Executive Member Report to Council s2

EXECUTIVE MEMBER REPORT TO COUNCIL WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2011 DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

The following planning applications have been submitted and are likely to go to the Council's Planning and Development Committee in June:

1. 295 dwellings on land at Grey Towers Farm; 2. 110 dwellings on land at Rose Cottage Farm, Strait Lane, Stainton; 3. 370 dwellings as an outline planning application with access on the Cleveland Police Headquarters site at Ladgate Lane; and, 4. erection of a three-storey Police Headquarters and associated access, parking areas etc on land at Hemlington Grange south of Stainton Way to meet the future needs of Cleveland Police Authority.

Further planning applications are anticipated for the Acklam Hall site comprising of the restoration of the hall, 57 houses and an associated doctors' surgery and 345 dwellings and access/ landscaping on land at Stainsby Hall Farm, off Low Lane, Acklam.

This level of activity in providing new quality homes in the town is unprecedented and reflects optimism in Middlesbrough by the private sector.

Committee approved the planning application for the extension of the care home at Eastbourne Road to create a 55 bed facility.

Greater Middlehaven – Since 2006 £140m has been spent within the Greater Middlehaven area. The past year has represented a significant milestone in the development of Middlehaven. Over £12m has been spent on recent developments within Middlehaven including, STAGES Moving on Academy on the site of the Wellington Street Hostel; Bohouse adjacent to Boho Core Building One, providing 20 residential units for people working in the creative industries; and, the Anish Kapoor sculpture, Temenos.

BioRegional Quintain (BRQ) has commenced construction of the first residential cube CIAC that will provide for 80 apartments and ancillary facilities within phase 1, adjacent to the dock. This will be completed in Autumn 2011. The renovation and improvement of Crown House on Zetland Square and the improvement of the public realm between Bridge Street West and the town centre is also underway. And the £4.5m MyPlace scheme to transform the former Customs House in the St. Hilda’s area into a high quality youth facility is under construction and is set for completion during winter 2011.

1 It is apparent that there is a need to refresh the masterplan for Greater Middlehaven that was prepared by Alsop in 2004. The Middlehaven Partners have commissioned a new framework for the area, which will take account of the existing and likely future economic conditions and the changes that have occurred. This masterplanning will be subject to consultation in Summer 2011.

Affordable Housing Provision – in recent years, £20m of grant funding has been secured for affordable homes in the town. The Housing Service is now working with Registered Social Landlord partners to develop a programme of new affordable housing for the town including general needs and housing for older people, those with learning disabilities and physical disabilities, as well as bringing empty homes back into use for the period 2015. The deadline for submission of offers to the Homes and Communities Agency is 3 May 2011.

Single Key Project - Home Group/Stonham are re-developing their young people’s supported accommodation at Gribdale Road, Pallister Park. The accommodation is for young people aged 16 to 25 years, and as well as learning independent living skills, a condition of their tenancy is for the young people to engage in education, employment or training. The redevelopment will see an increase in provision from 6 bed spaces to 10.

Levick House – construction has commenced in the extra care scheme will provide 20 apartments for older people (60+ years) and, in addition in a separate unit, 16 units for people with learning disabilities, 12 of which will be respite and 4 long stay supported accommodation units, with an adjoining communal centre available for joint use.

Working Neighbourhoods Fund - Over the last three years the £24.7m Working Neighbourhoods Programme has delivered a comprehensive package of projects to tackle worklessness in the town. This funding has engaged over 6000 residents and helped over 2500 into work. This includes over moving over 120 individuals into apprenticeship schemes. In additional businesses have been supported to either start-up or expand, training has been provided, support given to ensure transport or physical disability is not a barrier to employment and those hardest to reach NEETs continue to be engaged. A full report has been submitted to council on the impact of the programme this summer.

2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY REGENERATION

Casino Bids – two applications for the ‘large’ casino licenses have been received for schemes at Middlehaven and Gurney House. The details of the new developments are now being worked on. The Licensing Committee will determine the applications on 8th April. Should both applications be approved, they will then move on to a test of greatest benefit in stage two.

Responding to the Government Agenda - Recent policy and funding announcements by the Coalition Government have offered an opportunity for the Council and for local companies to pursue alternative routes to stimulating economic growth. A number of high quality bids were submitted for the first round of Regional Growth Fund by Middlesbrough companies. Bids for the second round (which opens in April) are currently in development across public, private and voluntary sectors, aimed at further stimulating further growth. The budget announcement that an Enterprise Zone will be established in the Tees Valley also provides an opportunity for the sub region. Approval of such a zone would provide flexibility over planning processes and utilisation of business rates.

