Agenda item

Cabinet discussed proposals for the long-term plans for towns. This was in relation to governance arrangements for managing project funding coming into the district. These proposals therefore addressed the governance arrangement for the allocation of up to £20m, over 10 years, to Ramsgate, through the Government's Long Term Plan for Towns Programme. The community-led nature of the programme had been set out in the funding guidance published by the Government and the Council had considered how this could be best delivered in the district giving due regard to Thanet’s particular circumstances.

The Council had already engaged productively with the local community, as part of the existing Levelling Up programme for Ramsgate and the recent visit to Ramsgate by the Chair of the Towns Unit was well attended by local community representatives. Cabinet was now required to confirm the proposed governance arrangements for the new funding with the government by Monday 3 June and Cabinet had confirmed with DLHUC that the timeline remained unchanged by the general election.

The proposals set out in the Cabinet report built on the existing Regeneration Partnership Board arrangements, by creating additional board roles for Ramsgate representatives. The Board would operate at two levels, strategically across all of the district’s regeneration programmes and specifically as a decision making body for the Long Term Plan for Towns programme.

The terms of reference would be structured in a way that effectively managed the Board’s two distinct roles and ensured that those with an interest in Ramsgate made those decisions that affected the Ramsgate Long Term Plan for Towns programme. The Board would also be strengthened by the creation of a Vice Chair role, drawn from the representatives of Ramsgate.

The existing Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board had been consulted on these proposed arrangements and were supportive. There would now be a new MP for East Thanet after the election. They would become a member of the Board and Cabinet would be briefing them after the general election. The other funds under the remit of the Board had to be committed by 2026 and in the long term, Council’s ambition was to empower the representatives from Ramsgate to form a new representative structure that was able to take full control of the programme for the benefit of Ramsgate residents and businesses.

The following councillors spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1:

Councillor Pugh;

Councillor Scobie

Councillor Austin;

Councillor Davis

Councillor Garner.

Councillor Everitt proposed, Councillor Yates seconded and Cabinet agreed to:

1.  Revise the membership of the existing Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board so that it is compliant with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities guidance, enabling it to deliver the governance requirements of the Long Term Plan for Towns programme as a Ramsgate Board;

2.  The proposed governance arrangements to be submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities;

3.  Acknowledge that with these arrangements, the current Chair for the Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board will have responsibility in ensuring that the existing governance arrangements fulfil the requirements of the Long Term Plan for Towns Programme as set out by central government;

4.  The suggested changes to the boundary as set out in Appendix 3 of this report, to include all green and blue spaces not included in the built up areas data set map of Ramsgate;

5.  Authorise the Head of Regeneration and Growth in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Chair of the Board to update the Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct for the Regeneration Partnership Board to reflect the guidance;

6.  Authorise the Head of Regeneration and Growth in consultation with the Leader of the Council to work with the Chair of the Board to develop a mechanism to add relevant representative organisations to the Board, and to amend its membership accordingly.