Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a joint presentation from Edward Highfield, Director of Creative Sheffield, and Richard Eyre, Head of City Centre Management and Major Events, on the future role of the City Centre.

6.2

Mr Highfield stated that the presentation would inform and update Members on the future of the City Centre, following the Committee’s meeting held on 8^th October 2014, at which Members received presentations from representatives of the City Centre retail, leisure and business sectors. 

6.3

Mr Highfield provided a brief overview of the economic role of the City Centre, indicating that city centres were unique economic engines, comprising educational, civic, leisure, commercial and other assets, and stressed the increasing importance of attracting and retaining a talented workforce.

6.4

Members of the Committee raised questions and the following responses were provided:-

·                Retail rankings were provided by CICI data. Whilst details were not available at the meeting, and would be circulated to Members, the general trend was the City Centre had dropped in the retail rankings in recent years. The data, however, splits the City Centre from Meadowhall and that, when added together, the City’s retail performance was strong. 

·                Although Sheffield had higher levels of graduate retention than other Core Cities, nearly all the Core Cities were losing highly skilled workers, aged between 25 and 35, to London.  Evidence suggested that the high graduate retention rate was reduced after 18-24 months after graduation as workers left to find the second or third “career jobs”. This reflects the lower levels of headquarter functions in Sheffield than other cities.

·                One initiative that had helped provide jobs for graduates in the City was RISE Sheffield, a major City-wide initiative to increase graduate employment in small and medium sized enterprises.  RISE, which was a collaboration between City partners, the City Council, the two Sheffield Universities and the private sector, was now in its 7^th cohort.

·                The Council received, on average, around 50 serious inward investment enquiries a year, with around one in five of these resulting in a business relocating to the City.  Whilst existing businesses in the City Centre contributed to the City’s economy, more inward investment was required in order to provide an extra boost.

·                Increasingly, cities must compete for mobile, talented employees. This does not just mean external people, but was also about local residents who may otherwise choose to live and work elsewhere.

6.5

Edward Highfield and Richard Eyre then provided updates on the seven key areas in terms of the future role of the City Centre, and provided responses to the questions raised, as follows:-

6.5.1

Sheffield BID

·                As funding had already been secured in terms of the major events in the City Centre, such as Tramlines, funding from the BID would be used to support other, smaller scale events.

·                In order to keep the BID’s overheads down, the Council had offered the use of office space in the Town Hall, rent-free, for a temporary period.  This arrangement was also considered beneficial as the BID’s staff would be working alongside Council staff, and it was considered important that both parties worked collaboratively.  Whilst the BID would not be paying any rent, they would be paying any additional costs to Kier.

·                In terms of the Council’s representation on the BID Board, the original preference had been for there to be political representation but, after seeking legal advice on this, in the light of a possible conflict of interest, it was likely that the Executive Director, Place, would be the Council’s representative on the Board.  There were instances in other cities where there was political representation on their respective BID boards.

·                In terms of best practice, Sheffield was a member of British BIDs, where advice and assistance had been sought with regard to best practice relating to the establishment of the BID.  It was the intention that Sheffield would remain a member of British BIDs.   The BID manager (Diane Jarvis) had been mentored by the Chief Executive of the Leeds BID. 

·                Whilst the BID concentrated mainly on retail businesses, there had and would continue to be, consultation with office-based businesses in the City Centre in terms of social responsibilities and recruiting and retaining the right staff.  There were also proposals to increase the number of City Centre Ambassadors, whose role would include assisting office-based businesses, and they would also benefit from an improved cleaning regime in the City Centre. 

·                Office-based businesses would contribute around 57% of a total levy raised as part of the BID, and a majority of around 87% of office-based businesses voted ‘yes’ for the BID.

·                The BID was a limited by guarantee company, with all Board members being non-executive directors, and the representation on the Board had been decided by a majority vote of the members.

6.5.2

Sheffield Retail Quarter

·                In terms of progress made in respect of the scheme, in 2015, the Council had purchased the land from Hammerson and HCA, refreshed the scheme, submitted an outline planning application and commenced procurement of the Development partner.

