Agenda pack
North Lanarkshire Council · 17 February 2023
Back to Enterprise and Fair Work Committee — 17 February 2023 and its agenda
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Our Ref: Your Ref: Contact: Tel: Fax: E-Mail: Date: Clare Louise McDonald 01698302190 mcdonaldcl@northlan.gov.uk 8 Feb 2023 Members of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer of Legal & Democratic Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB DX 571701, Motherwell 2 www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the ENTERPRISE AND FAIR WORK COMMITTEE is to be held within the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Motherwell on Friday, 17 February 2023 at 10:00 am which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Chief Officer of Legal and Democratic Members : Councillors: A Bustard, D Crichton, P Di Mascio, K Docherty, K Duffy, H Dunbar, J Hume, A Khan, J Leckie, G Lennon, J Logue, A Magowan, A Masterton, F McNally, M McPake, L Nolan, P Patton, D Robb, G Robinson, A Smith, K Stevenson, R Sullivan, J Toner, S Watson, C Williams. Page 1 of 79
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AGENDA (1) Declarations of Interest in terms of the Ethical Standards in Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 OPERATIONAL (2) Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-2028 (page 5 - 38) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Place seeking approval of the refreshed Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) 2023-2028 and associated annual ERDP Action Plan for 2023/24 (copy herewith) (3) City Deal Update Report (page 39 - 48) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Place detailing the current status and recent progress of North Lanarkshire City Deal Infrastructure sub projects (copy herewith) (4) Employability Update (page 49 - 54) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Education (South) providing an update on the outcome of the extension to the current EU funded Employability Programme and providing information on the transition to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Labour Market in North Lanarkshire (copy herewith) (5) Vacant and Derelict Land Fund - Re-allocation of Funding (page 55 - 60) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Place seeking approval of the re-allocation of Vacant and Derelict Land Fund monies (copy herewith) (6) External Funding - Update (page 61 - 68) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Place providing an update on significant recent external funding activity (copy herewith) CONTRACT (7) Contract Award - Braidhurst Industrial Estate Design Team (page 69 - 79) Submit report by the Chief Officer of Place advising of action taken to award a contract for Braidhurst Industrial Estate Design Team to Collective Architecture Limited (copy herewith) Page 3 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PH/DG Date 17/02/23 Programme of Work PO18.1 - Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-2028 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place E-mail Greerd@northlan.gov.uk Telephone David Greer, Growth Programme Manager: 07583059816 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to seek approval for North Lanarkshire’s refreshed Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) 2023-2028 and associated annual ERDP Action Plan for 2023/24. The ERDP is a high-level economic development framework which is aligned to the composite capital programme and delivers on the first priority of The Plan for North Lanarkshire – improving economic outcomes and opportunities for all. The 2023-28 refreshed ERDP replaces the previous ERDP which was approved by Enterprise and Growth Committee in August 2019 and covered the timeframe 2019-2023. As with the previous ERDP, the refreshed ERDP aims to ensure that the council continues to focus on investment in physical regeneration across four inter-related themes: • developing housing that promotes improved quality of life and creates a better place to live; • reshaping our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities; • improving our business and industrial infrastructure, creating opportunities for investment and for companies to start-up or relocate here; and • continuing to improve our connectivity and develop new opportunities by transforming our road, rail and digital infrastructure A 2023/24 ERDP Action Plan has also been developed and is included within the supporting documents of this report. As throughout the delivery of the 2019-23 ERDP, this action plan will be subject to annual monitoring, review and update. AGENDA ITEM 2 Page 5 of 79
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1. Background 1.1 In August 2019, the Enterprise and Growth Committee approved North Lanarkshire’s Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) covering the period 2019-2023. 1.2 The ERDP was developed based on significant consultation and engagement with stakeholders including elected members, North Lanarkshire residents, businesses, council officers, and key partner organisations and was developed to help co-ordinate the physical regeneration of North Lanarkshire, ultimately aimed at growing the North Lanarkshire economy and improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all. 1.3 Since 2019, an annual ERDP Action Plan has been approved by committee each year detailing key milestones and targets for the financial year ahead. In 2022 a wider Economic Performance Framework was also approved by committee which details progress against short, medium and longer-term economic targets. 1.4 Since the inception of the ERDP, several significant milestones have been achieved through the delivery of the New Supply, Growth and City Deal programmes. This has been previously communicated to committee in annual progress updates. Another performance report will be presented to committee in Cycle 3 2023, detailing progress against the 2022/23 ERDP Action Plan and wider Economic Performance Framework. 1.5 As the initial ERDP only covered the period between 2019-23, a refresh has been necessary to ensure that this plan remains fit for purpose. Recommendations It is recommended that committee: 1. Approve the refreshed ERDP (2023-2028) and Action Plan (2023/24) which are attached to this report as appendices. 2. Note that the approved ERDP and Action Plan will be subject to final review and consultation. 3. Note that an annual performance report detailing progress against the 2022/23 Action Plan and wider ERDP Performance Framework will be presented to committee in Cycle 3 2023. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (1) Ensure a housing mix that supports social inclusion and economic growth (2) Refocus our town centres and communities to be multi- functional connected places which maximise social, economic, and environmental opportunities (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure (4) Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy Page 6 of 79
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1.6 Due to the significant scale of ambition in North Lanarkshire, many of the existing ERDP themes focus on longer-term programmes of work which will continue well beyond 2023. Moreover, internal stakeholder engagement has concluded that the revised ERDP (2023-2028) should be a light touch refresh as we continue to progress our key investments in housing, town centres, business and industry, roads, active travel and digital infrastructure. 2. Report 2.1 Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-2028 2.1.1 The refreshed ERDP continues to focus on the same four key inter-related themes as the 2019-23 plan: • developing housing that promotes improved quality of life and creates a better place to live; • reshaping our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities; • improving our business and industrial infrastructure, creating opportunities for investment and for companies to start-up or relocate here; and • continuing to improve our connectivity and develop new opportunities by transforming our road, rail and digital infrastructure 2.1.2 Our work in these areas will also be underpinned by several key policies and strategies ultimately aimed at improving economic opportunities and outcomes for those who live, learn and work in North Lanarkshire. These include: • North Lanarkshire’s Equality Strategy; • The Workforce for the Future Strategy (and future updates); • The Place, The Vision; • Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together 2030; and • The council’s Digital and IT Strategy. 2.2 Housing 2.2.1 Housing plays a key role in the health and wellbeing of North Lanarkshire’s people and economy. Increasing housing supply and choice across all tenures will attract investment, create jobs and reduce inequality. 2.2.2 To help deliver the homes that North Lanarkshire needs to grow over the next five years, the revised ERDP recommends that the council will: • continue to focus investment in the council’s affordable housing stock to make sure that the target of 5,000 new council homes for North Lanarkshire is reached by 2035; • continue to support the delivery of the affordable housing programme including intermediate tenures such as mid-market rent; • enable private sector housing development to support the regeneration of strategic sites such as Ravenscraig. Page 7 of 79
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2.3 Town Centres 2.3.1 Town Centres are vital for our sense of community and place and their attractiveness and quality is strongly interlinked with the image and success of North Lanarkshire. 2.3.2 North Lanarkshire has eight recognised town centres: Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell, Shotts and Wishaw. Each town has its own distinctive features and distinct mix of cultural, leisure and retail facilities. 2.3.3 To help reshape our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities over the next five years, the refreshed ERDP recommends that the council will: • establish and commence delivery of town action plans for all eight town centres (aligned with our approved town visions), agreeing short, medium and long-term investment plans for each; • continue to prioritise funding and secure external investment for the regeneration of our town centres; • review how the council can be more effective in addressing failing buildings in our town centres, including potential use of Compulsory Purchase Orders where required. 2.4 Business and Industry 2.4.1 North Lanarkshire has one of Scotland’s fastest growing economies and has huge potential for future growth. To realise this potential, we need to enable our people and businesses to thrive by continuing to invest in skills, in business and industrial space and in marketing North Lanarkshire as the place to invest and work. 2.4.2 To help improve our business and industrial infrastructure and attract new investment and employment, the refreshed ERDP will be supported through the delivery of a new Business and Industry Strategy for North Lanarkshire. 2.4.3 The revised ERDP also recommends that the council and our arms-length external organisations (ALEOs) will focus on activities over the next five years which: • promotes a mix of development across our motorway corridors and accessible business locations to support the development of our foundational economy as well a high-end growth; • continues to support enabling investment which brings our vacant and derelict land and brownfield sites into commercial use; • improves how we record and respond to enquiries from businesses to provide a co- ordinated approach across relevant council services to help attract, retain and expand businesses and employment opportunities; • builds upon work which supports innovation and skill development though the development of sectoral learning academies; and • supports investment, via our ALEOs, that will continue to improve, modernise and expand commercial stock availability across North Lanarkshire. 2.4.4 Added to these activities, it is also intended to undertake a full review of sites allocated for business and industry within the current Local Development Plan (LDP) to inform the preparation of the next LDP and ensure that we have suitable sites available to attract and retain businesses and employment opportunities. Page 8 of 79
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2.5 Connectivity 2.5.1 Our existing roads, railways and digital infrastructure provide gateways to inclusive growth and prosperity but there remains a need to better connect North Lanarkshire to markets and employment opportunities by improving our strategic infrastructure. 2.5.2 To help improve our connectivity, the refreshed ERDP recommends that over the next five years, the council will: • continue to deliver the City Deal programme; • ensure that inclusive economic growth remains at the heart of opportunity to support affordable and accessible transport systems (via the Local Transport Strategy due to be launched in 2024); • invest in the delivery of the council’s Active Travel Strategy to ensure a comprehensive connection of active travel routes to key places across North Lanarkshire; • support the delivery of Electric Vehicle Charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire; and • work with the council’s digital partner to install and invest in infrastructure that helps create one of the best and most affordable/accessible digital provisions in the UK. 2.6 ERDP Action Plan 2.6.1 An action plan for 2023/24 has been devised to help progress delivery of the priorities set out in the refreshed ERDP. This and future ERDP action plans will continue to be subject to annual review, update and committee approval. This will allow for changes to be made in response to any changing or arising challenges and opportunities facing the North Lanarkshire economy at any given time. 2.6.2 Whilst the ERDP 2023-2028 will remain a longer-term high-level framework for the North Lanarkshire economy, the 2023/24 Action Plan outlines key targets and objectives for the year ahead. 2.6.3 The action plan will be delivered through the ERDP Steering Group (which comprises key officers from contributing services across the council) and monitored through the ERDP Board (which comprises senior officers across key services). 2.7 Consultation and Briefings 2.7.1 Following approval by committee, the finalised ERDP refresh will be subject to final review (and potential minor amendment) by relevant services and wider stakeholders. Once complete, an online briefing session on the finalised 2023-28 will be organised for all members. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The annual ERDP Action Plan contains various targets, the delivery of such being key to the success of the refreshed ERDP. 3.2 A robust Economic Performance Framework has now also been established and contains a series of key performance indicators, with short, medium, and long-term targets attached as the operational measures of success. The next end-year performance report is due to be presented to committee in Cycle 3 2023. This will include progress against the 2022/23 ERDP Action Plan as previously approved by committee. Page 9 of 79
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4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (2023-2028) Appendix 2 ERDP Action Plan 2023/24 Pamela Humphries Chief Officer of Place Page 10 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes x No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The primary aim of the refreshed ERDP 2023-28 is to support inclusive economic growth and opportunities for all. In doing so it aims to support investment in creating a more equitable and fairer place for residents of North Lanarkshire to live. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The 2019-23 ERDP was funded through a mixture and a range of external funding sources. It is envisaged that the 2023-28 ERDP will largely be funded in a similar manner subject to available resources. An investment plan will be developed for the 2023-28 ERDP and opportunity will be sought to use available funding for enabling works to try to help secure private sector investment for proposals delivered through the ERDP. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Page 11 of 79
