EXECUTIVE MEMBER REPORT TO COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, 4 JULY 2007

LIBRARIES

Improvements to library catalogue The library has recently undertaken some consultation work with members of the local gay and lesbian organisations. One of the improvements that representatives would like to see is a more user friendly catalogue which enables them to search for gay and lesbian literature, without having to know specific authors and titles. Work has currently started on the library catalogue to make this possible. Other projects will include an author event, planned for September

Internet sales Work is progressing on an e-form to enable sales of library service publications on the internet. This service should be available from mid June.

Lapsed user survey Planning is underway to survey lapsed users later this year. This will be the biggest survey libraries have ever done, to find out what has happened to customers who haven't visited for over a year. The results will help to inform future service development.

Fashion Show Members of the Pakistani community will be hosting a fashion show in the library garden in late June.

PLANNING & REGENERATION PROGRAMMES

St Hilda’s – There are now only 7 occupied Erimus households remaining. Erimus and the Council are working to relocate the remaining tenants, through the Choice Based Letting Scheme. There are only 28 private properties left to purchase with five of these in the process of acquisition. It is anticipated that a report will be presented to the Executive shortly on the commissioning of feasibility studies to look at the future of the Old Town Hall and Customs House.

Older Housing – Of the 248 dwellings in Phase One 170 owners have agreed or entered into negotiations with MBC, and 10 have declined. The Council now owns 60 houses within the clearance areas. 10 new mobile security alarms have now been fitted to a selection of houses to improve the security of the Council properties. Seven business valuations have taken place in phase 1a and one business has so far accepted the valuation.

0240eb33a0ee14ac295589038ba02c93.doc 1 West Lane Phase Two – 88% of owners in the clearance area have either sold their property or have embarked on the process to sell their property. 19 out of the 22 housing association households have been rehoused. Three out of the four commercial premises have been acquired. 23 houses have so far been demolished. Yuill Homes are making rapid progress on the construction of phase one of the new development and the new homes are selling well.

Planning applications - for significant proposals recently granted consent include: 1. 22 flats in a 4½ storey block on Park Road South next to the former Synagogue; 2. temporary car park for 600 spaces on the site of the former Brackenhoe east school site for James Cook University Hospital; 3. 39 flats on the Eccles Marine site, Longlands Road; and, 4. 66 bed hotel and 3 restaurants on the Teesside Leisure Park site.

Major planning applications subject of pre-application discussion: 1. Jumpin Jacks and Cleveland Scientific Institute for residential developments with ground floor commercial units (16 storeys for the former); 2. Psyche, Linthorpe Road for a hotel and restaurant at roof level;

Trinity Crescent – a Development Agreement has been signed between Middlesbrough Council, Tees Valley Housing Group and Haslam Homes that will enable a construction start on phase 1 in the summer. Demolition of vacant property by Erimus commenced on May 14 th 2007.

Europe Day - an event was held at Middlesbrough Teaching Learning Centre to celebrate Europe Day. The event was held to celebrate the EU success that Middlesbrough has received from the 2000-2006 European Programme, which has amounted to over £17m of regeneration resources. The event was very successful and saw a number of project presentations including mima, Middlehaven, Boho, Working Links, Shaw Trust and Hope Foundation.

Middlehaven – the construction of the college is progressing well. Detailed planning applications for the first two sugar cubes, mixed use blocks, have now been submitted by BioRegional Quintain. It is also anticipated that there will be an announcement shortly in respect of a major hotel operator locating in Middlehaven.

COMMUNITY REGENERATION

Neighbourhood Planning & Infrastructures

The 'second phase' of neighbourhood management is progressing and staff are in the process of implementing a consistent and more focussed approach to neighbourhood planning (based on the Corporate Priorities) and neighbourhood infrastructures - Neighbourhood Management Steering Groups, Patch Officers Groups, Theme Groups and supplemented with community engagement activities.

There are expected to be comparable models in all the priory neighbourhoods by March 2008. There is a structural difference between STEM (Stronger Together in East Middlesbrough) and the rest of the town but the basic principles are embraced with common performance management arrangements. These 'golden threads' should help to develop best practices, compare and contrast areas and more reliably show change.

0240eb33a0ee14ac295589038ba02c93.doc 2 Elected Members are to be much more to the forefront in these emerging structures and in leading at the local level.

Civic Pioneer, Asset Management Project

Funding has been received from DCLG to develop the Council's approach to the management of community centres. This work is expected to be completed in the second half of the year and will also feed into the regional and national learning networks.

Consultants appointed by DCLG are visiting Middlesbrough on 4/6/07. A further update can be provided on the outcome in relation to the pace and focus of the project.

This also resonates with the Quirk Review of community ownership and management of public sector assets. The purpose of the review was to consider the powers, policies and barriers that affect the transfer of public assets to local communities, and to make recommendations.

Barry Quirk is calling for local authorities to think about how LAAs can be linked to community strategies with asset management plans covering the public estate as a whole. Some £30m is being made available in an asset management fund and a further fund for training.

There is more information to come on the detail and it is anticipated there will be significant problems to overcome. Nevertheless, the lessons learnt locally will improve the approach in Middlesbrough and enhance the capacity of volunteers as well as develop better management practices. More extensive use of Centres is expected as well as programmes responding to the Council’s strategic objectives.

The Quirk review document can be obtained at: www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1510746

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES mima mima collection: selected works opened on 5 May. This exhibition presents many of the highlights of Middlesbrough’s permanent collection that have been built up over decades of collecting but have rarely been shown publicly.

