Ards and North Down Borough Council a G E N
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ARDS AND NORTH DOWN BOROUGH COUNCIL 28 September 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 4 October 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. Update report on Low Powered Wide Area Network and Local Full Fibre Network Projects (Report attached) 4. EBR - Co-Innovate Programme (Report attached) 5. Business Support Programme 2018-2019 (Report attached) 6. Quay Marina’s Quarterly April-June 2018 Report (Report attached) 7. Crafted Gift Fair 2018 (Report attached) 8. Promotion of Free Wi-Fi in Five Towns (Report attached) 9. Public Realm Scheme – Portaferry (Report attached) 10. Village Renewal Schemes – Update (Report attached) 11. Cross Channel Swim Sign (Report attached) 12. Ice Cream Sales at Bangor Seafront (Report attached) 13. Review of Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership (Report attached) 14. Pipe Band Championships 2019 (Report attached) 15. Regeneration and Development Budgetary Control Report – August 2018 (Report attached) 16.Minutes of Donaghadee Town Steering Group dated 10 September 2018 (Copy attached) 17.Minutes of Comber Town Steering Group dated 18 September 2018 (Copy attached) 18.Notices of Motion 18.1. Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Cooper In light of the substantial obvious increase in the population of Comber as a result of new building developments, officers urgently investigate introducing a one way system from Mill street and Castle street towards the square as quickly as possible, to alleviate the existing (and future worsening), traffic congestion, and bring back a report as to how to proceed and facilitate this provision forthwith. 18.2. Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Martin and Councillor Dunne This Council asks for an update report to be brought forward on the redevelopment of Grey Point Fort in Helens Bay with due regards to current funding streams, overall timescales and milestones on this project. This is an important military landmark in our Borough and is currently in need of a considerable amount of refurbishment. Council also requests an informal meeting between Senior Officers, stakeholders and local military historians to update them and discuss future plans for the site. 18.3. Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Thompson That Council officers bring back a report with costs regarding the extension in 2019, of the Sunday Musical Concerts, currently being held in Ward Park to other venues across the Borough including the Ards Peninsula Villages. ***IN CONFIDENCE*** 19.Donaghadee Heritage Preservation Company Ltd (Report attached) 20.Waterfront Development Scheme for Portaferry – Feasibility Study (Report attached) 21.Market Research – Pickie Funpark 2018 (Report attached) 22.Growth Achievement Programme (GAP) (Report attached) 23.Queens Parade Development (Verbal Update) 2 24. Belfast Region City Deal (Verbal Update) 25. Flagship Centre (Report attached) 26. Any Other Notified Business Circulated for Information a) Letter from DfE re Ards and NDBC Exceeding Target in Business Start-up Activity Performance (Copy attached) MEMBERSHIP OF REGENERATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Alderman Irvine Councillor Gilmour Alderman McDowell (Chairman) Councillor Ferguson 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 Councillor Woods (Vice-Chairman) Councillor Dunlop 3 Unclassified ITEM 3 Ards and North Down Borough Council Report Classification Unclassified Council/Committee Regeneration and Development Committee Date of Meeting 04 October 2018 Responsible Director Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning Responsible Head of Head of Economic Development Service Date of Report 18 September 2018 File Reference ED46 Legislation N/A Section 75 Compliant Yes ☒ No ☐ Other ☐ If other, please add comment below: Subject Update report on Low Powered Wide Area Network (LPWAN/LoRA) and Local Full Fibre Network Projects (LFFN) Attachments None At Council, on 31 January 2018, it was agreed that Ards and North Down Borough Council would participate in the LPWAN/LoRA project. Members may recall that a consortium called Things Connected NI, led by Ulster University, Invest NI, Tourism NI and 9 local Councils across Northern Ireland was successful in bidding to be one of the funded networks to deploy the technology across Northern Ireland to accelerate the demand and innovation of industrial Internet of Things (IoT). LPWAN Project Update Following on from the previous report, the technology has been rolled out across Northern Ireland, and the Ards and North Down is receiving the gateways/base stations throughout the borough. The technology is free to use and available to Internet of Things entrepreneurs and developers to prototype, test and scale-up Internet of Things ideas. It is hoped that the provision of the network will