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Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The ERDP remains one of the council’s key strategies and will be promoted accordingly through Corporate Comms and digital platforms. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Risks are recorded and managed within Corporate Risk Register. Key risk is failure to deliver on ERDP and its objectives of helping co-ordinate physical and economic regeneration activity across North Lanarkshire, increasing economic output and helping address social and economic inequality. This would result in the loss of economic and social benefits to residents and business across North Lanarkshire and significant reputational damage to the Council given the widespread public nature of the programme. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 12 of 79
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 13 of 79
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Appendix 1 Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-2028 Page 14 of 79
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Foreword North Lanarkshire’s first Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) was launched in September 2019. The main focus of the plan was to help secure and direct capital investment in order to promote inclusive economic growth, ensure community well-being and create a more prosperous place for residents of North Lanarkshire to live. North Lanarkshire continues to be one of the fastest growing economies in Scotland. With our central location, developing markets across construction, biotechnology, rail transportation and logistics, North Lanarkshire has continued to re-profile its economy over the last decade. However, recent years have thrown up many challenges with the economic impact of Brexit, Covid-19 and more lately the cost-of-living crisis. To address this, North Lanarkshire needs to ensure that we are the best placed location in Scotland to encourage investment, ensure that we have the homes and places where people want to live and the digital and physical connectivity that attracts business and new opportunity. North Lanarkshire’s refreshed ERDP 2023-2028 builds upon the activity that the council and its partners have been putting in place over the last 4 years. North Lanarkshire has consistently met targets set out in previous annual ERDP Action Plans. However, the ERDP cannot be delivered as a discrete strategy. It needs to be aligned with wider strategies for regeneration, digital, local housing and investment. It needs to support our plans for net zero carbon emissions and environmental sustainability as well as growth, whilst ensuring our communities have access to fair and equitable economic and employment opportunities. Ayeshah Khan Convener, Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Page 15 of 79
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Introduction The North Lanarkshire ERDP sets out a high-level framework for improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all. The 2019-23 ERDP (which the 2023-28 ERDP replaces) aimed to do this by trying to direct capital investment towards four key goals: • developing housing that promotes improved quality of life and creates a better place to live; • reshaping our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities; • improving our business and industrial infrastructure, creating opportunities for investment and for companies to start-up and relocate here; and • continuing to improve our connectivity and develop new opportunities by transforming our road, rail and digital infrastructure This framework was designed to focus activities and resources towards large-scale regeneration and investment projects throughout North Lanarkshire. Nevertheless, since 2020, these goals to a certain extent have been affected by wider economic issues and the global coronavirus pandemic. However, due to the significant scale of the planned investment and ambition in North Lanarkshire, the previous ERDP themes were very focused on longer-term programmes of work which will continue well beyond 2023. As such, internal stakeholder engagement has concluded that the refreshed ERDP (2023-2028) should be a light touch refresh of the previous plan. This will allow the council to continue to progress our key investments in housing, town centres, business and industry, roads, active travel and digital infrastructure, whilst also at the same time being able to better reflect the current economic environment. The core themes of the 2023-2028 ERDP will also continue to be underpinned by several principles including skills, net zero and digital connectivity. This will be done by ensuring that the ERDP is aligned to a number of key North Lanarkshire policies, strategies and plans which are already in place: • NLC’s Equality Strategy • Workforce for the Future Strategy • The Place, The Vision • Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together 2030 • Digital and IT Strategy The 2023-2028 ERDP will continue to be supported by annual ERDP Action Plans which set out our main objectives and targets related to physical infrastructure investments. Action Plans will continue to be subject to annual review and committee approval. This will allow for changes to be made in response to any changing or arising challenges and opportunities facing the North Lanarkshire economy at any given time. An Economic Performance Framework (EPF) was also developed in 2021 to try to measure the economic outcomes of the ERDP and other associated activity being delivered through the council and their partners. This framework contains a series of key performance indicators with short, medium and long-term targets. The EPF will remain in place and annual performance reports will be presented to North Lanarkshire Council’s Enterprise and Fair Work Committee. Page 16 of 79
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Key Strategic Links The Plan for North Lanarkshire sets the direction for the council and its partners. Its purpose is to communicate our shared priorities and provide a focus for activities and resources. It is a high-level strategic document that outlines a long-term vision for North Lanarkshire - a vision where North Lanarkshire is the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. The Plan for North Lanarkshire is underpinned by a number of strategies and plans which are closely interlinked with the ERDP. As such, activity delivered through the ERDP annual action plans will aim, where possible, to support the following: Equality Strategy North Lanarkshire’s Equality Strategy focusses on furthering the council’s ‘We Aspire’ ambitions and priorities. It recognises that the poverty, disadvantage and inequalities that exist for some people in North Lanarkshire needs to be addressed. Addressing the disadvantage and inequality that some groups of people experience because of societal constructs, prejudice, direct and indirect discrimination requires a strong, sustained strategic approach directly aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire and other key plans such as North Lanarkshire’s ERDP. ‘Employment’ and ‘Education’ are two of the five key themes of this strategy which need to be embedded within the goals of the 2023-2028 ERDP. As such, and given current economic circumstances, this ERDP will focus much more on opportunity and using investment to provide chances to those most excluded. Workforce for the Future Strategy Building a skilled workforce for the future plays a significant part in delivering our ambition for North Lanarkshire. In economic terms, making sure that we have a skilled workforce will support a more sustainable place that will help the council and its partners to continue to grow its economy and create better opportunity for our residents and young people. The Workforce for the Future Strategy and ERDP Action Plans need to ensure that investment plans continue to support future strategy that is focused on skills and community benefit. More importantly, investment through the ERDP needs to be targeted and actively support skills development across key growth sectors. The Place, The Vision The Place, The Vision sets out an investment plan for North Lanarkshire focused on 4 key themes – ‘Town and Community Hubs’, ‘Town Centres’, ‘Country Parks’ and ‘Connectivity’. The refreshed ERDP needs to ensure that it remains closely linked to this vision and make sure that investment being made in our housing, town centres, business and connectivity fits with wider plans for our town and community hubs and greenspace and that these remain accessible to all. Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together 2030 This strategy encompasses the council’s climate emergency declaration and subsequent target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. To do this, carbon efficiency has to be embedded in all future investment decisions made by the council. Council decisions need to consider how new development can be offset against our plans for growth. This not only means investment in council owned assets but consideration as to how the council can drive forward carbon savings across the private sector and our third sector partners. Page 17 of 79
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Digital and IT Strategy IT and digital are integral to the future success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, Digital Communities, a Digital Economy, and a Digital Council. Investment made through the ERDP offers opportunity for digital infrastructure and better digital connectivity. Commsworld have been appointed as the council’s digital partner and there should be early engagement with them in relation to all investment being made through the ERDP and other council led capital investment plans to ensure that opportunity to improve digital infrastructure across North Lanarkshire is not missed. Developing housing that promotes improved quality of life and creates a better place to live As of June 2021, there were more than 341,000 residents living in more than 153,00 homes across North Lanarkshire’s towns and settlements. With over 30% of homes in North Lanarkshire socially rented (compared to a Scottish Average of 23%), public sector investment in our housing stock remains critical to support population growth within North Lanarkshire. This is reflected in part via the council’s commitment to delivering one of Scotland’s most ambitious affordable housing programmes. In 2018 the council pledged to deliver 5,000 new affordable homes by 2035 with 1,494 new council homes already completed and a further 267 in development as of March 2022. Added to this, the council aims to support our partner social landlords to deliver an additional 758 affordable homes by 2027/28. However, this is not simply just about constructing new properties but also about creating improved quality of homes, following through on the council’s commitment to replace our ageing tower blocks with modern, energy efficient and accessible property whilst recognising that young people, families and our elderly population need the right homes in the right places. With only 70.3% of North Lanarkshire’s housing stock privately owned (owner occupied and private rented), there is also a vital need to expand opportunity for people to be able to buy their own homes and remain within or relocate to North Lanarkshire. With over 141ha of developable land available at Cumbernauld Community Growth Area – (Cumbernauld CGA) and 140.46 available at Ravenscraig, these two sites by far offer the most extensive opportunity for private sector build. While private sector housing in most areas of North Lanarkshire is generally affordable and in good supply, businesses continue to highlight that there is lack of affordable rented accommodation for those on short-term or temporary contract and who are unable or unwilling to commit to homeownership. To address this issue, North Lanarkshire Council continue to review and assess opportunity to support intermediate tenures such as mid-market rent. Lastly, whilst the total number of households in North Lanarkshire increased by 1,200, between 2019 and 2021, future projections to 2043 show significant growth. Nevertheless, since mid-2020, there has been a number of issues which have affected development and provide challenges to the council to ensure that our programme for housing development does not stall. Challenges Faced Covid, Brexit and the wider geopolitical landscape has had a significant impact on the council’s construction and development programmes over the last three years. It has led to supply chain delays, significant contract price increases and inflationary rises. This has in turn put significant pressure on council budgets to deliver on its programme (with the average build cost of a new build council home Page 18 of 79
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rising from circa £190-195k (pre-Covid) to £215-220k. This represents the average cost across all property types and sizes and costs vary from site to site. Added to this, all social landlords face significant pressure on their resources, which may impact on their ability to fund new build and other investment programmes. Private sector development has also been constrained by rising costs and financial uncertainty over the last two to three years with only 492 new private sector homes completed in 2021/22 compared to 926 in 2018/19. However, private sector development is also affected by other issues at key sites such as Cumbernauld CGA (where infrastructure investment is required) and Ravenscraig (where abnormal ground conditions has led to significant abnormal costs). Recommendations To help deliver the homes that North Lanarkshire needs to grow over the next 5 years, the council will: • continue to focus investment towards the council’s affordable housing stock to make sure that the target of 5,000 new council homes for North Lanarkshire is reached by 2035; • continue to support the delivery of the affordable housing programme including intermediate tenures such as mid-market rent; • enable private sector housing development to support the regeneration of strategic sites such as Ravenscraig. Reshaping our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities Town Centres are vital for our sense of community and place and their attractiveness and quality as a place to live is strongly interlinked with the image and perceived success of North Lanarkshire. North Lanarkshire has eight recognised town centres: Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell, Shotts and Wishaw. Each town has its own distinctive features and distinct mix of cultural, leisure and retail facilities. However, as with most other areas across Scotland and the UK, vacancy rates continue to increase across our towns as town centre shopping continues to be impinged by out-of-town retail parks and in particular online shopping. North Lanarkshire’s town centres have a vacancy rate of almost 19%. This vacancy rate is projected to continue to rise as retail continues to fail (a decline which has been accelerated by the impact of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis). To address this decline, the 2019-23 ERDP highlights that town centres need a broader foundation for success with a mix of uses sustained by a resident population. In doing so, one of the recommendations of the 2019-23 ERDP was to develop aspirational visions for all of North Lanarkshire’s eight town centres. Following a programme of public engagement and stakeholder consultation, as well as input from a range of expert consultants, these visions, providing high level concept designs for our town centres, were approved by the council’s Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2021. Whilst these Visions are very specific to each town centre and their communities, they shared a number of commonalities: • the need to consolidate retail within our town centres, increase residential footfall and address vacancy through town centre housing development; • a wish to promote local access to our town centres through active travel; • an aspiration to, where possible, establish transport hubs connecting up bus and rail networks; Page 19 of 79
