| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor Lorna Kercher (Chairman), Councillor Clare Billing (Vice-Chairman), Councillor John Booth, Councillor Julian Cunningham, Councillor Gary Grindal, Councillor T.W. Hone, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor David Levett, Councillor Sandra Lunn, Councillor Ian Mantle, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham and Councillor Mike Rice. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | John Robinson (Strategic Director of Customer Services), Claire Morgan (Community Development Officer) and Hilary Dineen (Committee and Member Services Officer). |
| ALSO PRESENT: | At the start of the meeting three members of the public. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 79 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE No apologies for absence were received. |
Noted | ||
| 80 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 3 December 2015 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 81 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other items of business were discussed. |
Noted | ||
| 82 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman welcomed all who had attended the meeting, particularly those who had attended to give a presentation. (2) The Chairman drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest need to be declared immediately prior to the item in question. |
Noted | ||
| 83 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - HITCHIN KINGS BASKETBALL CLUB Mr James Brooks, Hitchin Kings Basketball Club, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation in support of the grant application as follows: - The club originally started in Hitchin as a recreational club, hence the name, although was now based at Highfield School; - The club now had 60 members; - The club had an under 17s team playing in the North Herts League and a men's team that was third in the league; - There was currently 25 girls playing basketball; - There was no provision for girls basketball in the area, with the nearest team being based in Watford; - The aim was to facilitate the first girls basketball club in the area; - This club would start at Highfield School, but aimed to spread beyond the school. - The club would be a sustainable project; - Any funds awarded would pay for coaches and specific equipment. Members asked several questions including whether other sources of income had been identified; would the club continue to be based at Highfield School; did Highfield School charge for use of facilities and what age were members of the club. They were concerned that the name did not reflect the location of the club and asked whether this could be changed. Members noted that this would be the first girls team in the areas and asked who they would play. Mr Brooks advised that the only income was from twice yearly fundraising and club subscriptions. The men's and under 18s teams were already self sufficient. The club would continue to be based at Highfield School, who charged for use of facilities. Most members of the club came from Letchworth and there were currently 21 11 - 14 year olds, 17 14 - 18 year olds and 20 men in the club. He acknowledged that the name no longer reflected the location of the teams, but explained that, although members were happy to change it, this could not be done until the end of the current season. In respect of the girls team, the first step would be to develop numbers and confidence through coaching after which invitation tournaments would be held. The Chairman thanked Mr Brooks for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 84 |
LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY TOWN CENTRE/BID MANAGER Mr James Peachy, Letchworth Garden City BID Manager thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a presentation regarding the future activities of the Letchworth Garden City Town Centre Partnership and the Letchworth Garden City BID (Business Improvement District) as follows: - He had been in post just over 2 weeks and was working closely with Kailah Eglington; - Kailah would remain as coach and mentor and focus on strategy, whilst he would be operational; - They were currently developing a calendar of events including the Food Festival, supporting the Letchworth Festival and the Christmas Lights switch on; - A working party was considering parking issues including the provision of signage; - The Love Letchworth website was being developed; - They were currently running a mystery shopping exercise to help shops identify how to improve; - Shops would be encouraged to stay open longer to take advantage of commuter business; - The Leys Square development would start in April/May 2015 and last for approximately 18 months. Members asked how the BID would address the high level of vacant shops; Mr Peachy informed Members that he lived in Letchworth and thought that the Town had nice premises and was attractive. He advised that the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation were keen to support the Town and that consideration was being given to "incubation units". Praxis, owners of Garden Square Shopping Centre were also working hard to attract businesses to the Town whilst the BID would be working on the vibrancy of the area. He stated that towns were generally moving toward night culture, but Letchworth needed more colour and energy. A Member advised that a number of business forums had been held, with varying success. The leisure and lifestyle economy was becoming more important which would mean that shops would have to stay open later. The Chairman wished Mr Peachy good luck in his new role and thanked him for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 85 |
