Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council House, Plymouth

Contact: Jamie Sheldon  Email: jamie.sheldon@plymouth.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

164.

Declarations of Interest

Cabinet Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.  A flowchart providing guidance on interests is attached to assist councillors.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by Councillors, in accordance with the code of conduct.

165.

Minutes

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 August 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 August 2021 are confirmed as a correct record.

166.

Questions from the Public

To receive questions from the public in accordance with the Constitution.

 

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Ballard House, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five clear working days before the date of the meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no questions from the members of the public.

167.

Chair's Urgent Business

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

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

168.

Keyham Response and Recovery Progress Report

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Nick Kelly (Leader of the Council) advised that Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) and Craig McArdle (Strategic Director for People) would provide an update to the Council’s response and recovery progress, in relation to the tragic events that happened in Keyham a few weeks ago.

 

This was the Council’s first formal Cabinet meeting since those events which rocked us all as a City.  The Leader wished to formally thank all of the first responders who bravely ran to the aid of the people in Keyham, it was during an incident like this that truly showed the care and dedication they exuded.

 

The Leader also thanked all Council staff that had worked tirelessly to help and support the families and residents in the aftermath, as well as all of the community groups, local Councillors and MPs.  He had been so impressed with how everyone had come together in such a remarkable way. A formal minute’s silence had been held outside of the Guildhall and a Memorial Service for those who lost their lives.

 

He understood that the funerals were now taking place and he would like everyone to join him in a minute’s silence to remember Lee and Sophie Martyn, Maxine Davison, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd.

 

A minute’s silence took place.

 

Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) advised the Devon and Cornwall constabulary had led the response phase, but that the council acted alongside emergency services. The Council had provided support to individuals and the community and provided community reassurance through a co-ordinated message to stakeholders, to those affected, to the community, to the wider city, to the nation and further. The Council had prepared to initiate the multi-agency recovery phase to show how the city would come together through its visible and strong leadership participation across the city. Teams had been mobilised instantly after the tragic events and community hubs had been set up early the next morning and outreach working started to provide community reassurance and ensure those that needed support were reached.

 

The city had been in mourning for a week, the civic response had been important to show deeply it affected us and we had set up a book of condolences, safeguarded our tributes and flowers, the national minutes silence and the church service.

 

Tracey Lee thanked the emergency services for their response to the tragedy and also thanked Council staff for their quality and compassionate response.

 

The impact of these events will be felt for some time and in line with emergency planning protocols the local authority picks up the lead for multi-agency recovery.

 

Craig McArdle (Strategic Director for People) advised the Council had moved out of the initial response phase and had set down a Multi-agency approach to recovery which included the Police, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Plymouth Community Homes, Health partners, voluntary and community sector organisations and elected members. 

 

To take forward the recovery, Plymouth had developed an overarching strategy with the following aims:

 

·          

Listen and engage with communities to understand  ...  view the full minutes text for item 168.

169.

COVID - 19 Update

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

Ruth Harrell (Director of Public Health) provided an update on Covid-19 which included –

 

(a)

the Covid case rates (per 100,000 people) were as follows –

 

 

 

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Plymouth 430

 

?

South West region 360

 

?

England 360

 

 

 

(b)

nationally, infection rates were roughly flat but at a high level; locally the cases had slightly reduced but the level had stayed about a third higher than the England average; Plymouth (and the South West as a whole) had not been in a position of having the highest rates in the country before and it was not a comfortable place to be;

 

 

(c)

although the highest rates were amongst younger people, rates were high throughout and there were around 240 (per 100,000 people) of over people over 60 (years of age) who had currently tested positively for Covid19; whilst this was far less alarming than it was in January 2021 when few people had been vaccinated, these rates were still high;

 

 

(d)

hospital admissions had also flattened off but again remained at a high level; in Derriford there were over 50 Covid19 cases and this had a significant impact on the way in which the hospital operated; the high levels of infection throughout the City (and wider) also had an impact on the healthcare system as a whole (staffing, care homes, etc);

 

 

(e)

there were deaths locally due to Covid19; when compared to the national figures, the City had an excess of deaths from all causes of around 12% over the five year average;  there were around 650 deaths weekly that had Covid19 stated as a cause of death on the death certificate; many of these were in older people, though there were 30 under 44’s and 165 below 65’s;

 

 

(f)

deaths recorded (week ending 27 August 2021) -

 

 

 

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1 to 14 (age) – 1

 

?