In Adult Learners Week, 19 to 25 May, mima presented Could You Do That? This will gave an opportunity for adult learners to meet the mima education team to develop skills for delivering guided tours at the gallery.

Informed Landscapes presents and exhibition of photographs produced by BA Photography students in response to the work of Dan Holdsworth in mima's collection.

South West Middlesbrough Education Action Zone is collaborating with the gallery on an intensive project responding to mima's collection. It will involve five local schools.

Work is ongoing to complete the fit-out of the building and conclude the capital project.

Captain Cook Birthplace Museum 14 over 8000 is an exhibition exploring the world's highest peaks with Alan Hinkes. The exhibition continues the prevailing Cook theme of human endeavour.

The annual Cook excavation took place from 14 to 25 May.

0240eb33a0ee14ac295589038ba02c93.doc 3 Dorman Museum The Museum re-launched its popular lecture series in May with talks by Harry Lyons, well known Christopher Dresser expert; John Gillow, collector and author of many books on world textiles, and Erica Just, lecturer on textiles who has travelled around Africa. The lectures coincide with the museum's exhibition Into Africa.

The Dorman Museum has secured £14k worth of funding to digitise part of its natural science collections to create greater public access via the Tees Museums online database and the national People's Network system.

The museum recorded 93,289 visitors in the year 2006/7, the best total since the first year of re-opening in 2003.

CULTURAL SERVICES

Events Middlesbrough Music Live took place on Sunday 3 June. This free event has become a prestigious fixture on the regional and national music calendar and is the biggest live music extravaganza in the Tees Valley. Stages throughout the town provided a vibrant mix of live entertainment for the people of Middlesbrough and beyond. This was the first year Middlesbrough Music Live took place in the new Centre Square. Main headliner The Twang complemented a line up that included international names, up and coming artists and local talent, including a family tea-time headliner – Tony Christie, with record crowds (over 35,000) singing along to hit single Amarillo. The event received wide media coverage nationally and regionally and the headline band, and many others, ensured that the festival continues its national niche as the festival at which to see ‘the next big thing’ in serious popular music terms.

Middlesbrough Mela - Planning is well underway for the 17th Middlesbrough Mela on Sunday 15th July. With a range of market stalls, children’s rides, Asian food and entertainment Middlesbrough Mela continues to develop and provide culturally diverse entertainment in the Tees Valley. This year’s event sees further development of the event with the Global Arts Marquee. The Sports Mela is now a permanent feature of the event and takes place on Saturday 14th July.

At The Theatre Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band played to 77% of capacity last month and the production of Coppelia was hailed by many in the audience as the best ballet they had seen at the theatre. Bookings for Birmingham Royal Ballet at the end of the month are very encouraging.

The production of the West End hit play Art was performed by a first-rate cast and warmly appreciated by the audiences. The cast also put in an appearance at the MAP art exhibition in the Town Hall Crypt and had their photographs taken with some of the pieces featured in the exhibition by both the Evening Gazette and MAP themselves.

The highlight of the drama programme in July is a full week’s run of Snake in the Grass by Alan Ayckbourn. Unusually for a dramatist best known for his comedies, this is a thriller – a genre always popular with Middlesbrough audiences – and the combination of this with Ayckbourn himself should lead to a successful week.

Press coverage of the theatre’s programme, especially in the Herald and Post, has been particularly high recently, increasing the theatre’s profile significantly.

0240eb33a0ee14ac295589038ba02c93.doc 4 Final touches are being put to the Autumn season, including a 50 th Anniversary Gala Concert on 21st October – the theatre’s birthday – which aims to showcase the wealth of local talent which has performed in the theatre over the last half-century.

At The Town Hall May’s programme included classical music from the Northern Sinfonia, a visit from the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and sell out performances by The Jam and The Happy Mondays.

Other events in the Crypt included a Charity Ceilidh, Afternoon Tea Dance, Alice Through The Looking Glass (from Middlesbrough Theatre) and an Art Exhibition by MAP – local artists network.

The Main Hall also staged a Recruitment Fair, Carers’ Fair and a Celebration of Achievement by the Youth Offending Service.

Arts Development Media Routes - Arts Development have successfully levered £80,000 from the UK Film Council's First Light Scheme Media Box; the only organisation in the North East to successfully apply for this funding and one of only 16 awards made nationally. The Media Routes project will enable 13 - 19 year olds to develop a professional internet radio station and website, and will offer them the opportunity to develop their media skills by taking part in weekend film, animation and screenwriting challenges, 10 week radio courses and make applications for a bursary of up to £500.

Curator - Arts Development have also successfully levered £16,500 from Sponsors Club for the Arts for MAP and Python Properties to appoint a curator in residence to develop the recently created gallery and exhibition spaces within the Python Properties portfolio at Royal Middlehaven House and old Co-op building on Linthorpe Road. This will provide local and regional artists with new exhibition opportunities.

AV Fest - Plans for the AVFest 2008 audio visual arts festival are already moving apace with the dates being set from 28 February - 9 March 08. The core theme will focus on the debate around the digital switchover and what should happen to the analogue spectrum.

The AVFest partnership, which includes representatives from Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle and Gateshead, has been working hard to develop AVFest into the regions newest art organisation AVANE (Audio Visual Arts North East). AVANE will act as an umbrella for the promotion and development of Audio Visual Arts in the North East.

Tourism Work on the new Visit Middlesbrough website is now nearing completion.

0240eb33a0ee14ac295589038ba02c93.doc 5