Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Bower.

The minutes from the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.  These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak on an item or simply observing the meeting.

There was none.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was none.

Members wishing to speak under Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

There was none.

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Officers provided information on the feedback from the NHLF, which had also been presented to a recent meeting of the Regeneration and Development Panel.  Feedback included that the application had been well put together and was an improvement on the previous application.  However, the NHLF noted that the project was ambitious and therefore presented risks in terms of timescales, business models and value for money.  It was also noted that there had been public objections to the project.

Information was provided on the next steps and it as explained that establishment of the CIO and a programme of activities would assist to reduce the risk element of any future funding applications. There was the opportunity to look at smaller funding schemes to assist deliver separate elements of the project.

Officers explained that, with regard to the Towns Fund, there were certain projects and activities that had to take place on site to ensure that the project was meeting its commitments to government.

It was explained that ongoing discussions and investigations were being carried out to explore future funding opportunities, including with the Arts Council, Shared Prosperity Funds and Norfolk and Norwich Festival. 

Communications and PR were being looked at and it was explained that PR elements would have to be looked at separately, for instance communications on the progress of the project would need to be promoted in a different way to events and activities on site.  It was possible that an expert organisation could be utilised to assist with relevant marketing.  It was confirmed that ticket sales for events were currently being managed by the Corn Exchange and Alive West Norfolk.

An activity plan was being developed and activity was increasing on the site.  The Chair commented that it would be good to see a mix of amateur and professional performances in the programme of events. 

Councillor Morley asked if cosmetic repairs could be carried out to make the building more appealing to the organisations currently using the site.  It was explained that there was a rolling maintenance programme and work was being carried out, but resources were an issue and some of the more complex work would be part of the wider project plan.

In response to questions from Councillor de Whalley, it was explained that generating activity on the site now would work in the Council’s favour for any future funding opportunities.  It was also confirmed that bookings for the Guildhall were being taken up to October 2024, with November and December 2024 negotiable.  Work was scheduled to commence on site in early 2025.  It was confirmed that discussions were ongoing with existing tenants regarding their current lease agreements.

Councillor Bubb suggested a video tour of the complex which could be posted on You Tube and used for marketing purposes and officers provided information on interest from students from the University of York and other leading academics in this field.

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The Assistant Director provided information on the progress with the Charities Commission application to incorporate the CIO.  He explained that there had been a delay because of the use of ‘King’s’ in the name of the Charity.  This had coincided with the accession of the King, therefore any Charities with the name King in them were being subjected to stringent checks and approval via the Secretary of State.  The decision had subsequently been made to remove ‘King’s Lynn’ from the name of the Charity in order to not hold the process up any further, this would not prohibit the word ‘King’s’ being used in any marketing and publicity material.

The next phase would be to look to recruit permanent Trustees and work was ongoing with the consultants and the Council’s HR team on the selection process.  It was hoped that between six to eight Trustees would be recruited and skills sets would be looked at.

Officers provided an update on the Service Level Agreement, explaining that it was a complex document and there had been some delays with the Legal processes.  The document would be known as a Relationship Agreement and liaison was ongoing with the National Trust and the CIO.  It was explained that it was important to get the document in place to evidence to the Charities Commission that the Borough Council and CIO were working together.  Once the document was in place, arrangements such as a Member of the CIO joining the Project Board, and a Member of the CIO attending a future meeting of the Task Group could be looked at.

In response to a question from Councillor Moriarty, the Task Group was informed that the CIO had incorporated the Task Group’s comments on the Service Level Agreement where appropriate.  Changes were unable to be made to the objectives as these were picked from a pre-determined list.  The Task Group was also informed that officers had made the case to the Charities Commission about the word ‘King’s’ and the Task Group was reminded that all marketing materials would make reference to King’s Lynn were appropriate.

Councillor Morley commented that he had come up with some schematics which he would forward to the Task Group and officers provided an outline of some of the sections that would be included in the Relationship Agreement including conflict resolution, break clauses and what would happen at the end of the National Trust Lease agreement.

AGREED: 1. Officers to circulate the advert for the Trustees, and any other relevant information on the recruitment and selection process, to the Task Group.

2. The next meeting of the Task Group to be scheduled so that the Task Group could consider the Service Level Agreement.

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The Task Group was advised that the Invitation to Tender would hopefully go live within the next couple of weeks.  The tender would be for the appointment of the architects to take the project forward through RIBA Stages 2 and 3, and then a review would be conducted before Stage 4 through to completion.

It was anticipated that interviews would take place in March ahead of an appointment in April.

The Task Group was reminded that the project was still in the early stages and the cost plan would be firmed up by the appointed Design Team.

A plan of the RIBA stages is attached and it was explained that RIBA Stage 2 was scheduled for March to June 2023, this would then be reviewed before moving onto Stage 3 from August to November 2023.  Updates would be made available to Members as appropriate at the end of each RIBA Stage.

AGREED: Officers to inform the Task Group once the Invitation to Tender had gone live.

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This had been covered throughout the meeting in the above updates.  The Task Group were informed that officers would work with the appointed Design Team and their programme and schedule meetings in accordance with this.

The Chair asked if an update on the work with existing groups could be provided to the Task Group at their next meeting.

To be agreed.

To be confirmed.

Agenda items requested by the Task Group would include:

-       Update on work with existing user groups

-       CIO/Service Level Agreement

-       Activity Plan Update

-       Funding of outreach work.