Meeting documents

Baldock and District Committee
Monday, 15th November, 2010 7.30 pm


Date:	Monday, 13th September, 2010	Time:	7.30 pm	Place:	Baldock Community Centre, Simpson Drive, Baldock

PRESENT:	Councillor M.E. Weeks(Chairman), Councillor Marilyn Kirkland, Councillor I.J. Knighton, Councillor M.R.M. Muir
IN ATTENDANCE:	Steve Crowley (Contracts and Project Manager) Ashley Hawkins (Community Development Officer) Susanne Gow (Committee and Member Services Officer)
ALSO PRESENT:	One member of the public.

Item	Description/Resolution	Status	Action
PART I
28	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Cllrs A. D. Young and S. K. Jarvis.	Noted
29	MINUTES Data/Baldock and District Committee/201011151930/Agenda/Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 July 2010 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.	Agreed
30	NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS There was no notification of any other business to this Committee Meeting.	Noted
31	CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman welcomed everyone to the September meeting of the Baldock and District Committee, notably the Committee, the officers, the Chairman of North Herts District Council who had attended the Committee Meeting in order to observe, and the Contracts and Project Manager. The Chairman then reminded Members that declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest and they were required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared. Members declaring a prejudicial interest were to leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item. He proposed that Declarations of Interest should be made at the start of the relevant item on the Agenda.	Noted
32	PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no items of public participation scheduled for this meeting.	Noted
33	BALDOCK PUBLIC CONVENIENCE Report A personal interest was declared by Councillors Kirkland, Knighton, Muir and Weeks, all of whom are on the Management Committee of the Baldock Community Centre. They would all take part in the discussion and vote on the outcome. The Contracts and Project Manager presented the report of the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services. He reminded Members that the proposal to build a new public convenience in the High Street had been presented to the Committee in July 2006, but it had been agreed that this would be carried out as part of the Baldock Town Centre Enhancement work. However, when the Baldock Town Centre Enhancement work was undertaken, no decision had been made and the upper facility remained open. Use of the current facility had been monitored and amounted to between 4 and 6 visits per day. The suggestions put forward to the Committee for their decision were to: 1) close the current facility and build new; 2) close the current facility and not to build new; 3) refurbish the current toilets; 4) establish a Community Toilet Scheme, i.e. NHDC will pay retailers for the public to use their toilet facilities (e.g. Baldock Community Centre, pubs, cafÃ©s, restaurants); 5) keep the status quo. The Baldock Community Centre had been contacted, but the Management Committee had made no response. Four other venues were keen, but wished to have further discussions before coming to a decision. Staff that had been canvassed stated that non customers already used their facilities and it was hard to stop them from doing so. When asked why customers do not use the Council public convenience, the main points made were: a) The facility is not clearly signposted; b) most members of the public appeared to prefer using the facilities in pubs and restaurants. It was stressed that realistic costs needed to be obtained if the Committee wished to build a new public convenience. The Baldock and District Committee discussed the problem and came out in favour of the Community Toilet Scheme, paying the restaurant or cafÃ© an annual sum, depending on the variables, with the owner to service and maintain it. It was suggested that stickers were displayed in the windows, alerting the public to the fact that the toilet was in the outlet, together with baby changing facilities etc if available, with revenue to be spread across the number of facilities taking part. One Member proposed that the Scheme was set up first in the Baldock Community Centre as they already had good facilities, with NHDC paying to have them cleaned and a substantial payment to the Community Centre for use of their toilets. He considered that it would be money well spent. It was pointed out that the Baldock Community Centre is part of the community and should be used as such, but that did not mean that they should have to clean up after misuse of their toilets. Another point raised was that the Â£127,500 available was not enough to build and maintain a substantial new facility. In addition, the status quo was not acceptable, as the current facilities were too small and antiquated and the usage figures demonstrated why a new build was unjustified. The Chairman commented that the Committee appeared to have come down in favour of Option 4 and this could result in some of the funds available being used to service the facilities at the Community Centre and some returned to NHDC. He asked if Members were agreed on discounting Options 1, 2, 3 and 5 and they concurred. The Contracts and Project Manager stated that the revenue to be saved by closing the Town Hall facility would be Â£7,800. The Committee brought up various points, such as: a large establishment would be best - in their opinion cafÃ©s were too small; using their toilets would help the Baldock Community Centre, as it would bring their refurbishment up to scratch and being a long term agreement, the cost could be negotiated; updating the Centre's facilities could be part of the incentive, together with maintenance and cleaning provided by NHDC. Discussion also touched on: the need for toilets in Avenue Park, which on a sunny day had 80 to 100 users and one unisex toilet; the Avenue Sports and Social Club (bowls club) did not want the general public using their facilities which have been recently