BRADFORD TRIDENT, NDC PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING
of a Meeting of the Board held at St Joseph's Primary School, Bradford on Thursday 3 April 2003.

Commenced: 1700hrs           Concluded: 1905hrs              

PRESENT
Councillor Ian Greenwood (Chair)

Community Directors:

Greg Lucas (West Bowling)
Munawar Khan (Park Lane)
Nawaz Khan (Park Lane) from 1725
Lil Acklam (Park Lane)
Joe Holloway (Marshfields)
Zahera Hanif (Marshfields)
Nyear Yaseen (Marshfields)

Faith Directors:

Mohammed Khan - Faith Director
Voluntary Sector Director:
Ali Jan Haider - Voluntary Sector Forum
Business Directors:
David Austin - Allan Austin Sports Ltd
Nick Baggio - Ivy Guest House

Health Director:

Lynnette Throp - Bradford City Primary Care Trust

Adviser:

David Wilkinson

Observers:

Mark Fielding - (Interact) Bradford Trident Communications Manager

Also in attendance:

Marie Hodgson - Wildwood Developments Ltd

Staff in attendance:

Steve Hartley - Chief Executive
David Mosley - Company Secretary
Chas Stansfield - Programme Manager
Andy Brennan - Programme Manager
Judith Atkinson - Programme Manager
Wayne Noteman - Housing Projects Manager
Ian Hague - Neighbourhood Manager
Darrell Gregoire - Programme Co-ordinator
Susan Naughton - Programme Co-ordinator

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND INTRODUCTIONS

Apologies were received from:

Zamurrad Khan - Community Director
Jamshed Khan - Community Director
Amjad Ali - Community Director
Simon Cooke - Council Director
Will Jennings - RSL Director
Angela Dobson - LSC Director
Dave Richardson - Police Director
Roz Hall - BMDC Regeneration Partnership
Umar Hayat - Programme Co-ordinator
Zubare Khan - Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Shamsuddin Ahmed - Pact Co-ordinator
Imtiaz Ahmed - Faith Co-ordinator
Claudia Dacres - Personal Assistant to Chief Executive

2. MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING FROM THE BOARD MEETING 20 FEBRUARY 2003

2.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2003 were agreed as
a correct record.

There were no matters arising.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

All private sector resident directors for item 6.1, (Facelift (Plus) project). Lil
Acklam, Joe Holloway, Greg Lucas re nominations to Bradford Trident's
Charitable Community Trust Board.

4. BOARD MATTERS

A paper was presented by the Chief Executive requesting the Board's
approval on various matters.

4.1 Year 4 Delivery Plan

Steve Hartley advised that Government Office had now approved the Year 4
Delivery Plan and would be issuing the Funding Agreement letter very soon.

4.2 Partners Conference

Steve advised that the planning for the conference is going well, although the
provisional date of 15 May will now have to be rescheduled to mid June in
order to accommodate Joe Montgomery, Director of the Neighbourhood
Renewal Unit, who has been invited as the keynote speaker.

5. YEAR 3 ANNUAL REVIEW

A report was presented by Steve Hartley setting out the Annual Review report
for the Board's information prior to the Annual Review meeting with GOYH on
Thursday 10 April.

Steve reminded the Board that the GOYH Annual Review meeting was set for
Thursday 10 April, 10.30 am to 12.30 pm at Mercury House and all Directors
were encouraged to attend.

Steve explained that the staff team had now met the Government Office
theme advisers and had shown them round the area. Their comments would
be incorporated into the question session during the Annual Review as part of
the Performance Management feedback.

Steve referred the Board to Appendix 5B of the report which shows in
graphical form our progress against the key indicators with promising initial
signs that we are closing the gap in many areas.

Joe Holloway asked what the spend on health would be for 2003/04 and he
was referred to Appendix 3 which indicated a spend of £407,000.

