Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned either a

(a)   personal interest

(b)   prejudicial interest

(c)    disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The Advisory Board resolved that under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the restricted minute within Item 3 ‘Minutes of the last meeting held on 5 April 2018’, part of Item 4 ‘Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited’ during consideration of the financial projections and draft performance indicator data and part of Item 6 ‘Performance Indicators’ during consideration of the draft performance indicator data on the grounds that they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To agree the public and restricted minutes of the last meeting held on 5 April 2018 as a true and correct record.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.)

The Advisory Board considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 5 April 2018, noting that there was a public and restricted version.

The Advisory Board agreed that the minutes be signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record.

To receive an overview of Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited from Michael Williams, Managing Director.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.)

(The press and public were excluded prior to the consideration of exempt information in this item as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act).

The Advisory Board discussed the progress of the development of the Conference Centre at the Winter Gardens in detail noting that the building work had started. Mr Williams, Managing Director, Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited (BECL) highlighted that there had been a number of delays to the work.  It was noted that a meeting would be held in the week commencing 21 May 2018 between the Council, Company, Architect and Contractor in order to set a target date for completion of the building works.

Members considered that the building work was only one aspect of concern with regards to the Conference Centre and also discussed the marketing of the Centre in detail.

In response to questions, Mr Williams advised that he was confident the Centre would open in 2019 and that BECL was working jointly with Visit Blackpool to promote the Centre and the general Blackpool offer. It was noted that organisations set dates for conferences a number of years in advance and therefore the Centre must be advertised before it was completed in order to attract future business.

Members noted the importance of having high quality hotels and restaurants in order to attract large conferences and noted the new developments including the proposed on-site conference hotel. Mr Williams advised that BECL would work with hotels in order to provide offers to conference attendees.

Mr Antony Lockley, Director of Strategy and Assistant Chief Executive highlighted the achievement of winning the Government funding for the Conference Centre and the speed in which the building work had commenced. He advised that some delays to building work had been anticipated and that focus must turn to how to approach the marketing of the Centre. Members requested that a full presentation be provided by BECL to a future meeting demonstrating how the Centre would be marketed.

Mr Williams provided an overview of the work of the Company to the Advisory Board. He highlighted the history of the Winter Gardens and noted the recent expansion of the Company to include the running of ‘The Hop’ Public House and two ‘Tower Coffee Company’ coffee shops.

It was noted that the Winter Gardens hosted a number of external events and also hosted its own events including the Blackpool Dance Festival, which had grown to a large, 13 day, international dance event.

Mr Williams outlined the management team of the company and advised that BECL employed 140 full time, whole year members of staff. He added that the vision of the Company was to operate a year round, world class venue that was accessible to residents and visitors and that the mission of the Company was to increase visitor numbers to the resort, create a positive experience for clients and to deliver an agreed financial return.

The Advisory Board was informed that the Company faced a number of key  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To inform the Shareholders Advisory Board and seek support for a proposal to demolish and re-develop 81 flats at 19-29 Troutbeck Crescent, Mereside, including 77 flats currently managed by Blackpool Coastal Housing.

Mr Andrew Foot, Head of Housing reported that Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH) had highlighted that the flats at Troutbeck Crescent had become increasing difficult to let and action was required to improve the quality of the housing on offer on the site. As a result, an options appraisal exercise had been undertaken to consider the costs and benefits relating to demolition and redevelopment of the site and, alternatively, refurbishment of the existing housing on the site.

The options analysis had demonstrated that demolition and redevelopment was the least costly option and that it would better meet the needs of future residents. Ms Maggie Cornall, Director of Operations, BCH added that consultation had taken place with existing residents and a largely positive response had been received to the proposal.

In response to questions, Ms Cornall advised that the project could be financed and would likely be funded by grant or through the Housing Revenue Account over a 30 year period.

The Advisory Board agreed to note the proposal to demolish and re-develop 81 flats at 19-29 Troutbeck Crescent, Mereside, and the role of BCH in identifying the need for action, re-locating residents, and informing proposals for new development.

To agree a performance management framework for the Wholly Owned Companies and establish a headline suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for 2018-2019.

(This item contains commercially sensitive information which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.)

(The press and public were excluded prior to the consideration of exempt information in this item as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act).

Mrs Ruth Henshaw, Delivery Development Officer presented an overview of the performance indicator data provided by the companies.

Members discussed the performance indicators pertaining to each company and the data received to date. The following key points were noted:

·         More detail was required regarding the Infusion Rolling Survey used to provide the data for some of the performance indicators and would be included in the next report to the Board.

·         Further probing was required by the Corporate Delivery Unit to determine if the data submitted by the companies was robust and accurate.

·         Future reporting would include commentary from both Companies and the Corporate Delivery Unit to explain performance.

·         The performance indicators determined by the Shareholder’s Advisory Board should also be important to the companies.

The Advisory Board requested that the data collected regarding customer satisfaction of Blackpool Housing Company be extended to include residents living in close proximity to the transformed properties in order to find out the impact made on the area as a whole. It was agreed that Mrs Henshaw contact Blackpool Housing Company to determine if such data could be collected.

The Advisory Board agreed:

1.      The performance indicators and requested that they be re-submitted to the next meeting of the Board alongside targets for the indicators, as agreed with the companies.

2.      That Mrs Henshaw contact Blackpool Housing Company (BHC) to determine if a further performance indicator could be added to reflect the perceived value to residents added to areas by re-development of dilapidated buildings by BHC.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as 24 July 2018, commencing at 2pm.

The Advisory Board noted the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday, 24 July 2018, commencing at 3.00pm.