Agenda and minutes

Members of the public are welcome to attend our meetings to watch them in person at any of the venues across the County. Publicly accessible meetings held in County Hall will be webcast, which means they are available to be watched live or recorded on our website. Please see our webcasting notice here. The Committee may, in certain circumstances, resolve to hold part of the meeting in private. If this is the case, you will be required to leave the meeting.

Venue: Committee Room 'D' - The Henry Bolingbroke Room, County Hall, Preston. View directions

Contact: Andy Milroy  Tel: 01772 530354 Email:  andy.milroy@lancashire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

The Chair, Mr E Booth, welcomed all to the meeting.  Apologies for absence were noted from Councillor Simon Blackburn, Councillor Stuart Hirst, Dennis Mendoros and Owen McLaughlin.  Officer apologies were also noted from Harry Catherall with Brian Bailey attending in his place.

 

The Board approved that Gary Hall, Chief Executive of Chorley Borough Council, could attend the meeting as an Observer.

2.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9th December 2014 pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:  The Board approved the minutes of the last meeting as an accurate record subject to the addition of Fleetwood Fishpark to page 3, Growth Deal 2 – update.  Following the amendment the Chair signed the final version of the minutes.

3.

Matters Arising

Minutes:

None

4.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 33 KB

Minutes:

A number of Directors declared interests:

 

Jim Carter declared a possible standing conflict due to Eric Wright Group (where he is deputy chair) being one of the County Council's regeneration property partners. It was noted that no items were on the agenda for this meeting that would represent a conflict.

 

Councillor Mark Townsend declared an interest in Burnley Vision project as the Leader of Burnley Borough Council (project sponsor).

 

Richard Evans, KPMG, declared that UCLAN are an audit client of KPMG.

 

5.

Any Other Business

Minutes:

None

6.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 10th February 2015 at 6pm, County Hall, Preston.

Minutes:

It was reported that the next scheduled meeting of the Board will be held on Tuesday 10th February 2015 at 6pm, County Hall, Preston.

7.

Growth Deal 2 Update

Minutes:

This item was not for publication – exempt information as defined in paragraph 41 (Information provided in confidence relating to contracts) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  It was considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

Mr M Kelly, Director of Economic Development, Lancashire County Council presented a report which provided an update on progress with regards to Growth Deal 2.

 

The Board were reminded that at the Special Board meeting held on 9th December 2014, it considered and prioritised a Growth Deal 2 (GD2) pipeline seeking over £50 million in competitive Local Growth Funding from Government and that the purpose of the Board meeting was to rank the projects within the LEP's GD2 submission.

 

However, it was reported to the Board that on the 8th January 2015 that Government officials had informally confirmed to County Council officers that the indicative allocation for Lancashire will be £17.2 million for the 5-year period covering 2016/17 to 2020/21.

 

Given that the allocation was less than the bids submitted, the Board was requested to review its response and approach to its GD2 Programme.

 

Following a debate the Board reached a consensus that it should engage with Lancashire MPs to urge Government to review the LEP's proposed GD2 allocation. It was also proposed that County Council officers contact project sponsors to review the cost of each project and establish if some projects can progress with a reduced funding allocation. Following discussions with project sponsors, a further special meeting of the Board would be convened to finalise the LEP's GD2 Programme and project allocations.

 

It was also noted by the Board that the Chair, Mr Booth, was to have the opportunity of a converstion with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Friday 16th January 2015 and would press for additional funding to be provided.

 

Resolved:  That the Board:

 

(i)  Noted and commented on the Government's indicative GD2 allocation of £17.2 million;

 

(ii)  Noted that officers would  contact project sponsors to review their bids to  establish if projects could  progress with reduced funding; and

 

(iii)  Requested that a further Special Board meeting be arranged as soon as possible to confirm the LEP's final GD2 submission.

8.

Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone Application Update

Report now attached.

Minutes:

This item was not for publication – exempt information as defined in paragraph 41 (Information provided in confidence relating to contracts) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  It is considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

Mr N Jack, Chief Executive Blackpool Council, presented a report (circulated) regarding the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone Application Update.

 

The board noted the current position regarding Blackpool Airport and the Enterprise Zone application as presented, including the indicative timetable of key milestones.

 

Resolved:  That the Board:

 

(i)  Endorsed the proposed Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone application, as set out in the private and confidential report;

 

(ii)  Delegated final approval of the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone application to the LEP's Executive Committee, given the Government deadline for submission of 23rd January 2015; and

 

(iii)  Requested that a further update report be presented to the next meeting of the LEP Board to be held on 10th February 2015.

9.

Lancashire Enterprise Zone Update

Verbal Update

Minutes:

This item was not for publication – exempt information as defined in paragraph 43 (Commercial Interest) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  It is considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

The Chair, Mr E Booth, provided an update on recent correspondence received from a Member of Parliament regarding the Enterprise Zone. 

 

Mr Booth confirmed that he had responded to the letter as Chair of the Board and that a Ministerial visit would take place at the end of January 2015 allowing the Minister to view progress on the Samlesbury site of the Enterprise Zone.

 

Resolved:  The Board noted the update regarding the Enterprise Zone.