TRURO CITY COUNCIL
Town Clerk’s Department Municipal Buildings Boscawen Street Truro TR1 2NE Tel. (01872) 274766 Fax. (01872) 225572
CITY OF TRURO www.truro.gov.uk
Roger Gazzard email: [email protected] Town Clerk
FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
THURSDAY 20 APRIL 2017
A G E N D A
1. Welcome by the Right Worshipful the Mayor of Truro (Councillor R Nolan)
2. Disclosure or Declarations of Interest
3. Apologies for absence
4. Minutes of the 43rd Annual Town Meeting held on 21 April 2016 (hereto)
5. Reports attached from:
• The Town Clerk • Parks and Amenities Officer and Parks Chairman • Community Development Officer • Tourist Information Centre Manager • Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee • Chairman of the Planning Committee
6. To consider items raised by Electors of the City of Truro
ROGER GAZZARD TOWN CLERK
CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL TOWN MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 21 APRIL 2016 at 7.00 pm in the Council Chamber, Municipal Buildings, Boscawen Street, Truro
PRESENT: Mayor of Truro (Councillor Mrs Eathorne-Gibbons) (In the Chair) Councillors Mrs Callen, Mrs Carlyon, Desmonde, Ellis, Jones, Charlotte MacKenzie, Mrs Nolan, Ms Southcombe, Tamblyn and Wells
Truro Residents present: Mr D Solomon Mr M Eathorne-Gibbons CC
APOLOGIES: Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors Mrs Andrews, Mrs Cox, Jenkin, Nolan, Mrs Neale and Rich
1 DISCLOSURE OR DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no disclosures or declarations of interest reported.
2 INTRODUCTION The Mayor, Councillor Mrs Eathorne-Gibbons, welcomed members of the Council, and the Truro residents present, to the forty-third Annual Town Meeting, of the City of Truro to be held since Local Government Re-Organisation in 1974.
3 MINUTES The Minutes of the forty-third Annual Town Meeting held 23 April 2015, having been circulated, were approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.
4 CHAIRMAN AND MANAGERS’ REPORTS The following reports, having being previously circulated, were discussed:-
Report of the Mayor Town Clerk Parks and Amenities Officer Parks Chairman Finance and General Purposes Chairman Planning Committee Chairman Tourist Information Centre Manager Community Development Officer
Councillor Mrs Eathorne-Gibbons, thanked the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen for their outstanding service.
5 ITEMS RAISED BY ELECTORS (i) Cornwall Council Mr Solomon asked whether the Cornwall Council’s financial situation was impacting on Truro City Council. The Finance and General Purposes Committee Chairman confirmed Cornwall Council were in the process of devolving more and more services to the City Council and this was the main reason for the increase in precept this year. ANNUAL TOWN MEETING - THURSDAY 23 APRIL 2016
(ii) Maintenance Team It was also reported the City Council were in the process of employing two maintenance men to carry out general repairs such as dealing with the weed problem in the City and all odd jobs which at the moment, were carried out by local contractors.
(iii) The Swanpool Following a question regarding the state of the Swanpool, it was confirmed it was to be dredged during this financial year.
6 CLOSE OF MEETING There being no further questions the Mayor thanked everyone for their attendance and declared the forty-third Annual Town Meeting closed.
The meeting closed at 7.10 pm.
------MAYOR
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CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2016/2017 REPORT FROM THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR OF TRURO COUNCILLOR R NOLAN
It has been an eventful Mayoral year for me. The first half of the year was much busier in terms of engagements than last time I was Mayor in 2010/11. There have been some big problems starting off with the City of Lights organisers announcing in the West Briton that the procession would this year be taking place in Victoria Gardens. We were all a bit startled, and I invited them in for a chat. The problem was they had no money so Truro City Council agreed to underwrite their costs, up to a limit, and I invited Totally Truro to share the cost. The procession went ahead and the feedback was good. Not only was it a successful event, our getting involved with funding meant the street collections improved dramatically. The event is now on a much sounder financial footing and will go ahead again this year.
The next big problem was the street drinkers. Over the summer we noticed a big increase in the number of homeless people in town, and a separate group, who we have called street drinkers, who have caused us a good deal of trouble. I organised a series of meetings with the Police, St Petroc's, Cornwall Council and all of the agencies involved with homelessness and I had regular meetings with NatWest Bank who had a particular issue with people camping outside their premises. It has been a very difficult period, but now Cornwall Council have established a task force, and perhaps more importantly funded them properly, and I think we are seeing some progress. One of the outreach workers from St Petrocs described the Task Force as the most exciting and promising group he had worked with, and I think we should take some pride in the role the City Council has played in the creation of this group.
A fairly irritating storm was the row that developed over the European City of Culture bid. I have been called a liar simply for not knowing about something. I think that reflects badly on the people who did that, and I will leave it there. Perhaps as a result of seeing the organisers of the bid in action, I have deep reservations about its likely success, but we have now agreed to support the bid and a City Council representative will attend their meetings. We shall see how it proceeds.
We finally brought our Neighbourhood Plan into action. Five long years of work culminated in a successful referendum, and I thank every member of this Council and Kenwyn Council for the work they have put into this over the years. Ian Hibbert has turned the Save Truro website into a handy guide to the Neighbourhood Plan. We have suggested that officers at Cornwall Council take a good long look at it, and perhaps make a few notes.
We employed a maintenance team to carry out the weeding that Cornwall Council had walked away from. The team, and some apprentices did a great job and we received many comments of support and appreciation.
We had the pleasure of a visit from Prince William and Kate. People ask me what were they like? As I only met them for five minutes I do not really know, but I am surprised when I read criticism of them in the papers for being lazy. The young couple I met were charming, interested in people and spent a lot of time making sure that everyone that had come to see them got a hand shake or a wave.
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Our Parks Department goes from strength to strength, and whilst the acquisition of new nurseries at Idless, on a field very kindly donated by Miss Connie Fozzard, is keeping them busy at the moment, it will see us stepping up a league in what we can deliver.
Last time I was Mayor I raised approximately £1,200 for charity. This year we are on about £8,000 so far, and hoping to raise £10,000 for ROC. This is almost entirely due to Councillor Mrs Eathorne-Gibbons and Karen Hurn, a formidable team of fund raisers and I thank them for their work.
A sad note in the year was the loss of our dear friend Reg Bowyer. Reg loved Truro, and that showed in his remorseless harrying of Officers and Councillors to protect our City from inappropriate development. Truro has lost a very fine servant.
Finally thanks to the Mayor Elect John Tamblyn for his friendship and support during the past year. I hope that the year ahead for John, is not as interesting as the year I have had.
Councillor R Nolan Mayor of Truro 2016/2017
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CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2016/2017 REPORT OF ROGER GAZZARD, TOWN CLERK
This was the last complete year of the four year term of the Council which was elected in May 2013. In October 2013 the Council agreed a strategy “Our Plans 2013-2017” which details the Mission Statement, Objectives, and priority action areas to focus its work during the period. During 2016-17 the Objectives have been reviewed to account for the changing needs and priorities.
It is particularly important with the devolution of services and transfer of assets from Cornwall Council that the Council should consider its future role in its community; and therefore its operational priorities going forward. Importantly, the Council continues to hold the “General Power of Competence” which provides a greater legal freedom to undertake functions and duties.
Operationally the year was a very success one. Some of the highpoints were: -
• The very high standard of floral displays in the City, which together with a large number of community volunteers contributed to success in the Britain in Bloom competition with the award of the coveted “Gold” standard;
• The continued management of the Public Conveniences, providing a benefit to the City Centre economy and for the health and wellbeing of the community;
• The continuing contribution of the Tourist Information Centre in marketing the City as a tourism destination, and in particular the additional in house work in the second year of publication of the revised format Truro Guide, and the development of the new;
• The success of the Neighbourhood Plan, prepared with Kenwyn Parish Council, which at a public referendum in November received the overwhelming support (85%) of voters.
