Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: anticipating a Regeneration Board >>> Scoping Report and Project Brief >>> questions
Nevertheless, reassurances have been given that any such questions will be addressed once the 'Reference Group' meets - a group charged with 'advising' and 'managing' the Scoping exercise.
The following questions have been sent to the Town Clerk - the pivotal officer in the process - by the Vision Group - who will be on the Reference Group, together with:
> the Chairs of the following organisations: Sidmouth Town Council, Neighbourhood Plan Group, Sid Vale Association, Chamber of Commerce
> x2 Sidmouth Town Councillors, x2 Sidmouth District Councillors, County Councillor
> Officers of the two Councils
Terms of ReferenceJoint Working Arrangements for the Port Royal Scoping Exercise ProjectSidmouth Town Council and East Devon District Council
QUESTIONS: SCOPING STUDY
28th September 2016
There further points arising, now that more information
is available:
STC [Agenda incl TOR and Project Brief http://www.sidmouth.gov.uk/images/Agenda_STC-050916.pdf
]
[Minutes: 5th September: http://www.sidmouth.gov.uk/images/Mins-STC-050916.pdf]
EDDC Cabinet [Agenda paper: 14th September: http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/1845110/combined-cab-agenda140916final.pdf]
[Minutes: 14th September: http://eastdevon.gov.uk/media/1856707/140916-cabinet-mins.pdf]
Reports in the press
[the Herald: 9th September: http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/plans-for-port-royal-anticipating_18.html]
[the Herald: 16th September: http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/home/scoping_study_given_green_light_by_district_1_4699248]
[the View from Sidmouth: 20th September: http://www.viewnews.co.uk/port-royal-set-regeneration/]
SCOPING STUDY
1) To what extent is the Study simply concerned with
gathering quantitative evidence (“fact-finding”); and to what extent will it
also be covering qualitative research (“public consultations”)?
2) To what extent will the Study determine the ‘scope’ of
the overall Port Royal Regeneration Project – that is, over the entire life of
the Project?
3) Will the end of the Study mark Gateway One? In which
case, as outlined by Officer Alison Hayward at her presentations to the STC and
NPSG, will it be impossible to revisit any of
the elements of the Study, either quantitatively (“fact”) or qualitatively
(“opinion”) – or to reconsider the scope of the Project once Gateway One has
been passed?
4) With reference to the Herald article of 9th September,
what exactly is meant by ‘proposals’ – are the Project/Reference Groups and
both Councils expected to come up with ‘proposals’ to determine the direction,
scope and nature of the overall Port Royal Regeneration Project; or are the
‘proposals’ limited to how the information will be presented only in the Study?
CONSULTANT
5) How will the selection of the consultant be decided
and will this process be made transparent to all stakeholders?
6) Who will the consultant be employed by and where will
s/he have office space?
7) Who will s/he report to?
8) Will it be the responsibility of the Reference Group
or of the Project Group to determine the nature and scope of the support from
Officers and external consultants? And what exactly is meant by ‘support’ from
officers and external expertise – who exactly and which Group will be providing
direction for such support? (See STC Minutes of 5th September)
9) To what extent will the Study and larger report be
‘set out’, led and determined by the Consultant(s)? (See the View form Sidmouth
of 20th September: “the two councils
will be commissioning the Scoping Study so that experts can set out the key
issues and way forward towards a detailed plan for the future potential for
Port Royal”)
10) Is it probable that the consultant(s) employed to
contribute to the Study will be kept on for the entirety of the Project, should
their contribution prove satisfactory to all parties?
REFERENCE/PROJECT GROUPS
11) When and how will the Town Council be selecting its
own two representatives to the Reference Group; and will one of these be the
same representative who will sit on the Project Group?
12) What powers will the Reference Group have with regard
to the Scoping Exercise and how will these differ from those of the Project
Group?
13) What will be the working relationship between the two
Groups?
14) Who will chair each Group?
15) Which Group will report to which other body?
16) When will each Group convene for the first time?
17) How will it be determined how often each Group will
meet?
18) Will each Group provide Minutes – to be made
available to members of both Groups (ie, not initially publicly available), but
providing an accurate record of discussions had and decisions made?
19) With reference to the STC Chair’s comments that the
Study will be determined by the elected representatives, will the Members
sitting on the Project/Reference Groups have the final say on any decisions or
recommendations to be made by these Groups, above those of officers,
consultants and stakeholders?
20) Who will “manage the delivery of the Project Plan” –
the officers, consultants, the Project Group or the Reference Group? (See STC
TOR Point 2.4, 5th September)
CONSULTATIONS
21) How will the results from the NPSG’s ongoing (as of
28th September) Business and Special Interest Group Questionnaire be
incorporated into the Study?
22) If the NPSG’s Second Residents’ Questionnaire fails
to be completed and analysed before the Study is complete, how will the
public’s opinions on Port Royal be incorporated? (See Cabinet Paper of 14th
September: “The NPSG is keen to contribute to the consultation work of the
Scoping Study and it is hoped that the timing of its next questionnaire will be
able to include a question regarding people’s ideas about what they would like
to see in a renewal plan for Port Royal.”)
23) Which Group will determine and manage the other
public consultation exercises for the Study, as specified in the TOR and
Project Brief?
24) Will there be further substantive consultations
carried out beyond the Study as part of the Port Royal Regeneration Project?
EXMOUTH REGENERATION
25) How will the position of an eventual Port Royal Regeneration
Project be affected by the recommendation from the District Council’s Scrutiny
Cttee? (See Cabinet Minutes of 14th September: “45 Minutes of the Scrutiny
Committee held on 7 July 2016: Minute 10 – Scoping specific examples of public
engagement and consultation identified by the committee:
“2. that consideration be given, for the purposes of
greater transparency, to the Exmouth Regeneration Board being constituted in a
similar format to the current Asset Management Forum, whereby the Board
meetings are held in public with a private session for dealing with
confidential/commercially sensitive information as required; and that new
Regeneration Boards be constituted in the same format.”)
26) How do how the Councils intend to be ‘more open and
inclusive’ and in what ways have the Councils ‘leant lessons’ from the Exmouth
regeneration project? (See the Herald of 16th September: on the District
Council’s Cabinet meeting, quoting a senior District Councillor: “Councillor
Phil Twiss said: ‘We want to include as many people as we can, in every way we
can – we weren’t perfect in Exmouth and we have all learnt lessons from that –
we have to be more open and inclusive.’)
.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment