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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – that all meetings be held on the following dates outlined in the table below at 4pm 6 July 2022 1 February 2023 7 September 2022 1 March 2023 5 October 2022 5 April 2023 2 November 2022 3 May 2023 7 December 2022 *13 June 2023 *10 January 2023 5 July 2023
AGREED – the Committee considered and agreed the proposed work programme attached at Appendix 1.
AGREED:- i) That Officers be thanked for the work they had accomplished in concluding the Town Centre Covid-19 Recovery Action Plan. ii) That the report be noted.
Apologies for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Dana Davies and Councillor Andy Williams.
AGREED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 2 March 2022 be signed as a correct record.
Members were reminded of their responsibility, under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, to declare any interests in relation to any of the business to be transacted at this meeting. The following declarations were made. Agenda item 6 – Wrexham Town Centre – COVID -19 Recovery Action Plan, Place Making Strategy and the Town Centre Task and Finish Group. Councillor Jeremy Kent - Personal and not Prejudicial – The Councillor made reference to the Wrexham Gateway and explained that he owned a residential property in the intermediate area. Councillor Andy Gallanders – Personal and not Prejudicial – The Councillor runs a business in the Wrexham Town and has been supported with grants and the Covid recovery plan.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – that all meetings be held on the following dates outlined in the table below at 4pm 6 July 2022 1 February 2023 7 September 2022 1 March 2023 5 October 2022 5 April 2023 2 November 2022 3 May 2023 7 December 2022 *13 June 2023 *10 January 2023 5 July 2023
AGREED – that all meetings be held on the following dates outlined in the table below at 4pm 6 July 2022 1 February 2023 7 September 2022 1 March 2023 5 October 2022 5 April 2023 2 November 2022 3 May 2023 7 December 2022 *13 June 2023 *10 January 2023 5 July 2023
Decision as recorded
AGREED – the Committee considered and agreed the proposed work programme attached at Appendix 1.
The Chief Officer Governance & Customer submitted a report (COGC/56/22s) asking Members to consider the Committee’s Work Programme. The Scrutiny Facilitator presented the report and advised Members of the changes proposed made at the last meeting of the committee. Members of the Committee were also informed that the work programme details had been carried forward from the previous Employment Business and Investment Committee’s Work Programme dated 2 March 2022 AGREED – the Committee considered and agreed the proposed work programme attached at Appendix 1.
Decision as recorded
AGREED:- i) That Officers be thanked for the work they had accomplished in concluding the Town Centre Covid-19 Recovery Action Plan. ii) That the report be noted.
(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute number 6 above). The Chief Executive submitted a report (CE/27/22) asking Members to consider the progress made against the approved Recovery Plan for Wrexham Town Centre, and to provide a brief overview on the emerging Place Making Strategy and the work of the Town Centre Task and Finish Group. The Lead Member for Economy and Regeneration introduced the report and highlighted that: · The main focus of the report was the Wrexham Town Centre Recovery Plan that had been approved by the Executive Board during 14 July 2020.The related action plan had been implemented to support the reopening of Wrexham Town Centre. · The majority of actions set out in the Recovery Plan had been addressed. · Covid-19 restrictions were no longer in place and business had returned to usual for the City Centre Management team. · There had been a reduction in the number of void properties in the City Centre and footfall was showing signs of recovery. · One of the key points the report was the ability to hold events that were vital to attract people into the City Centre. · It was an exciting time and he was keen to engage with local businesses and to push the economy forward. · The report mainly focused on the period up to 31st March 2022 but since then Wrexham had been awarded City Status and had been in the final four of the City of Culture 2025 Competition. · Further projects in the pipeline included Chapter Court, the Wrexham Gateway Project, the World Heritage Project and Brymbo Heritage Trust. The Strategy and Business Investment Lead gave a presentation on the Wrexham Town Centre Covid-19 Recovery Action Plan and covered its main elements Members were informed that there will be a Place Making workshop on 29th June 2022. During consideration of the report the following was discussed: · It was confirmed that there were 22 Wrexham Council owned units in the town centre, 3 were vacant in the reporting period and from May 2022, up to 5 units will be intentionally kept vacant due to the refurbishment of the Butchers Market. · It was explained that there were general benefits for holding Events in the Town Centre but they did not always result in customer spend. · Officers confirmed that they did not have data relating to spend in Wrexham Town Centre at this point but have recently received Welsh Government funding to purchase a system that provided spend data for credit card and transactions. · It was confirmed that Steam was an external management platform that focused on tourism business only and that the survey responses included responses from the businesses that were signed up for that information. · The Place Making Strategy Plan will set the focus and scene for the City Centre. a) Agents for Chapter Court had confirmed that; they will be on site by the end of the year, b) The cost of materials and labour was causing problems resulting in financial challenges for developers. · The Head of Service Regeneration will contact the Chief Environment Officer outlining the Committee’s concern regarding the lack of public transport and taxi provision, which was considered to reduce visits to the City Centre. . · It was acknowledged that all void premises could not be filled up with retail as the market had changed, during the period of Covid, with an increase in online purchasing. · There was provision for a hotel and conference facility included within the Gateway Masterplan. · It was expected that there would be future opportunities for providing hotels in Wrexham Town Centre. · Data with other regional towns will be compared relating to void and foot fall patterns. · Wrexham was unique in comparison with other nearby retail areas as it had retained larger retail stores for a longer period of time. · Wrexham City Centre currently had too many large properties and there needed to be units with smaller floor space. · The introduction of a Business Improvement District (BID) had been significantly delayed as a result of Covid-19. · It was confirmed that Mosaic Consultancy was selected but not contracted during the pandemic to carry out the feasibility study for the BID. Welsh Government had provided grant funding to undertake this work and it had been re issued for 2022/23. Issues were raised regarding the implementation of a football fans zone for the forthcoming World Cup and the benefits and drawbacks for City Centre businesses. The Lead Member advised that he has asked for work to be carried out on this issue on it was hoped that any details could be released shortly. AGREED:- i) That Officers be thanked for the work they had accomplished in concluding the Town Centre Covid-19 Recovery Action Plan. ii) That the report be noted.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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