Thanet District Council today announced that a new single Partnership Board will be in place to oversee the district’s three major regeneration programmes. The Board will meet for the first time on Friday 1 March.
The Future High Street Fund, Town Deal and Levelling Up Fund programmes are all funded by central government. In 2023 they were brought together under the umbrella of a Simplification Pathfinder Pilot following an approach by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Thanet is one of 10 local authorities with multiple capital funding programmes invited to participate in a Simplification Pathfinder Pilot. In December 2023 the Investment Plan submitted to central government, which pulled together the projects within the funding programmes – Future High Street Fund, Town Deal and Levelling Up – was approved by central government.
Government approval has allowed the council to move forward with its plans for the Pilot.
The pilot will trial a new way for the council to report back to government on three capital programmes funded by DLUHC. The Pilot sets out a new streamlined approach for accountable bodies, like Thanet District Council. It looks at the way that payments are made as well as the governance and oversight arrangements. The pilot also simplifies how monitoring and evaluation returns are sent to central government.
A requirement from DLUHC is that a Partnership Board is up, as it had been with the Margate Town Deal.
The council has set up a new single Partnership Board, which will oversee all three of the schemes and support the delivery of the approved projects. This includes reviewing delivery of all the projects – considering risk management, budgets and delivery timescales. The Partnership Board will also support the council by providing a place for discussion should projects need changing, or are halted. The council’s Cabinet remains the decision maker in this process, with all decisions following the council’s constitutional requirements.
The Board meeting agenda and minutes will be published online. Information about the Board members, any declarations of interest and the agendas and minutes will be posted to the website. Existing information on all the projects will remain on the website, under the individual programme pages.
Cllr Rick Everitt, Leader of Thanet District Council said: “Being selected to take part in the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot will streamline much of the administration around the three schemes. Having one single Board to support on this makes sense.
“We are delighted to have the participation and input of people who bring a passion for Thanet and a wealth of experience to the table.
“There is so much fantastic work planned and already under way that will be transformative for the district. The Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board will be a valuable partner in the delivery of the capital programmes, ensuring compliance with government agreements and bring additional external perspective to the decision-making process. I look forward to a fruitful partnership and welcome the oversight it will provide.”
Brian Horton – Chair of the Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board said: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the Chair of the new Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board. I am particularly pleased to be able to bring across my experience of chairing the Margate Town Deal Board with the knowledge and experience we gained from working with central government and stakeholders in the town.
“I was born in Thanet and I have a real passion and pride in the district.
“The ambition across the district and the opportunity that this government funding provides is exciting. We will work collaboratively to build on this to create a strong and vibrant future for our towns and its people.
“The new Partnership Board provides an opportunity for the public and private sector to work together to review and provide support to Thanet District Council as the accountable body and delivery mechanism for this funding.”
As with the Margate Town Deal, central government set out a requirement for certain people and/or groups to be represented on the Board. As agreed at a Cabinet meeting in September 2023, the Leader of the council has approached a number of people who have agreed to support the council by being members of the Board.
- Brian Horton – Director, Horton Strategic and Chair of the Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board
- Chris Butler – Managing Director, Thanet Earth
- Zoë Carassik – Chief Executive Officer, Pie Factory Music
- Colin Carmichael – Chief Executive, Thanet District Council
- Cllr Ruth Duckworth – Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Property, Thanet District Council
- Cllr Rick Everitt – Leader of the Council, Thanet District Council
- Sir Roger Gale – Member of Parliament for Thanet North
- Lesley Game – Thanet County Councillor, Kent County Council
- Cllr David Green – Ramsgate Town Councillor, Ramsgate Town Council
- Craig Mackinlay – Member of Parliament for Thanet South
- Frank Martin – Director, Locomotive Storage Limited
- Bob Porter – Director of Place, Thanet District Council
- Rebecca Smith – Chief Executive Officer, Social Enterprise Kent CIC
- Cllr Rob Yates – Mayor of Margate, Margate Charter Trustees
