To receive a report from the Director of Place informing Members about the new Tiverton Shopfront Enhancement Scheme in October / November 2022 and requesting approval for the revised Scheme.
Minutes:
The Group received a report of the Director of Place, which informed Members about the new Tiverton Shopfront Enhancement Scheme launching in October / November 2022. An Officer highlighted the following points:
· There had been a shopfront scheme that ran till 2020 until the funding was exhausted. Due to the pandemic a relaunch of the scheme was delayed. The proposed relaunch of the scheme and would use S106 funds already earmarked for this scheme.
· This scheme was originally for the front of buildings only but had but this had been changed to include public facing parts of the building in order to help improve the look of the buildings overall and to support footfall within the town centre.
· It would be an open application process but would be assessed based on the criteria of the scheme and passed in front of a Panel for approval. Grants would cover up to 50% of the work, with a maximum grant of £2,500.
· Depending on funds, the scheme would last for 3 years with the first year capped to spend no more than £15,000 of the budget.
· A Communication plan had been written and was due to be released upon approval of the scheme.
The Chair thanked the officers for their presentation and opened the floor to Members for questions, which were as followed:
· A Members noted that the £31,000 budget for the scheme did not seem to be a significant amount and asked if an assessment had been carried out to ascertain the amount required to get the high street to a suitable standard. An Officer explained that the scheme budget had not been based on how much was needed to get the high street to a certain standard but was more of an encouragement to keep the high street as attractive as possible and that it was more of an enhancement rather than a complete refurbishment of the high street.
· A Member of the Group sought clarification over whether these funds covered structural work or was more for signage. An Officer explained that that these funds could be used for signage ensuring that it was in line with historic features.
· A Member of the Group asked how this scheme would be communicated, to which an officer informed the Group that suggestions would be welcomed on how best to approach shop owners . The Director of Place had reassured that officers were liaising with town centre officers regarding the delivery of the scheme.
· A Member of the Group raised that the scheme was to keep shops in keeping, but raised the point that there was a mixture of old and new shopfronts and questioned how this would be balanced. An officer confirmed that this would be decided by the conservation officer’s assessment or through other balanced assessments.
· The Chair noted that it was a modest amount and that there may need to be a terms of reference for the funding panel. In addition, there may be other schemes that could supplement this scheme as opposed to being seen as a standalone scheme.
· Raised by a Member of the Group it was asked if there could be at least three Ward Members on the Funding Panel, to which an officer noted that previously there were three Ward members on this panel and that 3 was a good number for this panel.
· A Member raised the point that there were a lot of shops within the area the scheme covered.
RESOLVED to recommend: That the new Tiverton Shopfront Enhancement Scheme be approved and three Tiverton Ward Members be nominated to be part of the Funding Panel for the Scheme.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
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