Agenda item

REPORT OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

To consider a Part 1 report on the proposed future management of Hitchin Market.

[Note:  This item was considered both before and after Minute110 below - the Part 2 item on the same matter.]

RESOLVED:

(1)       That a decision on whether to manage Hitchin market in-house be deferred, until there is greater clarity on the deliverability of the proposals for the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market and further consideration has been given to the model for operating the market in-house; and

(2)       That the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services, the Executive Member for Finance and IT and the Executive Member for Leisure, be authorised to agree with Hitchin Markets Ltd the terms of an extension of their existing management contract in the short term.

REASON FOR DECISION:  To await greater clarity on the deliverability of the proposals for the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market and further consideration has been given to the model for operating the market in-house.

[Note:  This item was considered both before and after Minute110 below - the Part 2 item on the same matter.]

The Executive Member for Leisure presented the Part 1 report of the Deputy Chief Executive in respect of the Future Management of Hitchin Market.

The Executive Member for Leisure advised that the report was a follow up to the report to Council on 8 February 2018 regarding the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market.  The report considered the future management arrangements for the market, as the existing contract with Hitchin Markets Limited ended on 31 July 2018.

The Executive Member for Leisure stated that the recommendations in the report were that the Cabinet deferred a decision on whether or not to manage Hitchin Market in-house until there was greater clarity on the deliverability of the proposals for the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market and further consideration had been given to the model for operating the market in-house; and that Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services, the Executive Member for Finance and IT and the Executive Member for Leisure, be authorised to agree with Hitchin Markets Limited the terms of an extension of their existing management contract in the short term.

The Executive Member for Leisure explained that, since the 8 February 2018 Council meeting, officers had met again with Hitchin Market Limited, underscored by the fact that both parties agreed that Hitchin should continue to benefit from a vibrant market.  In the meantime, the Council had launched a survey, focussing on current use of the Churchgate Centre and market, what types of operator would be preferred, and whether or not the regeneration proposals were supported.

The Executive Member for Leisure advised that, since Hitchin Market Limited took over the running of the market contract, minimal investment had been made, due to the nature of the operating model.  As part of the arrangements an annual payment of £24,000 had been made to the Council.  She felt that, without transformative investment into the market, it was difficult to envisage how the current situation would improve.

The Executive Member for Leisure explained that the Association for Public Service Excellence had recently undertaken a questionnaire to seek Local Authorities’ thoughts and experiences on insourcing.  This demonstrated that Circa 73% had or were considering insourcing. When asked what were the main reasons for insourcing, the top four reasons given were:

·           Need to improve efficiency and reduce service cost:

·           Need to improve service quality;

·           Austerity budgeting/need to reduce spend on external contracts; and

·           Need to have a more flexible service.

The Executive Member for Leisure advised that the plan appended to the Council report had shown an indicative layout for the market stalls, but this was not intended to be cast in stone.  There remained a number of key issues relating to an in-house management operation which needed to be further investigated before Cabinet could take a fully informed decision, and these were set out in Paragraph 8.3 of the report.  Additionally, consideration could still be given to any alternative proposals put forward by Hitchin Market Limited.

The Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that the Council would have needed to look into the running of the market regardless of the regeneration proposals for Churchgate.  However, he commented that the Council was not dissatisfied with the current arrangements.

The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board met on 22 March 2018 to consider the Council’s bid for funding towards the regeneration scheme, the outcome of which should be received by the end of March 2018.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That a decision on whether to manage Hitchin market in-house be deferred, until there is greater clarity on the deliverability of the proposals for the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market and further consideration has been given to the model for operating the market in-house; and

(2)       That the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services, the Executive Member for Finance and IT and the Executive Member for Leisure, be authorised to agree with Hitchin Markets Ltd the terms of an extension of their existing management contract in the short term.

REASON FOR DECISION:  To await greater clarity on the deliverability of the proposals for the Churchgate Centre and Hitchin Market and further consideration has been given to the model for operating the market in-house.