Ian Greenwood accepted Joe's view that he was disappointed at the progress
in the health programme area. Ian Greenwood reminded Joe that the
decision to reallocate money across programme areas had been made by the
full Board.

Joe wished his comments to be minuted that he was unhappy and felt that the
provision for the elderly and disabled was inadequate.

In conclusion, Ian Greenwood commented that the Year 3 Annual Review
report showed the remarkable progress that we had made, especially in the
area of school SATs results.

Mohammed Khan suggested that more work needed to be done on the health
indicators as there had been a problem in establishing baseline information
from the NHS Trust even from the early days. Judith Atkinson responded by
advising that the Working Group had made this a priority for Year 4 and were
to develop a new strategy based upon the guidance from the NRA health
advisor. She hoped to have completed this work in readiness for the Mid Year
Review.

Steve Hartley commented that initially the immunisation levels for children
were below the Bradford average but now they were above and the Health
Working Group should be complimented on this.

Lynnette Throp advised that historically it had been difficult to set health
indicators but she felt that this would improve in the future.

Steve Hartley advised that the spend target for Year 3 had been met and
passed on his congratulations to the Board, Working Groups and staff team.

Ian Greenwood advised that he was very proud that we had achieved the
spending target but still spent the money prudently and properly.

The Board approved the report as presented.

Proposed by Lil Acklam
Seconded by Greg Lucas

Joe Holloway abstained as he was unhappy with the health section of the
report.

6. APPRAISALS

A report was presented by Steve Hartley submitting 2 project appraisals for
Board approval.

6.1 Facelift (Plus) Project

Wayne Noteman talked through the project appraisal which involved a spend
of £5,488,592 of Trident funding over the next three financial years.
Wayne advised that the project was critical to assisting owners in the
maintenance of their properties which would contribute towards the
improvement of property values within the area.

The project meets the strategic aim of our housing programme to improve
stock condition and make the housing market within the Bradford Trident area
more sustainable.

It is also planned to reduce the number of "voids" which has an adverse
impact on house prices.

The "blocks" to be improved would be chosen very carefully in order that they
had the maximum visual impact in that they would be visible from the gateway
roads, Ryan Street was an example.

The Facelift {Plus} Project will complement the work which has been
completed under the Warm, Safe and Dry Scheme.

Ian Greenwood commented that we had learned a lot from the Ryan
Street/Baxandall Street pilots and he recommended to the Board that the
proposed project would be the best overall approach.

The proposed spending per property is outlined on page 1 of the appraisal but
Ian felt that consideration should be given to the following:-

1. A maximum of £5,000 to assist with a new roof/roof repairs.
2. Window replacement is a major issue and to replace all the windows in
the property would cost around £4,000.
3. Consideration should be given to low pressure clean the party garden
walls as well as the house walls.
4. Consideration should be given to replacing the guttering on dormer
windows.
5. Consideration should be given to providing/replacing rear garden
gates.

A major point to consider was whether the funding for windows should be
provided on a matched funding basis or as a 100% grant.
Wayne responded saying that the points that Ian raised were fair comment but
the windows would be a contentious element and if they were removed from
the facelift scheme it would be easier to deliver.

Ian Greenwood reminded the Board that the project as presented would
improve 550 properties over a 3 year period which still leaves a lot of
properties unimproved.

Mohammed Khan questioned whether they would be equal spending over the
areas of Marshfield, West Bowling and Park Lane, as he felt it was important
to fairly balance the spending.

Lil Acklam reminded the Board that a petition had been received from several
private sector owners who were querying the amount of money that had been
spent on their properties under the pilot scheme.

Steve Hartley advised that he had written to the petitioners and Trident will
employ an evaluator, recommended by the NDC National Evaluation, to
undertake a cost/quality study on the private housing works completed.

Ian Greenwood commented that this is a good idea and ideally the report
should be brought to a Board meeting.

Greg Lucas enquired which 550 homes would be selected as he was
concerned about the number of homes which would be excluded and the
quality across the community.