The Council as an organisation is in a sound state. It has good governance procedures and operates in an efficient manner. The services provided are in the public eye and the standard of work is high, and recognised as such by independent examination. The administration, necessary for a public organisation spending public money, is carried out efficiently and at minimum cost.
The challenge in the last financial year and into the future is to maintain these standards whilst facing the external pressures that the economic recession and reduction in public spending bring with them. Indeed it is at these times when the need for the services the Council provides is at its greatest.
The Council has continued its Community Development work during the year which brings significant social and community benefits to the communities involved.
In financial terms the year was a good year. The Council has a sound budget setting process and a record of operating strictly within financial targets. The significant variation from the planned expenditure for the year was due to the delay in the devolution of assets and services from Cornwall Council, particularly the library. This will result in an underspend in excess of £100k from the original budget. The budget for the year estimated expenditure at £1.915m with income from sales and fees at £303k, income from the Council Tax Support Grant £100k resulting in a
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ratepayer charge of £1,512k. The Council’s reserves are sound with a Revenue Reserve balance, which is the only non-committed reserve, standing at 10% of the annual precept.
In addition to the strategy work above the Parks Committee continues to work on a ten year asset development plan with structural maintenance and plant and vehicle strategies already in place. A replacement plant nursery at Idless has planning permission and development work has started.
The Council benefits from a dedicated and hard working team of employees. It would be wrong to mention any individuals as all make a contribution to the Council’s success.
Roger Gazzard April 2017 Town Clerk
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CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2016/2017 REPORT FROM THE FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES CHAIRMAN COUNCILLOR S V RODEN
The year has once again been a busy one with continued pressure on the City Council to step in to devolve services and assets from Cornwall Council.
A major issue which faced the Local Council sector in the year was the threat by central government of being “capped” in the amount we could raise through council tax. The so called “referendum principles” would have capped additional funding at 2% or £5 per elector. If this kind of restriction had applied in the past it would have prevented the council from taking on services like the public toilets or transferring the Library. There was a concerted national campaign supported by the City Council and the proposal was withdrawn at the 11th hour. However the threat still remains and we must remain vigilant and seek to keep council tax rises to reasonable amounts whilst retaining the freedom to protect and improve local services.
For the coming year the Council has set the precept at 2.1% and below £5.00. Given the range and extent of the services which we now provide this is great news and is great value for money. This a tribute to the work of the Town Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer in putting the City Council finances in such a strong position.
We continue our negotiations with Cornwall Council about devolving assets back to the City Council.
There has been a delay in the transfer of the Library building in Pydar Street although talks are still progressing and we hope to conclude them soon. We have worked closely with the Trustees and I am grateful for their support. We hope to conclude this at the earliest opportunity to ensure the long term security of a Library service in Truro. We continue to work to improve the services we have already taken over and, the cycle route at Coosebean has been transferred to our ownership. We are also in negotiations regarding the transfer of Carrick Sports Hall and the “ZEBs” building in the Leats run by Young People Cornwall. We hope to conclude these talks in the near future.
The Tourist Information Centre continues to prosper and is extremely successful. Many centres around the country have closed due to funding cuts. Truro took the decision many years ago to continue to develop our services and it has paid dividends. We now work closely with Visit Cornwall and the Truro BIDs scheme to promote Truro and also assist the local community in making improvement to the local amenities. I would like to place on record the thanks of the City Council to the managers, Abi and Kathryn and all the staff of the Tourist Information Centre.