15 to 44 (age) – 29

 

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45 to 64 (age) – 135

 

?

65 to 74 (age) – 114

 

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75 to 84 (age) – 194

 

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85+ (age) – 176

 

 

 

(g)

vaccination levels in Plymouth were higher than the national average for each age category and the City had seen a strong uptake in younger people; however, the Council did want more people to be vaccinated; there were plenty of opportunities to book appointments or just walk in to clinics; these were regularly held at Home Park and also at a range of locations across the City;

 

 

(h)

the Enhanced Response Area for Plymouth, Torbay, Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had been announced over a week ago; this had been due to the very high rates in these areas; whilst some of these cases could be linked to festivals such as Boardmasters, case rates had fallen slightly, however, they were still high and had remained high in Plymouth;

 

 

(i)

the Enhanced Response Area had been a awake up call for the City; everyone wanted to get back to life as normal but Covid19 could not be ignored, as it was a highly infectious disease; everyone needed to moderate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 169.

170.

Leader's Announcements

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Nick Kelly (Leader of the Council) provided an update on the following –

 

(a)

Covid Business Grants (performance update following the closure of the scheme) -

 

 

 

?

the Conservative Government had acted swiftly to provide unprecedented levels of financial support throughout the height of the pandemic however, it was local councils who had administered these schemes on the ground, often with large amounts of discretion; this had been the biggest business support exercise ever undertaken by Plymouth City Council;

 

 

 

 

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the Council –

 

 

 

 

 

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administered 16 separate schemes;

 

 

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paid out £92,518,530 of Government backed grant funding;

 

 

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made 19,435 payments to 7440 business;

 

 

 

 

 

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it was really important to recognise the scale and effort of the work that went into leading and delivering the Covid business grants scheme;

 

 

 

 

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the task had been both challenging and complexed but everyone had applied themselves amazingly and stepped up when it had been needed the most;  over 50 people were involved from across the Council and from multiple departments;

 

 

 

 

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the feedback from the business community had been universally positive with many letters and emails of thanks from individual businesses and from organisations such as the Federation of Small Business, Plymouth and Devon Chamber and the Plymouth Manufacturers Group;

 

 

 

 

?

he would like to take this opportunity to formally note the Cabinet’s thanks to everyone involved in administering the scheme; Council staff had been at the forefront of delivering the funding when it had been most needed;

 

 

 

(b)

Sail GP (initial findings of the economic impact study undertaken by Deloittes into the amazing event held in Plymouth in July 2021) -

 

 

 

 

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a huge amount of effort had gone into both securing and delivering the event, the weather had been incredibly kind and had allowed the City to showcase its fabulous waterfront (which was a priority for this Administration);

 

 

 

 

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the report by Deloittes sets out the economic benefit to Plymouth from hosting the event; this had been really important, as whilst these events were a great spectacle it was important that they provided value for money too;

 

 

 

 

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the figures were very encouraging and it was important to note that they excluded the media value generated by the event -

 

 

 

 

 

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total economic impact of $9.5m (£6.9m);

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the total expenditure associated with the event was $12.3m (£8.9m);

 

 

 

 

 

 

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had it not been for Covid which had limited visitor numbers and travel, Deloitte conservatively estimated this economic benefit to Plymouth would have been closer to $14m (£10.1m);

 

 

 

 

 

 

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there were an estimated 27,500 spectators (ticketed and non-ticketed) from 10 countries;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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spectator satisfaction was high at 97% positive when asked about their overall experience and 97% thought that hosting Sail GP was a good thing for Plymouth;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the coverage was available globally in 150 countries;

 

 

 

 

 

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he was determined to make Plymouth known for events such as Sail GP; this Administration would do everything it could to promote the Hoe to a world-wide audience; the Council was in detailed negotiations with Sail GP regarding hosting an event in Plymouth in 2022; an update would be provided when able  ...  view the full minutes text for item 170.

171.

Cabinet Member Updates

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet Members provided updates as follows -

 

(a)

Councillor Deacon (Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, and Leisure and Sport) made the following announcements -

 

 

 

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The Hatchling -

 

 

 

 

 

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on Sunday 29 August, the people of Plymouth were joined by visitors from across the country to watch The Hatchling take flight from the coast and soar across the sea in a powerful symbol of hope;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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in a world first, the giant dragon puppet transformed into a kite, flew into the air and across Plymouth Sound, with an audience on tens of thousands on the Hoe and along the coast watching in awe;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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as part of the Mayflower 400 programme, The Hatchling was an outdoor theatrical performance that started on Saturday morning in the city centre and continued through until the unforgettable finale on Sunday night; 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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it had been supported by Plymouth City Council, Arts Council England and Mayflower 400; this was a poignant reminder of the power of community, with over 250 participating community groups and volunteers; it demonstrated both creativity and also the unique outdoor venue of the City;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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it had been watched by an audience of tens of thousands and with media coverage of over six million, this was a world first, as the giant puppet transformed into a kite and flew;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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footfall in the city centre on Saturday was up 20% on the previous week, whilst The Hatchling, West End Carnival and Motor Heads were in that area; The Hatchling would next been see in 2022 in London, heading the procession of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant; truly stand out events like this engaged the City’s communities, demonstrated the vibrancy and culture of the City and showcased Plymouth far and wide;

 

 

 

 

 

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the British Fireworks Championships -

 

 

 

 

 

 

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thousands also gathered on the Hoe and across the Plymouth Sound waterfront for the spectacular British Fireworks Championships in August 2021 but with a difference from all the previous years;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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this year, the firework displays were dedicated to the victims of the tragic events in Keyham last month; a special tribute took place on each evening of the Championships which included a one minute’s silence where attendees beamed their phone torches into the sky, filling the waterfront with light; this was followed by a display of five heart-shaped fireworks to signify each life lost and a minute long round of applause in memory of the victims; five green hearts were also projected onto Smeaton’s Tower during the event;

 

 

 

 

 

 

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after a two-year absence due to Coronavirus, it was fantastic to be able to host the Championships again which brought joy to local communities and welcoming visitors back to Plymouth;

 

 

 

 

 

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these events, followed on from the success of Sail GP which brought together and showed off the City at its best; the Council’s events team have had a remarkably difficult year and should be congratulated in achieving these amazing but complicated events working with different partners;

 

 

 

 

 

(a video of The Hatchling was shown at this meeting)

 

 

 

(b)

Councillor Jonathan Drean (Cabinet Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 171.

172.

100 Day Plan

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Nick Kelly (The Leader) introduced the 100 Day Plan and invited Cabinet Members to speak to commitments related to their portfolios as follows:

 

Councillor Patrick Nicholson highlighted that – commitment 4 to speak to members of parliament had been completed with the director of public health and Craig McArdle we had presented Members of Parliament with a paper on the respective Health agenda’s relevant to their constituencies this had been expanded to encompass of health requirements not just adult social care. In relation to the health and Wellbeing hubs this had been drilled down in relation to our aspirations in relation to their constituencies but also access to gp services and other requirements. The government had made an announcement on Adult Social Care reform which would lead the debate further on.

 

Councillor Mrs Maddi Bridgeman – commitment 27 continue to support champion and adhere to the waste hierarchy empowerment by the government under the environment bill which is currently under consultation. We continue to explore waste to make it easier for business and communities to reduce the waste that they produce and to favour reused recycle over recovery and disposal. Within the Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP project) we are seeking to work with 50 local businesses and 50 local communities to help them to reduce their plastic waste and explore new ways to evidence change and illustrate modifications in their supply chains. They will have the opportunity to sign up to a plastic charter. A two year contract has been agreed with the Ocean Conservation Trust and Environment Plymouth to act as external experts. We had been working to build on those pledges and networks already identified when Plymouth became a plastic free city and to date have seven new businesses, three new schools and four new tourism and leisure groups working towards the revised charter. The Plastic Task Force from the PPP project had worked with the following local communities over the last 12 months; Odessey innovations, National Marine Aquarium, Surfers Against Sewage, Marine Conservation Society, Food Plymouth, Source to Sea, Clean our Patch, The 1000 tires project, KFC, Plasticey, Precious Plastic Plymouth, Fab Lab Plymouth and the Smart Citizens programme. Councillor Bridgeman announced that the Plastic Sculpture has also been signed off.  

 

Councillor Jonathon Drean – manifesto commitment 30 had been completed. Councillor Drean had written to the minister and shared with him how we had been moving as a city to install the electric charging points and the plan for mobility hubs. He had also been made aware of the electric boat charging points on the Mountbatten ferry site for the E-voyager and E-Link.

