Agenda and decisions

To note any apologies for absence.

To receive any declarations of Personal Interest

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the meeting held on 06 December 2024 be signed as a true record.

Dewi Morgan (Host Authority Head of Finance and Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh (Host Authority Assistant Head of Finance) to present the report.

1.     To note and accept the NWEAB's end of December 2024 revenue review.

2.     To note and accept the NWEAB's reserves update.

3.     To agree the NWEAB's revised capital expenditure profile.

Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director) to present the report.

1.     To agree to the principle that the Senior Responsible Owner and Portfolio Director roles should be separated (subject to HR advice) and undertaken by different
individuals and note the proposed split of duties and responsibilities.

2.     To request a nomination from one of the six local authority Chief Executives to act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the North Wales Growth Deal with a view to
confirming this appointment at the next meeting, which has been programmed for 4 April 2025.

3.     To agree the changes to Lead Member responsibilities across the Growth Deal.

Dewi Morgan (Host Authority Head of Finance and Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh (Host Authority Assistant Head of Finance) to present the report.

1.     To approve the 2025/26 Revenue Budget.

2.     To approve the funding contributions to include the partner contributions, local
authorities’ supplementary contributions and partner interest contributions.

3.     To approve the Capital Budget for the Growth Deal.

4.     To approve the transfer of the interest received on the North Wales Growth Deal
grant balances in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to a specific reserve to fund additional government requirements, retention of the Portfolio Management Office capacity for an additional two years as well as project development costs.

Hedd Vaughan-Evans (Head of Operations) to present the report.

1.     To note the Quarter 3 Performance Report and updated Portfolio Risk Register. 

2.     To approve the submission of the Quarter 3 Performance Report to Welsh
Government and UK Government, as well as the local authority scrutiny committees.

3.     To ask the Portfolio Management Office for a further report on projects that it is anticipated will not be deliverable within their proposed timeframes, at the next Board meeting which is programmed for 4 April 2025. ⁠ ⁠

The Chair shall propose that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the discussions on the following items due to the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

There is an acknowledged public interest in openness in relation to the use of public resources and related financial issues. It is also acknowledged that there are occasions, in order to protect the financial and commercial interests that matters related to such information need to be discussed without being publicised. The reports deal specifically with financial and business matters and related discussions. Publication of such commercially sensitive information could adversely affect the interests of the bodies and the Councils and undermine the confidence of other Growth Deal participants in sharing sensitive information for consideration. This would be contrary to the wider public interest of securing the best overall outcome.

Hedd Vaughan-Evans (Head of Operations) and Dafydd Jones (Agri-food and Tourism Project Manager) to present the report.

1.     To approve the Final Business Case for the Cydnerth project which is subject to Menter Môn Morlais Ltd addressing the outstanding issues set out in the report.

2.     To authorise the Portfolio Director in consultation with the Chair, Vice Chair, Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree and enter into a funding agreement with Menter Môn Morlais Ltd for the delivery of the project.

3.     To note that the proposed funding model for the project is a 100% commercial loan and approve that, once the cost of loan payments for the loan element has been paid off, the interest from the loan is allocated to a reserve fund to be used to fund the Portfolio Management Office in the coming years.

4.     To request an update report on the project's progress in 6 months with further details of fees, budgets and timescales.

David Mathews (Land and Property Programme Manager) to present the report.

1.     To approve the Full Business Case for the Parc Bryn Cegin project.

2.     To confirm the delegated authority made on 6 December 2024 to the Portfolio Director in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to approve and enter into the Joint Venture Agreement.

Elliw Hughes (Growth Deal Programme Manager) to present the report.

1.     To approve the Outline Business Case for the Responsible Adventures project, subject to Welsh and UK Government approval of the assurance process undertaken, as well as Zip World addressing the issues set out in the Report.

2.     To request a⁠ further report to address three specific concerns before inviting a ⁠ Full Business Plan for the Responsible Adventures project, and inviting the company to greet these within a 3 month period; specifically:

·       To provide a developed Local Benefits Scheme following engagement with the local communities;

·       To prepare a Strategy and operational principles for the e-bus;

·       To provide a progress report on the Engagement Plan

3.     To delegate the final approval of the procurement specifications and social value criteria to the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer prior to commencement of procurement.

4.     To authorise the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer, to agree draft terms in accordance with this report, to be approved by the Economic Ambition board as the basis for the final funding arrangements for the project which will formally form the basis of the Grant Offer Letter agreed by the Board at the Full Business Case stage.

Elliw Hughes (Growth Deal Programme Manager) and Dafydd Jones (Agri-food and Tourism Project Manager) to present the report.

1.     To agree to the change request for the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub project and subject to the remaining matters, ask Grŵp Llandrillo Menai to undertake the necessary activity to submit the relevant business cases for consideration.

2.     To confirm that the revised scope of the project will be achieved within the current funding allocation for the project and that no further funding for the project will be provided from the Growth Deal as a result of this change.

3.     To support the principle of considering a separate project in the future for the delivery of the incubators and ask the Portfolio Management Office to continue discussions with interested parties to explore this option.