| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor David Levett (Chairman), Councillor John Booth (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Clare Billing, Councillor Dave Chambers, Councillor Julian Cunningham, Councillor Gary Grindal, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor Ian Mantle, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham and Councillor Mike Rice. N.B. Councillor Gary Grindal arrived at 8.00 p.m. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Steve Crowley (Contracts and Project Manager), David Charlton (Senior Estates Surveyor), Stuart Izzard (Community Development Manager), Claire Morgan (Community Development Officer) and Hilary Dineen (Committee and Member Services Officer). |
| ALSO PRESENT: | At the start of the meeting 12 members of the public. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 49 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Councillor T.W. Hone. |
Noted | ||
| 50 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 19 September 2012 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 51 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS There were no notifications of other business. |
Noted | ||
| 52 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman welcomed all those present at the meeting, particularly those due to give a presentation; (2) The Chairman welcomed Councillor Julian Cunningham who won the by-election held on 15 November 2012 and thanked everyone who stood for election, voted and worked for the Returning Officer. (3) Members were reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary interest, Other Pecuniary interest or Non-Pecuniary interest, and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring either an Other Pecuniary interest, or a Non-Pecuniary interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 16.3 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote. |
Noted | ||
| 53 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - LETCHWORTH OPEN AIR SWIMMING POOL Grant Options Lee Medlock, Contract Manager - Stevenage Leisure Limited, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and thanked Members for their support in previous years, which both SLL and customers appreciated. He gave a short presentation regarding the use of Letchworth Outdoor Pool which included the following information: Usage 2012 Total Usage 15,615 Casual swims 2,645 Club usage 2,037 School swims 5,180 Season ticket usage 25,477 Total usage (23,825 in 2011) Extended Hours Usage (Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays 7am - 8am) 759 Season ticket usages 248 paying customers 1,007 Total swims during extended hours (1134 in 2011) Options and Related Costs for 2013 3 Mornings a week all season - £1,831.03 5 Mornings a week all season - £3,051.75 5 Mornings a week for 7 weeks - £1,949.53 These figures included an income factor associated with season ticket usages (£1-90 per usage), however this income would not physically be received. Members asked several questions including whether customers had expressed views on the length and timing of any extended hours; whether the café had generated any extra income due to the extended hours and whether there was any information regarding the breakdown of usage by adults and children. They queried whether consideration had been given to using extended hours in the evening rather than the morning and considered that "soft" promotion of the pool should be undertaken in Howard Park and Gardens, which could include the provision of a direction signpost. Mr Medlock informed Members that feedback from customers was that they were happy with the current arrangements, however would use the pool whenever it was open; that the café was not open during extended hours and that specific data regarding usage by adults and children was not collected, however the majority of users during extended hours were adults. Mr Medlock advised that evening sessions had been utilised in the past but people just stayed longer in the pool rather than new customers coming to swim. The Contracts and Project Manager agreed to investigate the provision of a direction signpost in Howard Gardens pointing to the pool. The Chairman thanked Mr Medlock for his presentation. RESOLVED: That the Contracts and Project Manager be requested to investigate the provision of a direction signpost, to be placed in Howard Park and Gardens pointing to the Letchworth Open Air Pool and report his findings to this Committee. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that local residents and users of Howard Park and Gardens are made aware of Letchworth Open Air Pool. |
Agreed | ||
| 54 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - RHAPSODE Rebecca Leek, founder of Rhapsode, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and informed the Committee that she was a qualified teacher and a Governor at Icknield School. Rhapsode was set up 4 years ago working on a project by project basis with children from all parts of the community. She was currently working with local artists to put together a performance for people with Downs Syndrome as well as supporting the promotion of the Donate a Book Programme being run by David's Book Shop and had supported the George Orwell Festival by running workshops in Pixmore an Wilbury. Mrs Leek advised Members that Rhapsode was now in need of office space and planned to rent a retail space on The Wynd, which would be used as a gallery for local artists and to support pop-up community projects as well as provide office space to enable Rhapsode to create sufficient income to support itself and grow. Members asked several questions including what grant funding would be used for; how were events publicised; whether the organisation was a registered charity Mrs Leek advised that grant funding would be put towards the costs of rent, insurance, fitting out, funding for employment of an intern and publicity and that the type of publicity depended on the type of event however, schools, mailing lists, web sites and social media were used to publicise events. She informed Members that Rhapsode was an unregistered charity however under new legislation, they would be in a position to register in 2013. Mrs Leek advised that they were looking to develop community advocates and were currently inviting people to consider pop-up business projects via social media and that the aim was to become self-financing as any profit would be ploughed back into the organisation. The Chairman thanked Mrs Leek for her presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 55 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - WEDNESDAY DROP-IN CENTRE The Chairman advised that the representative of the Wednesday Drop-In Centre was unable to attend this meeting to give a presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 56 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - LETCHWORTH ALLOTMENTS The Chairman advised that Mr Wilson was unable to attend the meeting to give a presentation regarding Letchworth Allotments. |
