Alert close - icon Fill 1 Copy 10 Untitled-1 tt copy 3 Untitled-1 Untitled-1 tt copy 3 Fill 1 Copy 10 menu Group 3 Group 3 Copy 3 Group 3 Copy Page 1 Group 2 Group 2 Skip to content

Agenda item

MARKHAM VALE PROGRESS

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration provided a report on the continuing success and progress being made at Markham Vale, the Council’s flagship regeneration project  and to provide an overview of economic development activity over the period March 2020 to September 2021.  Cabinet was also asked to note the continued success and progress in redeveloping Markham Vale and the scale and nature of work required to be undertaken over the coming years to complete the project.  Progress on developments at Markham Vale was last considered by Cabinet on 4 June 2020.

 

In summary, to date, the Project had brought forward 173 of the 200 acres available for development, with 151 acres now either fully developed or have buildings under construction.  A full jobs survey was completed in March 2021 and recorded 2,232 people in full time equivalent jobs; a remarkable achievement by the Markham Vale businesses, given that the country was still in COVID-19 lockdown.  The significant progress made in relation to bringing forward development sites and construction of new buildings was detailed in the report.

 

The Council continued to work closely with the district/borough planning authorities in the preparation and submission of planning applications.  The site-wide Design Framework had been reviewed and revised and submitted to the three Local Planning Authorities for approval.

 

BEAM continued to assist the Council in delivering its Public Art Action Plan.  Artist Stephen Broadbent was commissioned to develop the Walking Together installation, comprising 106 figures that represented individual miners killed in the three colliery disasters at Markham; 93 figures had been installed to date.  Sponsorship from a range of organisations and individuals enabled the figures to be installed over the past 15 months.  This was supported by The Story Mine website which included stories, memories and photos of miners, their families and life in the mining communities.

 

The report detailed other services that the Council had had success in, including assisting new businesses identify and fulfil recruitment and training needs, an on-line career and employability platform “My Future”, assisting the HR team at Squadron Medical in assisting their 65 employees who were facing redundancy as the business centralised its operations elsewhere in the UK and develop conference facilities at the Environment Centre.  Landscape management and maintenance works across the whole site continued.  Markham Vale Land Services (MVLS), a dedicated team established within Adult Care, provided training and support across areas, such as landscape and horticulture.

 

Henry Boot Developments was appointed in 2003 as the Council’s private sector partner to develop the Markham Vale project. The Partnership Agreement required both partners to work in a spirit of mutual trust and co-operation and set out key elements and roles of each partner.  A number of boards had been established, each Board consisting of three representatives from Derbyshire County Council and three from HBD.

 

The past 18 months had focused on securing new occupiers and completing developments.  Pace and momentum in the final stages of the project would depend on external market forces, particularly the local economic recovery following from the COVID-19 pandemic period.   To support continued programme delivery, the Place Department would continue its approach to project and programme management, ensuring critical alignment of available resources to support delivery.

 

RESOLVED to note the success and recent progress in developing Markham Vale and the scale and nature of work required to be undertaken over the coming years to complete the project.

Supporting documents: