urban Innovation Centre, we bring businesses, ambitious entrepreneurs and start-ups, universities, innovators and local authorities together to collaborate and solve the problems that cities face. We provide world-class facilities to support the development of innovative solutions. The team at Future Cities Catapult is multidisciplinary to tackle the complex and diverse challenges that our cities and communities face. Our team has a wide breadth of experience and expertise in the areas of data science, human behaviour, engineering, service design, economics, planning, urban design, creative design, and we bring a uniquely holistic perspective to urban innovation.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 4 2. Project background and brief
THE BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL
The six local authorities around the Belfast Region are seeking a City Deal to unlock barriers to economic growth. A City Deal will create a mechanism to channel funding from partners, local and national, private and public, towards investments that will generate inclusive economic growth across the region.
The local authorities in the Belfast Region are:
• Belfast City Council; • Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council; • Ards & North Down Borough Council;
• Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council; • Mid & East Antrim Borough Council; and • Newry, Mourne & Down District Council.
The investments to be funded by the City Deal are to be encapsulated in an Ambitious Proposition that will create a step change in the regional economy. The Ambitious Proposition will cover five areas: • Infrastructure • Digital • Employability & Skills • Tourism • Innovation Future Cities Catapult presented to the six Chief Executives and SRO of the Governance Forum on 10th January 2018 to outline the importance of digital infrastructure and to show how it has been incorporated into other City Deals. We have provided a copy of our presentation for your reference. This proposal lays out how Future Cities Catapult can support the authorities within the Belfast City Region to develop the digital element of the Ambitious Proposition.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 5 3. Making the Case for Digital Infrastructure
THE NEED FOR DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
“Digital infrastructure allows us to lead modern lives and to do business in the
technologies and industries of the future.” UK Industrial Strategy Digital infrastructure underpins the growth in today’s economy. Broadband and wireless connectivity are a necessary part of doing business in the 21st century. That connectivity needs to be complemented by digital skills and a supportive ecosystem if the region wants to keep attracting the fast-growing, high-paying tech sector. But digital infrastructure will be even more critical in the economy of tomorrow. The way that infrastructure and buildings are built and run is changing to become smarter. Roads, pipes, wiring and buildings will be fitted with sensors so they can be better run, with new services added on top. Services will be digitally transformed to become better and more efficient. And emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, sustainability, mobility and health will be built on digital infrastructure as an enabler. To realise this potential, we need to invest in more than just the connectivity of fibre and wireless networks. Digital infrastructure is the networking, sensors, devices, and data management systems that allow the flow of digital communication and digital services. But digital infrastructure is also the skills, the behaviours and the ecosystem that create value from those technologies, as illustrated below.
The Belfast Region will need to invest in every layer to realise the potential for economic growth. This is equally important in rural areas as it is in towns and cities.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 6
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Both the recently published UK Industrial Strategy white paper and the draft Industrial Strategy for Northern Ireland recognise the fundamental importance of a coherent approach across national, regional and local government and a strong partnership between the public and private sector to support the development of an economy which can compete on a global stage.
Both strategies recognise the importance of place-based strategies, and in particular strategies for city regions, in delivering solutions which tackle the specific economic challenges of a region by solutions which take account of the character and strengths of that region.
The six councils of the Belfast City Region Deal have come together to develop a Belfast City Region Strategic Industrial Framework which supports the delivery of both the UK and NI Industrial strategies within the Belfast City Region level. This strategic framework will underpin the development of the Belfast City Region Deal proposition.
The Digital Infrastructure Strategy will inform both the strategic industrial framework – and, ultimately, the City Deal proposition including specific project proposals.
THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ON NATIONAL ECONOMIES
“Building strong digital infrastructure is the first step in realizing effective economic transformation. Economies need to move up the technology stack to drive further GDP gains.” Huawei, 2017
Investment in digital infrastructure is gradually showing its positive impact on regional economies globally. Numerous studies by leading research bodies point to the positive economic impact that investment and uptake of digital infrastructure have on employment, GDP, productivity, innovation and regional competitiveness, and can be defined under the following five impact factors:
1. Direct Correlation Between Digital Infrastructure Investment and New Jobs Created 2. Impact on National GDP and Productivity 3. Boost in Exports and Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 4. Creation of Critical Digital Skills Among Citizens 5. Improved City Operations and Asset Management
1. Direct Correlation Between Digital Infrastructure Investment and New Jobs Created
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 7
Looking at international examples provides evidence that there is a direct correlation between Digital Infrastructure investment and news jobs created. In the United States, for example, broadband deployment aimed at increasing household adoption from 60% to 95%, at an investment of USD 63.6 billion, resulted in the creation of an estimated 140,000 jobs per year over ten years (Crandall et al. (2003) – Brookings Institution). Similarly, in Switzerland, an estimated total of 114,000 jobs (83,000 direct and 31,000 indirect) were created over four years from the deployment of a national broadband network at an investment of CHF 13 billion (Katz et al. (2008b) – CITI).
2. Impact on National GDP and Productivity
Strong digital infrastructure has proven to support productivity growth for all sectors through new services and greater efficiency in existing processes. The Gross Value Added (GVA) of a digital tech worker in the UK is more than twice that of a non-digital tech worker, £103,000 compared to £50,000 (Tech Nation 2017).
• In Northern Ireland, the GVA from the digital sector is estimated at £1 billion, with the Belfast region responsible for at least half of this. • The data economy alone currently contributes around £50 billion per annum to the UK economy, and is predicted to benefit the economy by up to £241 billion between 2015 and 2020.
3. Boost in Exports and Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) A recent report by economic consultancy Cebr suggests there is a high correlation between the share of exporting businesses in a region and the pace of digitialisation. The research suggests that full digitalisation of commerce could lead to 6-fold rise in the number of businesses exporting. This could range from 100 million businesses to 350 million businesses globally.
4. Creation of Critical Digital Skills Among Citizens
Estimates suggest that a person with basic digital skills earns 3 to 10% more than someone who doesn’t – highlighting the growing importance of digital skills among citizens. Furthermore, it is predicted that within 20 years, 90% of all jobs will require some element of digital skills.
The UK Parliament has reported on a ‘digital skills’ crisis in the UK, that at present is estimated to cost the UK economy £63 billion in lost GDP. The report further indicates that an investment of £1.65 billion in skills and devices over 10 years, could yield a return of up to £14 billion GVA to the economy.
5. Improved City Operations and Asset Management
More effective asset management can improve the resilience of physical infrastructure by avoidance of service failures, and the costs they incur; It is estimated that the total cost of rail disruption due to asset failure is £1.3bn–1.9bn a year. Insights yielded by digital technologies, such as AI and Machine Learning, built on top of a sound digital infrastructure, can enable improved asset management.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 8
PROJECTED ECOMONIC IMPACT FROM CITY DEALS WITH DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AS A KEY COMPONENT
Digital infrastructure has been a key component in other UK City Deals and whilst it is still early days in terms of measuring impact we can look at the projected impacts of the Swansea Bay City Deal, Inverness and Highland City Region Deal, and Aberdeen City Deal.
1. The Swansea Bay City Deal (2011) involves 11 projects and is expected to deliver over 9,000 new jobs across Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire over 15 years, contributing a total GVA of £1.8 billion. The proposal includes support for digital infrastructure and the growth of the local innovation ecosystem.
2. Inverness and Highland City Region Deal (2016): The deal will support improvements to the region's digital connectivity, digital healthcare, skills, innovation and infrastructure, with the aim of stimulating long-term productivity and economic growth. Regional partners estimate that this total investment package of £315 million could attract an additional £800 million of investment by the private sector.
