Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Coalville

Contact: Member Services  01530 454512

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Chairman for Ensuing Year

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor M Specht, seconded by Councillor J Legrys and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

Councillor J Geary be elected Chairman of the Working Party for the ensuing municipal year.

 

Councillor J Geary then took the chair.

2.

Appointment of Deputy Chairman for Ensuing Year

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor M Specht and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

Councillor R Adams be elected Deputy Chairman of the Working Party for the ensuing municipal year.

3.

Apologies For Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies received.

4.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

Councillor J Legrys declared a disclosable non pecuniary interest in Item 7 – 2015/16 Events Update due to his involvement with Hermitage FM.

 

Councillor M B Wyatt declared a disclosable non pecuniary interest in any reference to Coalville, as a business owner in the Town Centre.

 

Councillor J Geary declared a disclosable non pecuniary interest in Item 6 – Capital Projects Update as a regular supporter of Coalville Town FC.

5.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 147 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2015.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2015.

 

Councillor J Geary reiterated his disappointment that a visit to Broom Leys Allotments had still not been arranged. He referred to correspondence that had been circulated to Members suggesting that an open day was to be held in September and suggested that the Members’ visit should coincide with this.

 

Councillor N Clarke referred to the discussion that had been held at the last meeting in respect of cemetery charges. He stated that it had been agreed that further information would be brought to this meeting but that this did not appear to have happened.

 

Councillor J Geary stated that he had spoken to the Head of Community Services regarding this matter and he had advised that it may be worthwhile to establish a sub group to discuss this in advance of the next meeting of the Working Party.

 

Councillor J Legrys stated that he agreed with this approach but it was important that Officers provided the relevant financial figures to Members.

 

Councillor M Specht referred to Councillor J Geary’s suggestion at the previous meeting that the issue be considered instead by the Policy Development Group.

 

Councillor M B Wyatt stated that it was important to identify whether this issue solely affected the Coalville Special Expenses area or not. If it did, he suggested that the issue should be looked at by the Working Party rather than the Policy Development Group.

 

The consensus of Members was to arrange for a sub group to be established to deal with this issue in advance of the next full meeting of the Working Party. It was agreed that Councillors R Adams, J Cotterill, J Legrys and M Specht would sit on the sub group.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor N Clarke and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

the minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2015 be approved.

6.

Capital Projects Update pdf icon PDF 158 KB

Report of the Leisure Services Team Manager

Minutes:

The Leisure Services Team Manager presented the report to Members.

 

He provided the Working Party with an update on each of the ongoing projects.

 

Coalville Park Improvements

 

It was confirmed that orders had now been placed for the mosaics, decorative metal panels and plants to be installed in the Peace Garden. It was anticipated that installation of these items would be completed by the end of August and that further work would then be undertaken in September so that the project was completed well in advance of Remembrance Day.

 

Councillor J Legrys enquired whether it could be arranged for the Chairman of the District to formally open the Peace Garden once it had been completed. The Leisure Services Team Manager confirmed that this would be arranged.

 

Owen Street Recreation Ground

 

Electricity Upgrade

 

It was confirmed that Homebrook had now visited the site and had provided costed proposals to upgrade the floodlighting lux levels to satisfy the Football Association’s (FA) Ground Grading Requirements. It was noted that the club currently play at Step 4 of the non-league pyramid and that the existing lux levels would be satisfactory for the club to play at Step 3 but no higher.

 

It was stated that Homebrook had presented three different options for the club to consider. The first option was costed at approximately £17,000 and would see all existing fittings replaced with alternatives that omitted lux levels suitable for Step 2 football. The second option was costed at approximately £22,500 and would see all existing fittings replaced as well as an additional fitting being added to each lighting column. This option would be suitable for Step 1 football. The final option was to initially complete Option 1 and then progress with Option 2 at a later date if it became necessary. This option was costed at approximately £25,000.

 

It was noted that there were no allocated resources to undertake these works at present and that, whilst the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) did offer match funding capped at £150,000 to Step 4 clubs for such projects, the club had already accessed this amount in order to develop their changing rooms. Consequently, the club would not be able access any further funding from the FSIF for five years or until they were promoted to Step 2 where the cap was increased to £250,000.