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• a desire to incorporate proposals for town or community hubs within our town centres where possible; and • proposals to create new bespoke gateways to our towns. The next stage of bringing these visions to life involves developing action plans for each town that will specifically identify short, medium and long-term activity to help promote and support the concepts identified within the town centre visions. This work, co-produced with local communities and residents, is already underway and will be completed for all eight towns by mid-2024. However, although the action plans for our town centres are still in development, the council has continued to work to address key issues which impact upon the image of our centres and which communities have identified as prolonged blight within our towns. As such, over the last four years of the 2019-23 ERDP, more than £70m investment has been made in regenerating our town centres funded through the council’s capital programme and a range of external town centre and place making funds. Challenges Faced The work undertaken through the delivery of the 2019-23 ERDP, together with wider macro-economic factors, has given rise to a number of practical challenges in relation to the regeneration of our town centres. It was already well recognised that complex property ownership patterns within town centres and development constraints constituted two of the main barriers to the redevelopment of our towns. However, what has presented a greater challenge to the council more recently is owners’ unrealistic expectations of town centre property value, which is often higher than the current market value that the council is able to pay. In most of these cases, the buildings being sought by the council are in poor condition, with little or no ongoing maintenance, and will continue to fall into further disrepair due to failure to agree their acquisition price. Added to this, there has been a number of other issues which have impacted on bringing other town centre projects forward. These include: • the extended timescales and resource requirement needed to establish the justification and implementation of compulsory purchase orders; • medium to long-term lease agreements of individual units tying up the acquisition of larger retail properties; • energy efficiency and building regulation requirements, especially for conversion of property to flatted accommodation above commercial premises; • finding an alternative use for vacant retail properties within our town centres where these are not suitable for residential use; and • the cost of conversion of town centre vacant properties. In addition to these project specific barriers, elevated inflation levels have not only given rise to increased construction costs but has also led to increased pressure on council budgets. Moreover, one of the key annual funding streams which is available to support town centre regeneration, the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme, is only currently guaranteed up until 2024/25. As such, longer-term funding plans still need to be put in place to support the delivery of the emerging town centre action plans and ensure our ambitions for transformative town centre change can be met in full. Page 20 of 79
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Recommendations To help reshape our town centres to ensure that these provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities over the next five years, the council will: • establish and commence delivery of town action plans for all eight town centres (aligned with our approved town visions), agreeing short, medium and long-term investment plans for each; • continue to prioritise funding and secure external investment for the regeneration of our town centres; • review how the council can be more effective in addressing failing buildings in our town centres, including potential use of Compulsory Purchase Orders where required. Improving our business and industrial infrastructure, creating opportunities for investment and for companies to start-up or relocate here North Lanarkshire has one of the fastest growing economies in Scotland with GVA increasing by 118% over the last two decades. The number of registered enterprises in North Lanarkshire has also increased from 6,760 to 8,420 between 2010 and 2022. Businesses across the authority have a combined turnover of almost £16M (6% of all Scottish business turnover), with nearly half of North Lanarkshire’s businesses within the retail, construction, scientific and technical services industries and the remaining sectoral mix fairly evenly spread between a diverse range of sectors such as administrative and support services, transportation and storage, accommodation and food services and manufacturing. Demand for commercial space in North Lanarkshire is high and, whilst our office market remains relatively weak (due to historic oversupply), with almost 25million sqft of industrial floorspace, the rate of vacant industrial units is at a historic low of 3.5%. Added to this, North Lanarkshire has over half (53%) of all available marketable land in the Glasgow City Region. To support continued business growth across North Lanarkshire, the council took forward a number of initiatives via the 2019-23 ERDP. These include: • the development and delivery of the 2020-23 ‘Workforce for The Future Strategy’ which aims to align workforce skills with future jobs demand and promote access to higher skilled employment in order to help address ‘in-work poverty’; • the preparation of North Lanarkshire’s Economic Recovery Plan which was designed to sustain and support business recovery through the covid pandemic; • the establishment of Invest in North Lanarkshire, a bespoke online marketing campaign focused on promoting investment in North Lanarkshire and opportunities for companies to locate here; • £4.809m Vacant & Derelict Land Funding provided to Fusion Assets (NLC’s arms-length economic regeneration and property development company) to help kick-start industrial development at Gartcosh Business Interchange, Ravenscraig Industrial Park and Link Park Business Park (Newhouse); • securing funding for the development of the Smart Hub Lanarkshire, a new manufacturing innovation hub at New College Lanarkshire (Ravenscraig Campus) used to promote new technology and incorporation of automation within North Lanarkshire’s manufacturing industries; and Page 21 of 79
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• securing £5m external funding for the regeneration and redevelopment of Braidhurst Industrial Estate to be used as a pilot for the renewal of more marginal estate within North Lanarkshire In addition to activity undertaken though the council, the Glasgow City Region Economic Strategy was launched in 2021, setting out a vision where by 2030 Glasgow City Region will have the most innovative, inclusive and resilient economy in the UK. This regional strategy highlights three key priorities which should be used to help guide future business and industry investment in North Lanarkshire. These are: • promoting an inclusive economy by addressing worklessness and creating accessible employment opportunity; • improving productivity through upskilling, innovation, fostering key growth sectors and the continued expansion of the region’s ‘foundational economy’; and • supporting investment and activity which promotes wider goals for net zero. Challenges Faced Due to its close proximity to Glasgow and the draw that this has for financial and administration sectors, the office market in North Lanarkshire is oversupplied and currently relatively weak with vacancy rates of 15.4% and average rental values of 23% below the Glasgow regional average. On the other hand, over the last decade, average rents for industrial space in North Lanarkshire have risen by an average of +3.1% per annum, whilst the volume of industrial property sales in 2020 at £106m has been a record high, pushing average prices up. However, rising construction costs and an oversupply of older industrial properties across the region (at a much lower rental cost than modern new facilities) is likely to start to constrain investment in new facilities. A report prepared by Co-star in 2022 also highlighted that industrial vacancies along key motorway corridors such as the M8 is now at a record low (3%) with demand continuing to far outstrip supply and level of available developable land continuing to fall. These strategic business locations represent a vital investment opportunity for North Lanarkshire and the potential to make available land via the development of the Orchard Farm roundabout access of the A8 to open-up new industrial land at Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP). Although these motorway corridors provide North Lanarkshire’s main strategic business locations, consultation undertaken as part of the development of the ERDP 2023-2028 has highlighted that for those without cars, accessing these locations is difficult from towns and settlements across North Lanarkshire due to a lack of public transport options (as is the case for those residents from smaller and rural settlements trying to access employment opportunity in general). Lastly, this consultation also highlighted that, although information in relation to commercial property or land enquiries that the council or its partners receive is generally well shared, there remains a number of initial enquiry entry points (including Enterprise, Growth, Planning and Place and Estates Teams, Fusion Assets, North Lanarkshire Properties, Lanarkshire Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise) without a formal process for recording, sharing or reporting on these. Page 22 of 79
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Recommendations In order to promote growth and inclusive growth over the next five years, the refreshed ERDP proposes the following recommendations: • promotes a mix of development across our motorway corridors and accessible business locations to support the development of our foundational economy as well a high-end growth; • continues to support enabling investment which brings our vacant and derelict land and brownfield sites into commercial use; • improves how we record and respond to enquiries from businesses to provide a co-ordinated approach across relevant council services to help attract, retain and expand businesses and employment opportunities; • builds upon work which supports innovation and skill development though the development of sectoral learning academies; and • supports investment, via our ALEOs, that will continue to improve, modernise and expand commercial stock availability across North Lanarkshire. Added to these activities, it is also intended to undertake a full review of sites allocated for business and industry within the current Local Development Plan (LDP) to inform the preparation of next LDP and ensure that we have suitable sites available to attract and retain businesses and employment opportunities. Continuing to improve our connectivity and develop new opportunities by transforming our road, rail and digital infrastructure With key motorways (M8, M74, M73 and M80) running across and linking the local authority area, rail freight depots and a new transport hub being built at Motherwell Train Station, North Lanarkshire is the ‘best-connected’ place in Scotland. The new orbital route delivered through City Deal will help improve this connectivity even further, linking Motherwell, Ravenscraig, Airdrie and Cumbernauld directly to the M8 and M74 motorway corridors. New active travel routes are helping to create 20-minute neighbourhoods, connecting our communities with our greenspace, town centres, travel hubs and public facilities whilst new access infrastructure such as the City Deal Orchard Farm Roundabout on the A8 will open up new commercial development opportunity. In addition to this access infrastructure, work is being undertaken to support the delivery of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging across North Lanarkshire. Much of this work is now being undertaken at new housing and commercial developments. However, in 2020, Project PACE was formed to trial the approach of an electricity network provider leading on the planning and installation of public EV charge points at a regional scale across Lanarkshire. Between its launch and 2022, Scottish Power Energy Network, funded through the Scottish Government, installed 167 EV charging points at 44 EV hubs across Lanarkshire including 23 hubs in North Lanarkshire with 22 standard, 30 fast and 32 rapid charging points. Building on the works undertaken through initiatives such as Project PACE, the Scottish Government launched a £30M EV Investment Fund (EVIF) in 2022 in order to support local authorities to draw in private investment across Scotland and enable the implementation of a variety of public charge point owner/operator models. Models for delivering future EV charging are currently being considered at a regional level. However, this needs to be interlinked to our wider plans for town centre renewal, Page 23 of 79
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housing supply, town and community hubs, parks for the future, business and community regeneration. Digital connectivity also remains at the heart of renewing North Lanarkshire, ensuring that all our residents and businesses have access to affordable full-fibre or fast-speed broadband. To support this, the council has entered into a 15-year partnership agreement for digital connectivity services with ‘Commsworld’. This commercial partnership has been put in place to help deliver high-quality, reliable fibre connections that will make a transformative difference to investment opportunities for businesses in the area as well as tackling digital exclusion among our residents. It will achieve this by futureproofing North Lanarkshire’s digital backbone, enhancing the coverage and reach of gigabit-capable networks to businesses, private and council-owned social housing and residential households that are not currently served by existing networks. This will bring enormous benefits including increased access to employment opportunities, improve health and social wellbeing and economic growth. Lastly, launched in 2021, North Lanarkshire’s Active Travel Strategy aims to direct the creation of a wide range of connections across North Lanarkshire that can be utilised for everyday journeys such as travelling for education, day to day needs and employment opportunity. Significantly, this strategy provides a framework for the council to prioritise and bring forward active travel interventions across North Lanarkshire that will improve links within our towns and planned town and community hubs. In helping to deliver this, over the last four years, North Lanarkshire Council has made investment in key routes such as Cumbernauld Greenlink and Ravenscraig Active Travel links. Added to this, active travel plans are now being developed to deliver improved greenlinks to key employment locations such as Eurocentral and Maxim. Challenges Faced Although, North Lanarkshire has great road and rail infrastructure, access to and from many of our rural communities and business locations is dependent upon car ownership. Car ownership across most of North Lanarkshire is relatively low and, whilst pre-covid, commercial bus services across many areas of North Lanarkshire was poor, post-covid, commercial routes have worsened. In 2019, legislation was approved to permit local authorities to run public bus services. However, such services, where most needed, are likely to be commercially unviable and would need to be heavily subsidised. Whilst plans for City Deal Investment are ringfenced and on budget, as we progress with other infrastructure investment plans across North Lanarkshire, as with all other capital programmes, rising construction costs and inflation continues to impact on proposals. As such, there is a clear need to prioritise this investment to help ensure that we best achieve our goals for inclusive economic growth, net carbon zero and digital connectivity. Lastly, much of the land required for infrastructure development across North Lanarkshire falls outside council ownership. This often results in the need to agree servitude rights or acquire land or property through compulsory purchase orders, slowing development down and bringing about higher costs (potentially making schemes financially unviable). Page 24 of 79
