Cabinet received a report of the Head of Enterprise Programme Management Office which included a refreshed Road to Renewal Plan.

The Mayor commented that this was an important piece of work.  He noted that Watford was one of the first councils to think about renewal following the impacts of the pandemic.  He invited the Managing Director to further expand on the report.

The Managing Director stated it was important to note that the council had called it a renewal plan, rather than focusing purely on ‘recovery’.  The plan provided the platform for the council to deliver a comprehensive and joined up renewal of the town and council.  Details of the council’s progress were set out in the report.  Throughout the second wave and additional lockdowns the council had remained agile, which enabled it to continue to deliver excellent services for the community and to support the vaccination roll-out across the borough.  Three work streams had been established:

·        Community

·        Business and Economy

·        Organisational Renewal

In response to a question from Councillor Bell about the renewal budget indicated in the financial section of the report, the Mayor advised that the budget had been created to cover the renewal work. The Managing Director reiterated this.         

RESOLVED –

·        That the Road to Renewal Plan work stream objectives outlined in this report be approved.

·        That the Road to Renewal delivery actions (Appendix 1 to the report) be approved.

·        That progress on delivering the Road to Renewal delivery actions will continue to be reported on a quarterly basis to Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·        That, with agreement from the Elected Mayor and oversight from the Renewal Coordination Board, the Managing Director is able to make amendments to the plan objectives, governance structure and delivery actions.

·        That delegated authority is provided to the Managing Director, as chair of the Renewal Coordination Board, to draw down up to £5,000 of funding from the Renewal budget for minor items without the need for additional review by Portfolio Holders.

·        That Cabinet also notes that the actions outlined in this report will continue to contribute to the delivery of the Council Plan 2020-2024.