Regeneration
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Portfolio Performance and Resourc e Report – Final Update Report 2011/12 REGENERATION - OVERVIEW Portfolio Holder’s Comments This year, work on the Grand Central site has significantly progressed, with the appointment of Muse Developments Ltd as development partner and a £5m grant secured to upgrade the parking provision at Stockport Station. We are attracting more people into the town centre and reported footfall is increasing. Gap Outlet, Primark, H&M, Big Yellow Storage and Infiniti have all opened this year in and around the town centre and the former Woolworths store is now occupied by Costa Coffee, River Island and Deichmann Shoes. We are making good progress in creating new homes in the town centre, with a good start on site at Hopes Carr. There have also been two significant lettings of office space at Park Square to Jacobs and Christies. Performance Indicators reflect the continued work within this Portfolio, remaining stable despite current economic challenges. Work continues to address unemployment and jobs continue to be created and safeguarded. Cllr Kevin Hogg Regeneration Portfolio Holder Executive Summary Tackling youth unemployment has been a focus at local, regional and national level bringing with it an array of new initiatives. Work to develop the Greater Manchester Commitment to Youth Employment has proved successful and will create up to 195 Pre-Apprenticeship employment opportunities for young unemployed Stockport residents. The Enhanced Next Step project in the Priority Areas exceeded its target of number of people to support by 28%. This year, funding secured totals £8.859m and total funds supported is £17.9million, additional pipeline funding includes further Heritage Lottery Funding for the Future Skills project and for physical regeneration projects in the town centre. A total of 81 new business starts were supported; 1074 jobs were created and 619 jobs safeguarded. Following the appointment of Muse Developments as development partner at Grand Central, this quarter has seen work progress on site with the demolition of the former Tenpin bowling site, Looking forward, a start on the office scheme with hotel is anticipated to commence early 2014. A bid for Stockport to become a Portas Pilot was submitted and £100k secured from the High Street Innovation Fund to address the problem of empty shops. The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) came into force on 27 th March 2012, considered to provide greater flexibility to meet local development needs whilst giving significant support for a sustainable approach to planning and the built environment. Planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the Dialstone Centre, Blackstone Fields, Stockport College Heaton Moor campus and the final units on S:Park. Portfolio Performance and Resourc e Report – Final Update Report 2011/12 Revenue Budget Capital Programme £000 £000 Cash Limit 2,482 2011/12 Allocation 477 Forecast Outturn 2,482 2012/13 Allocation 6,313 (Surplus)/Deficit 0 Capital Expenditure to date 477 2011/12 Earmarked Reserves 216 Capital Financing Performance Indicator Summary (Annual trend: Actual/ Forecast 2011/12 against Actual 2010/11) *See footnote to PI table on page 4 Portfolio Performance and Resourc e Report – Final Update Report 2011/12 1. REGENERATION – PERFORMANCE MONITORING PI Status Annual Trends (Comparison Actual/Forecast 2011/12 outturn with 2010/11 outturn) 2011/12 outturn Value/Forecast is Improving significantly below target 2011/12 outturn Value/Forecast is below No Change target but within the Amber tolerance 2011/12 outturn Value/Forecast is on Getting Worse target or within Green tolerance (F) / (P) Forecast figure / Provisional figure Portfolio Outcome 1: Increase employment opportunities especially for residents in priority areas Work Clubs and Learning & Employment Lounges are increasing, and the offer in Offerton is also broadening the geographical access to support. The Enhanced Next Step service in the Priority areas is now completed, and exceeded the target for the number of people to support by 71 (28%). The Employment & Skills Advisers (ESA’s) are now back to a team of two and operating in all the Neighbourhood Management areas. Additional officer support for engagement activity is also being provided until the end of June. The new Economic Wellbeing Action Plans for each of the Neighbourhood Management areas link to the Economic Development Action Plan. Unemployment remains low compared to the national average but high in Stockport compared to recent years. The current figure for Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) is 6,450 claimants (3.6%), reflecting the current national economic situation. The unemployment rates in the Neighbourhood Management areas have seen rises in some areas in the last month, and falls in others. The youth unemployment trend rate continues to rise in line with national trends, currently standing at 8.5% for 18-24 year olds. Tackling youth unemployment has been a focus at local, sub-regional and national