Ian Greenwood suggested that it was a Working Group decision to allocate
the properties that would be improved.

Steve Hartley added his view that Greg's comment was a good point. To date
around 1,000 properties had been improved as a result of the Warm, Dry and
Safe Scheme, Home Improve, the Manchester Road Scheme, Housing for
Healthier Hearts and Group Repair. If the proposed Facelift{Plus} is included
this would result in around 1500 properties being improved out of the
identified total of 2,500 private properties in the area. There is still scope to
target the remaining 1,000 as over £1m remained unallocated in the Housing
& Development budget.

Lil Acklam agreed with Steve's comment and asked that this matter be
considered at the October Away Day and that strategic plans be made for
future years.

Nawaz Khan commented that the Ryan Street residents were unhappy with
the Facelift pilot and he believed that there would be another petition coming
to the Trident Board shortly. In his opinion there was an urgent need to sort
this problem out as soon as possible, as it was crucial to get in right in future.
Residents were unclear what they were entitled to, especially as they were
expecting something along the lines of the Council's group repair scheme.
Nawaz felt there was a need for intensive consultation with the community as
there were mixed messages going out.

Ian Greenwood advised that he had seen all the people on Ryan Street, had
listened to their concerns and that he had explained the differences between
the Group Repair Area Renewal Scheme and our Facelift {Plus} pilot.

Mohammed Khan said that he wished to see the selection criteria for the
"blocks" to be improved as the selection of properties was difficult to justify to
residents as their expectations had already been raised.

Ian Greenwood accepted the point and suggested that the Board should vote
on the works that would be included within the proposed project.

Lynnette Throp asked how residents would benefit and Steve Hartley referred
her to Section 2.3 of the appraisal.

Lynnette then asked what the additional costs of extending the qualifying
works were likely to be.

Steve responded that this is difficult to quantify but, as we only have a finite
sum of money to spend, a large amount per property would reduce the
number of properties to be improved. He felt it was important to achieve a
compromise that the Board was comfortable with.

Lil Acklam advised that it is important to consider residents' expectations and
she did not wish to make a rash decision tonight to improve less properties.
Ian Greenwood agreed that this was an important chance for the Board to get
the housing strategy right for the next 3 years.

Greg Lucas commented that we would not be as short of funding if we only
provided the Warm, Dry and Safe scheme and, in his opinion, garden walls
and garden gates were not such a priority as roofs, doors and windows.

Steve Hartley commented that the facelift work is in addition to Warm, Dry and
Safe works but residents were expecting a "group repair" style of repair and
the Board had to take responsibility for the ultimate decision. An option would
be to replace windows on a 50/50 funded basis between Bradford Trident and
the householder.

Greg suggested that Youthbuild could assist with the rebuilding of the garden
walls and Nawaz Khan confirmed that this would be acceptable.
Wayne Noteman commented that we needed the visual impact of the stone
cleaning on top of the Warm, Safe and Dry principles.

Ian Hague advised the Board that the environmental improvements to be
provided by the Wardens and Green Team in tackling litter and improving the
"feel good factor" in the area would hopefully result in increased community
pride.

Ian Greenwood reminded the Board that the overall aim of the project was to
improve properties, increase property values and incentivise owners to
maintain their properties in future.

Ali Jan Haider commented that there was a need to identify the criteria to
maximise the spend and decide whether the object was to go for value for
money or focus on visual impact.

Steve Hartley reminded the Board that private sector housing had always
suffered from a lack of overall funding. The proposed facelift project would
improve housing conditions, values, housing sustainability and hopefully
reduce the number of "voids" within the area.

Joe Holloway commented that we should consider the level of contribution
made towards private landlords as in his opinion they should not be
subsidised.

Mohammed Khan reminded the Board that the contribution strategy had been
previously agreed.

Ian Greenwood suggested that the Board should vote on the individual issues
in connection with the project.

