Northampton Forward

Terms of Reference

Objectives and Remit

Northampton Forward is an informal partnership with the primary role of co-ordinating and driving forwards the integrated regeneration and growth within Northampton, including Northampton Town Centre. It shall be responsible for establishing a strategy and delivery framework for the future development to achieve this vision. The delivery of the regeneration framework shall be carried out by Northampton Forward’s core partners, i.e. Northampton Borough Council, County Council, South Local Enterprise Partnership, The University of Northampton, private sector representatives, Northamptonshire Police, Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, Royal and Derngate, Community representative, Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District and other partner organisations as needed.

A secondary and inter-linked focus will be on the place marketing of Northampton, including developing a place marketing strategy and promotions plan for the town.

Please refer to the Northampton context set out in Appendix 1.

Northampton Forward’s role shall be to:

• Establish a strategic vision/masterplan for Northampton town centre • Provide leadership for the achievement of the vision and secure agreement from key partners and stakeholders • Take forward the vision/ masterplan into packages for development to attract inward investment • Foster partnership working between members and to align strategies and plans of partners to support the strategic vision/masterplan • Determine resources needed to take the vision/masterplan forward in both capacity and capability terms and work to secure and/or contribute to the necessary resources • Oversee the programme/project management requirements of the project, receiving reports on progress and expenditure • Advise and comment on the business plans for each development package • Determine what supporting sub-groups are needed to progress the Vision/Masterplan • Oversee the delivery of a place marketing strategy for Northampton • Engage with and promote the Northampton Brand in order to the improve perceptions of the town and wider area. • The development of a Town Investment Plan for Northampton.

Membership of Northampton Forward

Please refer to the governance structure diagram set out in Appendix B. (to Follow)

Northampton Forward shall comprise the following representatives:

Board Members: Northampton Borough Council (one representative plus the chair) Northamptonshire County Council (one representative) South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (one representative) Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce (one representative) The University of Northampton (one representative) Northants Police (one representative) Private Sector (two representatives) – The Grosvenor Centre and Trickers. Cultural assets – The Royal and Derngate, Community Representative – (one representative) Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (one representative)

A private sector representative will be appointed as vice-chair of the Board.

Representatives shall be at Member, Board or Chief Officer level, or an equivalent senior level, and shall be supported by officers/staff from their respective organisation, the number and seniority of which shall be determined by their respective organisation.

Board Members shall nominate a named person to serve in their absence.

Northampton Forward will be supported by and work alongside the Towns Deal Board consisting of the same representatives as the Northampton Forward Board as well as the MP’s that represent the Borough, and other partner organisations when required. The Towns Deal Board will oversee the key areas of work that sit under the Towns Fund such as the development of the Town Investment Plan for Northampton.

Northampton Forward shall be supported by a Strategic Officer Group consisting of representatives from: Northampton Borough Council, Northamptonshire County Council, The University of Northampton and SEM Local Enterprise Partnership. The number and seniority of representatives from each organisation shall be determined by Northampton Forward and shall include leads for the main strategic themes. The Strategic Officer Group shall be entitled to ask other organisations to join the Strategic Officer Group provided this is agreed unanimously by the three core organisations.

Ad hoc Task & Finish Groups shall be set up to take forward particular developments/activities. These groups shall each have a finite life and membership shall be determined by the specific development/activity and the partners required to deliver the required outcome. Task & Finish Groups shall be appointed by the Northampton Forward/Strategic Officer Group.

Other public and private sector organisations shall be invited to attend Board meetings with the agreement of the Chair or the majority of core members.

It is recognised that membership of the Board and Strategic Officer Group may change during the course of the regeneration and growth programme in light of changing circumstances.

Role of all Participants

Members of the partnership shall be expected to:

• Be of sufficient seniority and authority within their organisation to enable them to contribute to the Northampton Forward meetings in a significant way • Ensure that decisions within their respective organisations are made in a timely way to be able to meet the agreed programme plan and progress Northampton regeneration including activities and deadlines as set out through the Future High Street Fund bid. • Provide information, data and other material to the meetings as appropriate to inform discussions and decisions • Ensure that the activities of the partnership are widely promoted and disseminated within their organisations and cascaded to members, officers and staff as appropriate

Towns Fund Deal Board

The Northampton Forward Board will act as the Towns Deal Board which will oversee the key areas of work that sit under the Towns Fund. The role of the Board is to develop and agree an evidenced based Town Investment Plan, develop a clear programme of interventions and coordinate resources. Towns Deal Fund items will be covered on every Northampton Forward Agenda going forward.

