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
Minutes:
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 25th 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 18th 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 of these areas. Training would be given and one to one support for Chairs and Vice Chairs to ensure they were equipped to deliver their respective action plans and continued development
Updates
J2 – there had been a mechanical failure in the small pool
Kidsgrove Sports Centre – there had been boiler failure resulting in both of the pools being closed
Kidsgrove Sports Centre Working Group – The Chair provided an update on progress with the Working Group with the Group’s Recommendations being submitted to Active and Cohesive Communities Scrutiny Committee on the 20th November 2014 followed by Cabinet on the 10th December 2014
A Member asked if media communication could be improved by making announcements on Radio Stoke or through the Sentinel when the swimming pools, from both sites, were closed for maintenance, to the public
The Head of Leisure and Cultural Services agreed communication does need to be improved via the Council’s Communication Team but staff do inform programmed groups of pool closures as well as contact through the social media where possible
Resolved:-
That Members receive the update