 

Councillor M B Wyatt stated that he firmly believed that the project should not be solely funded by the tax payer and that it should be established how much money the club was intending to contribute to the project itself. He stated that he believed a decision as to how to proceed with the project should be deferred until the club earned promotion.

 

Councillor P Purver enquired whether the costs for Option 3 would increase should the second stage of the project not be needed for a significant amount of time. The Leisure Services Team Manager responded that Options 1 and 2 were firm quotes but that Option 3 was not.

 

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

2015/16 Events Update pdf icon PDF 192 KB

Report of the Cultural Services Team Manager

Minutes:

The Cultural Services Team Manager presented the report to Members.

 

He provided Members with an update on each event.

 

Picnic and Proms in the Park

 

It was confirmed that the Picnic in the Park event had been very well supported with an estimated 7,000 attendees. The feedback that had been received had been very positive with the High Sheriff of Leicestershire being particularly complimentary. As well as several live music acts, the First World War themed area had proved to be particularly popular.

 

It was stated that the Proms in the Park event had also been a success in its first year. It was estimated that 1,700 people attended and that the mix of entertainment had been well received.

 

The Cultural Services Team Manager thanked the Cultural Services Team for all their hard work in planning and delivering the events. He also thanked Members for their attendance and support.

 

Councillor M B Wyatt thanked Officers for the work that had been put in to both the events. He stated that the feedback that he had received was particularly appreciative of the Proms in the Park event as it catered for a different age group. He stated that it was good to see that this event was now established given the uncertainty that had recently surrounded its future.

 

Councillor M Specht offered his congratulations to Officers for running the event. He stated that he thought the number attending the Proms in the Park event would considerably increase if it was held again next year as word of mouth would spread and raise numbers accordingly.

 

Councillor J Cotterill stated that he had been particularly impressed with the First World War themed area. He went on to say that the event had been beautifully organised.

 

Councillor R Adams stated that he had particularly enjoyed the circus tent. He stated that he was disappointed with the lack of public transport on Sundays from the Greenhill area of the town and suggested that this might have meant some people could not have attended. He suggested that this may be an area that could be looked at in future years.

 

Councillor J Legrys stated that this year’s event was one of the strongest yet and that everyone involved should be thanked.

 

Councillor N Clarke reiterated that the event was brilliant and suggested that it offered fantastic value for money given the relatively small budget involved.

 

Councillor J Geary stated that he was very impressed with the quality of the Ockbrook Big Band.

 

Coalville Town Team Summerfest

 

It was confirmed that this event had been successfully held on the same weekend as the Proms and Picnic in the Park events. Activities had included dancing, singing, musical theatre, stalls and food demonstrations.

 

Councillor M B Wyatt stated that the area used for the Summerfest had been restricted to the precinct and that he had received feedback from other business owners who had been disappointed by this.

 

Councillor J Legrys pointed out that the event had been organised by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Coalville Special Expenses 14/15 Out Turn pdf icon PDF 195 KB

Report of the Head of Community Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leisure Services Team Manager presented the report to Members.

 

It was stated that there was an under spending of £17,600 with a contribution to balances of £15,824 leading to an end of year balance of £96,895 in reserves. It was confirmed that the under spend was primarily due to an increase in burial and monument income of £13,000 and a backdated NNDR refund for Thringstone Bowls Club of £6,700.

 

Councillor D Everitt referred to the outstanding reserves and stated that he would favour seeing some allocated toward installing gym equipment at a park in Thringstone.

 

Councillor J Legrys stated that it might be beneficial for all Members of the Working Party to submit to Officers any projects that they had in mind which could then be considered at the next meeting.

 

Councillor P Purver stated that she believed that the funding given towards Christmas lighting in Coalville was fairly modest and asked whether the Working Party might consider putting more of their budget towards this.

 

The consensus of Members was to convene a sub group consisting of all Members of the Working Party to discuss future projects in advance of the next meeting.

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

the Working Party notes the report.

9.

Dates of Future Meetings

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Tuesday, 19 April 2016

Minutes:

Members noted the dates of the future meetings.

 

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 13 October 2015 at 6.30pm in the Board Room.