Cabinet
Meeting: Wednesday, 19th July 2017 at 6.00 pm in Civic Suite, North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EP
Membership: Cllrs. James (Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy) (Chair), Watkins (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods), Noakes (Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure), D. Norman (Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources), Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning) and Cook (Cabinet Member for Environment)
Contact: Atika Tarajiya Democratic Services Officer 01452 396127 [email protected]
AGENDA
1. APOLOGIES
To receive any apologies for absence.
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non- pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.
3. MINUTES (Pages 7 - 16)
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21st June 2017.
4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME (15 MINUTES)
The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs provided that a question does not relate to:
Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings, or Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officer
5. PETITIONS AND DEPUTATIONS (15 MINUTES)
To receive any petitions or deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:
Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or
1
Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings
6. LEADER AND CABINET MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME (15 MINUTES)
Any Member of the Council may ask the Leader of the Council or any Cabinet Member any question without prior notice, upon:
Any matter relating to the Council’s administration Any matter relating to any report of the Cabinet appearing on the summons A matter coming within their portfolio of responsibilities
Only one supplementary question is allowed per question.
7. COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY -DRAFT CHARGING SCHEDULE: PROPOSED STATEMENT OF MODIFICATIONS (Pages 17 - 28)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning seeking approval of the Community Infrastructure Levy – Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Statement of Modifications for public consultation purposes.
8. UPDATE ON THE WORK WITHIN THE PARTNERSHIPS AND ENGAGEMENT TEAM (Pages 29 - 48)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods which provides an update on the activities in the community and neighbourhood teams, to include our work on community building, social prescribing and VCS grants.
9. UPDATE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ENHANCED RECYCLING SERVICE (Pages 49 - 54)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment updating Cabinet on the performance of the enhanced recycling service that was introduced on 16th January 2017.
10. THE CITY MUSEUMS SERVICE (Pages 55 - 62)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which presents the findings of a review into the viability and operation of the City’s Museums Service and sets out the actions taken to date to respond to the issues raised in the review report.
11. CITY EVENTS PROGRAMME 2018, 375TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIEGE OF GLOUCESTER, 1100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF AETHELFLAED (Pages 63 - 74)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure presenting proposals receiving from Marketing Gloucester Ltd (MGL) for events and activities to mark the 375th Anniversary of the siege of Gloucester and the 1100th Anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia in 2018, which would form part of the 2018 City Events programme.
12. GLOUCESTER CULTURE BOARD UPDATE & GLOUCESTER GREAT PLACE PROGRAMME (Pages 75 - 82)
To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which provides a general update on the work of the Gloucester Culture Board and the establishment of the Gloucester Culture Trust.
2
Jon McGinty Managing Director
Date of Publication: Tuesday, 11 July 2017
3
NOTES
Disclosable Pecuniary Interests The duties to register, disclose and not to participate in respect of any matter in which a member has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest are set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011.
Disclosable pecuniary interests are defined in the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 as follows –
Interest Prescribed description
Employment, office, trade, Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profession or vocation profit or gain.
Sponsorship Any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the Council) made or provided within the previous 12 months (up to and including the date of notification of the interest) in respect of any expenses incurred by you carrying out duties as a member, or towards your election expenses. This includes any payment or financial benefit from a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
Contracts Any contract which is made between you, your spouse or civil partner or person with whom you are living as a spouse or civil partner (or a body in which you or they have a beneficial interest) and the Council (a) under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed; and (b) which has not been fully discharged
Land Any beneficial interest in land which is within the Council’s area.
For this purpose “land” includes an easement, servitude, interest or right in or over land which does not carry with it a right for you, your spouse, civil partner or person with whom you are living as a spouse or civil partner (alone or jointly with another) to occupy the land or to receive income.
Licences Any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy land in the Council’s area for a month or longer.
Corporate tenancies Any tenancy where (to your knowledge) –
(a) the landlord is the Council; and (b) the tenant is a body in which you, your spouse or civil partner or a person you are living with as a spouse or civil partner has a beneficial interest
Securities Any beneficial interest in securities of a body where –
(a) that body (to your knowledge) has a place of business or land in the Council’s area and (b) either – i. The total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or ii. If the share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which you, your spouse or civil partner or person with
4
whom you are living as a spouse or civil partner has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.
