Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Policy Board would be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site.

There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted a joint Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance & Resources for the period 1 April to 13 September 2024. 

The report stated that the projected Revenue outturn as at 31 March 2025 for all services reporting to this Policy Board was a £0.076 million underspend against the revised budget for the year while the projected Capital outturn position was a break-even position. Summaries were provided over the relevant services in the tables within the report, together with further analysis. Budget adjustments previously authorised by the Chief Executive were outlined in paragraph 6.2 of the report for homologation by the Policy Board, while paragraph 6.3 of the report advised of budget adjustments which were for noting.

DECIDED:

(a) That the projected Revenue outturn position, an underspend of £0.076 million, be noted;   

(b) That the projected Capital outturn position, breakeven, be noted;

(c) That the budget adjustment detailed in paragraph 6.2 of the report be homologated; and

(d) That the budget adjustment detailed in paragraph 6.3 of the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Retail Improvement Scheme (RIS).

The report stated that since its inception in 2012, the RIS had been a key element of the Council’s agenda to improve town centres and build positive relationships with the local business community. RIS supported Renfrewshire based businesses to undertake external property improvements with grants, up to a maximum of £12,000, available. Larger awards had been offered to support projects in exceptional circumstances which would likely result in significant regeneration. Approximately £755,000 had been awarded to 106 different projects across Renfrewshire since 2016. A spotlight report, which was appended to the report, provided a detailed review of the Scheme between 2022/23 and 2024/25 together with an overview of some of the current notable projects.

In accordance with the motion agreed at the meeting of the Council held on 29 February 2024 a sum of £70,000 had been allocated to supplement the Retail Improvement Fund.  Details of applications received following the relaunch of the RIS during April 2024 were provided. It was highlighted that the available budget had been largely committed and that the RIS would be supplemented by the Place-Based Investment Programme, which would allocate an additional £50,000 and that projects would be completed by spring 2025.

DECIDED:

(a) That the content of the report be noted; and 

(b) That the Head of Economy & Development be authorised to explore potential funding options for future rounds of the Scheme.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the 2024/25 allocation of Scottish Government Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) and the projects being developed for delivery.

The report advised that the Place-Based Investment Programme (PBIP) was a capital funding programme directly allocated to local authorities which supported capital investment and the delivery of actions within local town centre strategies, community-led regeneration proposals and community-led place plans, thereby accelerating the Council’s broader place shaping agenda.  

During the summer of 2024 the Scottish Government had indicated that, in view of
wider public finance constraints, PBIP allocations would be restricted to support projects already underway and that, in addition, funding would be limited to a maximum value of 50% of the previously anticipated Council allocation, which were based on previous announcements, in order to protect the value for money of projects already in progress. As a result, a strategic review was undertaken to identify those projects most advanced and at risk of stalling in the event funding was withdrawn. Two projects had been identified in this context and were detailed within Table 1 of the report.  Following consideration of information provided by the Council, the Scottish Government had advised that the Council’s 2024/25 PBIP allocation would be £300,000. It was proposed, subject to Policy Board approval, that this allocation would be used to match fund and support the delivery of the projects identified in Table 1.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the proposed projects for the 2024/25 allocation for the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP), as set out within the report, be approved; and

(b) That it be noted that the progress on delivery of these projects would be reported to the Policy Board as appropriate.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Clyde Peatlands initiative and delivery of the West Tandlemuir Restoration Project within Renfrewshire.

The report advised that at the meeting of the Planning & Climate Change Policy Board held on 7 November 2023, the development of the Clyde Peatlands initiative across the Glasgow City Region was noted, as well as the opportunity for peatland restoration within Renfrewshire at West Tandlemuir Farm, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Lochwinnoch.  The Policy Board delegated authority to the Head of Economy and Development to develop and progress the implementation of the West Tandlemuir Restoration Project, including the preparation of bids for capital funding.

The development of a detailed programme of restoration works had been undertaken in early 2024, in partnership with the Clyde Peatlands officer and a working group consisting of representatives from various Council Services. Planning approval for the proposed works was granted in February 2024 and to secure funding for the project, a formal application had been submitted to NatureScot’s Peatland Action. In parallel, an exercise was conducted to procure an appropriate specialist contractor to deliver the works, in the event that the funding application was successful. At the meeting of the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board held on 13 June 2024 the award of a works contract for the Tandlemuir Peatland Restoration to McGowan Environmental Engineering Limited, subject to confirmation of funding from NatureScot was approved.