3. Aberdeen City Deal (2016): The Aberdeen City Region Deal, among other projects, supports a digital infrastructure fund to “address the digital challenges of the City Region (Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire) and deliver an enhanced service accessible by both the private and public sectors.” Analysis by regional partners suggests that the City Deal, as a whole, could deliver an average of 330 new jobs per year, over the 10 year lifetime, aggregating to 3,300 new net jobs over the 10 years, and GVA increases of £260 million to the region, £222 million across Scotland and £190 million in the UK.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 9 4. Programme of Work
We have laid out below the objectives of the work along with the activities to be undertaken by Future Cities Catapult, the deliverables with deadline dates, milestones, assumptions and dependencies, which include responsibilities of the six local authorities.
OBJECTIVES • Create a Digital Infrastructure Strategy for the Belfast City Region; • Facilitate the selection of digital infrastructure projects for potential inclusion in the City Deal; • Conduct a high-level assessment of selected digital infrastructure projects.
ACTIVITIES • Conduct consultation exercise with Council CEOs, business, government, City Deal pillar leads, civic organisations, academia and other key stakeholders; • Conduct baseline desk research on digital infrastructure in the Belfast City Region; • Carry out a general review of finance sources; • Carry out a high-level analysis of delivery models and opportunities for public/private partnership within projects including JVs and financing vehicles; • Compile priorities and digital infrastructure project ideas for the region; • Run a direction-setting workshop with Governance Forum CEOs and SRO; • Conduct high-level assessment of impact, viability and cost benchmarking; • Develop use cases for projects; • Create project portfolio; • Draft Belfast City Region Digital Infrastructure Strategy.
DELIVERABLES DATES 1. Belfast City Region Digital Infrastructure Strategy document, 13th April 2018 comprising: • Vision for the region; • Priorities for digital infrastructure investment in the region; • Opportunities for digitalisation within the other four pillars of the City Deal; • General review of funding sources available; • Opportunities for private sector investment.
2. Portfolio of digital infrastructure projects selected for 6th April 2018 potential inclusion in the City Deal, comprising: • Project descriptions; • Use cases; • High-level assessment of impact; • High-level assessment of viability;
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 10
• High-level analysis of delivery models that leverage private sector investment; • Cost benchmarking.
MILESTONES DATES • Long list of potential projects compiled. 2nd March 2018 • Draft vision for the region and project ideas. 9th March 2018 • Direction-setting workshop with Governance Forum CEOs and w/c 15th March SRO. 2018 • List of prioritised projects for potential inclusion in the City 19th March 2018 Deal compiled and circulated to Governance Forum. • Draft summary of Digital Infrastructure Strategy (direction of 30th March 2018 travel/key themes) circulated to Governance Forum.
ASSUMPTIONS • The number of projects shortlisted for potential inclusion in the City Deal will not exceed eight; • Feasibility of projects is not within the scope of Future Cities Catapult deliverables on this project; • Project information relating to economic modelling, timescales, specific financing arrangements and interdependencies is not within the scope of Future Cities Catapult deliverables on this project; • Convening and logistical support will be provided by respective Councils; • Economic modelling will be delivered by KPMG.
DEPENDENCIES / COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITIES • The six Councils will identify Project Leads for each of the projects shortlisted for potential inclusion in the City Deal; • The Project Leads within the six Councils will be responsible for providing the project information required for the KPMG report to DCLG (the Belfast Region Information Request Response Template form); • Alignment of key stakeholders will be encouraged but cannot be guaranteed and is dependent on their availability within the timeframe allocated to the project.
