To note attendances, including officers, and any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor K. Carter.

Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made.

A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to items appearing on the agenda and will be submitted in the order in which they were received.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To consider any matters referred by the Council or by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Councillor D Butt, Chair Health Scrutiny Committee, informed Members that the Task and Finish Group for Social Prescribing was held on 7 December 2023 and 19 February 2024 and a presentation has been agreed on Social Prescribing by Blue Sky and Trafford Veterans at the Council meeting on 20 March 2024.

To consider the report from the Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration.

RESOLVED That the Executive:

Approves that the Draft Trafford Wharfside Development Framework and Draft Trafford Wharfside Masterplan go out to public consultation.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration presented a report which provides an update on the Draft Trafford Wharfside Development Framework and Draft Trafford Wharfside Masterplan studies that are key documents in setting the future development potential of this strategically important area.

The Trafford Wharfside area (study area c87ha – see section 2.2 Appendix 1) represents a major development and regeneration site in the borough due to its size, strategic position on the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, opportunities for future residential, employment and mixed uses, and home to major businesses such as Manchester United. Due to the area’s mixed-use potential, and the need to set an overall strategy to guide future development, the Trafford Wharfside Development Framework (see Appendix 1) was commissioned in Spring 2022 to set the vision for the area and how it should operate as a ‘place’. Potential development sites have also been identified set in the context of an overarching plan that complements policy and provides guidance to landowners/potential developers.

Due to the strategic importance of the Wharfside area, the draft Framework has been produced in partnership with key stakeholders i.e. Peel Group, Manchester United Football Club and Salford City Council. As the Framework was underway, production of the Trafford Design Code was near completion and responding to a specific request from the DLUC as part of the Design Code Pathfinder Programme, a Masterplan for the Wharfside area (see Appendix 2) was commissioned in May 2023, The work on the Trafford Design Code identified a gap in the baseline information for the Trafford Wharfside area, which went beyond the brief for the Development Framework, broadly corresponding with Coding Process 2C - Master planning in the National Model Design Code (NMDC).  Whereas the Development Framework sets out the broad scope of the ‘what’ and ‘where’, including public realm and other level interventions; the Masterplan builds that up into a more detailed assessment of development potential, the mitigation of existing constraints, parameters and robust urban design principles.

The Masterplan therefore will form part of the Trafford Design Code which means it, like the Design Code, will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document but will also be a ‘digital first’ document bolted onto and accessible via the Design Code website. Both the Framework and Masterplan will serve as an evidence base document for the emerging Trafford Local Plan, and specifically Policies TP2 – Trafford Wharfside and Pomona; and AF2 – Trafford Wharfside.

The Trafford Wharfside Framework and Trafford Wharfside Masterplan, together with the Design Code, will enable the Council to steer and support the delivery of transformational change of exemplar design quality across the Wharfside area.

Councillor Welton commended the report. He referred to the area being next to waterways to the possibility of using water resources to produce power via heat pumps and distributing the power produced to residents similar to what has been achieved at other Councils and asked if at an early stage this possibility could be investigated as to whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

To consider the report of the Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration.

Resolved: That

(i)     Accepts the NLHF Delivery Grant Offer, approves the proposal to progress activities to secure permission to start from NLHF, and approves acceptance of the NLHF Delivery Grant on the terms set out in this report;

(ii)    Agrees that in the event of a shortfall in match funding, that priority be afforded to making up any shortfall from within the Capital Programme, which is likely to require a reprioritisation of funds from existing approved schemes;

(iii)   Delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Systems and Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, to agree the final details relating to project management and match funding; and

(iv)Delegates authority to the Director of Legal and Governance and

Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreements as required to     implement these recommendations.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration presented a report which provides an overview of the position and seeks approval to accept the grant offer and to progress activities to secure permission to start from NLHF.

In September 2023 the Council learned that its bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for grant funding for Longford Park was successful. NLHF needs to grant formal ‘Permission to Start’ by 20^th March 2024, 6 months after the grant notification letter was issued. To gain this permission, the Council needs to submit a number of documents covering governance arrangements, cashflow, evidence of match funding, funding plan to bridge any identified gap, plus evidence of the Council’s formal acceptance of the grant offer.

The Longford Park ‘People, Place and Nature’ project has the potential to contribute significantly to a number of key Council strategies and priorities relating to physical and mental wellbeing, sport and physical activity, biodiversity and access to nature, climate change adaptation and mitigation, skills development, green economy and volunteering.

The project also complements major local place shaping at Stretford Town Centre and The Civic Quarter, providing the primary major public park to meet the needs of planned residential growth, with strong physical and partnership links to the countryside of The Mersey Valley.

Following Executive approval in February 2023, a Delivery Phase bid for c£3.12m was submitted to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in May 2023 as part of a project with overall project costs of over £6.1m. This represented an increase in total project costs of £700k from the figure reported in February 2023 due to a second phase of detailed cost development being undertaken ahead of bid submission; the impact of inflationary pressures since the previous detailed costs were prepared in September 2022 and the need to provide additional activity planning resources within the project for the Delivery Phase on the advice of NLHF case officers.

After being considered at the NLHF Northern Funding Committee in September 2023, a decision was taken to offer Trafford Council a Delivery Grant of £3,118,260 based upon the payment percentage of 51%, a percentage figure consistent with the Development Phase grant.

The ‘Approved Purposes’ of the project were carried forward from the Delivery Phase and are used by NLHF to monitor progress, amended to reflect changed priorities:

Approved Purposes

(i)    Repair and conversion of Long Barn into a volunteering, training and skills hub.

(ii)   Improvements to Pets corner, cafe and Firswood Community Centre.