Additional representatives to be included in the Towns Deal Board include the MPs representing the Borough, and other partner organisations when required.

Northampton Forward shall be responsible for providing a strategic steer to the programme and for providing financial oversight. However, individual funding agencies shall be legally accountable and responsible for the specific finances of each project or activity, informed by any recommendation made by Northampton Forward.

The ad hoc Task & Finish Groups shall be responsible for individual project management and project delivery, together with developing the business case for each project or activity where funding is required. At this stage there is no definitive list of Task & Finish groups but they are likely to be set up round major themes, Major Opportunity Areas, major projects (such as Greyfrairs) or a combination of these. They will each have a finite life.

Communications

Northampton Borough Council will take the lead on communications activity in line with the key messages to be agreed by Northampton Forward.

Chair

The Leader of Northampton Borough Council (or its successor council) shall chair this group.

A private sector representative will be appointed as vice chair of the Board.

Board Meeting Management

Secretariat:

Northampton Borough Council shall provide a person to carry out the secretariat for Northampton Forward.

Wherever possible the agenda shall be circulated at least five working days before each meeting, and the minutes shall be circulated no more than five working days after each meeting.

Wherever possible, each meeting shall include an agenda item outlining future work programme and an update on current projects and activities.

Papers for the Northampton Forward Board meetings will be published on the Northampton Borough Council’s website within 10 working days of the board meeting, unless they contain exempt information under Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (access to information.)

Frequency:

Meetings shall take place every eight weeks or other such frequency as the Board decides.

Quorum:

For the Board meeting to be quorate a minimum of four representatives shall be present from the partners.

Declaration of Interest:

Each member of the Northampton Forward Board is required to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interest (direct or indirect) in any agenda items. Where an interest is prejudicial or is otherwise a disclosable pecuniary interest the member shall take no part in the discussion or decision making about that item. All such declarations must be included in the minutes of the meeting.

Board members shall duly sign and return the Northampton Forward Board Declaration of Interests on an annual basis. A register of interest will be maintained by the Council.

The Council will provide guidance on the pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests individuals must declare, outline the process that Board members must follow for declaring interests and explain the process for requesting an exemption.

Confidentiality:

Where possible Board papers shall set out if an item is confidential. However, Board members are reminded to respect the confidentiality of issues that may be discussed at Board meetings, and shall not disclose information which could be construed as confidential.

Terms of reference last updated: 05th October 2020 Review Date: 05th October 2021

Appendix 1 – The Northampton Context

Northampton is the largest town in the county of Northamptonshire has a population of 228,650 and supports 153,000 jobs. It forms the centre of a wide travel to work area centred around the M1 and is one of the key towns within the Oxford – Cambridge arc. Northampton in its wider geographic context is set out in the map below.

Figure 1: Northampton within the South East Midlands, and its surrounding area

Northampton is also well placed geographically, being on the main rail routes as well as equidistant between both Birmingham and London.

Northampton has been and continues to be a thriving town with tremendous opportunity for growth. The last structured economic growth strategy was developed some years ago spanning a period from 2008 – 2026 and is in urgent need of updating against a backdrop of continuing inward investment enquiries, as well as the broader macro growth developments linked to the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor. It is important as the key settlement in the county that a strategic approach is developed that both complements surrounding areas and also acts as a catalyst for future growth opportunities across the county.

Northampton is already home to a number of high quality businesses in the area, including providing headquarters for; Avon Cosmetics, Barclaycard, Carlsberg UK, Churches Shoes, Cosworth, Nationwide Building Society, St Andrews Healthcare and Travis Perkins. It is also home to one of the largest Enterprise Zones in the country (121 hectares).

Northampton has a rich cultural offer including the recently refurbished Delapré Abbey which showcases almost a thousand years of the town’s history. Investment in Northampton’s heritage continues with a £6.7 million extension and refurbishment of Northampton Museum and Art Gallery which will complement the existing Cultural Quarter offer featuring the highly successful Royal & Derngate theatres, Northampton Filmhouse, , and the stunning Victorian Guildhall.

However the area is not without its challenges and, like a number of towns and cities across the UK, in recent years has seen its town centre change as the nation’s shopping habits move away from traditional high street shopping and move to multi- channel model with a focus on experiential shopping and visits to specific out of town sites

The physical regeneration of Northampton town centre is an essential component and catalyst to the regeneration of Northampton as a whole.

The need for the regeneration will be set out in the Future High Street Fund expression of interest with a masterplan and full bid to be developed in the financial year 2019/20. This will only form a fraction of the investment that will be needed to regenerate Northampton, which is dependent on attracting private sector investment to transform the town and its economic future.