New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)
26th February 2020
Present:
Claire Cullens (CC)
Norfolk Community Foundation
David Ellesmere (DE)
Ipswich Borough Council
Doug Field (DF)
East of England Coop
Pete Joyner (PJ)
Shorthose Russell
Helen Langton (HL)
University of Suffolk
Dominic Keen (DK)
Britbots
Corrienne Peasgood (CP)
Norwich City College
Andrew Proctor (AP)
Norfolk County Council
Johnathan Reynolds (JR)
Opergy
Sandy Ruddock (SR)
Scarlett & Mustard
Alan Waters (AW)
Norwich City Council
Jeanette Wheeler (JW)
Birketts
Tim Whitley (TW)
BT
Attendees
Shan Lloyd (SL)
BEIS
Jai Raithatha (JR)
Suffolk County Council
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP - For Item 8
Julian Munson (JM)
New Anglia LEP - For Item 7
Lisa Roberts (LR)
New Anglia LEP - For Item 6
Chris Starkie (CS)
New Anglia LEP
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)
New Anglia LEP
Helen Wilton (HW)
New Anglia LEP
1
Actions from the meeting: (29.01.20)
Clean Growth Taskforce
Board members to consider a pledge which the Board could make and submit suggestions
All
to the Chair.
Chief Executive’s Report
To receive an update on Freeports at the next Board meeting
CS
AOB
A letter of thanks from the Board to be written to long serving LEP employees on retirement
Chair
1
Welcome from the Chair
Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanks David Ellesmere (DE) for hosting the
meeting.
2
Apologies
Apologies were received from Lindsey Rix, John Griffiths and Steve Oliver.
3
Declarations of Interest
Full declarations of interest can be found at http://www.newanglia.co.uk/about-us/the-board.
Chief Executives report: Institute of Technology discussion - Jeanette Wheeler (JW), Helen Langton
(HL), Corrienne Peasgood (CP) and Dominic Keen (DK).
4
Welcome from Cllr David Ellesmere
DE welcomed the board to Ipswich and highlighted the success of various local projects
such as the development of the Malthouse which had been supported by the LEP and key
new buildings in the Enterprise Zones (EZs).
DE note that the Cornhill had received significant investment from New Anglia which had
also provided funding for events assisting in achieving improved levels of footfall and an
increase in retail investment.
Further developments were taking place on other EZs in the town with announcements of
new investment due in the near future.
5
Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes were then accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 29th January 2020.
6
Establishment of Clean Growth Taskforce & Action Plan
Lisa Roberts (LR) reviewed the Clean Growth action plan requested by the board at the July
2019 meeting.
LR provided an overview of the steps required to develop a clean growth action plan which
will embed clean growth in all areas of LEP delivery. The plan identifies key steps which the
LEP should take to bring together key partners to collaborate, drive and implement the
actions needed to ensure the areas strengths as the UK’s clean growth region are fully
realised:
Establish a taskforce whose members will be ambassadors for the “Clean Growth
Region” and ensure that clean growth is consistently part of the development and
delivery of the Economic Strategy and Local Industrial Strategy.
Identify and agree to focus on the actions in areas that the LEP and partners can
achieve the biggest gains and impact.
Evolve the evidence base and ensure that the interventions identified will deliver the
desired outcomes
Work with partners in the development of the action plan to ensure their buy in and
commitment to their own role in delivering clean growth.
LR highlighted the LEP’s Environmental Policy and proposed that the Board consider
submitting a pledge of its own.
Andrew Proctor (AP) agreed with the direction of the work but asked where the funding
would come from to support the many actions identified.
2
LR confirmed that many of the interventions aligned with those in the Investment Plan
therefore funding would come from many different sources.
AP proposed that funding sources be identified and included in the clean growth plan.
Johnathan Reynolds (JR) noted that there was a significant degree of complexity involved in
coordinating between the boards and sub boards and the significant level of resource
required for this.
HL noted the size of the plan covered all elements of the LEP’s work and these ambitions
would prove challenging to deliver and proposed the aims should be more focussed with
more realistic delivery. HL also commented that pledges could be meaningless unless
those behind were completed committed to achieving the aim and had the means to do so.
DE identified the difference between ensuring all new growth was clean and trying to retrofit
clean growth requirements to existing projects. He proposed that interventions should
concentrate on practical help to new projects.
DF asked for the Terms of Reference to be amended to include reporting frequency and
suggested quarterly.
DF asked for suggestions for a pledge from the Board be submitted to him.
ACTION: Board members to consider a pledge which the Board could make and submit
suggestions to the Chair.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To the establishment of the Clean Growth Taskforce and its terms of reference subject to
inclusion of quarterly reporting
To agree steps outlined in the report to develop the action plan further
To note the LEP team Environmental policy and action plan
To consider ideas for a Board pledge which will sit within the LEP’s own action plan
7
Approach to Developing a Tourism Sector Action Plan
Julian Munson (JM) presented the proposal for developing a Tourism Action Plan which will
identify those interventions which will raise productivity and the value of the sector and better
position the region to secure Government investment.
