Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alex Dale, Adam Doyle and Becky Hunter.

Bruce Hunter attended the meeting as a substitute for Becky Hunter.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

There were no interests declared at this meeting.

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the Minutes of the Clay Cross Town Board held on 1 December 2023.

Members were reminded of the discussion over governance arrangements that had taken place at the previous meeting and heard that the Assistant Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer recommended that an assessment should take place between herself and the Chair using a newly released toolkit from DLUHC. Feedback from this assessment would be reported back to Group.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Clay Cross Town Deal Board held on Friday, 1^st December 2023 be noted.

Presentation of Dashboard – Tris Burdett, Programmes Manager

The Board received a programme update on all of the Clay Cross Town Deal projects to date. They heard that certain key milestones had been reached, these included: pressure testing being completed at Clay Cross Active swimming pool, the preferred contractor for the Town Centre Regeneration and connections works had been selected, and the Low Carbon Challenge Fund had received 12 applications and seven expressions of interest.

Members heard that the Clay Cross Town Deal projects were progressing well. They were informed that one target was overdue, and this was the acquisition of Block A and former school land. They heard that this work would soon be finalised.

Board were given an overview of the programme risks for the Clay Cross Town Deal project and what mitigations had been put in place to address these. Some of the risks associated with the programme included: rising costs, a risk of failing to purchase or agree the workplan on externally owned assets within the time frame, and the risk of failing to meet the outputs/outcomes as specified in the business cases.

Members were provided with an update on Clay Cross Active. They heard that construction had been progressing well despite inclement weather. Discussions were underway with the NHS and Citizens Advice in order to formally agree leases for the new space. As well as this, work was taking place to explore the leasing options for TAG Active, Soft Play and the Fitness Suite.

Board were made aware that National Grid had confirmed that power connection to the leisure centre would be undertaken by early June 2024.

Members were given an overview of the top risks associated with Clay Cross Active and the mitigations that had been put in place to address these. Some of these risks were: delays to the project caused by adverse weather, a greater extent of asbestos being found than expected, and a risk of significant delay to the required ‘power on’ date.

Town Deal Board received an update on the Town Centre Regeneration and heard that Inside Limited had been selected as the contractor following the procurement tendering process. Members were also informed that the former junior school land had been procured by the Accountable Body and the purchase of the Block A building from DCC by the Accountable Body was in the final stages.

Members were informed that the project team were working with the NEDDC planning department to find a solution that would address the conservation issues raised in relation to the A61 access application.

DCC, Chesterfield College and the University of Derby had been asked to clarify their delivery strategy and methods for the learning outcomes as agreed with DLUHC. An update on this would be provided at the next meeting of Board.

Board were made aware that the programme spend for the Town Centre Regeneration was below the forecasted amount. They heard that the actual spend would likely increase once further works had started.

Members were provided with an overview of the top risks  ...  view the full minutes text for item CXTB/38/22-23

Presentation of Paper – Steve Lee, Assistant Director of Regeneration & Programmes

Town Deal Board were updated on the progress of the Low Carbon Challenge Fund (LCCF).

Members heard that the first tranche of funding of £645,000 had been received out of a total budget of £1.95 million.

The technical support to the programme calculated that the approved projects had benefitted from a collective total of £42,399.84 per annum of energy savings from their interventions, with a carbon reduction of 37.14 tonnes per year.

Board were made aware that the support for new housing element of the fund had not yet been publicised. Significant housebuilding had already taken place in Clay Cross and in order to mitigate risks of not achieving any contracted housing outcomes, the Accountable Body has approved an emerging opportunity to support enhancements at a development of 11 units.

Town Deal Board were made aware that NEDDC had three applications for the LCCF which were at various stages of progress. These projects were: Clay Cross Active, the Town Centre Regeneration Scheme and, Coney Green Business Centre.

Members were reminded that projects which received funding from the initial release of £645,000 were requested to be completed by December 2024. It was proposed that this deadline should be extended to December 2025 so that the new town centre units could be included.

Board heard that there was a high demand from businesses and therefore it was proposed that a further £500,000 should be released to ensure current and future activity could be funded.

Councillor C Cupit asked for further information to be provided on the application put forward for Coney Green Business Centre and heard that she would be provided with a written update on this. (Post Meeting Confirmation: The intention is to fund the installation of elements including an air source heat pump, air conditioning optimisation, solar panels, ‘smart’ building controls and improved insulation.)

Andrew King enquired as to the timescales for the three applications and which of the projects would be completed first. He was informed that they would be completed as quickly as possible, but this was dependent on a number of factors such as capacity and supply from power companies.

It was agreed that discussions would take place outside of the meeting between NEDDC and DCC in order to discuss EV charging and the LEVI strategy.

RESOLVED – That the Clay Cross Town Deal Board noted:

1.    The progress that had been made following the launch of the new Low Carbon Challenge Fund (LCCF) in June 2023.

2.    The need to release the second tranche funding, £500,000 to cover the value of applications in assessment, in development and future projects.

3.    The extension of the scheme closing date from December 2024 to December 2025.

4.    The ratification of investment into NEDDC properties, subject to them meeting all LCCF assessment criteria.

Councillor G Morley enquired as to when work on the site would begin to take place and what was being done to encourage uptake for the new business units. He heard that the units would be promoted on the hoarding erected around the site and that the Contractor would be utilising one of the units for their management site office which would double as a community point of contact for the project. The Contractor would be looking to hire a local resident to work at this Management Site.

The Town Centre Regeneration Manager informed Councillor G Morley that he would provide him with an update when the start date for work on the site was known.

Town Deal Board discussed the current private sector vacant Board seat and considered that a recruitment process for this position should take place.