It was widely reported last year that the City of Lights Festival may not go ahead due to lack of funding. This has become a major event in the life of the City and has been run very successfully by an independent group since its inception. Unfortunately, due to cuts to arts funding nationally, the grants which had previously supported the event were no longer available. The City Council was asked at the last minute to step in and underwrite the
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Festival. We took the decision to do this and pledged up to £25,000. This enabled the festival to go ahead and it was as always, a marvellous success with regional wide TV coverage and massive crowds. The public collections on the evening raised almost £10,000 which meant the City Council contribution was reduced. The Council has been working with the board of the City of Lights to make it a year round activity and to involve the local communities in Truro. We also wanted to assist with putting the event on a stronger financial footing. The City Council received a report at its last meeting which was very positive and we have agreed to contribute our normal £2,000 for this year’s event. I would like to place on record the City Council’s thanks to Councillor Andrew Lancaster who has represented the City Council on their board and has helped put the festival in a much stronger position going forward.
In the past few weeks there was a threat to the closures of the popular coffee bar at Boscawen Park. Many residents expressed concern as it has become a focal point of activity at the park. We acted quickly to step in and arrange for the City Council to take over the café to ensure it could continue. We were able to do this as it fitted in with the longer term plans of the Council and could be funded through our reserves which will be fully paid back over time. I am grateful for the support of the Chairman of Parks and Amenities Councillor Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons and the Mayor Rob Nolan for working so quickly to achieve this positive outcome. I must also thank Richard Budge our Parks and Amenities Manager who worked over and above during evenings and weekends to facilitate this successful transaction at such short notice.
The community development worker scheme goes from strength to strength and we have decided to appoint an assistant worker. We now have a regular column in Truro Community News listing all the activities we undertake. The Truro Community News has been very supportive to the Council in publicising our work and I would like to thank them for their support. There are now active community associations on Malabar, Trelander and Malpas Road. I would like to thank Damien Richards the Community Development Worker for all his hard work in assisting local people and responding to their concerns.
The Council took the decision a few years ago to implement the National Living Wage foundation pay rates. The City Council took the view that it should set an example to be an ethical employer. We have now undertaken a thorough review of the Councils Single Status Agreement to modernise and harmonise the terms and conditions for the Council’s staff.
I would like to thank the Vice-Chairman of the Committee Honorary Freeman Councillor Chris Wells who is a constant source of sound advice and keeps the Committee on track procedurally.
I believe the Council is in a strong position both financially and as importantly in the regard it is held by local citizens. It has been an honour and pleasure to chair the Committee and I would like finally to thank all the members and officers I have worked with over the last year.
Stuart Roden Chairman Finance and General Purposes Committee.
Report from the Parks and Amenities Manager and the Chairman of the Parks and Amenities Committee 2016 - 2017
It has been a delight to serve as Chairman of the Parks and Amenities Committee this year. It is a great joy to support our wonderful Parks staff who do so much to make our City beautiful. No wonder we are held up as a beacon of achievement to other towns and villages in the South West, and Nationally. The past twelve month period has been busier than ever for the Parks and Amenities Department of the City Council. We have had the great pleasure of setting up a new maintenance team which firstly tackled many of the street weed problems in and around the City and the outlying streets. Since that time, they have been carrying out repairs to public conveniences, following many spates of vandalism from which we unfortunately suffer. They are also now in the process of constructing the new nursery site at Idless. The fencing and installation of a new driveway and gateways is now complete. Shortly they will start the construction of the new service sheds. We’ve also recently purchased some poly-tunnels at auction, following the closure of the Trewithen Nursery at Probus. The land for the new nursery site was very kindly and generously gifted to the City Council by former Mayor and Chairman of Parks Committee, Miss Constance Fozzard. This is a unique legacy to leave behind, as many of her forefathers did before her.
