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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

CABINET MEMBER FOR REGENERATION

 

REPORT OF ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY STRATEGY

 

Report prepared by John Foster 

Date Issued: 2 July 2009

 

1.           Consideration of Growth Point Revenue Expenditure

 

1.1        Issue for Decision

 

1.1.1   To consider the expenditure of Growth Point revenue funding in activity to support the local economy.

 

1.2        Recommendation of Assistant Director for Development and Community Services

 

1.2.1   That the expenditure of Growth Point revenue funding set out in paragraphs 1.3.4 and 1.3.6 is approved and that delegated authority is given to the Director of Property and Regeneration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, to fund activity in support of the local economy and regeneration up to a total of £25,000.

 

1.2.2   That an annual report on Growth Point revenue funded projects is presented to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration at the end of each year.

 

1.2.3   That a report to consider the rest of the Growth Point revenue funding be presented to Cabinet Member for Regeneration later in the year.

 

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

 

1.3.1   Growth Point revenue funding of £403,338 is allocated to pay for staff and activity to support growth (September 2008 Cabinet Report on the Reprioritisation of Growth Point Expenditure).

 

1.3.2   Two specific areas of activity have been identified. The first offers excellent insights and local intelligence into the state of the property market in the Borough and the second aims to support the independent retail sector. These are:

 

1.   Co-star Focus Property database

2.   “Make It Maidstone - Make It Independent” campaign

 

 

1.3.3   Co-Star is the UK's first and most comprehensive supplier of online commercial property information. Information is updated every 30 days and includes:

 

•        Background, details of each and every property in the Borough

 

•        Comparables, information on market rents and analysis of recent deals done.

 

•        Availability of property, details of properties that are currently on the market

 

•        Demand, establishes market demand of a town through being able to know which operators are already in situ (together with information on the rent and terms of the lease/purchase) and a list of those companies which have an active requirement for the given location

 

•        Occupier Analysis, identify which firms are located in the surrounding area

 

•        Photographs & Maps, displays what the property looks like and where it is

 

1.3.4   The purchase of this information for a year costs £2,424 for three licenses. The information will aid the Corporate Property Manager obtain best consideration on property sales and purchases and also the Economic Development Manager develop initiatives to promote the local economy. The Development Control team will find the information useful when negotiating S106 agreements with developers and the Spatial Planning team will find the information useful in gathering evidence to support the Local Development Framework and Core Strategy. Maidstone Local Strategic Partnership aims to monitor the state of the local economy and a report summarizing key movements in the property market i.e. vacancy levels etc…, on a monthly or quarterly basis could form part of this intelligence gathering process.

 

1.3.5   The License fee needs to be renewed annually. A process of evaluating the usefulness of the data will be built into the first year to test the value of it to the Council.

 

1.3.6   “Make It Maidstone – Make it Independent” is a promotional campaign to support independent retailers in the town centre, in partnership with the KM Group and Town Centre Management. A four week campaign in the KM paper, Extra, kmfm and online will allow independent retailers to advertise themselves and each receive advertising with a media value worth over £1,200 at today’s trading prices for £260 plus VAT (£65 per week). TCMI have also negotiated with Dempson Crooke Ltd, a local paper products manufacturer, a supply of 10,000 paper bags. Each participating retailer will receive around 300 to 400 of these paper bags in support of the campaign and to continue to press the message surrounding the impact on the environment of non recyclable plastic bags. The Council’s contribution will be £3,000 which helps keep costs down for the retailers. The Council will have an advertising section in the paper each week as well.

 

1.3.7   Other activity which requires small scale expenditure will inevitably arise during the year. It is proposed therefore that delegated authority is given to the Director of Prosperity and Regeneration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, to fund such activity where it supports local economic development and regeneration up to £25,000 in total. A report on Growth Point revenue funded activity will be presented to the Cabinet Member for Regeneration at the end of each year.

 

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

 

1.4.1   An alternative approach would be not to fund this activity which would result in a significant lost opportunity to become better informed about the state of the property market in Maidstone. It would also mean the loss of the partnership funding provided by TCMI and the KM group in a campaign that will support the town’s independent retailers, a sector of the economy which is under particular pressure during this recession.

 

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

 

1.5.1   The activity set out in this report supports the Council’s Strategic Plan 2009-12 which states that a key objective is to “Continue to develop our offer in terms of retail…” and to monitor and manage the impact of the credit crunch and economic downturn.

 

1.6        Risk Management

 

Risk Description	Likelihood	Seriousness or Impact	Mitigation Measures
That the independent retailers do not participate in the promotional campaign	D	3	The KM are confident that the offer is attractive to retailers but should the retailers not participate then the campaign will not run and the Council’s funding contribution will not be required.

(Likelihood: A = very high; B = high; C = significant; D = low; E = very low; F = almost impossible)

(Seriousness or Impact: 1= catastrophic; 2 = critical; 3 = marginal; 4 = negligible)

 

 

1.7        Other Implications

 

1.7.1    

1.      Financial	X
2.           Staffing
3.           Legal
4.           Equality Impact Needs Assessment
5.           Environmental/Sustainable Development
6.           Community Safety
7.           Human Rights Act
8.           Procurement
9.           Asset Management

 

1.7.2   Funding is sought from Growth Point revenue grant already received from Communities and Local Government.

 

1.8        Background Documents

 

1.8.1   None

 

NO REPORT WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT THIS BOX BEING COMPLETED     X     Is this a Key Decision?        Yes                        No        If yes, when did it appear in the Forward Plan? _______________________     X   Is this an Urgent Key Decision?     Yes                  No   Reason for Urgency   n/a

 

 

 

How to Comment   Should you have any comments on the issue that is being considered please contact either the relevant Officer or the Member of the Executive who will be taking the decision.   Councillor Malcolm Greer                                    Cabinet Member for Regeneration                                                                                     Telephone: 01634 862876                                                               E-mail: malcolmgreer@maidstone.gov.uk   John Foster                                                          Economic Development Manager                                                                                     Telephone: 01622 602393                                                                   E-mail:  johnfoster@maidstone.gov.uk