Agenda item

Endorsement of a Five Year Vision for Gloucester City Centre

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council informing Members of the work undertaken over the past 18 months by the Gloucester City Centre Commission, and outlining a five year vision for Gloucester City Centre produced in consultation with the City Centre Commission.

Minutes:

93.1    The City Growth and Delivery Manager provided an overview of the Vision for Gloucester City Centre and explained that the document was not an action plan, but a vision to guide future strategies. He explained that the Vision was underpinned by six core principles and provided Members with a summary of the 5-Year Vision document, which outlined aspirations for a green and nature-rich city centre, a well designed and improving city, a growing local economy and workforce, thriving quarters and city which appeals to all ages.

 

93.2    The Chair noted that the public consultation through the University of Gloucester had taken place late in the process and asked whether the consultation data had had an impact on the 5-Year Vision document. He also asked if the City Council were to undertake the consultation again, whether it would be minded to do so earlier. The City Growth and Delivery Manager expressed the view that an earlier consultation would not have altered the outcome, and that the university research had acted as a form of scrutiny. He noted that if a similar exercise was undertaken in the future, consideration might be given to starting the consultation earlier.

 

93.3    Referring to the narrative in the Vision document concerning ‘measuring progress’ and the absence of figures, the Chair queried how the data would be decided. The City Growth and Delivery Manager clarified that when they were included, the figures would be indicators rather than targets and that his preference would be to steer away from a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) approach. The City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that he would be responsible for deciding the figures.

 

93.4    In response to a further question from the Chair regarding the missing figures, the City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that updated figures would be included in the final Cabinet report.

 

93.5    Councillor Hilton noted his disappointment that the Vision did not extend beyond 5 years. He raised concerns that the document did not detail the impact of a revitalised city centre on existing city centre residents and felt that more consideration could be given to creating more workspaces for existing residents. In response to these concerns, the City Growth and Delivery Manager accepted that a sense of community was needed and stated that more information would be published on the City Council website in due course.

 

93.6    In response to Councillor Hilton’s comment that the Vision was not ready for adoption and that further consultation was needed with residents, the City Growth and Delivery Manager highlighted that the initial plan was always for a 5-year Vision and that the Vision was deliberately optimistic in terms of regeneration plans. He noted that consideration could be given to making KPIs more explicit if this was needed to reflect a changing demographic.

 

93.7    Councillor Hilton expressed the view that a significant proportion of Gloucester city centre housing was substandard and that there was a need for more good quality homes. He reiterated his view that the document needed more work prior to adoption. The Policy and Development Officer reflected on his own experience of attempting to purchase town centre housing and accepted that there were challenges, particularly for first time buyers.

 

93.8   Councillor Dee welcomed the 5-Year Vision but noted her disappointment that many respondents did not feel proud of Gloucester city. She asked whether there were any short-term plans to tackle empty retail units in the city centre. The City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that the City Centre Manager was currently working with the Culture Trust with the aim of attracting young entrepreneurs into units, including units in the Eastgate Shopping Centre. He stated that there were many ways of encouraging enterprise, including alternative opportunities such as car boot sales and pop-up units.

 

93.9    Councillor Dee expressed the view that pop-ups were a good short-term solution. The City Centre Manager confirmed that efforts were being made to fill vacant units however the City Council could not accept any business regardless of the surrounding area purely for the sake of occupancy. The Chair agreed that it was important to find a balance.

 

93.10  Councillor Conder expressed the view that a useful measure would be the prevalence of independent shops. She felt that this might in turn encourage start-up businesses.

 

93.11  Councillor Wilson asked whether the new University of Gloucestershire campus in the former Debenhams building would include student accommodation. The City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that there would be no on-site student accommodation in the new city centre campus, however the recent additions to the Blackfriars Residence student accommodation in Gloucester city centre had been completed. Councillor Wilson expressed the view that students should be welcomed in Gloucester city centre and noted that more students in the city centre might help address safety concerns.

 

93.12  Councillor Gravells referred to the narrative in the 5-Year Vision concerning ‘topic-based and thematic strategies’ and suggested that future documents be mindful of jargon and written in clear language. He expressed the view that it was important that visions and strategies resonated with members of the public, and that working with key partners would be key to making the Vision a success.  

 

93.13  In response to a further query from Councillor Gravells regarding how progress in implementing the Vision would be measured, the City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that he had been working to provide the relevant information and statistics ahead of the publication of the report for Cabinet.

 

93.14  The Chair noted his agreement with Councillor Gravells’ comments on appropriate language and the City Growth and Delivery Manager agreed to take this point on board.

 

93.15  Councillor Sawyer commended the 5-Year Vision and stated that she looked forward to receiving further detail on the measurement statistics. She suggested that an update on implementation of the 5-Year Vision be provided to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 12 months’ time. The City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that he would be happy to return and review progress with the Committee, and that the City Centre Commission would also continue to have a role in monitoring progress.

 

93.16  In response to a query from Councillor Radley as to the plan for the following 5 years, the City Growth and Delivery Manager confirmed that the Vision would continue to evolve.

 

93.17  In response to additional comments from Councillor Radley regarding students and the fact that they lived in the city for a short amount of time, the City Growth and Delivery Manager noted that a challenge for Gloucester was to retain graduates and to ensure that good job opportunities were available to encourage graduates to stay in the city.

 

          RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report.

 

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