The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Interim Director of Regeneration and the Special Projects Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited all Members, Officers and Visitors to introduce themselves.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration introduced the report which gave an update on the progress of the Sittingbourne Town Centre Regeneration scheme.  He highlighted that highway works were upcoming and invited questions from Members.

In response to a question from a Member, Huw Evans from Quinn Estates clarified that as the market had changed, the focus had shifted from the residential part of the scheme to Leisure and Big Box retail, and that the residential scheme was now being considered again but would not be rushed.

A Member sought clarification on where diversions would be whilst work was being carried out and raised concern at the impact this would have on vehicle movements.  The Interim Director of Regeneration advised that UK Power Network along with Kent County Council (KCC) were administering the diversion and that diversion notices would be displayed within the next week.  Later in the meeting, Kevin McEveer from Lowick (communications consultancy)  advised that information on the diversion could be viewed on the roadworks.org or the KCC website.  The Chairman advised that the public would expect and recognise traffic delays as a sign that the project was moving forward.

A Member asked why it was necessary for the Development Agreements to be unconditional site-by-site?  The Cabinet Member for Regeneration responded that this was because it was such a large scheme, work would be carried out in phases to avoid any delays that any  issues might cause.  The Senior Projects Advisor added that progress would have been halted and delays created by statutory approvals meant that dates within the Development Agreement may not have been met.  He stated that the Development Agreement still required the whole scheme to be delivered.   The Chief Financial Officer added that it was more financially workable to separate the Retail and Leisure Units.

There was a discussion which centred on the risk around the cinema and a Member drew attention to the recent reduction in profit by the Odeon Cinema chain due to a reduction in footfall.  The Cabinet Member for Regeneration responded that the Odeon Cinema was one of the oldest of the main cinema operators and their issues were a lack of maintenance, renewal and repair of their cinemas.  He added that the Light Cinema chain now had seven cinemas in the United Kingdom with plans for a further 13 cinemas, and the new cinema and related restaurants would generate footfall during the day and night, increasing consumer spend in Sittingbourne.  The Cabinet Member for Regeneration considered that the Light Cinema were an expanding major player.  After further discussion, the Chairman asked if there was a Risk Assessment on the cinema, which could be viewed by Members?  The Chief Financial Officer agreed to circulate an updated Risk Assessment after the meeting.

In response to a question from a Member, the Interim Director of Regeneration clarified that the role of Scheme Manager (recently advertised) would be working closely on the Development Agreement conditions and compliance, and communications liaison to engage more effectively with the public.  The Chief Financial Officer added that there were aspects of the role that required procurement skills, for example, when the Council needed to procure staff such as managing agents.

A Member put forward a proposal for the Scrutiny Committee to appoint a Task and Finish Group for the Sittingbourne Town Centre Regeneration scheme for monitoring, but the proposal was not seconded.  The Chairman considered it was not necessary to appoint a Task and Finish Group, as the whole of the Scrutiny Committee should be involved but agreed that the Scrutiny Committee may consider this option in the future.

A Member highlighted individual Committee Members’ experience in financial analysis and asked if more information could be provided within reports, in the standard style of other Committee reports?  The Interim Director of Regeneration stated that no feedback had been received from the previous work programme provided and advised that the Gantt chart was managed by Spirit of Sittingbourne.

The Chief Financial Officer advised that SBC had signed up to the scheme for a fixed price and that the Spirit of Sittingbourne consortium would take on any additional risk.  He added that SBC’s strategy of transferring the risk meant that SBC were not involved in the detail.  Huw Evans, the Sittingbourne Town Centre Consultant (Quinn Estates),  added that correct processes have been followed, the monitoring surveyor could produce a detailed report and that Officers had put rigid processes in place.  He reminded Members that staff involved in the project had responsibility to their own Board.

A Member praised staff for improved communications but suggested a critical path analysis should be provided so that Members were better informed to advise their residents. He added that date accuracies were less important than explanations of why progress may have stalled. The same Member asked if the start date of the highways works of 1 August 2017 was realistic?  In response, Huw Evans advised that it was difficult to produce an accurate critical path analysis because of the large, complex nature of the development and referred to the recent presentation on the highways aspect of the scheme.

A Member praised the Regeneration Team on the progress made and asked that future progress should be monitored and reported back quickly.  In response, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration advised that there would be a joined-up approach between SBC Communications Team and Lowick.  The Interim Director of Regeneration said that start dates and phases would be monitored, referred to the Member bulletin circulated at the recent Highway presentation to Members, and said there was due to be an update on St. Michaels Road Car Park, Sittingbourne which affected SBC staff.  Kevin McEveer added that his core objective was to coordinate and improve communication which would be achieved through the local media, leaflets, social media and updates on the Spirit of Sittingbourne website (sos.com).

A Member sought clarification on the role of the new scheme manager post and asked whether Planning Conditions on the Planning Approval would be monitored?

A Member agreed that recent update information and documents received had been more helpful and suggested an updated copy of the Gantt chart be provided.  He added that all press releases on updates should be sent to Members first.

In response to a Member, the Interim Director of Regeneration advised that the email address spirit@swale.gov.uk  was a generic email address for a point of contact.

The Interim Director of Regeneration advised that the Spirit of Sittingbourne Partner consortium met bi-monthly, and there were monthly, individual meetings of the STC Board, High Level Officers Group, Key Delivery Officers Group and the Internal Officers Group.  Additionally, the Interim Director of Regeneration reported monthly updates to the Strategic Management Team at SBC.

In response to a question from a Member on how exchange rates may affect the delivery of the multi-storey car park by a German company, Huber,  the Chief Financial Officer advised that whilst there had been a sterling depreciation, the cost of £3.5million still represented excellent value for money and Huber had been very accommodating in the delay.  A Member added that, even if the scheme was carried out by a British Company, it would still be subject to exchange rate fluctuations due to the cost of importing materials.

Geraint Jones (Connects) advised that Officers at KCC were working hard to ensure a start date of the highway works of 1 August 2017 and Mark Williams (Erith Contractors) added that he was confident that Erith Contractors would be commencing work on site on that date. In response to a question from a Member, Geraint Jones confirmed that the diversion being administered by UK Power Networks would commence on 24 July 2017 and all traffic would be diverted onto the A2.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration thanked Members of the Scrutiny Committee for their fair and open questions.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Interim Director of Regeneration, the Special Projects Manager and the Partners of the Sittingbourne Town Centre Regeneration scheme for their attendance at the meeting.