·                The majority of funding for the scheme would come from the  private sector.  The refreshed scheme had been influenced by the public, and now included more positive features, as well as being more respectful to existing buildings in the area.  There would be further consultation at the detailed planning application stage. 

·                Although details of what was to be included in the scheme were not available at the meeting, it was envisaged that there would be a high percentage of leisure facilities, including bars and restaurants.  Details as to what would be included in the scheme would be decided following the submission of the outline planning application.  It was hoped that there would be a reasonable mix of business, leisure and retail facilities.  The  final mix of leisure facilities, including food and beverage, would be determined by the final developer, responding to market interest and industry norms.

·                Early enabling works were to commence shortly, with demolition planned to commence later in the year. 

·                Every effort would be made to ensure that any disruption to residents living in the City Centre area was kept to a minimum.

·                As the landowner, the Council would have an influence in terms of ensuring that any changes to the public transport network in the City Centre complemented the scheme.

·                Although there had been a rise in internet shopping, and that there may be less floor space and less stock in shops, as they move more to a product ‘click and collect’ approach, the view of the retailers was that there was still a wide range of choice for shoppers and strong demand for the Sheffield Retail Quarter. 

·                Issues regarding changes to the transport links in and around the City Centre area and how the scheme would fit in with the likely increased demand for services in the City Centre, due to the rising population, would be considered and addressed as part of the refresh of the City Centre Masterplan.

6.5.3

Night-Time Economy

·                It was accepted that there were still a number of issues regarding conflict between residents living in the City Centre and licensed premises, but it was considered that considerable progress had been made in this reagrd.  Issues relating to such conflict were being considered as part of the City Centre Masterplanning process.  The fact that the City had secured ‘Purple Flag’ status again and the winning of the ‘Best Overall Scheme’ and ‘Most Innovative Scheme’ categories at the National Best Bar None Awards 2016, had helped to keep the City Council and the licensed trade focused in terms of potential conflict between the night-time economy and local residents.

·                Whilst the area covered in terms of the ‘Purple Flag’ status included the BID boundary, which comprised the area within the old inner ring road, there were plans to look at areas with a high concentration of licensed premises just outside the City Centre, such as Ecclesall Road, being awarded certain elements of the status. 

·                As part of the achievements of ‘Purple Flag’ status, there had been a commitment from both the Council and the police in terms of the baselining of a number of core services, in the form of a commitment for the next five years. 

6.5.4

A Council Responsive to Business

·                It was accepted that, as with every city, there had been issues with regard to businesses dealing with the Council’s Planning Service, and there was a need for the Council to work much better with individuals or developers to assist them with their queries or applications.  It was appreciated that the Planning Service had various rules and regulations which had to be adhered to, but it was important that they worked with individuals or developers to try and come to a satisfactory outcome for both parties.  In terms of large-scale developments, it was accepted that there would be more issues to deal with, but every effort should be made to ensure there was regular contact with the developers in order to keep them updated in terms of each stage of the planning process.

6.5.5

Communication with Businesses

No questions were raised in relation to this element.

6.5.6

Accessibility Into and Around the City Centre

·                It was accepted that there were issues in terms of accessibility to the City Centre, particularly from London Road, in terms of the ring road.  Discussions had been held with the owners of The Moor in connection with possible methods of enabling and improving pedestrian flow from the London Road area to Moorfoot.

6.5.7

A Vibrant, Mixed Use City Centre

·                Whilst it was difficult to predict what additional housing would be required during the life of the Council’s Local Plan, there was a need to ensure that the City Centre Masterplan was dovetailed with the Local Plan in this respect.

·                Section 106 funding was shortly to be replaced by the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which would have a very clear list of priority investments, so should be very transparent.

6.6

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       notes the information reported as part of the presentation, together with the responses to the questions raised;

(b)       thanks Edward Highfield and Richard Eyre for attending the meeting, making the presentation and responding to the questions raised; and

(c)        requests that the issues raised by Members be forwarded to the Director of Creative Sheffield, and used to inform the refresh of the City Centre Masterplan.