The report intimated that NatureScot had confirmed that the Council’s Peatland Action fund application had been successful and issued a grant offer of £297,498 to support delivery of the required works. 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the role of the Clyde Peatlands initiative in contributing to the Council’s response to climate change be noted;

(b) That the development of the West Tandlemuir Farm Restoration Project as part of Clyde Peatlands in Renfrewshire be noted;

(c) That the acceptance by Renfrewshire Council of grant funding totalling £297,498 from NatureScot Peatland Action, enabling delivery of the West Tandlemuir project be approved; and

(d) That it be noted that further progress on delivery of the West Tandlemuir project would be reported to the Policy Board as appropriate.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the proposed refurbishment and potential reuse of the Steeple Buildings in Kilbarchan, offering an overview of the options appraisal and updates on essential repairs scheduled for 2025.

The report stated that Steeple Buildings, located in Kilbarchan's Conservation Area and jointly owned by Renfrewshire Council and the Kilbarchan General Society (KGS), held cultural significance as a Category A listed property and were the centre of the village's annual Lilias Day celebrations. OneRen leased the building as a community hall, though it had remained closed since the Covid pandemic. It was highlighted that there were other venues available in Kilbarchan. 

Reference was made within the report to the appointment of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust as consultants to conduct a detailed Options Appraisal looking at future uses for the Steeple Buildings.  The objectives of the appointment were outlined and a copy of the Options Appraisal was attached as Appendix 1 of the report. It was noted that while continued ownership by Renfrewshire Council and KGS was preferred by the community, the Options Appraisal had not reached a consensus on the building’s future management and presented three potential management options for consideration. 

Mention was also made within the report to the significant stakeholder engagement that had taken place, including extensive consultation with Kilbarchan Community Council (KCC) and their desire to create a 'Friends of the Steeple' sub-group. After a series of informal public meetings with various stakeholders, it had been agreed to formally establish the 'Friends of the Steeple' sub-group as part of KCC. The temporary sub-group, consisting of 12 members, including a KGS representative, was interested in playing a more active role in decision-making around the Steeple Buildings.  

The implementation of a first phase of major repairs, valued at £308,000 plus VAT, prioritising immediate and urgent work on the roof, leadwork, and rainwater systems had been approved at the meeting of this Policy Board held on 23 January 2024. During September 2024, conservation specialists MAST Architects were appointed to develop and oversee the delivery of the first phase of these repairs. In addition to conserving the main external fabric, the first phase aimed to explore the possibility of reopening the building in an interim capacity. The findings of an upcoming electrical report prepared by Building Services would help determine whether interim use of the building would be feasible without further works. 

It was highlighted that additional works, not classified as urgent, had also been identified in the condition report and that initial discussions had been held with National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and Historic Environment Scotland (HES) regarding the possibility of obtaining funding to meet the funding shortfall. A summary of the outcome of the discussions was provided. The estimated cost of the refit and refurbishment of the interior for the Option Appraisal preferred option together with the anticipated cost of the first phase of major repairs was £692,000 plus VAT. 

DECIDED:

(a) That the Head of Economy & Development be authorised to investigate the recommendations from the options appraisal, undertaking feasibility work to further explore in more detail the design and funding of the preferred option;

(b) That the Head of Economy & Development be authorised to offer further support to stakeholders, specifically the 'Friends of the Steeple' group, to help them explore governance options and determine whether any transfer of ownership or management, potentially through a Community Asset Transfer, might be viable; and

(c) That the Head of Economy & Development be authorised to explore the ecomuseum model as a way of framing the Kilbarchan Cultural Quarter concept.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Scotland Loves Local scheme in Renfrewshire, focusing on take up and spend since the update provided to this Policy Board in November 2023.

The report advised that the Scotland Loves Local campaign was a national initiative aimed at encouraging residents to support local businesses and retain money within their communities. Participants were able to load any amount onto a gift card that could only be spent at businesses within their local authority area, promoting local spending. Renfrewshire Council had initially joined the scheme for a pilot period until December 2022 with the subscription being funded by the Scottish Government.  Thereafter the subscription had been renewed twice, for financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, at an annual cost to the Council of approximately £7,000.

Currently 158 Renfrewshire retailers were signed up to participate in the scheme, an increase of 21 since November 2023. A full list of participating local businesses was provided in Appendix 1 of the report. It was highlighted that since the scheme's inception, a total of £67,166 had been spent in Renfrewshire as a direct result of the initiative. A full breakdown of spending, via the gift card, by retailer was provided in Appendix 2 of the report.

