March 20 Policy and Resources Committee Update
Wirral Council’s Policy and Resources (P&R) Committee met at Birkenhead town hall on Wednesday March 20.
The full agenda for this committee meeting is available on the council website. The meeting is also webcast and can be viewed online.
The decision of the Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) that they now plan to stand down was announced at the start of the meeting of the council’s Policy and Resources Committee.
The IAP had been invited to oversee Wirral Council’s improvement in response to an External Assurance Review commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) published in November 2021, itself undertaken as a condition of the Council’s request for exceptional financial support in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The IAP was subsequently a part of the council’s move towards putting itself on a sustainable financial footing.
Items on the agenda for the P&R committee included:
Allocation of improvement project fund
More than £2million extra funding will be made available to target improvements that will have a visible impact for residents and businesses across the borough.
As part of the 2024-25 budget setting, councillors approved the creation of a £1.246m revenue project investment fund and a £1m environmental improvement capital fund. The report presented to P&R Committee recommended how this should be used.
The cash would see new “clean teams” tackling grot spots across Wirral plus extra measures to improve weed control and clear alleyways. Funding had been set aside from the budget following savings identified across the authority in the coming year.
The focus is on making the borough an even better place to live and work and in addition will see other measures such as increased seasonal grounds maintenance capacity to increase standards and conversion of rewilding areas to pollinator areas.
Other parts of the fund would be used for gully cleansing and repair plus more replacement of damaged street furniture.
The report is on the council website.
Regeneration Delivery Resourcing
Wirral Council’s comprehensive regeneration vision sets out to build on substantial Government funding successfully secured by the authority in the last few years to transform Birkenhead plus parts of Wallasey and New Ferry through regeneration to support and enhance local communities.
The work will support infrastructure improvements and town centre intervention, creating new neighbourhoods and homes and encouraging inward investment and job creation, with the aim of driving up economic growth and delivering improved prospects and prosperity for people of Wirral.
To deliver this, and so deadlines to use the Government grants can be met, members of Wirral Council’s Policy and Resources Committee were asked to consider a report which recommends £2.7 million be used to ensure the relevant expertise is in place over the next two years of the delivery phase.
Officers within the Regeneration and Place directorate have undertaken a detailed review of the regeneration programme to accelerate delivery and the funding would support bringing in the necessary skills to plug in alongside existing council project managers within the delivery team, bridging any technical skills gaps in current projects as well as those coming forward.
It would be paid from profits from the council’s joint venture the Wirral Growth Company and where possible, capitalisation of costs.
The reports are available on the agenda for the meeting which is the council website.
Levelling Up Fund 3 Liscard - Inclusion in Simplification Pathfinder Pilot
On 13 September 2023, the council accepted an invitation to join the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing & Communities’ (DLUHC) Simplification Pilot. This brings together and streamlines the use of funding awarded by the Government for regeneration projects in the borough from the Town Deal, Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) and the Council’s Levelling Up Round 1 (LUF1) grants.
On 20 November 2023, the UK Government announced that Wirral Council had been further successful in its additional application to the Levelling Up Fund for £10,788,000 for Liscard Town Centre. Councillors were asked to agree to include the Liscard Levelling Up Fund allocation in the DLUHC Simplification Pilot to give greater flexibility in how it can be used there.
The report is available to read on the council website.
The recommendations to committee were slightly amended approve a draft addition to the Simplification Pathfinder Investment Plan and to authorise the Director of Regeneration and Place to submit the final version to the DLUHC when it is available. Other recommendations remained unchanged.
Council Change Programme
The Change Programme is the Council’s vehicle for developing and implementing the required projects that support the delivery of the Medium-Term Financial Plan
The report is available to read on the council website
Council Plan Performance Management Framework
This report sets out a draft Performance Management Framework (PMF) that will ensure the implementation of the new Council Plan: Wirral Working Together 2023-27 which was approved by Council in December 2023 is effectively monitored and reported over the next 4 years.
The report is available to read on the council website
Birkenhead Commercial District Update
An update on the Birkenhead Commercial District (BCD) programme which is reaching a major milestone. The phase 2 fit out will be completed allowing council staff to be moved in. The official handover between the contractor and Wirral Council is on Friday 22 March 2024. The council will be occupying three and a half floors at 2 Alice Ker Square - Mallory, moving in from Monday 8 April 2024. The council will partially exit Cheshire Lines Building and retain a lease of the basement to support archive storage, Police and Criminal Evidence room and data centre. The council is working with an agency partner to market the remaining vacant spaces in both new buildings Mallory and Irvine.
The report is available to read on the council's website