We have the added excitement this year of planning the refurbishment of all the tennis courts at Boscawen Park by resurfacing, renewing all the fencing, installing new gate systems and upgrading the existing floodlights. This will include a new on-line booking system for ‘pay and play’ tennis with fitted coded gates to ensure access will be easier for Truro’s tennis players. We are planning to demolish and re-instate the current tennis pavilion, which, sadly after many years of great service, is no longer financially viable to repair. Due to the many years of constant flooding, the current framework has rotted away and is becoming unsafe. The intention is to rebuild the Pavilion with smaller changing facilities incorporating public conveniences at one end. We believe that the existing ones are in the wrong area of the Park. This will allow people using the car park the ability to use these facilities on arrival or exit. We are also considering extending the café into the new
1 tennis facilities. This will enable tennis monies to be paid via the café management team, rather than the Park Attendants, improving access to the courts. With the new Nursery site at Idless there is an exciting opportunity for the redevelopment of our current Nursery site. Mervyn Steed, the Parks Officer in the 1960s and 1970s who created the original Nursery, said at the time that it was not the correct location but it was the only option at that time. We are also investigating the possibility of installing a multi-sport facility, working with Truro Cricket Club. Our public conveniences have once again been looked after ‘in-house’ and, despite a huge amount of vandalism, have on the whole have been maintained to a higher standard. Sadly this year, the Friends of Victoria Gardens’ Heritage Lottery Fund application for the refurbishment and redecoration of Victoria Gardens was turned down. They are currently taking stock and hoping to re-energise themselves to move forward and carry out a further application process.
We have also had success this year with the establishment of the Friends of Daubuz Moor. They are considering how to implement improvements for wildlife and the visitor experience (including accessibility, education and interpretation). They aim to achieve better accessibility for prams and wheelchairs throughout the whole Moor. This will provide a wider range of opportunities for people to enjoy this wonderful and unique space. We will investigate how to improve wildlife management in the area and possibly the return of grazing animals to increase grass species. This would encourage butterflies and other
2 wildlife and discourage more of the invasive grass species.
It has been a difficult year for two of our long serving members of staff who have had sickness issues. It has been challenging to cover these particular roles and I would like to thank the staff who have managed to help cover them. We hope they can return in the near future. This year Boscawen Park has seen more people using, and enjoying, our facilities, mainly due to the installation of the new play area and equipment two years ago. This has had a profound impact on parking. Many people are parking on the road and causing congestion problems, especially to those from the village of Malpas. We have been working in liaison with Cormac Solutions and there is now restricted parking on the public highway. We have had significant problems with commuters leaving their cars which has added to the problem on the highway. It is hoped that we will be able to achieve a restricting order, limiting parking within the car park to help our visitors.
3 We have also just taken over the ownership and management of the Café. This will now link in very well with the proposals for the tennis centre and construction of a new tennis pavilion to incorporate public toilets and Café.
We have a very busy and exciting summer ahead of us with new entertainment taking place at Boscawen Park on a monthly basis including local bands playing live on the performance area on Sunday afternoons. We also have our usual National Play Day on the first
4 Wednesday in August. Our traditional brass band concerts will take place in Victoria Gardens every Sunday from 14 May to 10 September. There will also be childrens’ entertainment and activities every Monday to Saturday at Victoria Gardens and Hendra Play Area throughout August. Don’t forget that on Easter Saturday 15 April we have our annual Easter Egg Hunt at Victoria Gardens taking place 9 – 11am. Truro has once again been selected to represent the South West in the National Britain in Bloom finals in the Large Town category in August.
As Parks and Amenities Manager, I take this opportunity to thank Councillors and the Parks and Amenities Committee for their support, and the Chairman of the Committee, Councillor Mrs Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons, for all her support in everything we do within the Parks and Amenities Department. Most of all, I’d like to thank the wonderful team of staff we have in the Parks and Amenities Department who are ably managed by the Deputy Parks Manager, Liam Shoesmith. We would both like to thank Administrator and Parks and Amenities Secretary, Cheryl Simpson for her efforts in keeping both myself, the Chairman of Parks and Amenities Committee and the Committee itself on the straight and narrow and undertaking all the administration for us. As Chairman, I add my personal thanks to those already expressed. We have a City of which we can be proud, due to the hard work and commitment of Richard Budge, Liam Shoesmith, our Parks and Office staff, and a very willing Committee. Thank you.
