COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & LEISURE COMMITTEE

8 March 2001

(2.30 - 5.16pm)

PRESENT: Councillors J. Rosenstiel (Chair), Benstead, Callaghan, Dixon, Ellis-Miller, Levison, Reed, M Schofield and Taylor.

FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE COUNCIL

01/d/19 MINUTES

Councillor Reed advised that Councillor Callaghan’s interests had been incorrectly minuted. The minute should read “01/d/03 Councillor Callaghan (01/d/07) as a member of Black Women’s Support Group and Trustee of Ethnic Community Forum and Cambridge Women’s Resources Centre.”

Subject to this correction, the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

01/d/20 APOLOGIES

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Dryden.

01/d/21 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The following Code of Conduct (non-financial) interests were declared:-

Councillor Dixon (minute reference 01/d/27) as Council observer on Citizens Advice Bureau.

Councillors Benstead, Levison and Schofield (01/d/27) as Council observers on The Junction

Councillor Ellis-Miller (01/d/27) as a user of Romsey Mill

Councillor Callaghan (01/d/27) as a member of Black Women’s Support Group and Trustee of Ethnic Community Forum and Cambridge Women’s’ Resources Centre

Councillor Reed (01/d/27) as Council observer on Centre 33

Councillor Rosenstiel (01/d/27) as a user of Cambridge Drama Centre and the Folk Museum; as a trustee for Student Community Action.

Councillor Schofield (01/d/23) as assisting Cambridge City Youth Partnership produce its Business Plan

Pecuniary (financial) Interests:-

Councillor Rosenstiel (01/d/27) as an employee of Cruse Bereavement Care.

01/d/22 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

There were none.

01/d/23 PETITION – CAMBRIDGE CITY YOUTH PARTNERSHIP (CCYP)

The Chair waived Standing Order 71.6(b) to allow consideration of a petition signed by 92 young people.

Loic Menzies, Sarah Hewitt and Sabrina Kavanagh presented the petition:

“ We the undersigned, agree that the young people of Cambridge would benefit from a central Café-style venue specifically designed for and aimed at young people”

The petitioners advised the Committee that there was nothing for young people to do in Cambridge and ‘The Base’ concept had been developed by the Partnership to resolve this. A property owned by the City Council (9 Norfolk Street) had been identified as an ideal location for a young people’s venue. A pilot project had been run in summer 1999 at CB1 which had proved popular, particularly with 13-14 year olds.

In response to a question from the Chair, Stuart Wood for the CCYP advised the Committee that the Business Plan would be available in April. The Committee noted that a further meeting would take place between the Chair and the CCYP to discuss further the points made at Committee and that a report would be considered by the Committee on 28 June.

Resolved that the petition be referred to the next meeting of the Committee on 28 June for consideration.

Action by: Head of Community Development

01/d/24 REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGETS, CARRY FORWARDS AND SIGINIFICANT VARIANCES

The Committee supported the proposal to allocate the estimated £1,500 carry forward from the PDP High Flyers fund to projects on the PDP reserve list in consultation with Chair and Spokes.

With reference to the carry forward of £15,000 on the Children’s Festival, Councillor Reed proposed an amendment:

“That the £15,000 carry forward be allocated to detached youth work in 2001/02 covering the Children’s Festival and other arts activity.”

The amendment was lost by 3 votes to 6.

Resolved that members seek approval from City Board to carry forward an estimated total of £117,670 budgets, detailed in Appendix A, from 2000/01 into 2001/02

Action by Director of Finance

01/d/25 ECONOMIC POLICY STATEMENT: YEAR TWO REVIEW, YEAR THREE PROGRAMME

The Committee noted that the Year Three Programme had been approved by Environment Committee on 6 March. As Economic Policy Grants and the Employment Foundation Scheme reported to Community Development and Leisure Committee, it had been considered appropriate for the Statements to be reported and endorsed.

Resolved to endorse the Statements on the Year Two and Year Three Programmes.

01/d/26 BEST VALUE REVIEW: EMPLOYMENT FOUNDATION SCHEME FINAL REPORT

Councillor Taylor stated that the appended maps of the City illustrated that service delivery appeared to be less in the south and west despite similar deprivation indices to other areas. The officers stated that the service needed to be effective in all areas and would address this.

In response to points made by Councillor Reed, the officers stated that current accommodation for EFS was insufficient and adequate space remained a long term objective. Accommodation in Gwydir Street has been found as a consequence of winning the Employment Service contract but discussions with City Services regarding the use of the Mill Road site would be on-going.

Councillor Stuart stated that the service failed to match trainees to jobs and was of the view that either the service itself or the way performance was measured should be changed to reflect this.

Resolved to approve the Employment Foundation Scheme Best Value Report and Action Plan.

Action by Director of Environment and Planning

01/d/27 FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO VOLUNTARY AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS 2001-02 (Community Development, Leisure and Economic Development)

Relate had informed councillors and officers that the allocated grant of £500 would be insufficient to meet its needs in 2001-02. The organisation would submit an application for additional funds to the June meeting of the Committee.

