Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

Councillor J Legrys declared a registerable interest as a volunteer at Hermitage FM.

Councillor J Geary declared a registerable interest as Director of the Springboard Centre and as the council’s representative for Coalville Town Football Club.

Councillor M Wyatt declared a registerable interest as the owner of two businesses in the town.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 January 2023.

A member felt that one of the recommendations had not been captured accurately in the minutes and therefore it was agreed to alter the minutes to reflect that the recommendation was to increase the precept by no more than a maximum of 30%.

It was moved by Councillor J Geary, seconded by Councillor E Allman and

RESOLVED THAT:

The amended minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record of the proceedings.

The Report of the Finance Team Manager and Deputy S151 Officer.

The Finance Team Manager presented the report to members and highlighted that the forecast for Quarter 3 had seen a significant improvement upon Quarter 2. Members attention was drawn to the amended Appendix C which showed the figures for Coalville in Bloom.

A member enquired how the budget would be monitored and how the information from the monitoring would be reported back to members. Officers responded that it would be monitored internally by the budget holders and that it would be brought back to this working party on a quarterly basis. Members were assured that as current members of the working party they would still be provided with the factual information leading up to the election in line with Pre-election period requirements.

A member asked for further clarification on the figures around Coalville in Bloom, noted that there had been a contribution of £5,000 from a developer and asked to see where the contribution had been shown which came from businesses within the town. Officers explained that income and expenditure had been shown on the same line and confirmed that the funding for Coalville in Bloom would be a regular item out of the reserve should funding not be secured from developers or other outside sources. It was advised that should further funding come forward from external sources then this would be earmarked for Coalville in Bloom 2024.

A member asked why the £5,000 had been shown as removed from the scheme but officers explained that it had been taken out as the council knew it had been grant funded this year. Members expressed a wish to see Coalville in Bloom as a permanent feature. Officers explained that should this be something which members wished to keep in as base budget, then they would need to take something else out equalling £5,000. The decision had not been taken to remove it but had been demonstrated in the figures as having been funded by grant rather than by council tax. Members were advised that there had not been sufficient money in reserve to take forward for Coalville in Bloom but that due to the grant funding it had been secured this year.

It was clarified that the £5,000 budget allocated for Coalville in Bloom had not been removed and had been funded from grant rather than council tax during this financial year. Members asked that it be noted that future funding be sought from within the baseline budget and officers advised that further external funding would need to be secured to cover these costs.

It was moved by Councillor J Geary, seconded by Councillor J Legrys and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The 2022/23 Quarter 3 Budget monitoring figures and forecasted outturn for 2022/23 be noted.
2. The proposed 2023/24 Coalville Special Expenses Budget be noted.

The Report of the Head of Property and Regeneration.

The Head of Property and Regeneration presented the report to members and confirmed that subject to ratification by Council then the events budget would stand at £84,440. Members were informed that at the previous week’s Events Sub Group meeting, members were minded to retain the Picnic in the Park event over the Cinema in the Park event. It was also clarified that there would also be events for King Charles’ III Coronation and Christmas in Coalville.

A member requested that Cabinet be supplied with the notes from the sub group meeting and were advised that these would be prepared for circulation at Cabinet by the time of its meeting in March.

Officers advised that the lead in period for events is very tight so the working party would need to start planning as soon as possible.

A member expressed concerns at the way the shop window competition had been judged in the past and requested that this be undertaken by an outside group or committee for future competitions. Officers agreed that this would be something which would be considered.

Members asked for clarification on what “The Coronation Big Lunch” constituted, as mentioned in the report, and officers advised that they would seek further details and report back to members.

Clarification was also requested on what “a series of events” referred to more specifically and were advised that officers would furnish members with further details nearer to the time that the events had been planned for.

A member suggested that without these further details it would not be possible to make an informed recommendation and it was suggested that “subject to full details of the Coronation event being provided” be included the recommendations.

Officers confirmed that the decision to go ahead with Picnic in the Park instead of Cinema in the Park had been reached at the meeting of the sub group in the preceding week.

A member asked whether the Art Around Town initiative would go ahead and was advised that this would only be possible if grant funding was forthcoming.

A member queried why the Picnic in the Park had been reduced from a two day event to a one day event for 2023 and was advised by officers that this is due to the financial constraints faced this financial year.

A member suggested that food vendors be invited to the Coronation Big Lunch event in order to attract revenue from the hire of pitches and officers agreed to consider this.

Members requested that they be provided with a full programme of events and the subsequent costs in order that they fully understood what they were recommending.

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor J Geary and

RESOLVED THAT:               

1. The budget available in 2023/24 for Coalville events be noted.
2. The preferred option of Picnic in the Park for the summer event be agreed.
3. The proposed programme of events be agreed and recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to further costings and a full programme of events  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Report of the Leisure Services Team Manager.

The Leisure Services Team Manager presented the report to members and outlined the progress of the outstanding capital projects.

A member wished to reiterate that Coalville in Bloom should not be removed from the budget and that by including local businesses in the scheme, additional income was generated. Officers wished to remind members that when business owners come forward and request hanging baskets to display for Coalville in Bloom there is currently a subsidy which the council has to pay which adds to the expenditure from the budget.

A member raised concerns around the Scotland Road playing fields pavilion feasibility and suggested that soccer and bowls teams would use the facility in a very different way but suggested that with this in mind the pavilion could be designed to accommodate participants of both sports.

A member suggested that as the Bardon Road verge improvement project work would not be going ahead, that this funding be redirected to other improvements in the local area. It was debated whether the Bardon Community funding would allow this as it had been obtained for this specific project. Officers advised that clarification would need to be sought as to whether a revised plan could be considered as this had not been what the funding had originally been granted for.

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor E Allman and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The progress update on the 2022/23 Capital Projects be noted.
2. Option 1 in relation to the Claremont Drive play area be recommended to Cabinet.
3. The withdrawal of the Bardon Road verge improvement project be recommended to Cabinet. However an alternative project be drawn up, using the Bardon Community funding and a £1,000 contribution from Coalville Special Expenses.