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Recommendations In order to continue to enhance connectivity across North Lanarkshire, it is recommended that the council: • continue to deliver the City Deal programme; • ensure that inclusive economic growth remains at the heart of opportunity to support affordable and accessible transport systems (via the Local Transport Strategy due to be launched in 2024); • invest in the delivery of the council’s Active Travel Strategy to ensure a comprehensive connection of active travel routes to key places across North Lanarkshire; • support the delivery of Electric Vehicle Charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire; and • work with the council’s digital partner to install and invest in infrastructure that helps create one of the best and most affordable/accessible digital provisions in the UK. ERDP Action Plan The refreshed ERDP is a high-level five-year economic development framework which is aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire. In order to support the delivery of this plan, the ERDP will be underpinned by an Action Plan which will be subject to annual review, monitoring and update. This Annual Action Plan will set clear targets and aims for each forth-coming year which will assessed and measured bi-annually. This will allow for: • amendments to be quickly made to plans in response to any changing or arising challenges and opportunities facing the North Lanarkshire economy at any given time; and • the impact of activity being delivered through the ERDP on North Lanarkshire’s wider economic Performance Framework to be assessed. Page 25 of 79
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Appendix 2 ERDP Action Plan 2023-2024 Page 26 of 79
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The Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan is a key strategic document which is aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire and other key strategies, policies and plans. Together this strategic policy framework ensures that work is aligned with our priorities and enables the required resources and working practices needed to facilitate delivery of the shared ambition. As a high-level investment framework, the Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan will be aligned with our composite capital programme and will be refreshed again at the end of 2027/28. This Action Plan supports delivery of the Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan. It will be monitored and updated annually. Future updates can be found at www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/ERDP Improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all The Plan for North Lanarkshire Economic Regeneration Deliver Plan NLC Equalities Strategy Workforce for the Future The Place, The Vision Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together 2023 Digital and IT Strategy Active Travel Strategy Page 27 of 79
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Theme: Live ERDP Priority 1: Developing housing that promotes improved quality of life and creates a better place to live ERDP Action Baseline Target 2023-24 Lead Team 1.1 Deliver new build council homes via NLC’s New Supply Programme. Between 2010/11 and 2021/22 NLC has delivered 934 new build homes across the authority via the New Supply Programme alone. Complete 276 new build council homes during 2023/24 New Supply 1.2 Bring homes into council ownership via NLC’s Open Market /Empty Homes Purchase Schemes, including homes previously bought under the Right to Buy scheme As of 31 March 2022, NLC had brought 560 homes into council ownership since the introduction of the Open Market /Empty Homes Purchase Schemes. 75 Open Market /Empty Homes Purchase Scheme completions during 2023/24 New Supply 1.3 Enable the private sector to support the delivery of the New Supply Programme, via off the shelf purchases. As of 31 March 2022, NLC has acquired 117 new build homes from the private sector Progress the delivery of a further 50 new build acquisitions during 2023/24. New Supply 1.4 Prepare and support the delivery of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) Between 2010/11 and 2021/22, 1,494 affordable homes have been delivered via the council’s New Supply Programme and 1,862 by Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s) Prepare the 2024/25 SHIP which will identify sites to meet Local Housing Strategy priorities and maximises the use of available Scottish Government grant funding. Support the delivery of sites within the current 2023/24 SHIP. New Supply Page 28 of 79
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Theme: Invest ERDP Priority 2: Reshaping our town centres to ensure they provide modern and attractive centres that meet the needs of our communities ERDP Action Baseline Target 2023-24 Lead Team 2.1 Co-produce a series of Town Action Plans with local communities to enable the realisation of the Town Visions. Eight Town Visions were approved by committee in 2021. Finalise the first four Town Action Plans in Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Motherwell and Wishaw. Town Action Plans for Bellshill, Coatbridge, Kilsyth and Shotts in development for completion mid-2024. Growth 2.2 Develop a sense of place by protecting, repurposing or redeveloping vacant, derelict or unused priority buildings and sites within our town centres and investing in town centre regeneration activity that will support the delivery of the Town Visions Since the Growth Team was formed in 2019, 15 town centre properties/sites have been acquired across the authority with a view to either converting existing properties to residential developments, building new homes on cleared sites or upgrading commercial premises. Continue to engage with local property/landowners with a view to acquiring key town centre properties/sites earmarked for conversion/improvement. Growth 2.3 Between 2010/11 and 2021/22 there were 1,460 new homes delivered within North Lanarkshire’s 8 town centres (including edge of town developments). These properties have been delivered via North Lanarkshire Council and Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s). Deliver or support the delivery of 52 new affordable homes within our town centres (including edge of town) during 2023/24 New Supply / Growth Page 29 of 79
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2.4 Support new investment in North Lanarkshire’s town centres. £2.8m was secured via PBIP in 2021/22 and a further £2.4m in 2022/23. Deliver the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme allocation for 2023/24 (NB allocation still to be confirmed by Scottish Govt). Growth 2.5 North Lanarkshire has submitted various funding bids over the course of the previous ERDP (2019-2023) including the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund and Community Renewal Funds. North Lanarkshire secured more than £3.7m during 2021/22 and 2022/23 as part of the eighth and ninth rounds of the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF). In January 2023 the council was awarded £9,225,000 from the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund to support the delivery of the Cumbernauld Town Vision Engage with local community organisations to enable applications to third party regeneration funds, where appropriate. Continue to support 2 existing community led projects funded under previous RCGF rounds. Submit bids to any relevant regeneration challenge funds announced by the UK Government, Scottish Government, or other relevant external funding bodies. Growth Page 30 of 79
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Theme: Work ERDP Priority 3: Improve our business and industrial infrastructure, creating opportunity for investment and for companies to start-up or relocate here ERDP Action Baseline Target 2023-24 Lead Team 3.1 Improve the provision of high-quality business and industrial space either directly or through our ALEOs or Joint Ventures. £1.334m invested in business and industry zoned land or upgrades to existing business and industrial infrastructure across North Lanarkshire between 2018/19 and 2021/22. This includes NLC and ALEO funding only. NLC and Fusion Assets to invest a minimum of £2.3m in key business and industrial projects Fusion Assets / Growth 3.2 £6.924m external, private or loan funding secured for investment in office and industrial developments across North Lanarkshire between 2018/19 and 2021/22. £3.45m external funding (including private sector funding) to be secured by NLC/Fusion Assets for business and industrial infrastructure in 2023/24. Fusion Assets / Growth 3.3 4.07ha of land remediated or improved for business and industry use across North Lanarkshire between 2018/19 and 2021/22. 2.0ha of land to be remediated or improved (by NLC or Fusion Assets) for business and industry use in 2023/24. Fusion Assets/ Growth 3.4 69,910 sq.ft of commercial workspace created or refurbished as a result of investment by NLC, Fusion Assets or NLP across North Lanarkshire between 2018/19 and 2021/22. 16,500 sq.ft of business and industrial workspace to be created or refurbished by NLC, Fusion Assets and North Fusion Assets/ Growth Page 31 of 79
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Lanarkshire Properties in 2023/24. 3.5 Ensure our investment opportunities deliver economic opportunities and outcomes for all Stage 2 RCGF submission for Braidhurst Industrial Estate approved December 2021 - £1.8M RCGF awarded to project Progress delivery of a regeneration scheme for Braidhurst Industrial Estate, including the provision of new start-up units and refurbishment of existing units owned by North Lanarkshire Properties. Growth 3.6 N/A Develop a Business and Industry Strategy in line with investment opportunities, site prioritisation and future market demand. Growth Page 32 of 79
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Theme: Invest ERDP Priority 4: Improve our connectivity and develop new opportunities by transforming our road, rail and digital infrastructure ERDP Action Baseline Target 2023-24 Lead Team 4.1 Continue to deliver the City Deal Programme Planning approval granted. Full Business Case (FBC) for the West Coast Mainline Crossing approved with works on site 2022/23. Continue to progress delivery of Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure to support the redevelopment of Ravenscraig and connect the M74 to M8 as part of Pan Lanarkshire Transport Corridor. Complete West Coast Mainline Crossing. Full Business Case (FBC) approval for the Motherwell to Ravenscraig access (new roundabout at Airbles Road/Windmillhill Street junction; dual carriageway from the junction to Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility) Enterprise Projects Page 33 of 79
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Commence construction of Motherwell to Ravenscraig access. 4.2 Ground investigation works complete. Preferred option for East Airdrie Link Road route identified. Continue to progress delivery of the East Airdrie Link Road (EALR). Procure and appoint consultant team for Stage 3 (Detailed Design and Planning Application). Commence detailed design. Enterprise Projects 4.3 Contractor (Balfour Beatty) appointed, and works have commenced on site. Improve Motherwell Town Centre transport interchange to support active and sustainable travel. Complete works at Motherwell Rail Station (ScotRail) and Muir Street (NLC) during 2023/24. Enterprise Projects 4.4 Outline Business Case (OBC) for A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements project was approved by Glasgow City Region City Deal Cabinet in 2022. Full Business Case approval for the Orchard Farm roundabout. Enterprise Projects Page 34 of 79
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Appointment of contractor to deliver the Orchard Farm Roundabout to support the development of key business and industrial sites on the A8/M8 corridor. 4.5 The OBC for the A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements project was approved by Glasgow City Region City Deal Cabinet in 2022. This included sustainable transport improvements and enables us to develop and design our proposals. Progress delivery of the Eurocentral Strategic Active Travel project. Appoint consultants to develop detailed design proposals during 2023/24. Enterprise Projects 4.6 Support and enable investment in active travel Ravenscraig Active Travel Link (RATL) phase 1 complete – providing a new path enabling residents to walk, wheel and cycle. The path runs north from ‘The Castings’ housing development off Meadowhead Road to Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility and 'The Craig' public park. Deliver phase 2 of the RATL from Meadowhead Road to Robberhall Road. Enterprise Projects 4.7 Funding secured via UK Shared Prosperity Fund - £75,000 allocated towards active travel feasibility studies. Undertake feasibility studies to support the development of active travel routes across North Lanarkshire. Infrastructure & Transportation / Enterprise Projects Page 35 of 79
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4.8 7.8km of active travel routes enhanced or created between 2018/19 and 2021/22. A further 6km of active travel routes to be enhanced or created during 2023/24, linking communities, arterial routes and transport hubs with town centres and key business locations in North Lanarkshire. Infrastructure & Transportation / Enterprise Projects 4.9 Deliver a worldclass digital Infrastructure across North Lanarkshire Commsworld Ltd were appointed to deliver connectivity services in February 2022. The project to deliver Full Fibre connectivity through the Councils Wide Area Network is progressing well. To date, CommsWorld have delivered 162k metres of Fibre Infrastructure. 3 apprentices were recruited during 2022 via the NLC/Commsworld Shared Apprenticeship model. Fibre infrastructure to be fully delivered by June 2023. This infrastructure is key to then enable other call off contracts, one of which is Public Wi-Fi, which when delivered, will be the single Public Wi-Fi service that will incorporate Town Centres and any public use buildings and spaces that are deemed to require it. This new infrastructure will be an enabler for further digital opportunities throughout North Lanarkshire. Business Solutions Page 36 of 79
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Through the Community Benefits and Added Value elements of the contract, key actions will be delivered throughout 2023-24 including: • Recruitment of additional 3 apprentices through the NLC/Commsworld Shared Apprenticeship model. • Continued delivery of SmartSTEM/ Young Enterprise Scotland programme in Schools • Provision of work experience placements • Delivery of a digital showcase for businesses • Development of activity to maximise the uptake of Scottish and national broadband voucher schemes • Development and delivery of actions to Page 37 of 79
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support community engagement, empowerment and capacity building Page 38 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref LN/PH Date 17/02/23 City Deal Update Report Programme of Work PO21 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place E-mail NobleLy@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Lyndsay Noble 07970016256 Executive Summary The North Lanarkshire City Deal Programme Update report seeks to inform the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee of the current status of North Lanarkshire City Deal Infrastructure subprojects. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 1) Note the status and recent progress of North Lanarkshire City Deal infrastructure subprojects. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 3 Page 39 of 79