DECIDED; That the content of the report and associated appendices be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to Council funds held by Business Loans Scotland Ltd. (BLS) and seeking a decision on whether to reinvest funds or transfer them back to the Council. 

The report stated that the West of Scotland Loan Fund Ltd (WSLF) was a consortium of the 12 West of Scotland local authorities and was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in June 1996, following local government reorganisation. The fund provided loan finance in individual amounts up to £100,000 and had successfully operated across the West of Scotland area as a loan fund for more than 18 years, filling the funding gap to both new and growing, small and medium sized enterprises.  To support this activity, each participating local authority had an allocation of ring-fenced loan funding based on its individual budget commitment matched by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) monies.

During 2014, the Scottish Government had indicated a desire to move away from regional loan funds, such as WSLF, to a national loan fund and advised that such a mechanism would be required to access EU resources.  The Council’s former Economy & Jobs Policy Board at a meeting held on 28 January 2015 had approved Renfrewshire Council’s support for a proposal to create a Scotland-wide local authority business loan fund. BLS was subsequently created as the vehicle to take this forward. The WSLF company was wound up in 2019 at which point Renfrewshire Council had combined assets of £723,795 in the fund. A breakdown of the assets was provided together with a summary of the Council’s decisions in respect of the loan portfolio, residual ERDF and excess funds. With effect from 2019 BLS had been funded solely by the Scottish Government but continued to manage the portfolio of loans for Scottish local authorities. The report highlighted that all loans were now repaid and Renfrewshire Council had a balance figure of £393,607.49 with BLS.

BLS had recently contacted all local authority Chef Executives to indicate that the Scottish Government had decided not to recapitalise the BLS Scottish Growth Scheme for 2024/25 and that there was no further lending by BLS to businesses for this financial year and potentially beyond.  BLS had provided three options to local authorities around their future lending capacity, two of which sought local authorities to reinvest funding for a new loan fund while a third option proposed a “no further lending” option. The Council had been asked for a preference of the options, detailed in section 4 of the report. 

DECIDED:

(a) That Option 3 be agreed as the preferred option for the future of BLS with the remaining Renfrewshire Council funds being returned to the Council for local business grant and loan support; and 

(b) That otherwise the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to progress and plans for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UK SPF) programme in Renfrewshire and, in particular, providing an update on progress to 30 September 2024, as reported to Glasgow City Region, as managers of the region-wide approach.

The SPF was the UK Government response to the decision by the UK to leave the European Union (EU). Previously, as part of the EU, parts of the UK, including Renfrewshire, were eligible for economic development funding as part of continent-wide support programmes.

The SPF provided £2.6 billion of funding across the UK for local investment with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula.  The UK Government had confirmed that there would be no opportunity to carry-forward any UK SPF budget into the new financial year. The report also provided details of the Year 3 UK SPF allocation The three core SPF investment priorities were detailed within the report together with a summary of the four key interventions for UK SPF in Renfrewshire and information relating to Renfrewshire’s performance to date in terms of the Core Programme. The report advised that programmes were performing well and spend was broadly on track across all areas except Multiply, which was underspending across all local authority areas in Scotland. The claims submitted, and the figures detailed within the report, reflected grant funding paid out by the Council. It was highlighted that all four SPF programmes had developed to involve a local grant fund as part of the programme to enable services to be delivered by a range of partners and that while a lot of the activity was on track, the spend did not reflect the full activities due to slow invoicing by partners.

 

DECIDED:

 

(a) That the content of the report and the progress of UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding to date across Renfrewshire be noted; and

(b) That the considerations around the future direction of the programme, which should be clearer after the UK Government Autumn Statement, be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to progress attained in relation to the Council’s Cultural Infrastructure Programme being delivered by the City Deal & Infrastructure team, with project management expertise from the Council’s Property Services team, and One Ren. 

This report indicated that the Cultural Infrastructure Programme investment in Paisley town centre would use the local internationally significant cultural and heritage story to transform the future for visitors and events. It was anticipated that the programme of work would bring new footfall and life to the town centre, new homes for cultural events and preserve the heritage of the town.

Progress updates were provided in respect of the Cultural Infrastructure Programme, in particular Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley Museum and other works included in the wider spectrum of the programme.

DECIDED: That the progress and current stage of construction of the projects outlined within the report be noted.

The Board resolved that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that if members of the press and public were present, there could be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 9 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. 

There was submitted a joint report by the Chief Executive and City Deal and Infrastructure Programme Director relative to a potential new occupier to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS).

DECIDED: That the recommendations detailed in the report be agreed.