Agenda item - Place Enhancement

Key Decision

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Jason Zadrozny – Leader of the Council

Portfolio Holder - Councillor Tom Hollis – Deputy Leader of the Council (Inward Focus)

a) that the officer’s report be noted.

b) that the further development of the Ashfield Place Leadership programme, as detailed in the officer’s report be approved.

REASONS FOR DECISION

To continue the work to contribute to the Council’s Corporate Plan commitments to:

· Enhance the identity and brand for Ashfield; so it is cherished by those who live or work here, desirable to those who visit, and attractive to those who bring jobs and investment.

· Raise the profile of Ashfield as a place where people want to visit and spend their time enjoying themselves.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REASONS FOR REJECTION

The option of not doing anything was not recommended for a number of reasons. The insight work carried out to date in conjunction with public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders has allowed the Council to increase understanding of the District by creating the ‘Ashfield Story’ and future requirements. The ‘Ashfield Story’ will be central to the successful delivery of the Place Leadership Programme objectives set out within the Corporate Plan (2016-2019).

The Interim Director of Place and Communities submitted a report to provide a progress report on the delivery of the key projects, programmes and initiatives within the Place Leadership agenda, as set out in the Corporate Plan (2016-2019). The Corporate Plan objectives had identified an aspiration for “Place Enhancement”, making Ashfield a location and destination of choice for business and visitors and a desirable place to live for all residents. The Assistant Director, Place and Wellbeing and the Chairman of the Ashfield Place Board, Martin Rigley attended the meeting to present the report.

One of the key projects in the Place Enhancement Programme was to develop a Place Plan to capture and develop Ashfield’s unique character for those that lived, worked and visited the area. In order to enable this a wide a wide range of stakeholders and partners had been involved in identifying what made the area distinctive and to enable a better understanding the ‘Ashfield Story’. In order to further develop on these ideas, the Ashfield Place Board had been established to develop and deliver the Place Plan, part of which was the task to develop and define the Ashfield “Brand”. The “Discover Ashfield” brand had subsequently been developed to resonate with different audiences within Ashfield and to help invigorate the area, raise its profile, boost growth and increase the sense of pride in the community. The officer’s report included examples of the “Discover Ashfield” logo as well the other visuals that had been developed, alongside examples of how they could be used.

The officer’s report included details of the Discover Ashfield Board’s next steps in implementing key actions from the Place Plan which included Discover Ashfield launch activities and events, refreshing the Town Centre Masterplans, launching the Ashfield Ambassador programme and exploring the feasibility of a Business Improvement District in Ashfield.

The Leader thanked Martin Rigley, Chairman of the Ashfield Place Board for all the work he had done in moving the project forward and for being an outstanding ambassador for Ashfield.

RESOLVED