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1. Background 1.1 The Glasgow City Region (GCR) City Deal is an agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments and the eight GCR Local Authorities, with the sole focus of creating additional economic growth. The 20-year GCR Deal was accepted by GCR Council Leaders on 20 August 2014 and incorporated: • implementing a £1.13bn Infrastructure Fund to improve the regional transport network, regenerate sites for economic use and improve public transport provision; • supporting growth in the life sciences sector; • helping small and medium enterprises to grow and develop; • establishing programmes to support the unemployed; and • piloting new ways of boosting the incomes of low wage employees. 1.2 The City Deal programme for North Lanarkshire as part of the Infrastructure Fund comprises the following projects: • A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements o Strategic Active Travel o Orchard farm Roundabout • Glenboig Link Road (complete) • Pan-Lan Orbital Transport Corridor o East Airdrie Link Road o Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure o Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange 2. Report 2.1 Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange (MTCTI) 2.1.1 The redevelopment of Motherwell Rail Station by ScotRail’s appointed contractor, Balfour Beatty, is due to complete in March 2023. Over recent months, work has focussed on the new extensions to the station building, new roof structure and glazing. Access to the station and platforms for passengers has continued to be maintained throughout the improvements. The temporary ticket office in the station forecourt has been removed and relocated into the new retail unit space, until the new travel shop is complete. 2.1.2 Committee will be aware that Balfour Beatty has also been appointed by the council to undertake the improvement works to Muir Street comprising expansion of the bus stop; provision of a new access road to Motherwell Rail Station with new taxi rank and public realm improvements. 2.1.3 Both the Motherwell Rail Station and Muir Street contracts were scheduled to be complete by July 2022. Due to delays primarily in delivering the station contract, the station works are now expected to be complete in March 2023. Through joint working with Balfour Beatty and ScotRail, it is anticipated that the Muir Street works will be completed ahead of the station works, during February 2023. Due to the need to ensure safe pedestrian access between the expanded bus stop and Motherwell rail station, reopening of the bus stop occurred at the end of January. SPT have been notified and have communicated this timescale to bus operators. Page 40 of 79
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2.1.4 Some road closures of short duration have been put in place to date for the Muir Street works to carry out some activities safely. For each road closure, advance notification is provided to local businesses and the public (through signage on site, website updates and other communication channels). Road closures have been arranged at weekends to minimise disruption to the town centre. The majority of work requiring road closures is now complete, however a further closure may be needed to install the new pedestrian crossing from the east side of Muir Street to the bus stop area. 2.1.5 Officers within the Enterprise Projects Team are working with the communication team at Balfour Beatty and the Motherwell Rail Station Communications Group to ensure that communications are coordinated across both contracts. 2.1.6 Community Benefit outcome delivery by the contractor is progressing well. To date, a number of skills, employability and training initiatives and community project have been delivered. In recent months, a site visit has been held with local school children; local groups have been supported via a volunteering day undertaken with Balfour Beatty staff assisting to lay paving slabs and install a shed and foodbank voucher support and materials have been donated to a local school. The provision of benches for a local church and group will be completed in early January. 2.1 Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure 2.2.1 The Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure project comprises three projects: • a new road connection between Motherwell and Ravenscraig from Airbles Road, passing under the West Coast Main Line railway, and on to the Regional Sports Facility • completing the dualling of Airbles Road between Airbles Farm Road and Hamilton Road and improving facilities pedestrians and cyclists • upgrading the A723 for three kilometres from the New Craig Road junction at Ravenscraig to the M8 at Holytown to create a dual carriageway and shared footway/cycleway 2.2.2 The project will be delivered in phases, beginning with the new rail bridge for the future connection between Motherwell and Ravenscraig. 2.2.3 Significant progress has been made by Story Contracting, with the construction of the new bridge structure complete in December and ahead of programme. Whilst not shortening the overall programme, this provides greater programme contingency for the works that are required to take place over the winter months. Works during early 2023 ahead of the track closure will focus on preparations for works to the track and associated reequipment. 2.2.4 In preparation for the next 3 phases of works, the project team: • have completed the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Construction of the dual carriageway into Ravenscraig ready for publication during March. The outcome of the procurement will be reported to committee in due course. It is intended that the works will start in the autumn following City Deal and Committee approval, and once the bridge is fully complete. The delay to this tender has been to allow design of additional works to improve safety for road users and Non-Motorised Users at the existing roundabout by the Regional Sports Facility. Page 41 of 79
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• competed negotiations with the bridge contractor for advance preparatory works for the new dual carriageway to both simplify the contractual relationship with Network Rail and the Council during our works and to mitigate the impact of time lost to the additional design work noted above • negotiated to remove the one objection to the Compulsory Purchase Order to allow the construction of the dual carriageway into Ravenscraig and continue to seek to negotiate with all other owners and occupiers for the remaining land required to deliver all parts of the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access project. Acquisitions are reported to, and approved as required by, Finance and Resources Committee; and • have progressed refining and developing the detailed proposals for the dualling of the A723 from Ravenscraig to the M8 at Holytown. 2.2.5 Related to this project, a planning application has been approved, land acquired and site clearance works commenced on the alternative location for the Evans Halshaw Ford car dealership. The dealership will relocate to part of the nearby former Taggarts site which has laid vacant for some time. This will allow the existing Evans Halshaw Ford car dealership to be retained within Motherwell whist facilitating the new road connection between Motherwell and Ravenscraig. The new dealership will occupy the front part of the site with the rear part of the site being made available for residential development, potentially as part of the council’s new supply programme. 2.3 East Airdrie Link Road 2.3.1 East Airdrie Link Road will provide a new strategic link between the M8 and south Cumbernauld. Following a detailed Stage 2 option appraisal, and a further review of the emerging option, a preferred route has now been agreed. Feedback from an earlier Stage 2 public consultation was reviewed and additional options were assessed at the northern section of the proposed link road. Further public consultation has taken place from 28 November to 23 January (8 weeks) on the preferred route and on the environmental report as part of the Strategic Environmental Appraisal. The feedback and comments from this consultation will be full considered moving into Stage 3 as the specimen design and planning application is developed. 2.3.2 As previously reported, a section of the preferred route has been realigned to accommodate the proposed Monklands Hospital replacement project. The project team continue to liaise with NHS Lanarkshire to ensure coordination, secure efficiencies and to maximise benefits. 2.3.3 In line with previous approvals, the procurement for professional services for the development of the specimen design for the road, preparation of the planning application and the collation of the outline Business Case has commenced. It is intended that the ITT will be issued in March 2023 and awarded in August 2023, subject to committee approval. The outcome of this procurement activity will be brought back to Committee in line with General Contract Standing Orders. 2.3.4 The programme for the development and delivery of the EALR has been reviewed both technically and following changes to the Monklands Replacement Hospital programme, whereby the proposed hospital at Wester Moffat is anticipated be opened during 2031. The EALR programme now anticipates that the link road will be constructed between 2028 and 2030. This is to accommodate complex design and planning requirements, technical and business case approvals, land acquisition (both through voluntary and a proposed compulsory purchase order) and critically to align with the Monklands Hospital programme. The revised programme will ensure that both projects are aligned to minimise risk around funding approvals, technical consents and physical Page 42 of 79
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construction interface. It is intended that the outline business case will be submitted to Committee and GCR Cabinet in Q4 23/24 to secure the city deal funding for the significant development work prior to full business case in Q3 27/28. 2.4 Orchard Farm Roundabout 2.4.1 The ‘A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements’ Outline Business Case (OBC) including the Orchard Farm Roundabout was approved by the GCR Cabinet on 30 August 2022. As reported, the scope of the Orchard Farm Roundabout project comprises a financial contribution of £2m to the developer for the construction of the junction on the A8. 2.4.2 The Orchard Farm Roundabout is a new junction on the A8 All Purpose Distributor Road and critically supports the development of the Mossend International Rail Freight Park (MIRP) and provides important access to a number of development sites to the north of the A8/M8. 2.4.3 MIRP is a low carbon rail-based infrastructure project with a significant co-located logistic park development. Peter D Stirling Limited (railfreight terminal operator/landowner) and Mount Park (new landowner) seek to develop the Mossend Railfreight Terminal into a European scale railfreight terminal and distribution park with all-electric facilities. MIRP is one of very few sites within the UK that can offer integrated multi-modal logistics of this scale, quality and economic value. The MIRP supported the bid for the Clyde Green Freeports. 2.4.4 The proposed Full Business Case (FBC) for the new junction will be underpinned by a funding agreement between the council and the developer/s and will establish funding arrangements, obligations and key milestones. The remainder of the costs and any associated delivery risks relating to the delivery of the infrastructure will be met by the developer/s. The infrastructure will form part of the strategic road network and will fall under the responsibility of Transport Scotland. 2.4.5 It is proposed to submit the Full Business case (FBC) for the Orchard Farm Roundabout for approval to the GCR Chief Executive’s Group in August 2023. The FBC will report on the procurement of the new Junction and associated works and is the final stage in the funding approvals to allow for contract award and the delivery of the infrastructure to progress. Agreement will be sought from Committee to submit the FBC to the GCR Chief Executives Group for approval. This would allow for works to commence in late autumn 2023, with the intention that the works would be complete in October 2024. 2.5 A8/M8 Corridor Strategic Active Travel 2.5.1 The provision of Strategic Active Travel Links, connecting Eurocentral/Maxim Office Park/Newhouse and Mossend to surrounding local communities and local rail stations was approved by GCR Cabinet on 30 August as the new preferred option for the Eurocentral sub-project. 2.5.2 The routes identified are to the south of Eurocentral between Bellshill Rail Station/town centre and the M8 cycle route at North Road; Bellshill town centre, Mossend and Holytown, connecting into Eurocentral from Holytown and between Holytown and Newhouse. To the north of Eurocentral, a route has also been identified from Whifflet rail station to the M8 cycle route at Shawhead. These routes are designated as Strategic Network Routes within the North Lanarkshire Active Travel Strategy. Page 43 of 79
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2.5.3 In total, it is aimed to deliver 10km of shared use walking and cycling routes with City Deal investment. The routes link with other planned active travel route improvements as part of the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access and East Airdrie Link Road projects and with other projects being developed by the Infrastructure and Transportation Service. There are also opportunities to seek match funding from other external funding sources to expand the scope of the project to connect more communities to employment opportunities. 2.5.4 Further feasibility and design work has been taking place to develop the active travel routes. It is planned to appoint consultants to progress detailed design work in early spring 2023. It is then intended, subject to Committee approval, to submit the sub- project Full Business Case in Spring 2024 and commence work on site in Summer 2024. 3. Measures of success 3.1 As the second largest Local Authority within the GCR, North Lanarkshire’s residents and businesses will directly benefit from the City Deal through: • creation of 2,000 new workplace jobs, representing a 1.6% uplift in the future jobs growth forecast for North Lanarkshire; • a significant share of some 15,000 temporary construction jobs anticipated to be generated by the development of the Infrastructure Investment Fund projects – construction being a predominant local employment sector; • estimated 9.2% of North Lanarkshire working age residents having heightened access to employment opportunities within the wider GCR area; • additional tender opportunities as a result of GCR City Deal investment for North Lanarkshire Business and SME’s; • community benefits derived from all GCR City Deal contracts awarded over £50,000; and • a proportionate share of the £2.2bn per annum Gross Value Added (GVA) increase in the GCR area over the lifetime of City Deal, equivalent to 4% uplift in the region. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 No supporting document presented. Pamela Humphries Chief Officer of Place Page 44 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The City Deal Cabinet has agreed that Inclusive Growth is to be fully embedded within the GCR City Deal programme delivery and that it is also committed to supporting the delivery of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. Future NLC subproject OBC/FBC development will be scrutinised to ensure it meets the duties of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The North Lanarkshire Council City Deal Programme approved funding allocation across the 3 headline projects is as: • A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements £6,478,521 • Glenboig Link Road (complete) £6,223,205 • Pan-Lan Orbital Transport Corridor £224,696,493 The City Deal funding comprises funding from the GCR City Deal Infrastructure Fund (£148,956,293) and North Lanarkshire Council (£88,441,926). The financial implications of the City Deal Programme are incorporated within the Council’s Long-term Financial Plan and to date budgetary implications have been approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 45 of 79
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If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The City Deal Team work closely with Legal Services on all sub projects focusing on land acquisition and CPO, procurement and contract preparation and management, funding agreements and any other related matters. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All infrastructure projects developed by the Council as part of the GCR City Deal will be subject to relevant environmental and sustainability appraisal and as part of subsequent planning application approvals and procurement. Furthermore, to adhere with HM Treasury Greenbook best practice, each iteration of project business case seeking GCR City Deal funding will include a review of the sustainability considerations, this will include carbon management, involving categorisation, assessment and mitigation. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 46 of 79