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CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2016/2017 REPORT FROM COUNCILLOR IAN JONES, CHAIRMAN, PLANNING COMMITTEE
This year will always be remembered for the sad loss of a planning stalwart Councillor Reg Bowyer. Councillor Bowyer and I did not see eye to eye on more than one issue, but it is safe to say that not just myself but everyone on the Planning Committee misses his experience; always first to ask the difficult question, he made sure that all bases were covered, and we do sadly miss him. It is incredibly difficult at this time of uncertainty over the signs policy within our Neighbourhood Plan that we cannot call upon his vast knowledge and experience. Talking of the Neighbourhood Plan; it has now been adopted by Cornwall Council, and does seem to work and I would recommend that all Councillors look at the online site. A big thank to my cycling pal Ian Hibberd for his work on the site, it’s a great piece of work and will prove to be very helpful, if you need to know something about the Neighbourhood Plan the answer is there. After the teething problems with paperless planning last year we do now seem to have on the whole mastered it. This has only been made possible by the brilliant work of both Rachael Rowe and Paul Rickard, I know that without their help I would have struggled to cope with the increased workload, so keep up the good work. The Planning Committee would not work without either of you. Next I need to say a big thank you to the vice chair of planning Councillor Adam Desmonde. His views on design are most welcome at our monthly planning meetings and his help in setting the agenda benefits not just myself but also the office staff, we all seem to learn something, which I believe is what planning should be about. The Planning Committee is at present working on the signs policy and trying to find an answer to allow both the applicant and any objectors to speak at our meetings, another step on the road to updating what we do. So back to how I started my report with the sad loss of Councillor Reg Bowyer, in the time since his passing I have often found myself wondering how he would feel about the problems we now have with signs within the conservation area and how he would fix it. He would, I believe, leave no stone unturned, he would find every book from the past and he would come up with an answer, and we owe it to Reg to ensure that as planners we must do the same. So, it’s on to the elections in May and I would like to wish all standing members the best of luck, and hopefully the people of Truro will think we have done a good enough job, to re-elect us.
Councillor Ian Jones Planning Chairman Truro City Council
CITY OF TRURO
TRURO CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL TOWN MEETING 2017/2018 REPORT FROM VISIT TRURO TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
The Tourist Information office continue to see our footfall numbers increase together with spending in the shop as well as developing Truro as a destination. In the last twelve months we have seen an increase of interest from American visitors, this was also in evidence at the British Tourism show, where a number of overseas operators were interested in Truro to use as their base, due to good transport links.
Website
The new www.visittruro.org.uk site went live late last year, and has been designed to be as user friendly as possible.
The site has lots of information about Truro, accommodation, offers, as well as a comprehensive What’s on Guide in date order. We are now working hard to drive more traffic to the site through social media as well as working closely with Truro BID to list every “tourism related” business on the site within the BID area. This can be challenging due to the frequent changes in Truro.
The site offers extra advertising opportunities in the form of a tile on the home page which can link through to the product page where full details can be found on the businesses. We offer very competitive rates and have already had a few businesses take up the offer.
New Map
We are delighted we finally have a new City centre map design and one that the City Council own. The new map currently is in a “tear off” pad format with two sides. One side is a detailed City centre map and the other side has an outer area map as well as lots of information on Truro, public transport and full details regarding ourselves.
Truro BID has also taken the decision to use the map for the new signage project; this will give a coherent message to the visitor endeavouring to find their way round the City.
We have had very positive feedback from our customers regarding the map who find this a very effective way of navigating around the City.