JM highlighted the collaboration with Cambridge which faces challenges in retaining tourists
who visit the town briefly and could potentially extend their visits into Norfolk and Suffolk.
Alan Waters (AW) noted the importance of ensuring that those new jobs created were well
paid and highlighted the challenges posed for the tourism sector by the new immigration
proposals.
Pete Joyner (PJ) cited that transport and infrastructure issues could pose a challenge in
allowing staff to travel to tourist locations to work as housing prices proved too high to live
there.
JW noted that many businesses relied on staff from overseas and had not made plans to
manage any shortfalls proposing that the LEP could provide support to such businesses in
the planning.
The meeting agreed that it was vital to receive feedback from businesses around the issues
they face to allow the LEP to feed comments and case studies into Government.
DF queried how increased visitor numbers and improvements in transport infrastructure tied
in with the clean growth aspirations.
JM confirmed that more could be done to promote existing infrastructure and transport links
and tie tours in across the region. It was important to link in with providers such as Stansted
and Greater Anglia to ensure that tourism was considered within their plans.
3
JW noted that as the clean growth region there needed to be sufficient charging points and
tourism businesses who promote clean growth should be highlighted.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To endorse the proposal to develop a Tourism Action Plan
To approve the timeline and approach
8
Investment Plan Pipeline - Confidential
Chris Dashper (CD) presented the tactical project pipeline as requested at the last meeting
noting that this is an evolving document with a number of the currently in development with
partners while others at an earlier stage of development.
DF asked how clean growth aspirations were incorporated in the pipeline plans. CS
confirmed that clean and inclusive growth were included at the application stage.
JW asked how this fitted with the Investment Plan. CS confirmed that this was the starting
point of exiting projects and the Investment Plan would build on and augment this pipeline.
AP noted that projects would need to be prioritised and that the availability of funding would
impact on this process. AP also stressed the importance of getting buy in from MPs to
support the projects.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To endorse the project pipeline
9
Governance - Sub Board Reporting
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) presented the proposed process for sub-board reporting which
ensures that the LEP Board are appraised of the priorities and progress of key sub-boards.
It was agreed that a limited number of key objectives would be reported against twice a year
and that clean growth would be included in the reporting.
David Ellesmere expressed a concern that the reporting would take up a considerable
amount of board meeting time.
DF noted that a number of the sub-boards were chaired by board members who would
manage the issue of the time and the reporting format.
Claire Cullens (CC) supported the plan as providing focus for sub-boards and also for giving
them the opportunity to escalate to the Board any issues impacting upon progress.
JR proposed circulating the reports from sub-boards to the others to allow for joined up
working and ease of identifying similar issues.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the proposed reporting cycle and proposed reporting template
10
Election of Deputy Chair
CS presented the Board paper proposing the process for appointing a deputy chair.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To begin the process of appointing a deputy chair as outlined in this paper
11
Chief Executive’s Report
CS noted some of the highlights of the report and asked for questions from the board.
CS noted that the £1.1m ERDF application to extend the Growth Hub and the Small Grant
Scheme activity to the end of November 2021 is still awaiting approval from MHCLG.
4
DF proposed writing to express concern over the delay and the impact
DE asked if there was any impact if the funding was delayed into 2021 such as time
restrictions. CS confirmed this was not an issue in terms of timing of the spend.
HL, CP, DK and JW left the room.
CS confirmed that the Government has announced a second wave of bids to host an
Institute of Technology (IoT) and that the LEP has been asked to confirm its position. The
Board discussed the previous bid and the LEP’s involvement in the next round of
applications.
CS noted that clear feedback on the failure of the last bid has not been provided and
proposed that the LEP reviews all applications in the new round.
The Board agreed to provide support to all partners in compiling applications to host an IoT
HL, CP, DK and JW returned to the room.
CS advised that a consultation on Freeports is live and announcements for bids will follow.
LEPs & Mayorial authorities will be responsible for bids with only one bid per LEP area
according to current rules. New Anglia has begun conversations with 2 of the 3 companies
running ports in Norfolk & Suffolk.
AW noted that there were some issues around free ports and the wider economic impact
needed to be considered.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To provide support to all partners in compiling applications to host an IoT
To receive an update on Freeports at the next Board meeting
12
February Programme Performance Reports
RW reviewed the reports for February noting areas where delivery has been delayed or
claims not received which has impacted on claims.
RW presented the economic and programme dashboards noting that the skills data showed
a downturn but the figures behind this are not clear and the LEP has requested further
information.
The Board agreed:
To note the contents of the reports
To approve the Growth Deal Quarterly Dashboard
13
Board Forward Plan
CS reviewed the content of the next board meeting and asked for any additional items from
the Board.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the plan
14
Any Other Business
DF noted that Nigel Best has retired and Keith Spanton will also be leaving shortly and prosed
writing that the Board write to long serving staff to staff thanking them for serving.
Next meeting:
Date and time of next meeting:
10.00am - 12.30pm, 25th March 2020
Venue: Equinor, Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, 50 South Denes Road, Gt Yarmouth, NR30 3PR
5