level, with an array of new initiatives such as the Youth Contract being introduced, and the development of the Greater Manchester Commitment to Youth Employment. It will create up to 195 pre-apprenticeship employment opportunities for young unemployed Stockport residents. Wage subsidies, campaigns and improved pre-apprenticeship support have all been agreed by AGMA as being a key part of this. Key initiatives are progressing, such as further development of Local Labour Agreements guidance through the planning policy process (consultation now completed), as well as the development of specific proposals for local labour clauses within the Offerton regeneration Section.106. In February, the Environment and Economy Scrutiny received a further report on activities to tackle unemployment. Proposals to develop work experience opportunities within the Council for young unemployed residents are being taken forward with Human Resources and Job Centre Plus (JCP). NI 151 - Latest confirmed output is 73.4% for Q1 11/12 which represents a decrease from the previous quarter (74.7%). Data for Q4 11/12 will be available October 2012. NI 153 - Latest confirmed output is for Q2 11/12 and is 35.1%. This represents an increase from the previous quarter (35%). Data for Q4 11/12 will be available August 2012. At August 2011, there were 4,415 out of work benefit claimants from a working age population of 12,324 in the 12 Page 3 Portfolio Performance and Resourc e Report – Final Update Report 2011/12 lower super output areas. This represents an increase of 95 out of work claimants since May 2011. Since Aug 2011, the number of JSA claimants has driven increases in this indicator, rising by 7.3% across the borough making it likely this figure will continue to increase. Next year the delivery of the GM Commitment to Youth Employment will be key to ensuring our young people in most need benefit from apprenticeship opportunities. Working in partnership with the Place Board and AESE Partnership to co-ordinate partners’ service delivery in the Neighbourhood Management areas will also be a key priority, for example maximising the take- up of training opportunities by unemployed residents, through local engagement and awareness days. Implementing and using the Local Employment & Training Supplementary Planning Document will also be a priority. A jobs fair is planned for September. Q4 2010/11 2011/12 2011/12 PI Code PI Short Name Aim to... Annual Value Value Value Target Status Trend NI 151 Story-Telling Overall Employment rate Aim to 73.4% ST 74.7% N/A measure – no target (working-age) Maximise (F) REG01 set Percentage of working age NI 153 Story-Telling people claiming out of work Aim to 37.5% ST 37.1% N/A measure – no target benefits in the worst Minimise (F) REG02 set performing neighbourhoods *Current 2011-12 figures are forecast only, marginal variation (1.3% and 0.4%); shown here as no change Portfolio Outcome 2: Develop skills to enable Stockport’s residents and employers to be economically competitive Employers are still recruiting, ensuring local people can compete for vacancies by developing their skills, knowledge and labour market information is crucial. Stockport currently has a ratio of 0.28 vacancies per JSA claimant, which is above the national average, although a small decrease in the ratio from the previous quarter. 634 people have now been engaged by the Employment and Skills Advisors (ESA), with 86 helped in to employment, 48 in to training, 29 in to volunteering and 12 in to further education (REG05). A report has been taken to the Place Board setting out the current range of mainstream and locally funded support for employment and skills, and includes recommendations going forward for the level of Council support e.g. ESAs, and the level of support needed from partners to facilitate work clubs. A template to collect data on Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications has been devised and circulated to providers in Stockport. This will provide details for Stockport as a whole and by the four neighbourhood management areas. This data will inform strategies for increasing the qualifications held by residents to enable them to compete for jobs more effectively. The current returns show that for the 2010/11 academic year, 384 people studied Level 2 qualifications (87% success rate), 1,353 studied Level 3 qualifications (94% success rate), 105 people were on Level 2 apprenticeships and 39 on Level 3 apprenticeships; more data from larger providers is still to come. In February, a workshop to link Work Programme & European Social Fund (ESF) for Complex Families providers to local service providers was held. This was well received by all providers and local services attending, and included the development of a local directory of 'support services'. We will continue to liaise with Work Programme providers to support them to work with local services to meet client needs. Page 4 Portfolio Performance and Resourc e Report – Final Update Report 2011/12 2012/13 will see a significant push to support employment and skills issues, particularly among young people.