DigitalCity Business (DCB) - The progress being made by DigitalCity Business in developing the digital cluster centred around the Boho Zone, has accelerated in recent months and there are now over 100 people working in Boho One. The commercially focused side of the project has also made significant progress internationally, with recent work in Ankara, Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo and Beijing resulting in commercial agreements and joint ventures being set up with cluster companies, venture capital houses and major international corporations. This international commercialisation of the area’s digital talent will ultimately enable the cluster and DCB to be self- sustaining. To accelerate this commercialisation in the short term, DCB will be seeking Regional Growth Fund resources in 2011/12.

Future Jobs Fund – The Tees Valley District has achieved 2000 job starts under the Future Jobs Fund scheme. As a result of Partnership working, early indications reveal that approximately 44% of young people who have completed their Future Jobs Fund opportunity have not returned to Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Targeted Recruitment and Training - The Economic Development Team has successfully lead on a regional pilot scheme to identify how to integrate local jobs and apprenticeships into capital schemes. The Targeted Recruitment and Training Toolkit is currently being used to create local opportunities in the contracts for a number of local developments including Stewarts Park.

City Status - A competition to create a new city to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 was launched in December. Local authorities are invited to apply for the status on behalf of their towns by 27th May 2011. It is anticipated that city status would raise Middlesbrough’s profile, boost local pride and help attract further investment. The bid was recently launched.

3 SSI Recruitment - as SSI prepare to recruit up to 800 new employees, the staff at Middlesbrough’s Neighbourhood Employment Gateways have been personally contacting all former steel workers or people with similar backgrounds, to offer them support and assistance in applying for the forthcoming vacancies. Over 250 people have been contacted so far.

Business Improvement District (BID) – the Town Centre Management Team is engaging with businesses to gather views about activities and projects, which will boost trading performance. The emerging key objectives are about improving the customer experience; attracting more people; encouraging people to stay longer; and directly benefiting town centre businesses by helping to reduce costs and providing a stronger voice to influence key decisions.

Middlesbrough Fashion Week – will take place from 23rd until 30th May. Building upon the success of last year’s inaugural event, this year has seen more retailers wanting to get involved and the finishing touches are currently being put on a large and exciting programme.

Town Centre Busking – consultations with interested parties (musicians, businesses and the public) on the detail of the scheme ended on 15 th March and this will be used to help determine the operational details of the permit scheme. Working with TFM, the scheme will be launched in April and will include a busking talent contest called ‘Boro Busk’ to be held on 23rd April. The best acts, as voted by the public, will feature on the TFM website and the ultimate winner will receive a prize of a day in a professional recording studio.

Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour – the police are establishing a new team of six officers from 1st April working from 08:00 until midnight to provide a high- visibility presence in the town centre. The team will be dedicated to tackling crime and preventing anti-social behaviour in the town centre – including the Linthorpe Road, Southfield Road and University Campus areas.

The new police team is expected to work closely with the Street Wardens, CCTV, Town Centre Management and retail store security staff through the Middlesbrough Safer Shopping Scheme and the Safer Middlesbrough Partnership’s Town Centre Problem Solving Groups (PSG5 Day-time and PSG5 Night-time) to reassure the public and ensure that crime and anti-social behaviour is further reduced.

Linthorpe Road Central – A programme has been agreed to ensure the continued success and future growth of the area. £1.1m is being invested to provide support for businesses and the development of the public realm.

The Team is also leading on the delivery of a marketing and promotion project to brand the area.

Newport / Corporation Road Lamp Post Banners – new lamp post banners have been installed on Newport and Corporation Road promoting the Transporter Bridge Centenary and Middlesbrough’s City Status application.

4 A World Of Opportunities – This programme, run in partnership with the Professional Services Group and aimed at supporting voluntary and community groups operating community facilities, was launched in February and runs for two months focusing on enterprise, funding and encouraging greater volunteer involvement.

Making It Matter in Middlesbrough – around fifty local residents have taken part in this programme across the last four months looking at areas as diverse as The Big Society, a session focused on democratic structures in the Council called ‘Inside the Town Hall’ and financial inclusion.

Support to community groups – an on-going feature of the service, more recently this has focused on supporting groups with funding bids involved in running community facilities such as Breckon Hill, Ayresome Community Enterprise and Easterside Partnership.

North Neighbourhood Management Team – is working in partnership with Economic Development to establish and promote Work Clubs in the town centre area, in response the Employment Gateways ceasing at the end of this month. Arrangements are being made to take referrals from the Job Centre. This will provide access to employment support from Monday to Friday in various community locations.

East Neighbourhood Management Team / STEM - achieved a silver ‘Better Health at Work’ award. Their campaign focussed on quitting smoking, alcohol awareness, healthy eating and exercise. The Team relocate to Charlbury Road Community Centre on 16 March.

West Neighbourhood Management Team - Trainees and Apprenticeships – the West Team is supporting the training of two young people. A Future Jobs Fund trainee will be leaving at the end of March, after working with us for 3 months. However, the team will also be supporting another person over the next 9 months who was successfully recruited to the apprenticeship scheme.

