Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) seeking delegated authority to named officers and the Leader to agree a bid to be submitted to UK Government from Denbighshire County Council in partnership with Conwy County Borough Council for the constituency of Clwyd West.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       supports the theme of the bid, the proposed projects to be included in the bid and the broad indicative value of each project, and

(b)       delegates authority to the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services and the Leader, to refine the projects and project costs as required and to agree for a bid to be submitted to UK Government from Denbighshire County Council in partnership with Conwy County Borough Council for the constituency of Clwyd West.

The Leader presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to delegate authority for the purposes of agreeing a bid for Levelling Up funding to be submitted to the UK Government from Denbighshire County Council (DCC) in partnership with Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) for the constituency of Clwyd West.

The UK Government Levelling Up Fund (LUF) was intended to support investment in places where it could make the biggest difference to everyday life and would be delivered through local authorities.  Bids were based on MP constituency areas of which Denbighshire had three: Vale of Clwyd, Clwyd West and Clwyd South.  The bid for Clwyd South had been submitted in round 1 and was successful.  The report related to the round 2 bid for Clwyd West which was shared with CCBC who were acting as lead bidder/authority.  Each constituency area could bid up to a maximum of £20m capital funding and the DCC element would be approximately £10m.  The proposed projects to be included in the bid had been detailed in the report with broad cost figures pending the development of detailed business cases.  Given the level of scrutiny and approval of the individual projects at local level the Leader did not consider they needed to be further scrutinised at this stage.  David Jones MP had confirmed his support for DCC’s element of the bid, local members had been extensively consulted and there had been engagement with Ruthin Town Council. It was anticipated that the closure for round 2 bids would be around December 2021.

The Head of Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services detailed the process taken in development of the bid which had involved extensive discussions at local level and close working with David Jones MP in devising a theme together with the assessment and scoring of projects and formulation of the business cases.  The theme for the bid was cultural and heritage investment.  Further work would be carried out on those projects not taken forward as part of the bid with a view to seeking alternative funding streams to progress them as appropriate.

Cabinet welcomed the report and potential for significant investment in the area and was fully supportive of the recommendations to progress the bid.  Councillors Bobby Feeley and Huw Hilditch-Roberts (Ruthin members) paid tribute to the tremendous work undertaken by officers and the local community in bringing forward the projects, highlighting the wealth of information required to inform the process and work which had been undertaken within extremely tight timescales, together with the welcome support of David Jones MP and his endorsement.  If the bid was successful the benefits to Ruthin and wider area would be transformational with clear benefits too for residents and local communities in terms of both new and improved facilities, making a clear different to people’s lives and the local economy.  As Ruthin MAG Chair, Councillor Emrys Wynne added his support to the proposals.

In response to Cabinet’s questions/comments the Leader and officers advised –

·         it was unknown at present when a decision would be made on the bid following its submission to the UK Government but a quick decision was expected given that delivery of the projects was expected by March 2024 and the need for a quick turnaround had been raised with the Regional Team leading on the LUF

·         there were ongoing discussions with James Davies MP on the Vale of Clwyd bid to address some challenges provided in terms of allocating all projects into one bid and it was hoped that those would be addressed in time for a report to be submitted to Cabinet in December, and the intention was to bring it forward within the timescale for the round 2 submission of the bid to the UK Government

·         the success of the Clwyd South bid in round 1 had been announced but a formal grant award was still awaited from UK Government who had requested further information on projects which was currently being compiled – work was ongoing with project leads to begin to mobilise those projects as soon as possible.

The Leader thanked the officers for their tireless work in the development of the bid and progressing of the necessary projects and to all those involved who had contributed to the process which would have a significant impact if successful.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       supports the theme of the bid, the proposed projects to be included in the bid and the broad indicative value of each project, and

(b)       delegates authority to the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services and the Leader, to refine the projects and project costs as required and to agree for a bid to be submitted to UK Government from Denbighshire County Council in partnership with Conwy County Borough Council for the constituency of Clwyd West.

At this point (11.45 am) the meeting adjourned for a short break.