Kathryn Molloy will give a presentation to update the committee on the following.
GF02-28 - Burnley Vision Park.
GF02-29 - The Engineering and Innovation Centre – UCLan
GF02-27 - Redevelopment of Brierfield Mill.
Minutes:
As the presentations contained exempt information as defined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and it was considered that in the circumstances the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information the meeting moved into Part II at this point.
Presentation 1 - GF02–29 The Engineering and Innovation Centre – UCLan.
Mr Wallace gave a brief presentation in relation to the development of a state of the art Engineering and Innovation Centre which was intended to be open in 2018 and formed part of the University's masterplan for the Preston Campus.
In considering the presentation the Committee acknowledged the need to ensure that the needs of businesses were aligned to the Centres activity and it was noted that that a Steering Group which included business representatives would help to provide opportunities for placements within their supply chains and assist with building the curriculum. Mr Thomas added that the University had an Engagement Officer who would visit schools and other institutions in order to encourage young people into a career in engineering.
In response to a query Mr Wallace confirmed that whilst the University had a relationship with local partner colleges it also maintained links with other institutions across the region.
At the end of the Q&A session Professor Walsh, Mr Wallace and Mr Thomas all left the meeting while the Committee considered the proposal. After discussing the project the Chair invited them back into the room and informed them that the Committee made the following recommendations for consideration before the project was presented to the LEP Board for approval.
a) The level of engagement between the University and industry was welcomed and it was suggested that this should be emphasised in any report presented to the LEP Board. It was also suggested that reference be made to the global challenges facing business and how the Centre would address these together with details of how the proposed Centre would work with any Small, Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and how that would assist the Committee to monitor and evaluate outcomes/delivery.
b) Evidence needs to be provided of the relationship between the University and other FEIs particularly in relation to the collaboration with engineering courses provided by the Lancaster/Sheffield Universities together with examples of the proposed synergy between the Centre and other facilities.
c) Details of the timescale regarding securing the necessary planning permissions for both the Centre and the associated highway alterations should be provided in order to assure the LEP Board that implementation of the scheme will not be delayed.
The Chair thanked Mr Wallace and Mr Taylor for their presentation before they left the meeting.
Presentation 2 – GF02-27 Redevelopment of Brierfield Mill.
Mr Smith and Ms Little gave a detailed presentation on the Redevelopment of Brierfield Mill project which would regenerate the site of a former mill and provide residential/employment/education and leisure facilities.
Mr Smith informed the meeting that whilst there would be a number of different developments across the site a group had been established to ensure that all the different elements would work together eg people receiving education/training at one facility could be offered work placements at another part of the site.
It was reported that funding for the scheme would be from a variety of sources, the majority of which had been secured though it was recognised that the phased development would not commence on site until all necessary funding had been secured.
At the end of the Q&A session Mr Smith and Ms Little left the meeting while the Committee considered the proposal. After discussing the project the Chair invited them back into the room and reported that the Committee had made the following recommendations for consideration before the project was presented to the LEP Board for approval.
a) That more detail be provided for the LEP Board in relation to the funding of the project and the financial breakdown of individual aspects of the scheme.
b) Greater emphasis be placed on the proposed outcomes of the project with any additional information to be circulated to the members of the Growth Deal Management Board for information ahead of the LEP Board.
c) That the project should be set in the context of regeneration activity within the Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle Growth Corridor project.
Ms Little left the meeting at this point.
Presentation 3 - GF02-30 Making rooms – Lancashires First Fab Lab
Mr Bailey informed the meeting that the project would establish a venue within Lancashire that would provide rooms and a variety of equipment for use by local business/individuals who would not otherwise be able to access such facilities to enable them to develop products/ideas.
It was noted that some funding for the project had already been secured and that once established the intention was for the project to sustainable through income generation via a café on site and the rental of rooms/equipment.
At the end of the Q&A session Mr Bailey left the room while the Committee considered the proposal. After discussing the project the Chair invited him back into the room and reported that the Committee had made the following recommendations for consideration before the project was presented to the LEP Board for approval.
a) That more work be done to show how the proposed Fab Lab would coordinate and collaborate with other educational/training facilities across Lancashire in order to maximise the opportunities for use of the venue and equipment on offer.
b) That the project sponsor explore the possibility of working with the University of Central Lancashire which is in the process of mapping the location and availability of equipment in the area for use by businesses/individuals.
Having considered all three presentations the meeting then returned to the Part I of the agenda (items publicly available).