Decision ref
0114 2022/23
Decision date
01/12/2022
Portfolio
Regeneration & Planning
Wards
All wards
Title
Approval for the submission of the two Tranche 2 St Helens Town Deal Full Business Cases
Summary
This decision seeks approval for the submission of the two Tranche 2 St Helens Town Deal Full Business Cases and Summary Documents to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) by 17 November 2022, which have been endorsed by the St Helens Town Deal Board and approved by Cabinet.
The two St Helens Towns Fund Tranche 2 projects are as follows:
Healthy Communities – Health Innovation Hub
Healthy Communities – Youth Zone
Purpose
In November 2019, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched its Towns Fund programme with the ambition of creating jobs and building stronger and more resilient local economies and communities. St Helens was nominated as one of 101 towns in the country to potentially benefit from up to £25 million to develop a Town Deal. The proposals, in the form of a Town Investment Plan (TIP), was required to be framed around the tree main headings:
Urban regeneration
Skills and enterprise infrastructure
Connectivity
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to the above, towns were also asked to consider how the fund could mitigate the impact of Covid-19 with actions tailored to each town’s circumstances and the localised impact of the pandemic.
In January 2020, the St Helens Town Deal Board was established to develop the TIP in accordance with the guidance detailed in the Town Deal Fund Prospectus 2019. From January 2020 to January 2022, the Board met each month to oversee the development of the TIP, together with the Council as the accountable body with an agreed focus on developing a set of projects to address challenges in the town centre.
At its meeting on 27 January 2021, Cabinet approved submission of the St Helens TIP to government. Given that the Glass Futures project was considered to be of ‘national significance’ the Board agreed to increase the St Helens TIP bid from £25m to £38.55m and this increase was linked to the Glass Futures project.
On 15 July 2021, the Council and Chair of the Town Deal Board received an offer letter awarding £25 million for the St Helens Town Deal. Following consideration by the Town Deal Board at its meeting of 3 August 2021, the Heads of Terms were signed by the Chair of the Town Deal Board, alongside the Chief Executive of the Council, as prescribed. At a meeting of Cabinet on 6 October 2021, the Heads of Terms were endorsed, and approval was granted to submit the Town Deal Project Confirmation Documents.
At the Cabinet meeting in October 2021, it was outlined that each project was required to develop a Full Business Case which was subject to a second stage approval by government. Delegated approval was afforded to the Executive Director Place Services (in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning) for their development, supported by the approved utilisation of Towns Fund capacity resource. Amion Consulting were engaged to provide independent oversight and challenge to the Business case development process and ensure that a consistent approach was maintained throughout the St Helens Town Investment Plan (TIP).
A Steering Group was established with sponsor and project manager representation from each project. The Steering Group was chaired by the Director of Strategic Growth and had the objective to ensure timely progress was made, stakeholder input was recognised, local needs and aspirations were met, to help translate the TIP vision into specific plans, to identify ways of adding value and to monitor all change controls.
The two Tranche 2 project Full Business Cases were shared with the Town Deal Board at a meeting held on 21 October 2022 where progress was noted and submission to DLUHC was delegated the to the Town Deal Board Chair in consultation with the Executive Director of Place Services and the Executive Director of Corporate Services. At a meeting of Cabinet on 9 November 2022, Cabinet approved the delegation for finalisation of the Business Cases to the Executive Director of Place Services, in consultation with the Executive Director of Corporate Services and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration.
Background
On 15 July 2021 the Council and Chair of the Town Deal Board received an offer letter awarding £25 million to the St Helens Town Deal. This award was subject to the submission of acceptable full business cases for the component projects within the TIP. Full Business Cases for the initial 6 (Tranche 1) projects were submitted to Government on 5 August 2022. An agreed extension was reached with DLUHC to enable the submission of the remaining Tranche 2 project business cases by 17th November 2022.
Conclusion
The remaining Tranche 2 project business cases are currently being reviewed by Government and it is anticipated that an announcement on the success funding award will be made in January 2023.
The Towns Fund investment is key to securing transformational change for St Helens and will support the Council in achieving its ambitions as outlined in the St Helens Borough Strategy 2021-2030. The projects included in the St Helens TIP submission have been subjected to high levels of scrutiny and challenge, including at the Town Deal Board and through government’s first stage approval process.
The investment will now allow the delivery of these core projects
Risk Implications
-Consideration has been given to risks and steps have been put in place to mitigate the risk level. Government has set a deadline date for the submission of the approved business cases. If a business case is not completed by 17 November 2022, the Council would be in breach of its agreement, and the funding will no longer be available. Risk score 4.
-Failure to approve (and submit) the Full Business Cases will result in loss of funding making the TIP undeliverable and meaning that the ability to deliver on many of the council’s regeneration ambitions for St Helens would be lost. Risk score 4
-Town Deal funding is not intended to provide the full funding for project delivery and in some cases project delivery is subject to securing match funding. There is a significant risk should match funding not be secured, and this will jeopardise delivery and put the funding allocation at risk. the financial model that has been included within the business case submissions. Risk score 3
-Risk assessments have been undertaken for the projects and the results are reflected in the Full Business Cases.
-Risk management is an essential element of ongoing review and project management.
Measures to Redress Risk
Risk workshops have helped to mitigate risks where they can be identified, and dynamic risk assessments will be undertaken for all the projects as they continue to be developed through to delivery.
Early securing of match funding will significantly mitigate this risk. However, should elements of match funding fail to be secured, officers would engage with Government to seek a redistribution of funding across the remaining projects. This would require Government approval as would any other significant changes to the projects.
Continual reviews of the business cases and project viability to ensure they remain sound will be made throughout the lifetime of the projects. This will be managed by appropriate controls and assurance steps.
Declarations Of Interest
None
More information
Please contact Robert Gatensbury on 01744 676149