Noted | ||
| 57 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW - LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY Mr Burrows thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and informed Members of the following: - Members would be asked to take a serious decision regarding the governance of Letchworth Garden City at the Council meeting due to be held on 22 November 2012; - Local people expected a famous place like Letchworth Garden City to have a local council; - Members from other areas of the District would not know about Letchworth Garden City; - The current Town Council had suffered from extreme representation and moderate people should be allowed to stand for election; - The Community Governance Review results were not convincing; - The people should have been asked if they want a moderate Town Council. He asked that all Members, whatever their view, speak at the Council meeting to ensure a proper debate takes place. The Chairman thanked Mr Burrows for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 58 |
FORMER DEPOT SITE, ICKNIELD WAY, LETCHWORTH Report Plan Councillor David Kearns declared a pecuniary interest as he was a Board Member of North Herts Homes and left the meeting. Councillor Gary Grindal stated that he would remain in the room, however as a Board Member of the Howard Cottage Housing Association he would withdraw if it became evident that detailed discussions regarding any provision of housing at the site would take place. The Senior Estates Surveyor presented the report of the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management entitled Former Depot Site, Icknield Way, Letchworth and informed Members that the majority of the site was under the terms of a 999 year lease from the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation (LGCHF) and that the Council was working closely with LGCHF to sell the land. Members were in agreement that the land should be disposed of equitably. They discussed that the land had been identified in the Local Development Framework as an area for housing development and that they were aware of a covenant on the land, which would have to be lifted as well as some contamination issues. The Senior Estates Surveyor drew attention to paragraph 3.5 of the report which detailed that the terms of the split of the joint capital had yet to be finalised and that remedial works would be needed regarding contamination however it was proposed to offer the land in its current state. RESOLVED: That the Letchworth Committee has no substantive objections to the sale of the Former Depot Site, Icknield Way, Letchworth. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide a financial receipt to help fund the 2012 to 2016 capital programme. |
Agreed | ||
| 59 |
CHAMPION NEWS AND FINANCE REPORT Report Appendix 1 - Budgets Appendix 2 - Grant Application - Wednesday Drop- In Centre Appendix 3 - Grant Application - Rhapsode Appendix 4 - Work Programme Appendix 5 - Highways Schemes Template The Community Development Officer presented the report of the Head of Policy and Community Services entitled Champion News and Finance Report and the following issues were discussed: Sollershott Roundabout The Community Development Officer advised that the shrubs on the Sollershott Roundabout had come to the end of their natural life and that the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation had offered the services of their Landscape Designer, who was working with Hertfordshire Highways to draft a suitable design for the roundabout refurbishment, funding would be received from the company filming in the area. Members were concerned that consultation with Members regarding the use of and refurbishment of this historic roundabout had not taken place. RESOLVED: (1) That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development and Visioning Budgets be noted; (2) That the actions taken by the Community Development Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Letchworth Garden City be endorsed; (3) That the Leader of the Council be requested to investigate the circumstances regarding the refurbishment and replanting of the UK's first roundabout and report her findings to Members of this Committee. REASON FOR DECISION: To keep Members of the Committee apprised of the latest developments in community activities in Letchworth Garden City. |
Agreed | ||
| 60 |
GRANT APPLICATION - LETCHWORTH OPEN AIR SWIMMING POOL Grant Options RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1,831.03 be awarded to Letchworth Open Air Swimming Pool from the Discretionary Budget towards the costs of providing extended opening hours of 1 hour each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning during the 2013 season REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 61 |
GRANT APPLICATION - RHAPSODE Members debated the application and concluded that supporting a charity to start up a project working across the community should be supported. The level of that support was debated before it was RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1,250 be awarded to Rhapsode from the Discretionary Budget towards the cost of setting up a base in the Wynd to be used as office and gallery space as well as pop-up projects. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 62 |
GRANT APPLICATION - WEDNESDAY DROP-IN CENTRE The Community Development Officer advised that the Wednesday Drop In had been supported previously via a Memorandum of Understanding, the group had suffered due to the reductions in this method of funding and reductions in the funding received from Hertfordshire County Council. The group were seeking funds to provide a Christmas Party and a Summer Outing. Members agreed with this request but expressed concern that funding was being sought to bridge the gap due to a reduction in other methods of funding and noted that the Committee would not be in a position to do this very often. RESOLVED: That grant funding of £500 be awarded to the Wednesday Drop In Centre from the Discretionary Budget towards the costs of a Christmas Party and Summer Outing. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 63 |
WARD AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS - MEMBERS' REPORTS No Ward matters or Outside Organisations were discussed. |
Noted | ||