 

Plymouth City Council had submitted a bid to the Department of Transport under the Active Travel Fund for a programme of walking and cycling schemes for a total of £4.4mil for the schemes we had completed by 31st March 2023. The bid comprised of a 10 different projects.

 

Commitment 72 to help road safety and traffic flow and encourage the use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 172.

173.

Finance Monitoring Report July 2021 pdf icon PDF 200 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Kelly (The Leader), and Brendan Arnold (Service Director for Finance) introduced the Finance Monitoring Report July 2021 to Members and highlighted the following key points:

 

(a)

the figures within the report would fluctuate over the course of the remaining months however it was hoped that they would travel in the right direction to balance the budget which was the key objective;

 

(b)

the forecast revenue outturn after the application of covid grants and council mitigating actions was currently estimated at £1.446m over budget; last month the council reported £1.514m – this showed an improvement of £68,000;

 

(c)

the Customer and Corporate Directorate recorded a favourable movement of £13,000 and the directorate was now reporting an overspend of just under £1.5m as a result of savings targets which were likely to be delivered later than planned: a legacy of £949,000 and the facilities management savings target of £550,000. The Management Team continued to monitor the situation closely and worked hard to bring forward other savings initiatives to offset this pressure in year;

 

(d)

the Place Directorate also improved from an overspend of £101,000 last month to a revised figure of £42,000 this month which was positive;

 

(e)

Public Health reported an underspend of £94,000 against its business as usual activity as a result of management actions to minimise expenditure;

 

(f)

Cabinet would continue to show the position of the additional costs and income lost to covid which was currently showing a drawdown against grants of £15.48m – these were set out in section b of the report;

 

(g)

against the total savings targets of £13.458m, the Council was reporting achieved savings to £9.396m – 68% of the target which was encouraging.

 

 Cabinet agreed to note the current revenue monitoring position.

 

174.

Corporate Plan Performance Report Quarter One 2021 - 22 pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Kelly (The Leader) introduced the Corporate Plan Performance Report Quarter one 2021 – 22 to members and highlighted the following key points:

 

·          

The outbreak of COVID-19 had presented a number of challenges not least had impacted some of the Corporate Performance Indicators and our ability to capture data.

 

·          

We continue to achieve target for spend within PL cost code including in Q1 of the procurement of goods and services from 1188 suppliers based within the PL postcode.

 

·          

99% of carriageway defects had been completed on time, which had been achieving our performance target. 

 

·          

There had been a reduction in repeat referrals to Children’s Social care, this is a positive outcome for many families.

 

·          

We are achieving our target for homelessness preventions but fully recognise that homelessness in general is still a persistent pressure.

 

·          

We continue to see better outcomes for adults who are the victims of safeguarding abuse. In quarter one 95% of victims saw there desired making safeguarding personal outcomes achieved.

 

·          

There had been an improvement in stage one customer complaints, 93% complaints had been resolved in expected timescales.

 

·          

There had been an increasing trend of rough sleepers as reported by partners.

 

·          

There had been slight increases in adults requiring longer term support in a residential or care home.

 

·          

Sickness levels in quarter one had increased within the Council, but following significant improvements from 12 months previous we are achieving our sickness targets.

 

 

Cabinet noted the quarter one report of the Corporate Plan Performance Report.   

175.

Plymouth Plan Annual Report

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Nicholson (Deputy Leader), Jonathan Bell (Head of Development Planning) and Sarah Gooding (Policy and Intelligence Advisor) were present for this item.  It was reported that the Annual Report provides Cabinet with an overview of progress over the past year, for each of the different elements of the plan. 

 

Councillor Nicholson requested to table the following recommendation:

 

‘Officers are instructed to conduct a review of developer’s contribution to ensure development proposals in Plymouth are contributing sufficiently to fully mitigate the cost of their impact of health infrastructure in the city’. 

 

The reason for this additional recommendation because many developments within the city that have considered have made negligible impact to our health infrastructure and that it was really important to adopt a more robust approach to ensure that large developers actually contribute significantly to the health infrastructure for our city as we develop and grow. 

 

Why was the Plymouth Plan produced?:

·        To consolidate the 140 strategies and plans;

·        Working to different timelines and on different datasets;

·        Costly and confusing

·        How was the city supposed to speak with a single voice?

