In late 2019 Hereford was included within the government’s “Towns Fund” Programme. Through the Towns Fund, Government is working with places to address growth constraints and to ensure the country can chart a course of recovery from the impact of Covid-19. The overarching aim of the Towns Fund is to increase economic growth with a focus on regeneration, improved transport, better broadband connectivity, skills and culture.

Each town in the programme is required to submit a “Town Investment Plan” (TIP) which sets out the vision and strategy for the town and includes a selection of projects that will deliver the vision. There are two phases in the process, with a decision gateway at the end of each. First, towns will develop TIPs, which will be assessed by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to inform a Heads of Terms offer (given the submission is of sufficient quality). Towns will then develop agreed projects and business cases in detail, and government will assess that information before releasing funding for implementation. This second element of the process is not currently part of the Rose Regeneration commission.

The Hereford Towns Fund Board is a public / private organisation set up to drive the production of the TIP. Its formation was a condition of inclusion on the programme and its membership has been determined on the basis of government guidance. The Board, via Herefordshire Council as the accountable body, wish to appoint a consultant that has experience in delivering similar masterplan and visioning documents, engaging with local communities and preparing a strong evidence base.

There was no application process for selection within the Towns Fund programme and Hereford’s inclusion was a government, rather than local, decision. There was no engagement with the council about the process prior to the announcement of the selected towns and launch of the programme, and neither was there any ability to lobby for the inclusion of other towns within Herefordshire.

Recognising the need to seek appropriate expertise to deliver the TIP by the deadline, the procurement of specialist consultancy support has been undertaken in accordance with the council’s contract procedure rules.

The procurement procedure was a restricted tender process which was issued to five potential suppliers. Three responses were received back and assessed by a panel consisting of four board members from the Towns Fund board plus the Economic Development Manager and Councillor Hitchiner. Rose Regeneration were appointed due to their experience in the field of economic regeneration work including the current production of several Town Investment Plan’s in the east of England. They were also able to demonstrate knowledge and experience of local issues which members on the panel felt advantaged them in terms of understanding the city and its issues which will enable them to swiftly move on the commission.

The commercial team and finance team have reviewed this RoOD.