Issue - meetings

To receive the report updating Members on Exeter’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Strategic Director for Place presented the report making the following points:

·         this report was a six-monthly updated as requested by the committee and would be presented in January and September 2026;

·         the three year programme had ended and transition funding was concentrating on continuing existing projects, in effect providing a one year extension;

·         the total award was £360,000 which was less than the three year allocation of approximately £1 million;

·         grant funding had been allocated;

·         the key difference were that the funds were allocated to Devon and Torbay CCA who would project manage; and

·         there was an overview of proposals and funding detailed in the report.

It was noted that there was a factual error in 4.2 as the actual spend was 99.5% rather than 100% as a last-minute refund had been issued.

The Strategic Directors for Place and Corporate Resources and the Head of Service - City Centre and Net Zero responded to questions from Members in the following terms:

·         Parklets had been provided through grant funding run by InExeter and where they were placed had been considered and one had been moved since which time no concerns or complaints had been received;

·         there was a full appraisal framework and annual returns to Government based on their criteria which were more about the metrics set rather than success or failure.

·         joint commissioning arrangements had been requested for business support and the winning company did not achieve all of their outcomes therefore not spending all of the allocated funds, which resulted in a small amount of grant funding being handed back to Government;

·         some of the costs to repair broken cameras would be covered by the new transition funding;

·         a review was underway of the costs of maintaining current camera stock and replacing the remaining analogue cameras with digital CCTV cameras;

·         there had been two consultations on what might go into a city centre strategy, one with stakeholders and then one with Members and the next would be with the public;

·         following consultation a draft city centre strategy would be written and consulted upon with a view to Council considering the strategy early in 2026. Meanwhile the city would continue to improve and bring vitality. A temporary car park would be considered but would not affect long term strategic approach to the city centre;

·         the walkway between Rougemont Gardens and Northernhay had been closed for safety reasons and there were a number of areas of the city wall which required repair. Work was currently underway near the City Gate. Repair work had been out to tender twice as the first was over £1 million and the second £500,000 but had increased to £680,000 and the Assets Team were working on all sections which were at risk.

Councillor Kevin Mitchell proposed the recommendations that:

·         Members note the impact of UKSPF in Exeter and the plans for transition funding for 2025-26.

·         The Head of Service City Centre & Net Zero provide a further update to Strategic Scrutiny on the delivery and management  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6