(iii)  Sports improvements (tennis courts, football pitches, cricket and disc golf), BMX pump track and youth zone.

(iv)  Extensive children's play area improvements.

(v)   Improvements to lighting, footpath, roads, entrances and access points across park.

(vi)  Restoration of Longford Hall footprint and portico, ha-ha and grand lawn restoration.

(vii)Restoration of art deco shelters, formal gardens (landscape and toilet block), walled gardens and community allotment.

(vii)  Creation of a shared use space for Scouts and community use at the Shippon  building.

(viii)             New furniture, seating, signage, litter bins and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101.

To consider the report of the Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture & Heritage.

RESOLVED; That the Executive

1)    Note the outcomes of the RIBA Stage 3 Plan of Work, including the public consultation exercise for the redevelopment of Partington Sports Village.

2)     Approve the facility mix, and design for the redevelopment of Partington Sports Village as set out in the report.

3)     Delegate authority to the Director of Legal and Governance in consultation with the Corporate Director of Place and, where appropriate, the Director for Finance and Systems, to finalise and enter into all legal agreements with the Dean Trust when required.

4)     Approve progression to RIBA Stage 4 within the approved Partington Levelling Up Fund Programme, including the submission of the planning application and the commencement of construction to completion, subject to costs being within the capital budget set out in this report.

5)     Note the temporary full closure of Partington Sports Village to allow redevelopment work to take place.

6)     Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance, to negotiate and agree the terms of any contracts and appointments for the relevant contractors and specialists required to deliver the project and to award such contracts and appointments.

7)     Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Place to submit planning applications for the redevelopment of Partington Sports Village including the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) works once confirmed.

8)    Approve that the Council enters into a grant agreement with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in order to access grant funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to support the delivery of the scheme.

9)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Place, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance and Director of Finance and Systems, to agree the terms and conditions of the grant and enter into agreement.

10)   Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Place in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance and the Director of Finance and Systems to enter into the funding agreement and any other terms and conditions associated with receiving additional funding from Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund.

11)   Note that any significant changes to either the capital costs identified on completion of RIBA stage 4 or the independently reviewed business case for Partington Sports Village, will be brought back to the Executive for further review and/or approval, and in advance of the Council entering contractual commitments on the overall capital spend if required.

12)    Note an extension of the Levelling Up Fund for the Redevelopment of Partington Sports Village has been approved by DLUHC.

The Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage presented a report provides an update on the Partington Levelling Up Fund Programme, including an update in relation to the redevelopment designs for Partington Leisure Centre and the outcome of the public consultation exercise. The report seeks approval to proceed to the next stage of the redevelopment of Partington Sports Village, which will be stage 4 of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Plan of Work, including the submission of the planning application and the commencement of construction to completion.

Physical exercise plays an important part in improving the health and wellbeing of Trafford residents, supporting them to live longer and in better health. Leisure centres play a vital role within the local community as research shows that the proximity and accessibility of a leisure centre to where a person lives has a bearing upon the amount of exercise taken.

The Council is currently supporting Trafford Leisure’s financial losses from its approved revenue budget. This is c£1m per annum, including use of reserves, and is expected to rise as the condition of the assets decline. Capital maintenance of over £8m has already been approved for essential statutory works. These will also increase over time and the associated borrowing costs put further pressure on the revenue budget. This is effectively the “do nothing” or minimal maintenance scenario. 

The refurbishment of Urmston Leisure Centre, which completed in 2020, has delivered improved facilities, usage, and financial returns. This pays back borrowing and reduces the financial support required from the Council.

The Strategic Outcomes Planning Model (SOPM) Stage 3 adopted by the Executive in December 2021 provided an in-depth analysis of the needs and gaps across the borough, including Partington in relation to sports facilities.

The development of Partington Leisure Centre is based on a detailed brief following robust public consultation and now has greater cost confidence due to the RIBA Stage 3 process.

Trafford Leisure CIC has been involved as part of the project team to ensure the development of appropriate revenue opportunities to compliment the designs and increase future income profiles to support capital investment.

This report was considered in conjunction with minute no 105 to these minutes.

Councillor Welton asked if there was any indication that the decarbonisation is going to be successful and if it isn’t will there be a fallback. He made the point about the possibility of reducing speed limits for safety reasons due to the fact that  Altrincham Leisure Centre would be reopening in October and Partington is closing so it seems inevitable that people will going to Altrincham Leisure Centre so the active travel links are not good so slower speed limits would be useful to protect cyclists between Altrincham and Partington.

The Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage informed Members that she did not know whether the decarbonisation bid would be successful. She referred to the Council’s track record with applications for decarbonisation.

The Corporate  Director for Place advised that we should know  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

Any other item or items which by reason of:-

(a)       Regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the Chairman of the meeting, with the agreement of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairman, is of the opinion should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency as it relates to a key decision; or

(b)       special circumstances (to be specified) the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

Motion   (Which may be amended as Members think fit):

            That the public be excluded from this meeting during consideration of the remaining items on the agenda, because of the likelihood of disclosure of “exempt information” which falls within one or more descriptive category or categories of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, and specified on the agenda item or report relating to each such item respectively.

RESOLVED - That the public be excluded from this meeting during consideration of the remaining items on the agenda, because of the likelihood of disclosure of “exempt information” which falls within one or more descriptive category or categories of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 and specified on the agenda item or report relating to each such item respectively.

To consider the report of the Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture & Heritage.

The Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage presented a report which sets out a summary of the Partington Leisure Centre business case, previous minute no 102 refers. She emphasised that on going financial support will be required from the Council and this will be considered alongside the wider business plan for Trafford Leisure over the medium term.

RESOLVED: That the business case be noted and accepted.