Agenda and minutes

To enable members of the public to ask questions, express views or present petitions, IF NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN, (by telephone, in writing or by email) BY NO LATER THAN 12 NOON OF THE WORKING DAY PRECEDING THE MEETING. As per Procedural Rule 14.4 at any one meeting no person may submit more than 3 questions and no more than 1 such question may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

There was no public participation.

Members of the Programme Board are required to declare the existence and nature of any interests they may have in subsequent agenda items in accordance with the Ashbourne Reborn Programme Board Code of Conduct. Those interests are matters that relate to money or that which can be valued in money, affecting the Member, their partner, extended family and close friends. Interests that become apparent at a later stage in the proceedings may be declared at the time.

Councillor Stuart Lees declared a pecuniary interest in the works proposed to the Market Place area in Ashbourne Town centre as Chair of the Ashbourne ex-servicemens club.

08 March 2024

It was moved by Councillor Stuart Lees, Seconded by Kim Dorrington and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the minutes of the meeting of the Ashbourne Reborn Programme Board held on 08 March 2024 be approved as a correct record.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report summarises the actions taken to progress the Ashbourne Reborn Programme, and highlights key programme risks.

Laura Simpson, Ashbourne Reborn Programme Manager (Derbyshire Dales District Council) introduced an update report which provided Board Members with information regarding the activities undertaken to progress the Ashbourne Reborn Programme, highlighted key programme risks and set out relevant next steps.

Board Members were informed that a lot of good progress had been made to date, despite not quite being in the position planned regarding cost reviews and decision making. It was noted that a cost review was in progress for the Link Community Hub with a validation exercise taking place regarding figures produced to date. It was also noted that the project was taking steps to ensure that the best possible endpoint could be achieved in terms of value for money and within the time and budget available. Board Members were also informed of the ongoing work alongside the cost reviews to enable the next stage of the procurement process.

Regarding the Highways and Public Realm project, it was noted that some of the designs were now at or nearing completion, with work being undertaken to update cost estimates and identify the most appropriate phasing plan to allow best use of the time available. A meeting was scheduled later in the day with officers from DDDC, Derbyshire County Council (DCC) and a potential contractor regarding a proportionate approach to hostile vehicle mitigation in the public places being improved as part of the Ashbourne Reborn Programme. An update would be presented to Board Members at the next meeting.

Meetings of the working group had taken place following the last Board meeting, in order to produce recommendations to influence design. The licences for outdoor seating issued by the District Council within Ashbourne had been considered by the group, it was discussed how the Council could work with licence holders to address associated requirements and practicalities through the construction period and after completion of the works.

Confirmation was received from DLUHC that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would not be updated annually, instead the Quarter 2 information from the submission in October 2023 would be used to re-baseline, with any further adjustments being made with written permission (via email) or via a formal project adjustment request should the changes required exceed set thresholds. It was noted that the Quarter 4 monitoring and evaluation report was due to be submitted by 26 April 2024.

Further consultation had been undertaken with Derbyshire County Council and partners to update the Communications Protocol based of feedback from the last meeting. The updates had been agreed by the Comms group and were presented to this meeting of the Programme Board for final approval. Feedback had been received that it would be helpful to have more frequent Ward Member updates, which had been initiated through short weekly update emails. More frequent updates had also been requested by the Town Council and further project representation was being planned for future Town Council meetings.

Laura provided Board Members with an update on the latest financial position of the Programme. It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26a

Tony Walker, Ashbourne Methodist Church, presented Board Members with an update on the progress of the Link Community Hub Project. Tony informed the Board that there had been a significant increase in cost estimates, following receipt of an updated pre-tender estimate. As noted in the report, these estimates require appropriate validation.

Board Members were informed that work was ongoing to consider potential solutions to the identified areas of cost challenge. Options considered included additional fundraising and increasing the use of local contractors for specific project elements. This work aimed to keep the project within budget whilst ensuring delivery of the project outputs and outcomes agreed with DLUHC, which the Project Board were still confident would be achieved.

Councillor Hughes enquired when the project would be able to appoint a primary contractor and commence building works. Tony confirmed that the ITT stage was planned to start by the end of May, taking six weeks to complete, meaning that an appointment should be able to take place by early July. As part of the tender process, it was noted that some elements of the project would be identified as optional additions in order to give more budgetary flexibility.

Jim Seymour, Derbyshire County Council, provided Board Members with a progress update for the Highways and Public Realm Project. It was noted that the project was progressing through RIBA stage 4 design, with highways designs becoming available for review with public realm designs and drainage and lighting designs due to follow in May.

Board Members were informed that there would be unavoidable additional costs to complete the Shrovetide Walk and Millenium Square designs to the required level of detail to enable updated cost estimates and subsequent construction.

Jim addressed concerns relating to the choice of materials used on the highways. It was noted within the report that the material specification would need to be agreed by the Highway Authority, whilst also meeting the aspirations of the original scheme bid and maintaining affordability within the budget for the scheme. The project team were working to mitigate the overall impact on the timing of delivery, and it was anticipated that further information regarding these matters would be presented to the next Programme Board Meeting.

Councillor Dobbs raised a query regarding details of the traffic mitigation measures due to be put in place throughout completion of the construction works. Jim confirmed that a communication strategy was in place to distribute information relating to these mitigation measures and that Ward Members would be kept up to date with developments on this matter.

Anna Paxton, Ashbourne Reborn Comms Officer, presented Board Members with an update on the actions taken to develop communications for the Programme. Anna informed the Board that the Comms Group was meeting monthly, with the potential for more frequent meetings as the Programme progresses. The group were working to develop relationships with the main stakeholders so that when more information becomes available it can be distributed as quickly and effectively as possible.

To distribute information to residents, work was being done to build up a following on social media and a series of short videos were being made to convey information about the Programme. Anna informed Board Members that a public meeting was under consideration for the summer once more information is available.

Another piece of work was being undertaken to establish the Ashbourne Reborn communication channels as the default option for accurate updates through one trusted partnership brand and a place that anyone can go to get all the information available about the programme and projects within it. Anna informed the Board that work was also being undertaken to move the Ashbourne Reborn web pages to their own domain to improve consistency.

It was moved by Sue Bridgett, seconded by Kim Dorrington and

RESOLVED (unanimously) 

1.    That the Board considers progress to date and the position regarding programme, cost, deliverables and risks be received and noted.

2.    That the revised Ashbourne Reborn Communications Protocol be received and approved, including the approach to urgent communications.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

No further updates were received from Programme Partners.