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The City Deal programme and the delivery of the projects will continue to be promoted through Corporate Communications and the Glasgow City Region’s Communications team. Specific to Muir Street Improvements, a joint communications group with Scotrail, Transport Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council has been set up to coordinate communication and promote the Motherwell Station redevelopment and the City Deal Muir Street improvements. In terms of East Airdrie Link Road, a joint communication plan will be developed with NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council to coordinate communication, stakeholder engagement and promote the projects as they develop. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? A key risk for the City Deal Programme is the current global economic climate and its short and long term impacts on the delivery of the city deal projects. This risk is becoming a live issue for the Programme and will be assessed and recorded within the City Deal Issues Register. This is not unique to City Deal and the approach to this risk and issue management will be carried out in conjunction with Finance and the Glasgow City Region Project Management Office. Risk management of North Lanarkshire’s City Deal activity is incorporated within the council’s City Deal programme risk register which is reviewed by the City Deal Manager and reported to the council’s City Deal Board. The City Deal risks are also integrated in the Planning and Regeneration Service Risk Register. Each City Deal sub project has a detail risk register and is managed by the Project Manager. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 47 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JO’N/PK Date 17/02/23 Employability Update From Janie O’Neill, Head of Education & Families (South) E-mail oneillja@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07790 894444 1. Background 1.1 Driving up the employment rate in North Lanarkshire is a cornerstone of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and ensuring employability support is available to all is recognised as a major contributor to both local economic development and tackling poverty. Reducing poverty is central to each of these programmes and, in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire, including all residents in the economic growth of our area is viewed Executive Summary This report provides an update on the decision by Committee at its meeting of 29th August 2022 to approve that steps are taken by Council officers to secure an extension of the current EU funded employability programme from December 2022 until June 2023 and the outcome of those actions. The report also provides information on the measures in place to ensure that the transition from EU funding to the Shared Prosperity Fund, as a key source of external funding allocated to employability, provide continuity of these services and meets the needs of our communities. It also provides a brief update on the current labour market in North Lanarkshire and the current and forthcoming challenges. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: (1) Note the outcome of the proposal to the Scottish Government that the current EU funded employability programme is extended from December 2022 until June 2023. (2) Consider the information provided on the transition to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the labour market in North Lanarkshire. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion AGENDA ITEM 4 Page 49 of 79
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as central to the work on employability. Over half of the Council’s employability support to residents is funded from its EU funded programme through an agreement with the Scottish Government. This funding comes from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the current programme, known in North Lanarkshire as ‘Prospects for You’, had an end date of December 2022. 1.2 In North Lanarkshire the programme is led and co-ordinated by the Council’s employability team which also provides the key function of engaging employers onto the programme. Routes to Work Ltd are funded to provide specialised case worker support to unemployed residents as well as support with accessing vocational training and the short-term costs associated with moving from benefits to employment such as childcare and travel. They also provide in-work support for up to 6 months for those participants that require it. The External Funding team within Enterprise and Communities are also funded through ESF to provide a compliance and verification role on the distribution of the funding. The programme is co-funded by the Council and EU with 46% of funding coming from the EU and has an annual cost of around £4.5 million and funds the 82.44 fte staff delivering the programme as well as the other costs associated with training for participants, wage subsidies to employers, childcare, and vocational qualifications. 1.3 In recent years employability support has also been significantly bolstered by increased levels of funding from the Scottish Government through its No One Left Behind, Parental Employment Support and Young Persons Guarantee funding and these have been integrated and aligned with the existing EU programme to broaden its range and deepen its penetration into under-represented groups in the labour market. 2. Report 2.1 As reported to Committee in August 2022, the Scottish Government had indicated to North Lanarkshire Council that there was an opportunity to extend the operational delivery of the EU funded employability programme from December 2022 until June 2023. The negotiation has been undertaken with a reprofiling of the budget and additional outcomes from the programme submitted to the Scottish Government and the new end date of the programme is June 2023. The total cost from January to June 2023 of the extension is £1,796,750. The EU, via the Scottish Government, will fund 46% of this total cost. Therefore, the extension costs consist of EU grant of £826,505 and Council match funding of £970,245 coming from existing budgets allocated to supporting externally funded employability projects with an additional 360 people supported into fair and sustained employment as a result. 2.2 The UK Government’s replacement for EU funds is the Shared Prosperity Fund and the recent approval of North Lanarkshire’s investment plan, as part of the Glasgow City Region bid, has secured broadly similar levels of funding for employability support in North Lanarkshire until March 2025. With the support of the Council’s Workforce for the Future Steering Group, discussions have begun with the Council’s key delivery partner, Routes to Work Ltd, the Local Employability Partnership and other Council services to identify opportunities which are available within the remit of the new fund that could lead to innovation in services while maintaining an employability service that can meet the needs of all unemployed or economically inactive residents. Examples of where these innovations may be drawn from are: (i) New initiatives based on experienced gained in the delivery of two recent Community Renewal projects delivered by Routes to Work Ltd and the Supported Employment team, one of which was a place-based community Page 50 of 79
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project in Airdrie Central that tackled economic inactivity and the other which sought to engage increased numbers of people with disabilities into work. Evaluations of these projects are almost complete with clear indications that both are very positive and can inform future work. (ii) Recent work, funded by the Scottish Government, with the local third sector in North Lanarkshire has demonstrated their unique ability to engage with their communities and draw them into the pipeline of employability support funded by the Council. (iii) Further alignment and integration with the Education and Families Pathways Programme for school leavers who may enter a negative destination. (iv) Targeted support on young people with additional support needs who aspire to enter employment on leaving school delivered by the Supported Employment team. 2.3 In terms of the labour market the story of North Lanarkshire over the last 18 months has closely reflected that of the Scottish and UK markets over that period. Far from the high levels of unemployment and redundancies that were expected to result because of the restrictions placed on the economy by the pandemic, a complete and unprecedented reversal in the labour market occurred in the last 18 months resulting in an inadequate supply of labour and with all sectors struggling to fill existing vacancies and it became clear that a major factor in this shortage of workers was due to people leaving the labour market. 2.4 The North Lanarkshire claimant count, which acts as a measure of unemployment, was 14,415 (6.6%) people in March 2021 compared with 8,225 (3.8%) in March 2020, a 75% increase on the pre-pandemic level. However, in December 2022 it had decreased to 7,420 (3.4%) and average earnings in North Lanarkshire are now above the Scottish and UK averages for the first time. This is good news but real challenges remain due to levels of economic inactivity. The number reported as ‘long term sick’ in North Lanarkshire has increased from 14,900 in the 12 months up to December 2019 to 28,400 in the 12 months up to September 2022 and the number reported as ‘looking after family/home’ in the Council area increased from 8,500 to 9,600 in the same period. While unemployment is lower than pre-pandemic levels the number of people in the workforce in North Lanarkshire has reduced from 174,000 (78.1%) in December 2019 to 156,500 (68.8%) in September 2022. Throughout 2023 unemployment is expected to rise again as the UK enters recession and high inflation continues to hinder economic growth. From an employability perspective this simply reinforces the need to continue to support those further from the labour market in North Lanarkshire to gain the skills needed to get a job and continue to work with employers to create opportunities for our unemployed residents, including those who are economically inactive. 2.5 In terms of the Council’s strategic response the Employability team play a role within the Workforce for the Future, Programme of Work P077.1, which has a broad range of workstreams focused on ensuring that every resident has access to the support and advice they need to secure fair and sustained employment or training in North Lanarkshire. This group is also engaged with employers to make sure that the advice and support delivered meets their current and future needs in terms of skills and labour supply. A key contribution made by the team is also to the Programme of Work P005.2, Tackling Poverty through its work on increasing residents’ incomes from employment and specifically through its work on Parental Employment Support to combat child poverty. Page 51 of 79
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3. Measures of success 3.1 The extension to the EU funded programme is fully utilised to support employment in North Lanarkshire. 3.2 The transition to funding employability services from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is seamless for unemployed residents seeking support. 4. Supporting documentation Janie O’Neill Chief Officer for Education (South) Page 52 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Equality Impact Assessment will be developed in tandem with the development of the Shared Prosperity Fund project plan. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Council resources to match fund the EU activity is from NLC Match Funding allocated to employability projects and these will also be used to support Shared Prosperity activities. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 53 of 79
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The service risk register encompasses those risks related to external grant funding. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Within all Council employability programmes ex-services personnel are immediately eligible for support alongside other priority groups. Page 54 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PH/DG Date 17/02/23 Vacant & Derelict Land Fund From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place E-mail Greerd@northlan.gov.uk Telephone David Greer, Growth Programme Manager: 07583059816 Executive Summary Since 2006, North Lanarkshire Council has received funding through the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) Programme to support the remediation and re-use of long-term vacant and derelict land sites within North Lanarkshire. The award of this annual grant is subject to the submission of a VDLF Local Delivery Plan (LDP) and its approval both by committee and the Scottish Government. In 2020, the Scottish Government approved the award of £0.656M to be used to allow Scottish Canals to take forward the restoration of Craigmarloch Stables (Kilsyth) for potential end use as holiday accommodation. Due to funding implications, this project could not be taken forward. The council has reviewed alternative opportunities for the regeneration of this building but any potentially viable project could not be delivered within the timescales required by this fund. As such, it is proposed that this budget is reallocated to support enabling works for the development of new industrial units at Link Park (Plot 1), Newhouse. This work would be contractually committed before financial year end and ensure that this funding award is safeguarded. This reallocation has been approved by the Scottish Government. A range of other potential funding sources would be sought for the regeneration of Craigmarloch Stables if a potential viable use for these buildings was to be identified. On January 17th 2023, the Scottish Government also confirmed that North Lanarkshire would be allocated £1.841M VDLF for 2023/24 subject to the submission and approval of a 2023/24 VDLF Local Delivery Plan (LDP). This report outlines projects currently being considered as part of this LDP and seeks approval to advance and submit this bid accordingly by the end of March 2023. AGENDA ITEM 5 Page 55 of 79
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Recommendations It is recommended that committee: 1. Approve the reallocation of Vacant and Derelict Land Fund monies from ‘the regeneration of Craigmarloch Stables’ towards enabling works for a new industrial unit at Link Park, Newhouse Industrial Estate. 2. Approve the projects which are being assessed for inclusion within the 2023/24 VDLF Delivery Plan which is to be submitted to the Scottish Government by the end of March. 3. Note that an update on the proposals for the 2023/24 VDLF funding allocation will be reported to the next committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy Page 56 of 79
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1. Background 1.1 The VDLF is a ring-fenced annual capital grant allocation which provides financial support from the Scottish Government to assist with the regeneration of registered vacant and derelict land (V&DL) sites across selected local authority areas. 1.2 Funding provided through the VDLF Programme is subject to the submission (and approval by the Scottish Government) of a LDP which sets out local authority investment proposals to meet the objectives of the VDLF Programme. 1.3 These objectives are to: • tackle long term vacant and derelict land (and in particular sites which have been registered as vacant or derelict for at least 15 years); • stimulate economic growth and job creation; • develop a diverse sustainable environment with a focus on temporary and permanent greening; and • support communities to flourish and tackle inequalities 1.4 There is a range of activity which this fund cannot support including: major infrastructure works, retail and housing projects. 2. Report 2.1 In January 2020, the council was awarded a 2020/21 VDLF capital grant of £1.956M subject to the submission of a VDLF Local Delivery Plan and its approval by the Scottish Government. 2.2 As part of this approval, both committee and the Scottish Government agreed that £656,000 should be used to support Scottish Canals to take forward the regeneration of the derelict Craigmarloch Stables (Kilsyth) for use as holiday homes. 2.3 Scottish Canals were not able to take this forward. In turn, Scottish Government approval has had to be sought twice to carry-forward this grant (terms and conditions of grant require spend within financial year of approval unless dispensation is sought to carry this forward). 2.4 Given that the original project could not be carried out, North Lanarkshire Council has investigated alternative proposals for the reuse of this building. However, with lack of match-funding availability (given likely costs associated with the regeneration of this derelict building) and timescales associated with securing funding and finalising design and procurement, it was considered that any contractual commitment of this fund would likely take several years. 2.5 To avoid potential payback of this grant, it is proposed that this grant is used to address a shortfall for enabling works for industrial development works at Link Park, Newhouse Industrial Estate (works currently being taken forward by Fusion Assets – the council’s arms-length economic regeneration and property development company). 2.6 This reallocation would allow works to be completed in full at Link Park and ensure that the £656,000 would be contractually committed by year end in line with the original grant offer and permissions granted to extend this spend. The Scottish Government has approved the reallocation of this funding. Page 57 of 79