refurbished. It was felt that this was a separate subject to that on the Agenda and in any event, a number of toilets near to open spaces have been closed down as they cannot be policed and have become havens for drug users and anti-social behaviour. Members finally decided to choose Option 4, the Community Toilet Scheme and asked the Contracts and Project Manager to pursue this with Baldock Community Centre and other outlets and report back on the outcome to the Committee as soon as possible. RESOLVED: 1) That the Chairman thanked the Contracts and Project Manager for presenting to the Committee the potential options for future provision of public conveniences in the High Street, Baldock; 2) That the Members of Baldock and District Committee had discussed all the options and agreed on Option 4, the Community Toilet Scheme; 3) That the Baldock and District Committee requested that the Contracts and Project Manager investigate the choices under the Community Toilet Scheme and report back to the Committee as soon as possible. REASON FOR DECISION: To conclude the best approach for public convenience provision in Baldock and agree how the capital budget should be used.	Agreed
34	CHAMPION NEWS AND FINANCE REPORT Report Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 The Community Development Officer (CDO) for Baldock and District took the Committee through the report of the Head of Policy, Partnerships and Community Development which detailed the CDO's activities since the last meeting held on 19 July 2010. The CDO advised the Committee that there had been a 300% increase in footfall in Baldock during Baldock Day on 10 July 2010. He informed the Committee that the Baldock Town and District Partnership was currently negotiating taking over the Wednesday Baldock Market and that stalls from the Farmers Market wanted to join in with the Wednesday Market. This would be seen as a positive asset for Baldock. Gold Memberships only had been sold for the Membership Scheme and the Town Centre Manager had been around the neighbouring villages to try and sell further Memberships. The CDO also advised that Balstock had gone well and young and old alike in the community had listened to the music on offer, all provided by talented local bands. Only one complaint had been received, this from a resident in Simpson Court, which had proved to the organisers that the event had been a success. It is planned to repeat this event next year and a suggestion was received that it be linked in with the White Lion Bike Show, as it was thought that heavy metal music and motorbikes go together. The Committee were reminded that the Baldock Youth Council had disbanded, as the members were all of university age and had left to take up their placements. It was planned that the new Youth Council members would have a bigger range of ages, so that the younger students would take up the reins when the older ones left to attend university. The dates for the annual Baldock Fair was 2, 3 and 4 October 2010 and Members brought up the subject of damage to the newly-refurbished Baldock Town Centre in October 2009. Some bolts were still missing and a post had been split, with oil spilled and some damage to grassed areas. Members reminded the CDO that the surety should be used to ensure that any damage was put right at the expense of Abbotts Amusements. He responded by informing them that the grassed areas would be boarded over and benches would be removed and stored safely, or else Abbotts would pay for any damage done to them. All bolts on street furniture should be checked before and after the Baldock Fair. The reinstatement of cellar doors that had been covered over with tarmac, was due very soon and payment was being sought, with the owner of the cellar doors being asked to make a contribution. The CDO then went through the Update on Baldock Town Centre Enhancement Review and the Baldock Town-wide Parking Review. One Member declared that Hitchin Street was still the most congested route in Baldock and he would be interested to see if the Scooting System would improve this. Another Member hoped that the work on SCOOT would help to alleviate this problem, but the basic problem to be solved was the high volume of traffic that passed through Baldock, in both directions between Royston and Letchworth. The Committee noted the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development and the Visioning Budgets, presented at Appendix 1. The Fast Track Grant for Â£500 submitted by Baldock Allotment Association was approved, as was the grant from Hinxworth Parish Council for Â£800 towards two new notice boards detailed at Minute 35 below. RESOLVED: 1) That the current status of the budget expenditure, balances and carry forwards for the 2010-2011 Development Budget be noted; 2) That the recent fast track grant award of Â£500 to Hertfordshire Highways for the informal pedestrian crossing at Bygrave Road be noted; 3) That the recent fast track grant award of Â£500 to Baldock Allotment Association for additional fencing work at the North Road site in Baldock be noted and agreed; 4) That the Committee considers the grant application for Â£800 from Hinxworth Parish Council for two new notice boards; 5) That the CDO be thanked for his actions which had promoted greater community capacity and well-being for the Baldock and District Area. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Committee are kept up to date on the activities of the CDO, the balances of the Development Budgets and provide financial support to community projects in Baldock and surrounding villages.	Agreed
35	GRANT APPLICATION - HINXWORTH PARISH COUNCIL RESOLVED: That a grant in the sum of Â£800.00 be awarded to the Hinxworth Parish Council to provide two new notice boards for the villagers in Hinxworth. This will be funded solely from the Arbury Ward budget. The Chairman thanked the Committee and officers for their time and hard work and thanked the Chairman of the North Herts District Council, Councillor David Levett, for attending the Baldock and District Committee Meeting.	Agreed

Published on Tuesday, 28th September, 2010

8.35 p.m.