Lil Acklam explained that she would not be happy to vote but would like to
listen to the debate and needed to consider the situation more fully.

Nawaz Khan expressed his concern that the repairs process was in disarray
and dispute which was potentially costing Trident money. In his opinion we
should either abandon the process or proceed.

Mohammed Khan expressed his opinion that we needed to decide now as the
community were very unhappy.

Wayne Noteman reminded the Board that Ryan Street was a pilot and it was
important to learn from the issues that had arisen. He also reminded the
Board that we were still short of resources overall so it was important to find
the middle ground as we could not satisfy the community expectation for
group repair on every property.

Mohammed Khan reminded the Board that the strategy had been discussed
by the Housing Working Group for several months now.

The Board voted on the following amendments to the project appraisal:-
Complete new roofs - to be provided through Matched Incentives Scheme
Replacement windows - to be provided through Matched Incentives Scheme
Rear party walls - to be excluded from the scheme
New gutters to dormers - to be provided through Matched Incentives Scheme
Metal rear gates - to be excluded from the scheme (other gates to be
provided as appropriate).

Proposed by Ali Jan Haider
Seconded by Mohammed Khan

All in favour.

Ian Greenwood suggested that Wayne Noteman and Steve Hartley should be
allowed to negotiate with the pilot property owners. Nawaz Khan expressed
his concern at the financial cost of some of the window replacement
quotations.

Wayne Noteman reminded the Board that professional fees added around
30% to individual quotes.

Steve Hartley reminded the Board that the external audit to be undertaken by
the national evaluator would check whether we were achieving value for
money. Our scheme had already been checked against comparator schemes
and we were significantly cheaper.

The appraisal was approved subject to the impact of the cost changes to be
agreed by Ian Greenwood and Steve Hartley.

Proposed by Lil Acklam
Seconded by Ali Jan Haider

All in favour.

6.2 St Stephen's Road / Newby School Project Re-appraisal

Judith Atkinson updated the Board on the re-appraisal which is the first
element of the Living Street within the Trident area. Sadly the application
under the National Cycling Strategy to improve the street lighting and footpath
between Newby School and Dixons CTC was not successful. Consequently
the cost of these works is to be split between the Council and Trident
necessitating this project re-appraisal.

Joe Holloway enquired whether there was a possibility of any further matched
funding and Judith referred to Appendix 2 of the project appraisal where there
is total levered funding of £569,500 compared with Trident funding of
£281,300.

It was proposed by Mohammed Khan and seconded by Greg Lucas that the
project appraisal for Trident funding of £281,300 be approved.

All in favour.

7. WORKING GROUPS - REPORT BACK

A report was presented by Programme Managers outlining the actions of all
Working Groups which have met since the last Board meeting.

8. GENERAL MATTERS

A report was presented by Steve Hartley informing the Board on a number of
issues.

8.1 Charity

Steve Hartley advised that following the previous Board Meeting the
nominations for Trident Community Directors to the proposed Charity were Lil
Acklam, Joe Holloway and Greg Lucas.
Nyear Yaseen expressed her concern about the ethnic balance of the Charity
Board. Steve agreed with Nyear's comments and suggested that the situation
could be reviewed once the ethnic/gender mix of the three independent
nominees was known.

Joe Holloway reminded the Board that he was still concerned about the ethnic
balance of the community directors on the Trident Board.

Ian Greenwood said that this is an issue that the Board would need to address
on an ongoing basis.

Greg Lucas said he was anxious to get the shadow charity established but
agreed that the Trident Board should not vote on the community director
nominees until the three independent trustees had been appointed.

It was proposed by Lynnette Throp and seconded by Ali Jan Haider that an
advert should be placed in the Telegraph & Argus and the next BD5 magazine
for the three additional trustees and then the Trident Board could review the
balance/mix of the proposed shadow board of the charity.

All in favour (Lil Acklam, Greg Lucas and Joe Holloway abstained).

