North West Regional Development Group Meeting Minutes of the North West Regional Development Group held in Colab, LYIT, Friday 27th September 2019 at 11.00am

PRESENT: City & District Council: Mr John Kelpie (Chief Executive) Alderman Darren Guy Councillor Sandra Duffy Councillor Mary Durkan Councillor Anne McCloskey Councillor Dan Kelly Ms Karen McFarland Ms Karen Phillips Mr Stephen Gillespie

Donegal County Council: Mr Seamus Neely (Chief Executive) Councillor Albert Doherty Councillor Paul Canning Councillor Gerry McMonagle Councillor Bernard McGuinness Councillor Ciaran Brogan Mr Joe Peoples Mr Garry Martin Mr Liam Ward Mr John McLaughlin Mr Richard Gibson

In attendance: NWRDG Secretariat: Ms Maureen Doherty DC&SDC Ms Rachel Craig

1. Welcome and apologies

Councillor McGuinness welcomed members to the meeting and noted apologies as follows: APOLOGIES Councillor Sinead McLaughlin Councillor Martin Farren Mr Michael McGarvey Ms Dara Doherty

2. Minutes & Matters Arising Councillor Durkan attended the meeting on July 26th however, her name was not recorded. The minutes will be amended to show attendance. The Minutes from the meeting on the 26th July 2019 were agreed as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

3. Strategic North West Partnership Governance Issues

(a) NW12/19 The North West Financial Monitoring Report and Register of Decisions. Members approved the Financial Monitoring Report and Register of Decisions at September 2019, noting a sum of £3.55 million has been committed from the North West Development Fund to date with actual expenditure of £1.63 million.

PROPOSED: Alderman Guy SECONDED: Councillor McMonagle

(b) NW13/19 NW Partnership Risk Register – for approval Members considered the draft Risk Register as presented. Following a request from Councillor McMonagle the Chief Executives provided a brief on the outputs from the two research commissions related to the EU-exit. It was agreed that the lead consultants for the two EU-Exit research Commission would be clarified and amended on the Risk Register.

The Chief Executives outlined what lobbying had been undertaken to secure further funding for the partnership following a request from Councillor McMonagle. It was agreed that a scoping paper would be prepared for the next meeting on the future direction of the partnership in respect of funding.

PROPOSED: Councillor McMonagle SECONDED: Councillor Brogan

(c) Brexit Update Both Chief Executives provided a detailed, verbal briefing on the arrangements to prepare operationally for an EU-Exit. The Chief Executives referred to potential issues in relation to certification of goods for exportation, supply chain disruption and contracts, fuel shortages, civil unrest, job losses, poverty, delays on the land-bridge to Dublin, waste management issues and civil contingency arrangements. The Chief Executives were thanked for their openness. Members expressed concern and stressed the need for ongoing collaborative working to mitigate any risks associated with the EU Exit. It was agreed that representation would be made to the Irish Government to outline the unique challenges to the North West City Region and to ensure that any package of funding is channelled to the region with most economic need. Proposed Councillor Brogan and Seconded by Councillor McMonagle. PROPOSED: Councillor Brogan SECONDED: Councillor McMonagle

Councillor Doherty referred to the recent media coverage in relation to the high turnover at Londonderry Port and suggested that it provided an incentive to promote Greencastle. 4. Economic Growth and Development (a) Project Update – Audience Baseline Project The Chair welcomed Aeidin McCarter – Head of Culture in DC&SDC, John Kerr Arts and Culture Manager DC&SDC and Margaret Henry – Chief Executive of Thrive to the meeting. The delegation gave a detailed presentation on the progress of the Audience Development Strategy for the North West Region. Members thanked the delegation for their presentation and agreed that the research would be useful in understanding why local citizens do not engage in cultural activities. It was noted that a collaborative cultural programme would provide wellbeing benefits for the citizens of the region. It was agreed that the delegation would present to a later NWRDG meeting with the results of the research when available,

(b) Presentation – Ireland North West US Trade Missions

The Director of xxx (job title) of and Mr Stephen Gillespe, Director of Business and Culture at Derry City and Strabane District Council provided a detailed presentation on the Ireland North West Trade Mission. The marketing collateral and promotional video was displayed for Members. The Directors were thanked for their presentation. Councillor Brogan stated that the joint trade delegations were of vital importance given the current circumstances in relation to the EU Exit. The Chairman wished all officials and companies on the visit in November a successful mission. 5. Social and Community Cohesion and wellbeing matters (a) Mr Joe Peoples, Director of Housing, Corporate and Culture presented the above report. Members queried who the lead contact officer was for this project, where the potential match funding would come from and whether the community small grants allocation was sufficient. It was agreed that a further programme would be tabled at a further NWRDG meeting. Members approved expenditure from the NW Development Fund to the value of £190,000. PROPOSED: Councillor SECONDED: Councillor Duffy

Proposed Councillor Joe Peoples (Joe is an Officer in Donegal not a Councillor

6. NW Greenways Feasibility Study Update Mr Joe Peoples, Director of Housing, Corporate and Culture provided Members with a verbal update on the progress of the above project. He advised that a staff member has been recruited and they are working on the seven routes proposed, identifying corridors and engaging with landowners. The Chief Executive clarified that this scoping work would create a project pipeline for any future funding. It was agreed that more detailed maps would be provided to Members.

7. The Next meeting of the group is on the 27th November at 10am. Further information will be emailed by the Secretariat prior to the meeting.