5. Pricing
Total value of work to be delivered £144,000 In-kind contribution from Future Cities Catapult £20,000 Price £124,000
These amounts are exclusive of VAT. Travel and accommodation costs for Future Cities Catapult staff will be covered by Belfast City Council.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 11 6. Meet the team
Nicola Yates OBE - CEO Previously, Nicola was Chief Executive at Bristol City Council where she secured a City Deal for the Bristol City Region. She was also Chief Executive at Hull City Council and North Shropshire District Council. She is currently a trustee for the independent policy think tank ‘Centre for Cities’, and is a member of SOLACE – Society for Local Authority Chief Executives and the Chartered Institute of Housing. Nicola received an OBE in 2010 for services to local government.
Erin Walsh – Head of City Strategies Erin has led on innovation projects such as Future Belfast in collaboration with Belfast City Council; National Smart City Innovation Hub India with Pune Municipal Corporation; and Civic Accelerator with Manchester City Council. Previously, Erin worked in the public, private, and academic sectors associated with development, urban design, city planning, and innovation. She chaired Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Design Review Panel, where she was responsible for leading the review of £1bn of urban investment.
Paul Thurston – Insight and Design Team Lead Paul leads the Insight and Design team and supports the delivery of the strategic design projects with cities around the world. Over the past 10 years he has led projects with high-profile private and public sector clients, ran multinational research and development projects and chaired two international conferences including the SDN Global Conference in Cardiff.
Rushi Rama – Strategy, Markets and Standards Team Lead Rushi is a smart city strategy expert with over 8 years of professional experience. Rushi has developed smart city frameworks for the Greater London Authority and Belfast City Council, and is project lead for the Catapult’s technology scanning programme. Rushi is also co-author of the “Global Review of Smart City Strategies” and “The Logic of Innovation Locations”. Prior to his time at the Catapult, Rushi delivered strategic advice, market assessment and financial analysis for blue-chip clients at a leading strategy consultancy. Rushi holds an MPhil in Economics and a BA in PPE from Oxford University.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 12
Henry Chan – Impact Assessment Team Lead Henry leads a team of economists, environmental economists and social scientists, and is a Public-Private Partnership expert with 15 years of experience overseeing the full infrastructure development lifecycle, including pre-launch, construction and operations. Areas of specialisation include: lead advisory for the public sector, project finance, project management. Henry has worked on a variety of projects within the built environment including transport, energy and social infrastructure projects. Henry is passionate about combining Public-Private Partnerships and Smart Cities initiative to solve social and urban problems.
Matthew Wood-Hill – City Standards Coordinator Matthew leads our engagement on city standards. He convenes stakeholders to identify common challenges and potential solutions and supports the dissemination and implementation of standards and best practice in future cities. He has previously worked in the UK public sector on digital transformation in cities and local government and in academia on planning for sustainable cities.
Matthew Fox – Project Management Team Lead Matthew leads a team of project managers at the Catapult, and over the last ten years has led commercial and collaborative R&D projects in the private and public sectors and in academia. Matthew has previously worked at UCL, the Home Office, and the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Organising Committee.
Joseph Bailey – Data Science Team Lead Joseph has several years of experience in the realms of geospatial analysis and applied data science. Joseph currently works on projects that link data, technology, policy and cities through data analysis, visualisation workshops and modelling. Joseph has received scholarships from Stanford University, Simon Fraser University and for his work with electric vehicles, renewable energy and sustainable intelligent systems.
Nissa Shahid – Junior Urbanist Nissa has a background in development management, working as a planning consultant. She has project managed and advised on planning strategy on large-scale housing-led estate regeneration projects where she has developed a working understanding of the entire planning process from site selection to the appeal process. Most recently Nissa has undertaken further study into data analysis and complex spatial systems.
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 13
Claire Waterworth – Visual Designer Claire has been working in the creative industries for 17 years in a range of sectors from non-profit to commercial. She has worked in traditional and digital mediums for a range of clients in London, USA and Australia. This has included digital design within large design agencies and studios, to direct client commissions such as the University of California, developing a brand and digital related collateral for a Deep Earth Laboratory (geo-physics).