encourage the deployment of sensors, applications and services and enable businesses to develop exciting and innovative Internet of Things products and services. Page 1 of 4 Unclassified Members will also recollect that a Challenge Fund was launched to accelerate growth in Internet of Things technology in the undernoted areas. These challenge areas are: • Agriculture • Creative Technologies • Management of Playable open spaces • Manufacturing • Healthy Smart buildings • Tourism • Logistics and Transportation The Challenge Fund closed at the end of the summer and evaluated on 11 September 2018. The evaluation panel consisted of partner Councils, Ulster University and InvestNI. Two companies from the Ards and North Down area passed the criterion and will be able to avail of the funding from stage one of the Challenge Fund. An initial contribution will be given, to allow each company to “work up” their proposal with a view to additional funding being available at stage two. Members will be aware that one of the key themes from the Integrated Strategy for Tourism, Regeneration and Economic Development is Connect Places and People through the creation of a blue and greenway network, continuous coastal route, a sustainable transport strategy and advocacy and digital and collaborative networks. It is hoped that this new technology may assist in the delivery of key outcomes of the Strategy while also generating economic growth in new and innovative ways for local SMEs. Council will be kept advised on how the project develops during the next stage. LFFN Programme Update Background Further to the report ratified at Council on 30 May 2018, providing the initial details of a national scheme being offered by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to apply for funding under the Wave 3 project. What is LFFN? The Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is designed to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in rural and urban locations across the whole of the UK. LFFN aims to: • Stimulate more commercial investment to deliver more gigabit-capable Connectivity. • Directly maximise the availability and benefit of gigabit-capable broadband Page 2 of 4 Unclassified services to public sector, business and residential users. • Improve commercial investment conditions in local areas. The aim of the scheme called Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) is to stimulate the telecoms market to invest in more fibre connectivity for homes, businesses and 5G masts. It will have important long-term benefits. Although it is likely to directly improve availability of high bandwidth connectivity in some areas, its main effect will be felt more slowly through the commercial investment that will follow in time. The LFFN Challenge Fund is a capital grant programme of up to £200m, delivered in competitive waves, to help deliver the fastest and most reliable digital communications network available. £95m remains to be allocated to projects in the remaining Wave 3 round, which has just been announced. It was agreed that Ards and North Down Borough Council approved the feasibility of the development of a bid under Wave 3, with costs (£25,000) being met from existing budgets. Current Position To progress the project, the Council has appointed a consultant to assist in its preparation for making a technical application to bid for funding under Wave 3. Further to that, an approach was made by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to all Councils in Northern Ireland to work together to submit a collective bid to DCMS for Northern Ireland as a whole, as there are clear indications that this approach will deliver a better outcome for each Council and for Northern Ireland as a whole. There are strong indications that individual bids are less likely to be successful. The response has been unanimously positive, and the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council team has taken the lead and worked closely with those of other councils to develop the approach. Full Fibre Northern Ireland (FFNI) is the name given to the consortium of ten Northern Ireland Councils who will work together to submit a Wave 3 bid. Belfast City Council will continue to focus on the deployment of its Wave 2 funding, however will support the consortium with advice and assistance. The specialist consultant resources already employed by Councils have agreed to work together to develop a collective bid to be submitted to DCMS. On 15 August 2018, all ten Councils came together and attended a workshop with the consultants to work up a technical application for submission to DCMS. On 7 September 2018, the FFNI Consortium was invited to present to DCMS in London and representatives from the FFNI Consortium were successful in terms of progressing through this first stage. Page 3 of 4 Unclassified As a result, resources are now available from DCMS to work up the next steps of the proposal.