Resolved

1) To confirm the allocation of revenue grants for Community Development voluntary and not-for-profit organisations for 2001 –02 listed in Appendix 1. (Councillor Callaghan did not speak or vote on the grants for Ethnic Community Forum or Cambridge Women’s Resources Centre; Councillor Rosenstiel did not speak or vote on the grants for Student Community Action or Cruse)

2) To confirm the allocation of revenue grants for Economic Policy voluntary and not-for-profit organisations for 2001-02 listed in Appendix 2.

3) To allocate an additional £11,750 to the Junction CDC’s grant allocation for 2001-02, increasing its total grant to £182,750

4) To confirm the allocation of revenue grants for Leisure voluntary and not-for-profit organisations for 2001-02 listed in Appendix 3.

5) To confirm Community Development economic Policy and Leisure grants budget financial statements detailed in Section 4

6) To consider feedback from applicant groups on 2001-02 grants procedures, detailed in Appendix 4.

7) To approve recommendations for 2001-02 discretionary rate relief for Community Development organisations listed in Appendix 5.

8) To approve recommendations for 2001-02 discretionary rate relief for Economic Policy organisations listed in Appendix 6.

9) To approve recommendations for 2001-02 discretionary rate relief for Leisure organisations listed in Appendix 7.

10) To approve the criteria for funds reserved for specific purposes in Community Development and Leisure 2001-02 grants budgets detailed in Sections 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4

Action by: Director of Environment and Planning

and Director of Community Services

01/d/28 THE JUNCTION CDC RENT REVIEW

Resolved to approve an increase in The Junction CDC 2000/01 grant of £1900 to reflect increased rent on its premises.

01/d/29 DISCRETIONARY RATE RELIEF 2000-2001

Resolved to approve DRR at 20% (cost £939.94) subject to the receipt of satisfactory financial information in reference to Arbury Community Association.

01/d/30 THE ‘DEC’ PROGRAMME 2001/02

The Committee received a tabled appendix to the report from the Head of Community Development listing the determining criteria. It was noted that in paragraph 4, Abbey ward had been missed off and should be included on Wednesday 7-9pm.

In response to comments made by members of the Committee it was agreed that further consultation should take place with Ward Councillors on The Dec programme (eg. was there a logistical difficulty in putting Queen Ediths with Arbury?). It was noted, however, that the programme had been developed to fit in with the existing service.

Councillor Reed welcomed the criteria and suggested that the service should run alongside detached youth work. The Chair stated that this could be discussed further with partners and the County Council.

Councillor Reed proposed an amendment “that officers investigate the possibility of £15,000 for detached youth work alongside The Dec, funded through partnerships, the County Council and Youth Offending Team. If no progress is made after two months, then from City Council funding.”

The amendment was lost by 3 votes to 5.

The Chair proposed that officers look at ways in which opportunities for further detached youth work in the city in the coming year can be progressed. This was passed by 5 votes to 0.

Resolved to approve the 2001-2002 proposed programme of work set out in section 4, subject to the approved additions above.

Action by Head of Community Development

01/d/31 NUN’S WAY NEIGHBOURHOOD PARK DEVELOPMENT – PROJECT APPRAISAL

Resolved to approve the Project Appraisal.

Action by: Director of Community Services

01/d/32 CYCLE PATH: SHELFORD ROAD / FOSTER ROAD

Resolved

1) To grant a permissive right for cycling on the public footpath linking Shelford Road and Foster Road.

2) To approve the construction of an asphalt path along the route.

01/d/33 PARKSIDE POOLS – LOTTERY FUNDING

The Chair ruled that under s100B(4)b the report be received and considered despite not being publicly available three clear days before the meeting (it was placed on deposit 5 March). The urgency was by virtue of the fact that decisions were required to be taken by the Committee prior to the matter being considered by City Board on 26 March.

The Committee noted that as an update to the report, officers were recommending further discussions with Sport England on the detail of what the £403,062 could be used for as both the Council and Sport England were keen to ensure the money was spent appropriately in expanding sport participation. It was noted that reports to the Committee (and City Board) would follow in light of these discussions.

Labour members of the Committee and Councillor Stuart questioned whether the additional money would be spent solely on Parkside Pools. The Chair stated that the purpose of the report at this stage was primarily to set up an earmarked fund. The Chief Executive re-iterated that further reports to the Committee and City Board would be provided after discussions with Sport England.

The Committee broadly supported the schemes in Schedule A and noted that those in Schedule B would be considered during the Best Value Review of the Sports Services . It was agreed that no decision on spending would be made until there had been further discussions with Sport England.

Resolved to request that City Board set up an earmarked fund for further developments at Parkside Pools, based on the amount of the underspend on the original scheme.

Action by: Director of Finance

01/d/34 APPOINTMENT TO SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

As no nominations had been received for the Romsey vacancy, the Committee agreed that the nomination to the School be made after consultation with Chair and spokes.

01/d/35 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

The Committee noted that a report on proposals for the 2002 Memorial Day would be submitted in June.

The meeting ended at 5.16 pm.

CHAIR

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