 

The Plymouth Plan journey started in 2013 and was adopted in 2015.  The Plan has been refreshed on three occasions:

 

·        The Plan is structured around a healthy city, growing city and international city;

·        The Plan is built on a philosophy with putting people at the heart of the plan, opportunity and connections and the flourishing of local communities;

·        The plan is represented spatially and digitally;

·        The plan is managed by Plymouth City Council working with partners and scrutiny provides accountability;

·        Outcomes – built into the plan 15 strategic outcomes and are reported through the annual monitoring report;

·        Three major factors to follow closely:  Covid, Brexit and Climate emergency;

·        Next steps – use of data to support conversations about city plans and priorities.

 

Cabinet noted the Plymouth Plan Annual Report 2021 and agreed the following additional recommendation:

 

‘Officers are instructed to conduct a review of developer’s contribution to ensure development proposals in Plymouth are contributing sufficiently to fully mitigate the cost of their impact of health infrastructure in the city’. 

 

(Councillors Kelly, Nicholson, Riley, Mrs Pengelly and Drean voted in favour).

 

(Councillors Mrs Bridgeman and Deacon joined the meeting virtually and therefore not able to vote).

176.

Freezone Update

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Caroline Cozens (Head of Strategic Programmes) and Kevin McKenzie (Policy and Intelligence Advisor) provided Cabinet with an update on Plymouth and South Devon Freezone.  Cabinet were provided with an explanation on what is a Freeport?

 

·        Freeports were special economic zones where normal custom rules do not apply;

·        The Freeport programme was the Government’s flagship regeneration initiative to support levelling up;

·        Following a competitive process Plymouth’s Freeport bid was one of 8 successful bids announced by the Chancellor;

·        Our vision to build on our world class innovation assets to accelerate clean growth to provide the high quality jobs needed for the future;

·        We call our Freeport the Plymouth and South Devon Freezone.

 

The proposal was innovation led:

·        Marine innovation cluster at South Yard;

·        Over 100 Ha of employment land unblocked at linked sites in Langage and Sherford;

·        Ports at Cattedown and Millbay optimised;

·        Marine Skills Academy – a virtual skills academy;

·        Packages of capital enabling work;

·        Inward investment.

 

HM Treasury have asked us to provide a business case which covers the following 5 areas: strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management case.  Progress to date:

 

·        Established our partnership and governance with Devon and South Hams local authorities;

·        Received first tranche of central government revenue support;

·        Established a cross authority delivery team;

·        Appointed a number of specialist consultants;

·        Established partnerships with businesses, including anchor tenants;

·        Engaged with the business community and held stakeholder events;

·        Developed close partnership working with government departments and agencies;

·        Master planned each site collaboratively with landowners and partners;

·        On track to complete Outline Business Case in the Autumn.

 

Outcomes and Outputs:

·        Trade and investment;

·        Job creation;

·        Innovation.

 

Next steps:

·        Outline business case continues to be developed;

·        Formal update on Outline Business Case to elected members prior to submission;

·        26 November 2021 – Outline Business Case submitted;

·        Feedback and approval of Outline Business Case;

·        Development of Full Business Case and early implementation components start;

·        Approval of Full Business Case by elected members prior to submission in February 2022;

·        4 March 2022 – Full Business Case submitted;

·        Spring 2022 – approval of full business case, operationalisation of Freeport, Section 31 Grant issued for see Capital Funding.

 

The following items were raised by Members:

·        A request for a briefing note on the practicalities of the Freezone;

·        The Freezone fits very nicely into the Plan for Plymouth by bringing highly paid and skilled jobs into the area;

·        Whether there was a possibility for companies or organisations outside the area relocating into the zone or whether they would build up local companies.

 

Cabinet noted the Freezone Update and requested a briefing paper on the practicalities of the Freezone.

177.

Cabinet Appointments

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Kelly (Leader) introduced the report and asked Cabinet to confirm the appointments contained within the report for the 2021/22 municipal year.

 

It was agreed that Cabinet confirm the appointments to the Plymouth Investment Partnerships Limited contained within the report for the municipal year.

 

(Councillors Kelly, Nicholson, Riley, Mrs Pengelly and Drean voted in favour).

 

(Councillors Mrs Bridgeman and Deacon joined the meeting virtually and therefore not able to vote).