Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Warspite Room, Council House

Contact: Hannah Chandler-Whiting  Email: democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

20.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

21.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 October 2024.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

22.

Chair's Urgent Business

To receive reports on business which in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

23.

Economic Insight and Intelligence pdf icon PDF 765 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted:

 

a)    Insight and intelligence was used to ensure Plymouth was lobbying for the right resources to help address inequalities, and where to spend funding to make a difference to the people in the city;

b)    This report focused on inclusive growth, including the importance of not just creating jobs, but ensuring that local people could access those jobs and understanding what the barriers were to people getting those jobs;

c)    It was important to understand how opportunities and wealth generation could positively impact everyone;

d)    Wealth was intrinsically linked to health and the report showed the links between deprivation and factors such as caring responsibilities and health.

 

Anna Peachey (Economy/Partnerships/Regeneration Manager) added:

 

e)    There were three distinct groups that the inclusive growth pillar of the economic strategy was focused on and Plymouth had a particularly high number of people that fell into this categories and were facing challenges:

                      i.        Deprived Communities;

                     ii.        Caring responsibilities;

                    iii.        Health challenges;

f)     It was important to understand the further complexities people could experience if they also had a protected characteristic;

g)    Plymouth had 28 lower super output areas, which were sub-neighbourhoods that were in the lowest 10% in England and the reasons were the following (of which the first three were a focus for the team):

                      i.        Income;

                     ii.        Employment;

                    iii.        Skills;

                    iv.        Health;

                     v.        Crime;

                    vi.        Barriers to housing, services;

                  vii.        Living Environment;

h)    The Economic Development Team worked with other teams across the Council who worked more closely in relation to some of these factors;

i)     The number of people in Plymouth who were not working because they were long-term sick had increased in recent years as well as people who had care responsibilities;

j)     Women with care responsibilities had a lower average wage than men with care responsibilities;

k)    The number of women with caring responsibilities who were being paid below the national living wage was higher in Plymouth than in the South West or in Great Britain;

l)     The number of people in Plymouth with work limiting health conditions was far higher than the national average.

 

In response to questions it was reported:

 

m)  The SHE project, which Iridescent CIC were part of, supported women starting their own businesses;

n)    The Council was committed to funding support for social enterprises;

o)    The Council worked with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide employability support through local organisations, often charities and social enterprises, such as RIO (Real Ideas Organisation);

p)    There had been a shift into acknowledging that the caring responsibilities of a child were not that just of a mother, but also a father and whilst primary caring responsibilities were undertaken 90% by women, the team were keen for it to become more gender neutral;

                      i.        Although men would likely face some of the similar challenges that women face with low-pay part time roles, to fit around those responsibilities;

q)    The Plymouth Charter had around 380  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Freeport Annual Update pdf icon PDF 845 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted:

 

a)    Plymouth and South Devon Freeport (PASDF) was committed to delivering to the existing strategy for the city through supporting the defence and marine sectors;

b)    £25 million in capital funding had been secured and PASDF were the first to spend this funding;

c)    PASDF had enabled Associated British Ports (ABP) to complete £23 million worth of port improvements, driving net zero and increasing exports;

d)    PASDF has supported Cattewater Harbour Commissioners with their channel-widening project that would enable larger, greener vessels to come in and out of the port;

e)    Princess Yachts had been supported to enable production of a new line of yachts;

f)     £7 million had been secured for the Oceansgate Innovation Barns that would create 50 new jobs before the end of 2025;

g)    £8 million direct development into Langage South had started;

h)    70 Jackal vehicles had been ordered by the British Army from Babcock and work was underway, with the creation of 90 new jobs;

i)     The possibility of FLOW (Floating Offshore Wind) was still being explored and going well;

j)     A £7 million innovation fund had been secured for the maritime launch pad;

k)    PASDF had held 20 major business events at various locations across the Freeport area, involving other local authorities;

l)     PASDF was part of the growth alliance to support and maximise the opportunities in Devonport worth £4.5 billion in investment.