INFORMATION NOTE: NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY FACILITY AT HITCHIN TOWN HALL Information Note The Strategic Director of Customer Services presented the information note regarding North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall. The Strategic Director of Customer Services informed Members that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on 18 December 2014 to discuss progress with the project and issues that had arisen. All Members had been invited to attend that meeting. Following the meeting he had circulated a list of meetings held regarding the project and confirmed that Minutes of these meetings were available on the website. He advised that the fit-out works by Hitchin Town Hall Limited were due to commence on 19 January 2015, however this was unlikely to happen. The Council would be considering what mitigating actions to take regarding this. The project was due to complete in September/October 2015. Members asked whether NHDC had kept in touch with previous users of the Town Hall and what was the position regarding any legal challenge of Hitchin Town Hall Limited. The Strategic Director of Customer Services advised that contact with previous users would be considered as part of contingency planning and that NHDC was still in contact with Hitchin Town Hall Limited and, as soon as there was anything to report, he would inform Members. RESOLVED: That the information note regarding North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Letchworth Committee is kept fully appraised of progress and issues regarding the North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility at Hitchin Town Hall. |
Agreed | ||
| 86 |
COMMUNITY UPDATE AND GRANT APPLICATIONS Report Appendix 1 - Budget Sheets Appendix 2 - Grant Application - Hitchin Kings Basketball Club Appendix 3 - Area Committee Summary The Community Development Officer presented the report of the Head of Policy and Community Services entitled Community Update and Grant Applications and drew attention to the following: GRANGE YOUTH CLUB The Community Development Officer advised Members that she had met with this group who were considering whether the Youth Wing could be rented out. She asked Members to keep this in mind when talking to other groups. GRANTS POLICY REVIEW The Community Development Officer advised that the Grants Policy Review would be re-considered in June 2015. MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING The Community Development Officer advised that the current MOUs were coming to the end of their 3 year period. She would contact all current recipients and ask them to attend the Letchworth Committee meeting due to be held in March 2015. Members noted that MOU funding had been reduced in line with the reduction in Government funding and that, if new Memorandums of Understanding were agreed, this reduction may continue in the future. They also acknowledged that some MOUs would more appropriately be by way of a contract in future and that recipients of smaller MOUs may benefit from applying for single grant funding rather than using the MOU method. RESOLVED: (1) That the Community Development be requested to invite the current recipients of Memorandums of Understanding to attend the next meeting of the Letchworth Committee due to be held in March 2015; (2) That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development and Visioning Budgets be noted; (3) That the actions taken by the Community Development Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Letchworth Garden City be endorsed. REASON FOR DECISION: To keep Members of the Committee apprised of the latest developments in community activities in Letchworth Garden City. |
Agreed | ||
| 87 |
GRANT APPLICATION - HITCHIN KINGS BASKETBALL CLUB Members were supportive of the Club, but were concerned that the name of the Club did not reflect its location and asked that they consider changing the name at the end of the current season. They suggested that other funders be identified to help. The Community Development Officer advised that she would be signposting the Club to the Herts Sports Partnership and, that once the name has been changed other funding streams, such as the Letchworth Civic Trust and Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, could be approached. RESOLVED: (1) That the Hitchin Kings Basketball Club be requested to consider changing its name at the end of the current season to more accurately reflect its location; (2) That, the Community Development Officer be requested to signpost the Hitchin Kings Basketball Club to other funding sources; (3) That grant funding of £1,500 be awarded to Hitchin Kings Basketball Club fro the Discretionary Budget towards the costs of developing a youth basketball team, establish a girls basketball training session and promote basketball amongst young people in the area. . REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 88 |
WARD AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS - MEMBERS' REPORTS JACKMANS LIBRARY Members were informed that work on Jackmans library conversion into a small hall was progressing and Section 106 funding has been released for this project. NORTH HERTS HOMES Councillor Kearns informed Members that the Chief Executive of North Herts Homes was retiring early. He was currently working his pre-retirement period and an advert had been placed to find is replacement. |
Noted | ||