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2.7 It should also be noted that there are currently a number of alternative funding sources available that could support the future regeneration of Craigmarloch Stables (including the Scottish Government’s Regeneration capital Grant Fund and Vacant and Derelict Land Investment programmes, Historic Environment Scotland Grant Funding and Heritage Lottery Funding) and the council will continue to work with the owners of this building (Scottish Canals) to secure these when viable schemes are in place. 2.8 On the 17th January 2023, and following the Scottish Government Budget announcement in December 2022, £1.814M capital grant funding for the remediation of V&DL was awarded to North Lanarkshire Council subject to the submission and approval of a 2023/24 VDLF LDP. 2.9 The Local Delivery Plan is currently being progressed and the following projects are being assessed for viability: • further enabling works at Ravenscraig Business Park to support the first phase of industrial development at this site; • further enabling works at Condor Park (Eurocentral) to support the first phase of industrial development at this site; and • feasibility studies (including ground investigation works) to support the potential future development of vacant and derelict sites by Fusion Assets. These projects would be progressed and delivered by Fusion Assets, the council’s arms length regeneration company. 2.10 Approval is sought to finalise evaluation of the projects outlined in 2.9 above to enable the submission of the 2023/24 VDLF Local Delivery Plan by the end of March. An update will be provided to the next Committee. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Future economic and employment benefit gained from the reallocation of VDLF from the ‘restoration of Craigmarloch stables) towards the development of new industrial units at Link Park. 3.2 Future economic and employment benefit gained from the investment of the council’s allocated 2023/24 VDLF award made from the Scottish Government. 4. Supporting documentation N/A Pamela Humphries Chief Officer of Place Page 58 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes x No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The reallocation of this funding will support the development of new industrial infrastructure (via Fusion Assets) and in turn new local employment opportunity. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The award of a further year of VDLF funding will help support the delivery of the Economic Regeneration delivery Plan, and specifically the remediation of vacant and derelict land. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Page 59 of 79
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Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? If funding is not reallocated, potential exists that any non-contractually committed funding could be reclaimed by the Scottish Government. This is identified as general risk on service risk register 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 60 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/DG Date 17/02/23 External Funding - update From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place E-mail humphriesp@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Pamela Humphries, 07939 280710 Executive Summary This report provides an update on significant recent external funding activity, related to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund, UK Community Renewal Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Scottish Government’s Green Growth Accelerator programme and Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and heritage funding programmes managed by Historic Environment Scotland and National Lottery Heritage Fund. Recommendations It is recommended that committee acknowledges: a) The award of £9,225,000 from the Levelling Up Fund to support the delivery of the Cumbernauld Town Vision. b) The completion of UK Community Renewal Fund projects and the work currently being undertaken to administer funds and evaluate projects. c) Confirmation of the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation and plans for its use. d) Progress made towards submitting a final Business Case aimed at securing £10m in revenue support from the Green Growth Accelerator programme. e) The award of £215,000 from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund to support Motherwell FC Community Trust’s ‘The Well Hub’ project. f) The submission of bids to both Historic Environment Scotland and National Lottery Heritage Fund for the heritage-led regeneration in Airdrie. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 6 Page 61 of 79
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1. Background 1.1 The Council aims to secure external funding to support the physical, social and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire. This work is subject to regular reporting to committee, most recently to the Enterprise, Fair Work and Growth Committee on 29 August 2022. 1.2 There has been significant recent activity across a range of funding streams. This report provides an interim update on progress towards securing a range of funds to support the social, physical and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire. 2. Report 2.1 This report provides an update on current external funding activity, including recent funding bid submissions and decisions. Levelling Up Fund 2.2 The Council submitted four bids to the second round of the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF), with one bid submitted for each of North Lanarkshire’s four UK Parliamentary constituencies. 2.3 A bid for £9.225m in UK Government support to acquire The Centre Cumbernauld and demolish Fleming House was approved, which will enable the future redevelopment of Cumbernauld town centre in line with the approved Cumbernauld Town Vision. 2.4 Bids for funding to support town centre living in Airdrie; for the mixed-use redevelopment of Ravenscraig, and for the redevelopment of Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial life were unsuccessful. The UK Government has since confirmed that local authorities would only be eligible for one successful project across the first two rounds of the Fund. 2.5 UK Government advises that a further round of LUF will be launched later in 2023. A fuller update will be provided to committee when further details are available. UK Community Renewal Fund 2.6 The UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) was established following Brexit to support the transition from European Structural Funds to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It supports public, private and third sector organisations to deliver projects across four themes (communities and place; employment; local business; and skills). NLC has managed the UKCRF in North Lanarkshire, including assessing bids and administering grant funding. 2.7 Five projects were funded through the UKCRF with each completing by the end of December 2022. The Council is currently conducting final due diligence, including verifying financial claims. 2.8 Each of the projects have procured independent consultants to conduct evaluations, which must be submitted and approved before financial claims can be approved. Reports for three of the five projects have been submitted to the UK Government and the Council expects to submit the final two reports during February 2023, enabling funds to be disbursed. Page 62 of 79
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UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2.9 The UK Shared Prosperity Fund replaces the EU Structural Funds which come to an end in 2023. The council was allocated £13.871m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to deliver projects across four key themes (Communities and Place; People and Skills; Supporting Local Business; and Multiply) for spend between 2022/23 and 2024/25, subject to approval of a UKSPF Investment Plan. North Lanarkshire’s Investment Plan, which formed part of the wider Glasgow City Region Investment Plan, was approved by the UK Government on 5 December 2022. 2.10 Table 1 below sets out the proposed split of UKSPF funding over the three years of the Investment Plan. The Investment Plan was approved by Enterprise, Growth and Fair Work Committee on 29 August 2022. It should be noted that support for adult numeracy, through the Multiply programme, was allocated on a ring-fenced basis. Table 1: UK Shared Prosperity Fund: approved allocation by theme Theme 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Total Community and Place £506,427 £350,000 £2,265,000 £3,121,427 People and Skills £739,000 £1,577,854 £3,072,976 £5,389,830 Supporting Local Business £91,541 £746,083 £1,667,738 £2,505,362 Multiply £695,223 £802,181 £802,181 £2,299,585 Admin/Management £84,675 £144,838 £325,329 £554,842 Total £2,116,866 £3,260,955 £8,133,224 £13,871,046 2.11 The arrangements for the delivery of the programmes will be the subject of future reports to relevant committees as appropriate. Green Growth Accelerator 2.12 The Green Growth Accelerator (GGA) programme will support local authorities to deliver innovative green infrastructure projects which contribute to Net Zero objectives and can stimulate the green economy. The Council made a successful application for GGA pathfinder support for the low-carbon redevelopment of Strathclyde Country Park during 2021, enabling NLC to commission design works and technical support to inform a full application for up to £10m in GGA funding. 2.13 A GGA Business Case in support of this application was prepared and submitted to Scottish Government at the end of September 2022. This has been subject to a full technical review by Scottish Government and its appointed consultants. Officers are currently finalising a revised Business Case and formal application for GGA support, which will be submitted during February 2023. It is anticipated that a formal decision on this application will be made in the Spring. Regeneration Capital Grant Fund 2.14 The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) supports physical regeneration projects in local communities. It is open to local authorities, which can apply for funding for Council projects and on behalf of community groups. Page 63 of 79
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2.15 Funding decisions for Round 10 of RCGF Council were announced in January 2023, for projects commencing during 2023/24. The Council secured funding for one project, with Motherwell FC Community Trust receiving £215,000 to establish ‘The Well Hub’ at the astrograss pitches adjacent to Fir Park Stadium. The Council will work with the Trust to administer grant funding and support the project’s delivery. 2.16 Officers have invited expressions of interest from community groups for Round 11 of the Fund, with ‘Stage 1’ bids due during June 2023, and will continue to engage with prospective applicants in the coming months. Historic Environment Scotland/National Lottery Heritage Fund 2.17 During 2022, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) aligned funding for place-based heritage interventions and invited applications from constituted organisations and local authorities under their respective Grants for Heritage (NLHF) and Heritage and Place (HES) programmes. 2.18 The council successfully submitted expressions of interest to both funds for support to deliver the heritage-led regeneration of Airdrie and were invited to make ‘development phase’ applications by both funders, which were submitted in late 2022. These bids sought a total of £150,000 funding to resource the council to develop full ‘delivery phase’ bids over a 12-month period, with an indicative £2.65m sum identified for delivery phase bids. These bids are currently being assessed with funding decisions expected in March (NLHF) and April (HES). 2.19 A further bid to NLHF to support redevelopment work at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life is currently being considered. This prospective bid will seek funding for both capital works and for revenue funding to employ dedicated learning and engagement staff. 2.20 Officers will continue to engage with heritage funders with a view to securing further investment into North Lanarkshire’s places and economy. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The primary measure of success arising from the work and updates outlined in this report is to maximise external funding for investment in the regeneration of North Lanarkshire and its places. 4. Supporting documentation n/a Pamela Humphries Chief Officer of Place Page 64 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The funding programmes outlined in this report are very much focused on promoting inclusive growth and a fairer Scotland and will do so by: Delivering physical regeneration projects that will improve the local environment and tackle problems which continue to constrain community regeneration Creating infrastructure that will help improve health and well-being and provide North Lanarkshire’s most disadvantaged communities with new leisure, learning and economic opportunity, and Ensuring that our place-based investments are shaped by the needs and aspirations of all of our local communities. Consideration will also be given to equalities issues as part of the bids and projects developed in response to the identified funding opportunities whilst the council will also work closely with ALEOs, partners and third-party organisations involved in the delivery of these to ensure that equality considerations remain core throughout. Delivery of support to strengthen local communities, support local businesses and support people to increase their employability and skills through the UKSPF. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Many of these funding opportunities outlined in this report require at least some element of match funding. Council match is identified in the Council’s capital programme prior to the submission of any bids. The successful LUF bid for Cumbernauld will require £1,025,000 in match from the council and provision has already been made for this within the capital programme. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 65 of 79
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5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Work is underway with Legal Services to complete a DPIA for the UKSPF Investment Plan Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The UKSPF contains interventions which seek to improve connectivity for community organisation, support digital transformation for businesses and to delivery digital skills. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Success in securing GGA, LUF and other funding can enable environmental improvement. Subject to funding, the GGA project will provide a flagship low carbon project for North Lanarkshire. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 66 of 79