Visit Cornwall
We continue to operate as Visit Cornwall’s contact centre and have increased some of the services we offer to them including bulk distribution of all Cornwall guides and the point of contact for the visitor to Cornwall.
Truro Guide
2016 saw the start of the new style guide format with three seasonal guides being published each year, Spring, Summer and Winter. We have been distributing the guide throughout Cornwall and feel it has had a positive impact on the City. We will carry this format for 2017. We also continue to produce a separate Accommodation Guide with a membership package.
Retail
The shop has seen an increase in customers and we continue to stock locally sourced products for sale. We are also continually looking at ways of increasing tickets sales working in partnership with the Cornish Riviera Box Office (CRBO) and Fal River. Opportunities are also actively being sought for the future of the TIC with the forthcoming development of the Hall for Cornwall.
Walking Tours
From May to September this popular walk will again be running, the tour was developed by ourselves in partnership with the Blue Badge guides. It is hoped to look at developing the tour to possibly include some of the buildings in Truro which are not always accessible to members of the public.
Staffing
Staffing has changed a lot over the last twelve months with maternity and adoption leave. The new and returning members of staff work well together as a team to bring the best customer service we can offer.
Abi Steel TIC Manager
April 2017
April 2017 Report Damien Richards Community Development Officer Truro City Council
Introduction
Hello, my role is to support communities in Truro to carry on the great work they are doing, organise events in communities and help them grow the use of their centres and have strong, open and well governed committees. My main work is based at the 3 largest estates in Truro, Trelander and St. Clements, Malabar and Malpas Road but I am always looking to engage with other areas in Truro. It is known that community development engagement can lead to stronger, safer communities and a greater wellbeing of the residents.
I will base this simple report with the following information:
• At what level my engagement is at Trelander and St. Clements, Malabar and Malpas Road is, how they are now doing and what difference I have made there. • My past and coming activity in City events such as; City of Lights and St. Pirrans Day. • Community engagement of new areas and other activity.
Trelander and St. Clements
Trelander has a great community hall run by an efficient community association. My relationship with the association has been a close one since I started in August 2015 and I have worked with them to identify and fix areas that would help them grow and be a more open association. Some of the key projects I have been involved with or/and developed are:
• Supporting Truro Community Football, based in Trelander and play at Tremorvah Field, this project is set up to be a place for socially isolated people to get together playing a game of football.
• I attend and support all Trelander and St. Clements Community Association meetings. • Organised a Community learning opportunity of I.T training and assistance in obtaining laptops to be used in the community for internet use and education. • I have developed and manage a community Facebook page, which keeps followers up to date with what is happening in the community and centre. • Wrote and worked on delivering the proposal for a youth work partnership with Beechwood Parc Community Association and delivered by Young People Cornwall (see poster above). Malabar
The community at Malabar has come a long way since April last year. My priority for Malabar was to create an active community association there, as when I arrived in post, the previous New Beginning Community Association (NBCA) was defunct and I realised how import it was to regenerate the group. In the last year, the group that I created have exceeded all expectations. I continue to work very closely and support NBCA and Some of the key projects I have been involved with or/and developed are:
• Organised and held a community AGM for the regeneration of NBCA. • 11 new committee members joined and strong officers were elected, a new chair, secretary, treasurer and developed a new position of a publicity officer. • Organised a community litterpick and BBQ in May last year, 26 in attendance including coverage by Laurence Reed of Radio Cornwall and a write up in the West Briton. • Youth work started there back in September last year. • NBCA entered City of Lights and St. Pirans Day Parade • I negotiated with Cornwall Council to install 3 new multipurpose bins for the area.
Malpas Road
There has been some steady work continuing at Malpas Road and with Malpas Road Community Centre over 2016 – 2017. Malpas Road Community Association (MRCA) are very open and always keen to have new members join them to get involved with the events that take place at the centre and further into the community. The Centre is busy and delivers the following:
Monday: 9am – 4pm - COAST
Coast Project is a community mentoring course for people with learning disabilities aimed at improving and promoting independence. People we support learn about their local communities, travel, socialising, computers and other life skills subjects.