Easterside’s EDRA Café - was redecorated by voluntary organisation Great Expectations. Four young people took a week to paint the café from top to bottom.

International Women’s Day – Linked to the Middlesbrough Cohesion Partnership around sixty women attended the Join Me On The Bridge event at Middlesbrough Transporter to demonstrate their commitment to ‘building bridges of peace and development’.

RFID’ Live in Central Library - March 7th saw the launch of the new self service kiosks in the Central Library. Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology customers are able to issue and return books themselves. This new technology frees up staff to spend more time with customer enquiries.

E-books coming to Middlesbrough Libraries - E-books are a new venture being launched in May 2011. This service will allow library customers to

5 download books electronically at home through the library website, giving 24/7 access to the service. Once ‘borrowed’ the e-book can be transferred from a PC to a variety of e-book readers or directly to iPhones and iPads. At the end of the loan period the ‘book’ returns to the virtual bookshelf.

Partnership development in Libraries - following guidance from the NE Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, Middlesbrough Libraries are working with Social Care and other local organisations such as MIND to improve the availability of social care and health and well being information for people in Middlesbrough in order to help people maintain independent living. Developments include libraries inclusion in the Carers Directory (now accessible on the website), working with MIND and the Council to add recommended reading titles from library stock to a series of Royal College of Psychiatrists self help leaflets, (making them also available in Audio format). Also developing Health Points in libraries, where customers can access books and other materials on a variety of health and well being topics. Social care will also be piloting their information website to invited groups during specific sessions in the Central Library computer suite.

World Book Night - Middlesbrough Libraries & Information hosted two very successful events as part of the national inaugural World Book Night celebrations on Saturday March 5th 2011. In Central Library, local published author Christine Fieldhouse delivered a creative writing workshop. Whilst on the evening, Libraries in conjunction with Cafe Prego at Mima hosted a poetry and music event where over 50 people attended and bookgivers were able to give away their chosen books.

Poetry Competition - Middlesbrough Libraries in conjunction with Cultural Services will be launching a poetry competition with the theme of 'gathering'. A series of creative writing workshops will be held during March and April to support the competition which will link into the Middlesbrough Mela in July. Entry will be free and the competition will be open to people over the age of 16. There will be a supplementary project for children involving art.

Town Hall and Theatre – work on developing the Town Hall capital programme continues, including a condition survey of the organ to potentially include this in the scheme. A stage 1 HLF bid is to be submitted by November. This will dramatically improve the customer experience with a new lobby and café. Both venues are looking at their positioning within the wider Tees Valley, the Theatre as a sub-regional playhouse and the Town Hall as a music hub. Work has begun on an application to Arts Council England to support ongoing developing of the classical programme.

Arts and Events – Middlesbrough Music Live planning is at an advanced stage with the implementation of major developments (charging and a name change to INTRO) being well underway. Development of the Transporter Bridge Centenary celebrations continues.

Youth Dance Middlesbrough has now come to the end of it’s Healthy Towns funding, with a successful showcase at the Town Hall. There will be 5 financially self-sustaining sessions continuing, as well as a supported group for young people with disabilities. We are working with regional strategic dance

6 partners to develop future participation opportunities. Company TSU will perform a piece of theatre devised by disadvantaged young people at the Empire in early April.

7 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES mima has undertaken an evalutation. When the gallery opened there was an annual target for visitor numbers of 110,000. In year one the estimated number of visitors was in excess of 150,000. In financial year 2009/10 155,756 people visited mima. mima is now a prime reason for overnight visitors and day visitors in the Tees Valley and ranks at the top of local visitor attractions. mima has had an impact on the viability of the nearby neighbourhood suggesting a significant contribution to local regeneration. mima supported the launch of Temenos through an exhibition of Anish Kapoor's studio based work and hosted a public talk by Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. A unique range of post-war American drawing has been made possible through a £1million grant from Art Fund International and an exhibition of works purchased to date was recently profiled on BBC2's Culture Show.

Arts Council England are expected to announce their decision on their level of revenue support to be awarded to mima for the three year period 2012/13 - 2014/15 on 29 March.

The new season of exhibitions are currently being installed at mima. The ground floor exhibition is The Modern Jewel: In time and the mind of others and is part of a national project involving sixteen other museums and galleries called Museumaker. The exhibition features works from the collection and new commissions produced for the collection and the people of Middlesbrough. The second floor exhibition is Carey Young Memento Park. Carey Young uses video, photography and text to explore ideas of rhetoric, protest and performance in the light of economic globalisation and the rise of legalistic culture. mima has a long term aim to work in partnership with Teesside University. We are working towards establishing a formal partnership with a focus on supporting mima's strategic work in organisational change, while maximising our mutual goals of raising aspirations of young people and the profile of the town.