BELFAST CITY REGION DEAL - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY 14
Appendix – Project Plan
13
23-Apr
12
Infrastructure Strategy
Region Digital
Deliverable: Belfast City
16-Apr
11
potential inclusion in City the Deal
infrastructure projects selected for
Deliverable: Portfolio of digital
09-Apr
10
Governance Forum
Infrastructure Strategy circulated to
Draft summary of Digital
02-Apr
9
26-Mar
8
inclusion in City the Deal
infrastructure projects for potential
Circulate list of selected digital
19-Mar
with Governance Forum
Direction-setting workshop
7
project ideas circulated
Draft list of digital infrastructure
the regionthe circulated
Draft digital infrastructure vision for
12-Mar
6
Long listLong of projects compiled
05-Mar
5
26-Feb
4
19-Feb
3
12-Feb
2
05-Feb
1
29-Jan
Activity
inclusion in the City Deal City theininclusion
infrastructure projects selectedpotential for projects infrastructure
Deliverable: Portfolio of digital Deliverable:of Portfolio
Draft portfolio Draft report
Digitalinfrastructureuse cases
benchmarking)
impact, viability,impact, delivery models, cost
High-levelassessment ofprojects(including
Draft projectlist Draft
Draft thelist Draft ofprojectideas
(consultationlitand review)
Compilationofexisting longlist
Infrastructure Strategy Infrastructure
Deliverable: Belfast City Region Digital Digital Region City Deliverable: Belfast
Finaledits/Design ofdocumentstrategy
ReviewForum Governanceby
Draft strategy documentstrategy Draft
ideas
Draft thevision Draft theforregionproject and
Forum
Direction-settingworkshopwith Governance
Workshop prep/analysisWorkshop
proposition
Analysisofconsultation contentof and
Generalreview offinance sources
projectleads
academia,experts, CityDeal pillar leads,
ConsultationNICS,CEOs,- businesses,
Baselinelitand (datareview) research
Stakeholdermapping
*
*
(2) PORTFOLIO OF DIGITAL PROJECTS FOR POTENTIAL INCLUSION IN THE CITY DEAL CITY THE IN INCLUSION POTENTIAL FOR PROJECTS DIGITAL OF PORTFOLIO (2) (1) DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE DIGITAL (1) DEAL CITY THE IN INCLUSION POTENTIAL FOR PROJECTS DIGITAL OF PORTFOLIO (2) AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY INFRASTRUCTURE DIGITAL (1) BOTH FOR FOUNDATIONS
We hope that the proposed project is in line with your expectations and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Erin Walsh Head of City Strategies at Future Cities Catapult [email protected] | 07718584315 One Sekforde Street, London, EC1R 0BE
Unclassified
ITEM 19
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Report Classification Unclassified
Council/Committee Regeneration and Development
Date of Meeting 08 February 2018
Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning
Responsible Head of Head of Economic Development Service
Date of Report 02 February 2018
File Reference
Legislation
Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below:
Subject Bombardier Notice of Motion Update
Attachments Response Letters re Bombardier
Following two Notice of Motions brought by Councillor Menagh and Alderman McDowell/Councillor Douglas in October 2017, Council agreed to write to the appropriate Trade Unions and relevant Government departments expressing its outrage at the rulings of US Commerce Independent Trade Commission against Bombardier and urging them to demonstrate continued commitment to the ongoing attempts to resolve contractual disputes and unfair tariffs imposed on Bombardier. The Council wrote to the relevant parties registering deep concern regarding the ruling by US Department of Commerce to impose a levy of up to 300% on the C Series jets by Bombardier and requested that all efforts were made to engage with relevant officials to convince Boeing to withdraw the trade dispute filed with the US International Trade Commission. The US Government was asked to reject unjustified import tariffs. As members will be aware, the US International Trade Commission, on Friday 26 January 2018, ruled against Boeing in their dispute with Bombardier. Everyone has welcomed the ruling. RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the report is noted.
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