 

Ian Cooper (Operations Director, Plymouth Freeport), supported by James Whitelock (Head of Oceansgate Infrastructure) and Robert McGuffie (Development Manager) reported the following:

 

m)  MHCLG were “pleased to see the maturity of the organisation and governance processes”;

n)    Taxi site benefits had been extended to 2031;

o)    Autumn 2024 budget had confirmed continued funding for the UK Freeport’s programme and the new Labour Government intended to align the UK Freeport programme with its emerging 10 year industrial strategy;

p)    Greener ships might benefit in the future from the Langage Green Hydrogen Hub where Carlton Power had secured funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for 10 megawatts of 100% green hydrogen fuel;

q)    The sites at Langage and Sherford had been identified as employment land in the Joint Local Plan (JLP);

r)    Seed and match funding was being used to install a pedestrian/cycle bridge to create an active travel connection between the Langage and Sherford sites;

s)     Oceansgate would deliver a place for marine businesses to innovate and collaborate;

                      i.        It comprised of two buildings providing over 1,700m2 of high-quality workspace built to the latest low carbon specifications;

                     ii.        Work would be completed by the end of 2025, subject to planning approval;

                    iii.        It was being constructed through £3.556m seed funding and £3.344m match funding;

                    iv.        The units would be 70% lower in embodied carbon than traditional steel frame units, and would have timber frames and wood cladding;

                     v.        There was interest from a client who wanted to use three of the eight total units;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

National Marine Park Update pdf icon PDF 187 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted:

 

a)    Towards the end of 2023, Plymouth City Council (PCC) had secured £11.6 million of National Lottery Heritage funding that was going to enable delivery of a £22 million horizons project to bring life to the UK’s first National Marine Park;

b)    In the programmes first year:

                      i.        1500 people had been enable to get in, on, under or next to the National Marine Park (NMP), supported by the NMP gateways at Mountbatten, Tinside and Mount Edgcumbe;

                     ii.        The gateways were working hard to help people to enjoy the NMP in new ways from learning to swim, to archaeology camps;

c)    Over 6000 people engaged with the “Meet the Marine Park” programme;

d)    The Ocean Conservation Trust, who ran the National Marine Aquarium, had been going out across the city to engage people with the NMP;

e)    970 school children had begun their National Marine Park Journey, as part of the schools programme;

f)     663 volunteers had been working alongside PCC teams to enhance the NMP through over 7160 hours;

g)    PCC and NMP had kickstarted a significant £10 million programme of waterfront regeneration, including Tinside, one of Plymouth’s most iconic buildings and significant progress had already been made;

h)    There would be a more accessible pontoon at Mount Batten;

i)     The Norman Tower at Mount Batten would be made into a feature itself and made more accessible;

j)     The Mount Batten Centre would be renamed and refurbished to make more of the opportunities available;

k)    The Garden Battery at Mount Edgcumbe would be made accessible to the public and work would start in Summer 2025, once the bats had left;

l)     A new partnership between NMP and Plymouth Culture would help to deliver the digital engagement programme with funding from the Arts Council;

m)  Expressed his thanks to the PCC team, the partners, contractors, volunteers and community membered who had supported the project in its first year.

 

Councillor Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) added the following:

 

n)    Councillor Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) had been working closely with the team on the development of the schools programme;

                      i.        By the end of the programme, all schools in Plymouth would have been invited to participate;

                     ii.        Engagement would include visits to the National Marine Aquarium, inspirational speakers visiting schools, and digital engagement;

o)    Volunteer work had included beach cleans as well as prepping Tinside for the Summer season;

p)    The Ranger programme had been successful and many of them would be seen out and about across the NMP;

q)    The team were reaching out to communities across the city, reaching those who are further away from the coast;

r)    Every aspect was being evaluated to ensure that the delivery and impact could be improved each year;

s)     The ‘Little Rays of Hope’ programme with the Marine Biological Association (MBA) hatched and raised young rays for release into the NMP;

                      i.        A competition  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

26.