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The Council’s success in securing external funding for priority regeneration projects is promoted and coordinated by Corporate Communications. Strict guidelines are in place for the promotion of funding through the UKCRF and UKSPF. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? External funding programmes do bring a measure of risk to the council particularly in relation to potential budget overspend for projects and/or the requirement to repay funds due to failure to deliver projects properly (a risk which is increased where delivery is through a third party). To help reduce and mitigate risk, a full risk assessment is undertaken for all funding programmes and/or externally funded projects as part of the council’s project management process and where complex/high risk projects are being developed or delivered, risk workshops will be set up to ensure all service and partner risks are identified. Page 67 of 79
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref: PH / DG Date: 17 February 2023 Contract Award for Braidhurst Industrial Estate Design Team From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place E-mail greerd@northlan.gov.uk Telephone David Greer, tel 07583 059816 Executive Summary This report is to advise the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee (the ”Committee”) of the decision taken in accordance with condition 21.3.2 of the Council’s General Contract Standing Orders (GCSO’s) where outwith the committee cycle, the Depute Chief Executive approved the award of a contract for Braidhurst Industrial Estate Design Team (the ‘Contract’) to Collective Architecture Limited The Contract was approved by the Depute Chief Executive on 10 January 2023 and was formally awarded on 11 January 2023. The Contract is for an initial period of 24 months and commenced on 12 January 2023. The Council reserves the right to extend the Contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further six (6) months. The value of the Contract shall not exceed six hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling (£630,000) exclusive of VAT. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee:- 1. notes the award of the Contract in accordance with GCSO 21.3.2 to Collective Architecture Limited to the maximum value of six hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling (£630,000) exclusive of VAT. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition Statement (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure AGENDA ITEM 7 Page 69 of 79
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1. Background 1.1 Braidhurst Industrial Estate is a well-established 4.4-hectare estate situated off Bellshill Road in a prominent location approximately one mile to the north-west of Motherwell town centre. 1.2 The estate has a high occupancy rate with a range of trade and industrial units of varying sizes. Some of the units are of poor quality and are tired and dated in appearance whilst the surrounding environment is unappealing. 1.3 An initial feasibility study for Braidhurst Industrial Estate was commissioned in 2019 to identify the key elements for a regeneration project, the potential costs and an outline programme. 1.4 The objective was to upgrade Braidhurst Industrial Estate by improving infrastructure and facilities to make it a more attractive location for businesses due to the improved provision of high-quality business and industrial space. 1.5 There is also an area of vacant and derelict land at the end of Newhut Road that will be used for the construction of 10 new start up industrial units. 1.6 This information was utilised to inform an external funding application to the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) in 2020. 1.7 The initial application to the RCGF was rejected in early 2021 and feedback was sought from the Scottish Government. This enabled specific areas of the application to be improved upon and the revised enhanced application was subsequently submitted in late 2021. 1.8 The revised application was approved in early 2022 with an award of £1.8m towards a total project cost of circa £5m. It was a requirement of the award that the project be “contractually committed” by the 31st March 2023. This requires a contract to be in place with a main contractor to deliver the works prior to the end of the financial year. 1.9 In order to fulfil this, a multi disciplinary design team led by an architect required to be identified, appointed and undertake the required design works to enable a main contractor to price the works and enter into a contract prior to 31st March 2022. 1.10 The design team will include the following consultants:- • Architect / Principal Designer – Develop and prepare architectural drawings and specifications, act as Principal Designer, production and submission of all statutory applications, application for Health and safety (H&S) documentation, act as lead consultant • Quantity Surveyor – Preparation of detailed cost estimate, preparation and reporting of cost reports, evaluation with recommendations of works contractor tender, preparation of valuations for payment to contractor, agree final accounts • Project Manager / Contract Administration – Co-ordination of design team, chair and report on Design Team Meetings, undertake contract administration duties acting as NEC Project Manager including issue of instructions as required, project risk analysis and reporting, preparation of tender documentation for works contractor, programme management, regular site inspections during construction, agree / monitor final defects schedule, issues Certificate of Completion • Structural / Civil Engineer – Develop and prepare structural / civil drawings and reports • Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) Engineer – Develop and prepare mechanical / electrical drawings and reports Page 70 of 79
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• Energy Consultants – Assessment, evaluation and reporting of Net Zero Carbon Modelling, preparation and reporting of Embodied Carbon Assessment • Clerk of Works – Oversee site works, attend regular site inspection visits to ensure works are carried out in general accordance with the contract drawings • H&S Advisor – Manage H&S compliance including review of Contractor’s Method Statements and Risk Assessments 1.11 The project will involve improving the infrastructure and facilities at Braidhurst Industrial Estate to make it a more attractive location for businesses due to the improved provision of high-quality business and industrial space. This will include new road and footpath, new lighting, new car parking including EV charging points and improved boundary treatments for the site. 1.12 The existing occupied North Lanarkshire property (NLP) units will be refurbished and the area of vacant and derelict land at the end of Newhut Road will be used for the construction of 10 new start up industrial units. 1.13 The procurement of the consultant design team has followed an approval by the Head of Planning and Regeneration (now Chief Officer of Place) on 27 May 2022 to commence procurement, following agreement of the procurement strategy and funding approach. 1.14 This report deals with the appointment of the design team and the appointment of the main contractor will be the subject of a future report to committee. 2. Report 2.1 Following confirmation of the RCGF award, an internal user intelligence group (the ‘UIG’) of technical and procurement representatives was formed following the confirmation of the RCGF monies to review technical specifications, discuss trading processes, market conditions and trends, ways to maximise community benefits and sustainability and to agree the procurement strategy that would deliver maximum benefit for the Council via the Contract. 2.2 The feasibility study had provided an initial estimated value of the Contract which detailed that the procurement procedure would require to be undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. 2.3 However, the timescales involved in a procurement process at this level would take a number of months and would prevent the project from being “contractually committed” resulting in the loss of the RCGF monies. In addition to this, the resources required to procure and appoint individual consultants to provide the necessary specialist design and management services required would also incur additional cost. 2.4 Therefore, for the reasons outlined above, an appointment from an appropriate Framework was considered to be the best approach in order to meet the Scottish Government funding deadlines. 2.5 Following consideration, the UIG identified the SPA Framework as being the most appropriate framework to use. The procurement procedure was therefore undertaken as a “Direct Award” from the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) Construction Consultancy (H1WS1) framework agreement (the “Framework”) 2.6 Collective Architecture Limited are ranked 1st within the relevant lot for architecture led design team on the SPA Framework. 2.7 A scope of works was produced and issued to Collective Architecture for pricing for the required services as outlined in points 1.9 to 1.12 above. The requirements of this particular Page 71 of 79
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Contract have never been contracted by the Council before therefore exact historical contract information was not available for consideration. 2.8 However, the submitted tender was evaluated and confirmed overall as representing the most economically advantageous tender for this Contract. 2.8 Appendix 1 confirms the scoring achieved by Collective Architecture Limited within the SPA Framework, further details of the procurement procedure is provided in Appendix 2 and the SME status and location of all tenderers is located within Appendix 3. 2.9 The value of the Contract is six hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling (£630,000) exclusive of VAT including any option to extend the Contract. 2.10 The costs associated with contract delivery will be contained within the council’s capital programme budget allocation for Planning and Regeneration. The RCGF monies will be expended on the works. 2.11 A full costed breakdown for the project will be provided following submission of the contractor’s tender in February. Price Savings / Increases 2.12 No savings are anticipated within the Contract. 2.13 The Contract value is determined by the Framework fees and are calculated on the works contract value. The works contract value for this project are £4m and the Framework band that this project falls within is from £4m-£6m. Price Stability 2.14 The prices are based on the Framework pricing schedule and are fixed for the entire duration of the Contract. Community Benefits 2.15 The procurement did not include a community benefit requirement as these will be included in the associated works contract for the project which is being tendered for separately. Fair Work First 2.16 Within their tender submission, Collective Architecture Limited advised that they will commit to the Scottish Government’s “Fair Work First” initiative: Contract Strategy 2.17 Officers from the Growth Team will be responsible for managing the Contract which will be undertaken in accordance with the Councils agreed approach to contract and supplier management. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Contract will enable the delivery of the following outcomes; • Upgrade of Braidhurst Industrial Estate including the construction of 10 new start up industrial units; • upgrade of six existing North Lanarkshire Properties industrial units; Page 72 of 79
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• provision of new car park with EV charging points; • improved infrastructure including road and footpaths; and • lighting, drainage and installation of high-speed fibre broadband to improve the economic viability of this industrial estate on the edge of Motherwell town centre. 4. Supporting documents Appendix 1 Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Appendix 2 Summary of Procurement Process Appendix 3 SME Status and Location of All Tenderers Pamela Humphries Chief Officer of Place Page 73 of 79
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Supporting Local Business North Lanarkshire has lower levels of entrepreneurship than Scotland and UK on average. Around 5.4% of people in employment in North Lanarkshire are classed as self-employed. That’s about 8,100 individuals self-employed. This is significantly lower than the Scottish rate of 10.3% and UK average of 12.4%. North Lanarkshire requires a further 10,300 people to move into self-employment in order to level up to the UK average. This project will provide 10 new start-up units which lend themselves to use by new enterprises. Vacant and Derelict Land North Lanarkshire has the largest area of Vacant and Derelict Land across Scotland’s 32 local authorities with 1,354 hectares across 500 sites in 2021. This represents a 14% share of the Scottish total. This project will remove 0.5 hectares of Vacant and Derelict Land from the register. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The project will require funding from North Lanarkshire Council and North Lanarkshire Properties. The funding streams for both NLC and NLP have been identified and secured and approval for spend has been obtained. The remainder of the funding will come from the Scottish Government via the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, which was awarded in January 2022, and the Place Based Investment Programme. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 74 of 79
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5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The project will include the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to the Industrial Estate which will help to secure the financial viability of the businesses on the estate by future proofing the infrastructure improvements. Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The proposed upgrade works include an element to reduce carbon emissions by insulating the existing six North Lanarkshire Properties industrial units, and the provision of solar panels, smart lighting and low energy technology in the ten new start up units being constructed. EV charging points will also be installed on the estate. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Page 75 of 79
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Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The Scottish Governments Regeneration Capital Grant Funding and Place Based Investment Fund have conditions attached that the works contractor must be contractually committed by the end of March 2023 in order for the Council to be able to draw down funding. This is recorded within the project risk register. We are on target to meet this funding requirement. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 76 of 79
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Final Rank Tenderer Name Total Tender Score (%) Recommended for Contract Award (Y / N) 1 Collective Architecture Limited 94.63% Y Page 77 of 79
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Appendix 2 – Summary of Procurement Process Response Procurement Procedure Utilised: Framework (Scottish Procurement Alliance) Governing Legislation / Regulations: Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Date Contract Strategy Approved: 27 May 2022 Date Contract Notice Published: Not Applicable Number of Companies Invited to Take Part: 1 SME % of Expressions of Interest: 100% NLC Based % of Expressions of Interest: 0% Tender Return Deadline: 9 December 2022 Number of Tenders Received: 1 Where Only One Tender Is Received, Why?: Direct Award Call-off from Framework Tenders Received from SME’s: 1 Tenders Received from NLC Based Tenderers: 0 Number of Non−compliant Tenders: 0 Number of Compliant Tenders: 1 Number of Recommended Tenderers: 1 Basis of Contract Award: Quality: 75% Price: 25% Evaluation Team: Framework Scoring was utilised with compliance checks etc. undertaken by Officers of the Growth Team. Anticipated Contract Start Date: 12 January 2023 Total Contract Period (Months): 24 months plus 6 month extension Maximum Total Contract Value: £630,000 Page 78 of 79
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Appendix 3 – SME Status and location of all Tenderers Name of Tenderer Size of Tendering Organisation (Micro, Small, Medium or Large) Location (Local Authority / Council Area) Collective Architecture Ltd Small Greater Glasgow Page 79 of 79