Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Miss Cooper

To receive Declarations of Interest from Members on items included in this agenda

There were no declarations of interest

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on Monday 30 June 2014

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 30^th June 2014 were agreed as a correct record

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Localism will be in attendance to answer any questions raised by Members.  If you would like to submit a question please inform Justine Tait 5 working days prior to the meeting

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Localism provided Committee with a verbal update on the following work objectives:-

Britain in Bloom

The Council achieved gold award for the thirteenth consecutive year and had enhanced Newcastle’s reputation as one of the most attractive, sustainable Boroughs in the Heart of England.  There were eleven entrants in the Council’s category, of which nine gained gold

There had been £50,000 of sponsorship secured from local businesses which covered the cost of the campaign

1500 children entered the painting competition, the largest number ever.  Approximately ninety entered the local competition “Newcastle in Bloom”.  Twenty nine groups participated in the second annual Community Day in June

2015 would be the 25^th year the Borough would had entered the campaign and were planning some new initiatives and projects to mark and celebrate the milestone

Tatton Park

This year the Council had achieved silver.  The display recognised the Women’s Institute involvement in launching the Britain in Bloom campaign fifty years ago.  For 2015 the Council would be focusing on creating an exhibit which would be sited locally in the Borough, rather than continuing at Tatton Park

Community Wardens

The two Community Wardens were based in the Community Development team and had continued to assist community volunteer groups to improve their local green spaces and neighbourhoods

The Queen Elizabeth Park community food garden had been expanded with the assistance from the Wardens

Borough Museum and Art Gallery

A separate meeting of the Committee was held at the Borough Museum and Art Gallery with a presentation carried out by the staff.  The Museum staff would like to re-brand the Museum, along with the Brampton Park to make it more marketable, develop a dedicated web site to attract more visitors, to have a comprehensive maintenance and improvement programme as externally the building was in a poor state of repair.  Internally the rooms required improvement; they would like to extend to expand the galleries, education spaces, storage for collections, meeting rooms and the introduction of a café

They had not got a marketing budget.  The number of visitors to the Museum during the first quarter of 2014/2015 was 15,435 which was up by 210 from the first quarter of 2013/2014

There was a World War 1 exhibition which would be there until mid November, then move to Keele then Madeley, after which it would go on a five year tour of the Borough.

Locality Action Partnerships (LAPs)

Presently there were nine LAPs who dealt with day to day issues such as dog fouling, litter, traffic problems and anti-social behaviour.  The LAPs now require to be developed further

A report would be submitted to Cabinet on the 18^th October 2014 outlining an approach to challenge LAPs to focus on the key strategic issues facing the Borough Council and its partner:-

Ø  Health and Well Being

Ø  Economic Development

Ø  Stronger and Safer Communities

The LAPs would be asked to produce a progress report setting out performance in each  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Head of Operations submitted an update report on the Allotments Review

On the 2^nd April 2014 Cabinet approved the draft Allotments Strategy 2014-2020 and resolved that a report was brought to a future meeting of Cabinet detailing the outcome of the consultation and recommending that the Strategy was formally adopted, subject to any changes arising from the consultation process

Concurrently, Officers in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Recycling, had been negotiating with Silverdale Parish Council in relation to the proposed transfer of the two allotment sites in Silverdale (Park Road and The Acre).  The transfer of the Park Road site had been successfully concluded.  Negotiations were ongoing with the Parish Council in relation to The Acre to seek to achieve a similar outcome

Resolved:-

That Members receive the report

It came to the Chair’s attention that there had been a number of discrepancies which showed significant variances of the levels of annual fees charged for each licence for each fishing pools within the Borough, with all licensees involved

Previously the fishing licence agreements fell under the remit of the Community Manager but had since been handed over to the Property Manager

Members felt the fees that were charged to the Angling Clubs varied significantly and asked for a standard type of fishing licence to be prepared for each fishing pool within the Borough and terms were negotiated and agreed with each party involved, based on the area and environment of each respective pool

Resolved:-

(a)       That the level of fees charged and terms agreed for fishing pools throughout the Borough would be considered, with a view to introducing a standard type of agreement and method for calculating each acknowledgement payable based on the area and environment of each pool concerned

(b)      That all such fishing licences were agreed by the end of this financial year with a view to the new charges taking effect from the 1^st April 2015

(c)       That a further report would be submitted to this Scrutiny Committee on the 9^th March 2015

Attached is an extract from the Quarter 1 2014/15 Internal Audit Report Progress Report submitted to Audit and Risk Committee on the 29^th September 2014

Resolved:-

That Members receive the progress report

Attached are questions and answers that were part of the Staffordshire Libraries Consultation held on Tuesday 9 September 2014 which have been submitted to Staffordshire County Council as part of their Consultation process

The Vice Chair thanked Members and Officers who attended the Staffordshire Libraries Consultation held on Tuesday 9^th September 2014.  The Consultation was running for twelve months, closing on the 7^th October 2014, with implementation from mid-2015 to late 2016

The questions and answers that were raised at the event were passed onto Staffordshire County Council as part of the Consultation process

Resolved:-

Members agreed to the questions and answers that were raised at the Consultation on the 9^th September 2014

To provide an overview of the Recommendations made by this Committee at the last meeting held on the 30 June 2014

Resolved:-

Members agreed to the Recommendations raised at the last meeting held on Monday 30^th June 2014 and thanks was passed on for Members being supplied with a copy of the Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy

To discuss the work plan and potential topics that Committee Members would like to scrutinise over the forthcoming year

Resolved:-

That the Fishing Licence Agreements item be put on the work plan for the 9^th March 2015 meeting

Any member of the public wishing to submit a question must serve two clear days’ notice, in writing, of any such question to the Borough Council.

No questions had been submitted from the public

No urgent business was raised

Thursday 20 November 2014, 7.00pm in Training Room 1

Thursday 20 November 2014, 7.00pm in Training Room 1.  This an additional meeting to discuss the recommendation(s) submitted by the Kidsgrove Sports Centre Working Group prior to a report being presented to Cabinet on the 10^th December 2014