Culture Plan Annual Update pdf icon PDF 411 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) introduced the item and highlighted:

 

a)    The culture plan was ambitious, forward looking, and had people and place at its core;

b)    The plan had been developed with best practice from across the city;

c)    There was a need to ensure that culture was embedded into all areas of life for residents;

d)    The economic benefits of the creative and cultural sector were well understood, but the social impact was of equal, if not greater, significance;

e)    A strong and authentic cultural offer made a place more attractive to students, graduates and the wider workforce;

f)     Access to a culture offer could support improvement of mental and physical health outcomes for individuals and supports community cohesion and educational attainment;

g)    Plymouth needed to continue to value culture and better articulate its significance and unique contribution to economic and social outcomes;

h)    Most local authorities in England did not prioritise culture in the way that Plymouth continued to;

i)     The role of culture and creative industry was clearly valued within the Labour Government’s missions and industrial strategy, giving Plymouth an opportunity to align local ambition and policy with national conversations;

j)     Further investment was needed in culture through a holistic approach.

 

Hannah Harris (CEO, Plymouth Culture) added:

 

k)    The three key drivers of the culture plan were:

                      i.        Community;

                     ii.        Environment;

                    iii.        Inclusive Economy;

l)     The culture plan used these drivers to engage in the wider city agenda;

m)  The ambitions of the plan were:

                      i.        “We will embrace our unique blue-grey-green landscapes, unlocking assets in our built and natural environments to create memorable experiences only imaginable in Plymouth”;

                     ii.        “We will make cultural encounters part of the everyday for everyone”;

                    iii.        “We will develop an exemplary model of co-creation where our audiences are active participants, making our cultural offer authentic and relevant”;

                    iv.        “We will be the UK’s leading city for immersive cultural experiences, recognised for our ability to use digital technology to engage communities and build cross-sector connections”;

                     v.        “We will embed equality at every level of the sector to actively support diversity of voice and celebrate the creativity in everyone”;

n)    The culture plan would focus on three strategic priorities which would shape decision making and resource allocation:

                      i.        Place;

                     ii.        Sector;

                    iii.        People;

o)   Sea for Yourself’ was a transformational cultural programme aligned to the newly established Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, to reconnect people with place, nature and cultural identity;

p)    The culture plan would create:

                      i.        259 opportunities for creative practitioners;

                     ii.        Work with 71 freelancers;

                    iii.        1437 actively engaged participants;

                    iv.        A digital audience reach of 430k;

q)    A lot of people in communities who were carrying out important work, did not see themselves as leaders which could result in missed opportunities of people who could be contributing to wider conversations;

                      i.        A programme to help people self-identify as leaders was successful in giving people awareness of their own  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 94 KB

Minutes:

Hannah Chandler-Whiting (Democratic Advisor) explained:

a)    The work programme had been significantly updated since publication and the agenda for the meeting on 12 February 2025 was as follows:

                      i.        Future Skills Strategy;

                     ii.        Draft NZAP;

                    iii.        Creative Industries Plan

b)    An update on Habitat Banking Vehicle, Chelson Meadow Solar Farm and Plymouth Plan would be sought before the next meeting and shared with Panel members via email if possible, as they had not been able to be scheduled for a meeting in the 2024/25 municipal year;

c)    South West Water would be confirmed for a meeting in April 2025;

d)    A number of items in the ‘to be scheduled’ section were on transport and so a meeting to look at all types of transport in the city would be pencilled in for early in 2025/26;

e)    A copy of the latest work programme would be circulated to Panel members following the meeting.

28.

Tracking Decisions pdf icon PDF 394 KB

Minutes:

The Panel noted its tracking decisions document.