Irvine Plan for Neighbourhood
North Ayrshire Council · 14 May 2025
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 14 May 2025 Council Title: Irvine: Plan for Neighbourhoods Purpose: To seek approval to submit an update to UK Government on the Irvine Neighbourhood Board and to provide an update on the refreshed ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ programme. Recommendation: That Council: a) Notes the update on the refreshed Plan for Neighbourhoods programme; b) Approves the appointment of the Irvine Neighbourhood Board Chair and Vice Chair; c) Approves the appointment of the three Elected Members to the Board as outlined at Appendix One; d) Notes the membership and boundary of the Irvine Neighbourhood Board; and e) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director (Place) to prepare the required information for submission to UK Government in consultation with the Irvine Neighbourhood Board. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 On 30 September 2023, the UK Government announced that 55 towns across the UK would benefit from up to £20 million of investment through endowment style funding over a 10-year period. Irvine was identified as one of originally seven towns in Scotland to benefit from this funding. 1.2 Cabinet approved the acceptance of the award, an interim governance structure and early commencement of work to develop a Long-Term Plan for the investment on 5 December 2023. 1.3 The UK Government provided an updated prospectus and programme for the re-named Plan for Neighbourhoods, in March 2025. This report provides an update on the refreshed programme and seeks approval to confirm the incumbent Chair alongside the proposed appointment of Elected Members. 2. Background 2.1 The UK Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns Prospectus was published on 1 October 2023. This identified 55 towns as beneficiaries of the fund with a further tranche of 20 towns announced in March 2024. The programme proposed to invest £1.5 billion into the 75 towns across the UK, of which now ten are within Scotland.
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2.2 The ten Scottish towns are Irvine, Kilmarnock, Greenock, Coatbridge, Clydebank, Dumfries, Elgin, Peterhead, Arbroath and Kirkwall. Towns were selected using the Levelling Up Needs Index methodology. This considered metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health alongside the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), the City and Town Classifications of Constituencies and Local Authorities dataset. 2.3 On 5 December 2023, the Council’s Cabinet approved the acceptance of the award, an interim governance structure and early commencement of work to develop the investment plan. Cabinet agreed that a sub-group of the Irvine Locality Partnership be formed including the representation outlined in the Prospectus as an interim governance structure. Updates were provided to the Irvine Locality Partnership on the Fund in January 2024, through which agreement was obtained to progress the governance approach and formation of the sub-group of the Locality Partnership. 2.4 The appointment of the membership of the Town Board, including the current Chair Bill Nolan, was undertaken in line with UK Government requirements and noted by Council in September 2024. This report also approved the appointment of three Elected Members to the Board to ensure appropriate representation. 2.5 Following the 2024 General Election, the programme was reconfirmed within the UK Government’s 2024 Autumn Statement. An updated prospectus and guidance documentation were published in March 2025. The new ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ programme seeks to drive growth over the long-term and includes updated strategic objectives and a list of pre-approved interventions. 2.6 The updated programme requires a partnership approach between the local authority, the Neighbourhood Board and the community. It is the responsibility of the Board, in partnership with their Local Authority, to develop and deliver a ten-year vision for the town. There is also a requirement for a more detailed four-year investment plan which will inform the delivery of the programme from 2026 onwards. The Plans must be approved by UK Government prior to implementation, these can be submitted any time from Spring to Winter 2025. Additional guidance is to be issued around the format of the Regeneration Plans. 2.7 The Prospectus requires confirmation to UK Government of the following information: • Confirmation of whether Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has signed off a previously agreed Board and boundary. • The Board chair and member details. • A nominated contact for the place’s Neighbourhood Board. • Confirmation of the proposed geographical boundary for your place. • Any supplementary documentation (for example, terms of reference and code of conduct). • An outline of capacity funding spend to date and plans for additional spending. 2.8 The Governance and Boundary Guidance provides further detail on the proposed membership of the Neighbourhood Board. This broadens the range of representation required or encouraged on the Board. Informed by this guidance, it is proposed that Bill Nolan be appointed as Board Chair and Chris Pless be appointed as Vice Chair. This decision is to be taken in liaison with the local MP, Alan Gemmell, who has confirmed his support for both of the above positions. Furthermore, it is proposed that through engagement with the Board, the Executive Director (Place) confirms the required information for submission to UK Government including the refreshed membership. The proposed Board membership is provided at Appendix One and the Neighbourhood
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Boundary is provided at Appendix Two. 2.9 The updated guidance provides further information on the approach to developing and delivering the Regeneration Plans. This will be considered in more detail by the Board at its future meetings. A report will then be considered by the Council’s Cabinet in due course to seek approval of the four-year Regeneration Plan in advance of submission to MHCLG. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Council: a) Notes the update on the refreshed Plan for Neighbourhoods programme; b) Approves the appointment of the Irvine Neighbourhood Board Chair and Vice Chair; c) Approves the appointment of the three Elected Members to the Board as outlined at Appendix One; d) Notes the proposed membership and boundary of the Irvine Neighbourhood Board; and e) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director (Place) to prepare the required information for submission to UK Government in consultation with the Irvine Neighbourhood Board. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The total award per town has been confirmed as £19.509m. The Financial Assistance power under Section 50 of the UK Internal Market Act will be used to fund towns directly. The Council will act as the accountable body for the funds with responsibility for ensuring that public funds are distributed fairly and effectively, and that funds have been managed in line with the Nolan Principles and Managing Public Money principles. The Council is also responsible for compliance with legal responsibilities in relation to subsidy control, state aid and procurement. Human Resources 4.2 Additional staff resource is required to support the delivery of the Fund and the development of a Regeneration Plan for Irvine due to the scale and duration of the award. This requirement was considered with the Irvine Locality Partnership. It is proposed that a Project Officer be recruited in the first instance to support the project, based in the Regeneration team. The cost of this will be met from the funding awarded and recruitment will commence on receipt of formal confirmation of the award. Legal 4.3 The legal implications of the Irvine Plan for Neighbourhoods will be considered through its development and Legal advice taken as necessary. Legal agreements will be developed on a project-by-project basis as required with support from Legal Services. Negotiation in relation to any land and building acquisitions will be undertaken as necessary with support from the Council’s Legal Services and Property Management and Investment Service. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The Fund aims to support town centre regeneration and promote economic
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development. This considers metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health alongside the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. An initial screening will be undertaken to establish if an Equality and Children’s Rights Impact Assessment is required for individual programme elements on a case-by-case basis. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The development of a Regeneration Plan for Irvine will enable the delivery of projects aimed at revitalising Irvine. This could include promoting and improving active travel, reducing vacant and derelict land and carbon reduction measures. This aligns with the priorities of the Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy and the commitment to reduce carbon emissions. Key Priorities 4.6 The development and implementation of the programme will support all four of the Council Plan’s priorities and strategic aims of: • Wellbeing: To transition to a wellbeing economy, delivering prosperity, wellbeing and resilience for local people. • Communities and Local Democracy: We will have active, inclusive and resilient communities. • Climate Change: To achieve net-zero by 2030. • A Sustainable Council: A Community Wealth Building Council that is efficient and accessible, maximising investment and focusing resources on our priorities. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The Fund has the local community at the heart of its methodology. It aims to ensure investment is targeted at local priorities and will empower local communities to contribute to the regeneration of the town centre. A Community Wealth Building approach will be adopted to the development of the Regeneration Plan to ensure that its delivery contributes across the pillars of: • Land and Assets: by supporting equitable land development and the development of underutilised assets for community use. • Procurement: through the inclusion of appropriate community benefit of local supplier clauses within projects; and by considering phasing and programming of projects to create local supply chain opportunities and support delivery by smaller scale and local contractors where appropriate. • Fair Employment: by supporting the creation of employment opportunities particularly within the construction sector. Where North Ayrshire is procuring services, through our enhanced Community Benefits approach we will seek to ensure the creation of local training and work experience opportunities. Consideration will also be given to delivery through employability programmes where appropriate. • Financial Power: by investing in the town centre and leveraging additional external investment. 5. Consultation 5.1 The Plan for Neighbourhoods aims to ensure that local people are at the heart of
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decisions, through direct membership of the Neighbourhood Board and through a requirement to engage widely on the regeneration plan for each town. The Regeneration Plan for Irvine will therefore be developed through co-production with the Neighbourhood Board and extensive engagement with stakeholders. This approach has been informed by engagement with Connected Communities. It will build on work to date, Locality Partnership’s priorities, the Regeneration Delivery Plan and previous consultation exercises. 5.2 Updates have been provided to the Irvine Locality Partnership on the Fund. Through this, agreement was obtained alongside approval for the interim governance approach and the formation of the sub-group of the Locality Partnership. Representation on the Neighbourhood Board has been informed by engagement with the Locality Partnership and Connected Communities. RUSSELL McCUTCHEON Executive Director (Place) For further information please Claire Fitzsimmons, Interim Senior Manager - Regeneration, on 01294 315305. Background Papers 0
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Appendix One: Irvine Neighbourhood Board Membership The membership requirements of the Neighbourhood Board are set out in the Plan for Neighbourhoods Prospectus and Guidance. The following table details the membership for the Board. The representatives were identified through engagement with the Locality Partnership and the local interest groups and agencies required by the Prospectus and Guidance. Three Elected Members are proposed to ensure each of the three Irvine wards are represented. Member Organisation Bill Nolan (Chair) Irvine Burns Club Chris Pless (Vice-Chair) Irvine Community Council Cllr Matthew McLean North Ayrshire Council – Elected Member Cllr Chloe Robertson North Ayrshire Council – Elected Member Cllr Nairn Angus-McDonald North Ayrshire Council – Elected Member Russell McCutcheon North Ayrshire Council – Executive Director Place Mark Boyd North Ayrshire Council – Head of Finance Barbara Conner The Ayrshire Community Trust TBC Police Scotland Steven Easton Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce Fiona Paton Rivergate Shopping Centre David Phillips Irvine Seniors Forum Danny Kerr Marymass Festival Committee Emma Burns Member of Scottish Youth Parliament Freya Fitzsimmons Member of Scottish Youth Parliament Scott Morrison KA Leisure Alan Gemmell MP Member of UK Parliament Matthew Moran Maritime Museum
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Appendix Two: Irvine Plan for Neighbourhoods Boundary The plan below outlines the boundary of the Irvine Plan for Neighbourhoods boundary.