8.2 Faith Communities Pilot Project

Chas advised that there had been two excellent meetings and he believed
that there was now a real feeling of inter-faith co-operation and a wish to
serve the wider community.

Mohammed Khan agreed and remarked that he was pleasantly surprised at
the diverse attendees and the good ideas that were generated at the
meetings.

8.3 Evaluation

Steve Hartley thanked the sub group members Lil Acklam, Joe Holloway,
Mohammed Khan and Angela Dobson for the work that they had undertaken
over the last 12 months.

The group had decided not to renew the local evaluation contract with Bow
and had approached Janie Percy-Smith to co-ordinate the local evaluation for
the next financial year with input from Leeds Metropolitan University and Chris
Hill, the consultant who had been working closely with the Jobs and Business
Working Group.

8.4 New Start 'Just Rewards' Campaign

Articles from the New Start magazine were handed out as they had started a
campaign to pay community activists and prevent benefit claw back together
with challenges from the Charity Commission that said paid directors could
not be trustees of a charity.

Ian Greenwood suggested that it would be helpful if our directors would
strongly support the campaign by completing the petition.

9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Munawar Khan asked for an update on the petition that had been received by
the Housing Group. Steve referred Munawar to the comments made under
Section

6.1. Munawar claimed that not all householders had received the
letters and Steve Hartley promised to attend to this if Munawar could let him
know who had not received a letter.

10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday 22 May, 5.00 pm at Bradford Foyer

CONFIDENTIAL ITEM

11. PARK LANE REDEVELOPMENT - DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

Ian Greenwood reminded the Board that the Housing Working Group had
considered this at great length over the last 18 months and he thanked Marie
Hodgson, David Mosley and Wayne Noteman for their ongoing work with the
lawyers and Keepmoat.

Marie gave an overview of the Agreement which contains the following
principles:-

  • It is a framework for a 6 year building development programme.
  • The Keepmoat company group structure is explained.
  • The areas covered by the Agreement are defined.
  • The Agreement is subject to the transfer of land from Bradford Council
    to Bradford Trident.
  • Bradford Trident will acquire the total site from Bradford Council but will
    transfer individual plots to Keepmoat.
  • Keepmoat will be entitled to develop in the "tender area" which is
    predominantly in the Park Lane area, but they will be given first option
    to develop any of the sites acquired within the Bradford Trident area.
  • The Board of Bradford Trident has the option to consider extending the
    area available for Keepmoat to be involved in once Keepmoat have
    satisfactorily completed Phase 1 of the development programme.
  • Bradford Trident is to support the Keepmoat planning applications
    which will have been fully approved by our Working Group, Board and
    will have been the subject of major public consultation.
  • A communication strategy is to be developed to ensure that there is
    widespread public consultation with a link back to the Working Group
    and the Board.
  • The Development Agreement differentiates between the residential
    building and the commercial building.
  • Bradford Trident has the potential to develop the commercial sites and
    obtain the rental income from those sites. Bradford Trident also has
    the right to approve any tenants of the property.
  • Currently the Reyner House site is not commercially viable without a
    major funding input from Yorkshire Forward.
  • On the residential side Keepmoat will build houses for sale and will
    work in partnership with Manningham Housing Association for houses
    to rent.
  • The housing type, style and the layout of the Phase 1 development is
    currently being considered by the Working Group and will be brought to
    a Board meeting for formal approval.
  • A land value will be agreed between Bradford Trident and Keepmoat
    on the basis that Yorkshire Forward will fund any abnormal costs in
    connection with land contamination.
  • An overage clause was to be agreed with Keepmoat which would
    provide Bradford Trident with a share of "profit" made over and above
    the base selling price of the properties.

It was proposed by Munawar Khan and seconded by David Austin that the
Board approve the Development Agreement subject to any fine tuning
deemed necessary by Ian Greenwood, Steve Hartley and David Mosley.

D R A F T1


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