Tuesday: 10:30 – 11:30 - Exercise Class followed by tea and coffee
1:00 – 4:00 – Children’s Centre Services
Wednesday: 9am – 4pm – COAST
Thursday: 12:00 – 2:30 – Children’s Centre Services
Friday: 10:00 – 11:30 – Stay and Play
Saturday: 10:00 – 12:00 – Coffee Morning
Some of the key projects I have been involved with or/and developed are:
• I support and attend every MRCA meeting. • I organised the installation of a new solar inverter at the community centre. • Work alongside the Cornwall Councillor for the ward to deliver a monthly Community Film Night. • Set up free Drums4Fun percussions workshops for residents. • Facilitated MRCA to work with Miracle Theatre on the production at Boscawen Park
My involvement with City events
I love being a part of the events in the City and what I really want to see is more community involvement in high profile events such as Truro City of Lights, St. Pirans Day and Truro Day. We are still very early in the year for a couple of these events but the planning will start to take place and I am on the planning group for Truro City of Lights and am a part of the St. Pirans Day celebrations. My agenda at City event meetings is to promote communities in Truro to be able to get involved and it puts me into a position at community associations to support them to get involved if they wish so.
I was very pleased to be a part of:
• Truro City of Lights in November 2016 • Truro St. Pirans Day Parade and celebration in March 2017
Community engagement in new areas and other activity
Because the values of Community Development are strong in me I am always keen to engage with communities that may have never had engagement. I want to encourage and support communities to have more ownership over the areas where they live which can have a multitude of positive impacts. Some of the new engagement I am working on in Truro are:
• Tregurra I wanted to work with the ‘Malabar Model’ at Tregurra which worked very well with the benefits you can see on the Malabar section above. Tregurra has not had community engagement it is going very well, I delivered a survey to residents in September 2016 and received a good response. Following this was a public meeting in October, more structured meetings in December, February and March where at the March meeting it was decided the group would be constituted and be called ‘Tregurra Residents Association’. The advantages of developing in this way is that the group will be able to open a bank account and apply for funding for things such as; community improvements, community events and so on…. the sky is the limit there!
Please take a look at the group coming together:
• Pen an Dre Pen an Dre is a new development in Truro and is a mixture of private and Devon and Cornwall Housing association stock. I have been approached by a resident that would like to see effective community development take place there, this will be coming through community engagement in the coming months
• Hendra Pretty much similar to Pen an Dre, a resident at Hendra has approached me also wanting to see community engagement happen there, this also will be taking place in the coming months.
• Peoples Palace I have recently become a committee member of Peoples Palace, one of the oldest social enterprises in Truro. Set up in 1904 to give the young people somewhere to spend their time other than the pub. Its provided snooker, table tennis and gym equipment over the years and is looking for some regeneration. This is something I will be working closer with the trustees and management committee on over the coming months.
• Carrick Sports and Recreation Centre and Zebs As part of the Cornwall Council Devolution Deal, we have taken on important community assets such as Carrick Sports and Recreation Centre and the Zebs youth building. I have written the business cases for both assets and look forward to supporting the great work they are doing but to also develop new ways of delivering other important services for the community. Thank you!
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my annual public report, it’s impossible to include everything I have been involved with over the year but I hope to have showed you some of my key activities.
If you have any questions, would like to get involved with any of the community activity above or have some new ideas then don’t hesitate to get in touch using the details below.
Office Address:
Truro City Council
Municipal Offices
Boscawen Street
Truro
TR1 2NE
Email: [email protected] Landline:
01872 274766
Mobile:
07943111661
Or you can find me on Facebook and Twitter at the following links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010173966600
Twitter: www.twitter.com/@DamienTruro