This week:

I got a response to the written question I had submitted to the December Council Meeting. (It had been sent to officers for a response. The Democratic Services team can decide to do this but, like many council processes, it’s not clear how they decide this.)

My question
How much money has the council received from the ADZ schemes; how much does it expect to receive overall; what restrictions, if any, are there on how it is used; what has the money been spent on so far; and what plans, if any, are there for using it in the future.

The response
“As at 31 March 2025, the council had received ADZ income of £23.7m and spent £24.1m resulting in a cumulative balance of -£0.4m. Total income up to the end of the ADZ in 2037/38 is estimated to range between £86m and £117m. The primary purpose of the ADZ is to accelerate development in specific areas of the city and so ADZ funding has primarily been used for capital investment in the three ADZ areas (i.e. Helix, East Pilgrim Street and Stephenson Quarter). The ADZ was set up as part of the City Deal, and the council has also used ADZ funding to further the original objectives of the City Deal, such as the cultural events strategy, which is forecast to make a significant contribution to the local economy.

There are no specific restrictions on the use of ADZ funding, but as a time-limited resource it’s use is restricted to non-recurring items of expenditure on the advice of the section 151 officer in line with good financial management practices. ADZ funding has also been used to leverage other public / private funding with a ratio of 17:1 to date.

As well as further investment in the three ADZ sites, future uses of ADZ funding will be linked to the original City Deal objectives, and it will continue to be used as match funding to lever in other public / private funding.”

I think that this means that Cabinet can choose how to use ADZ funds but has chosen to spend the funds in line with the original City Deal. I have asked for confirmation.

Along with other independent councillors, I met one of the team from the independent inquiry into the leadership and culture of the council. We explained how difficult it is to get information from officers and the Cabinet and our concerns about the lack of focus on residents.

I spoke to local organisers from Acorn, the community union, about their campaign to extend the Landlord Licensing scheme in Newcastle, which I support.

I also supprted residents dealing with rats in an abandoned property on Westgate Road and emailed the environmental health and licensing teams reminding them that I am still waiting for responses to questions.