For this purpose, “securities” means shares, debentures, debenture stock, loan stock, bonds, units of a collective investment scheme within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and other securities of any description, other than money deposited with a building society.
NOTE: the requirements in respect of the registration and disclosure of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and withdrawing from participating in respect of any matter where you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest apply to your interests and those of your spouse or civil partner or person with whom you are living as a spouse or civil partner where you are aware of their interest.
Access to Information Agendas and reports can be viewed on the Gloucester City Council website: www.gloucester.gov.uk and are available to view five working days prior to the meeting date.
For further details and enquiries about this meeting please contact Atika Tarajiya, 01452 396125, [email protected].
For general enquiries about Gloucester City Council’s meetings please contact Democratic Services, 01452 396126, [email protected].
If you, or someone you know cannot understand English and need help with this information, or if you would like a large print, Braille, or audio version of this information please call 01452 396396.
Recording of meetings Please be aware that meetings may be recorded. There is no requirement for those wishing to record proceedings to notify the Council in advance; however, as a courtesy, anyone wishing to do so is advised to make the Chair aware before the meeting starts.
Any recording must take place in such a way as to ensure that the view of Councillors, Officers, the Public and Press is not obstructed. The use of flash photography and/or additional lighting will not be allowed unless this has been discussed and agreed in advance of the meeting.
FIRE / EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE If the fire alarm sounds continuously, or if you are instructed to do so, you must leave the building by the nearest available exit. You will be directed to the nearest exit by council staff. It is vital that you follow their instructions: . You should proceed calmly; do not run and do not use the lifts; . Do not stop to collect personal belongings; . Once you are outside, please do not wait immediately next to the building; gather at the assembly point in the car park and await further instructions; . Do not re-enter the building until told by a member of staff or the fire brigade that it is safe to do so.
5
This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 3
CABINET
MEETING : Wednesday, 21st June 2017
PRESENT : Cllrs. James (Chair), Watkins, Noakes, D. Norman and Cook
Others in Attendance Councillor Tom Coole Councillor Andrew Gravells Councillor Kevin Stephens Jon McGinty, Managing Director Jonathan Lund, Corporate Director Anne Brinkhoff, Corporate Director Jon Topping, Head of Finance Parvati Diyar, Democratic Services Officer
APOLOGIES : Cllr. Organ
1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
2. MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 8 March 2017, 27 April 2017 and 17 May 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
3. EXEMPT MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2017 (Part 2: Exempt minutes) and 17 May 2017 (Part 2: Exempt minutes) were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME (15 MINUTES)
Steve Gower
Mr Gower addressed the Cabinet expressing concerns regarding licensed HMO’s and single dwellings, the effectiveness of the City Council’s enforcement regime and the lack of support landlords provide to vulnerable tenants.
Page1 7 CABINET 21.06.17
Mr Gower referred to the Housing Act 2004, the City Council’s duty of care to vulnerable tenants and suggested that an independent audit on the health and safety of buildings be carried out.
Mr Gower requested that the City Council ensure that private landlords complied with the HHSRS standards for their property and called for a network support system to support landlords dealing with mental or physical health issues that could occur during a tenancy.
Mr Gower noted that he had submitted a Freedom of Information request asking for the number of Environmental Health Officers employed in Gloucester from 2010 to present in addition to the number of deaths in Gloucester to persons of no fixed abode or living in licenced houses of multiple occupancy during the same period. He added that he had not yet received a response to his request.
The Leader of the Council assured Mr Gower that the Council took the HHSRS standards seriously and promised to provide Mr Gower with a full written answer to his questions.
A resident of the City, who did not wish to disclose his name, addressed the Cabinet expressing concerns regarding problems he had experienced with a letting agent.
He advised that having found suitable private rented accommodation, he had been without a working lavatory and hot water and it had taken several weeks before any action had been taken by the letting agent. He asked the Council to consider establishing its own lettings agency.
The Leader of the Council explained that the Council could intervene when all other options had been exhausted and tenants were encouraged to raise issues with their landlords and letting agents in the first instance. In response to a Council run letting agency, the Leader of the Council advised that this would be considered but was mindful of the limited resources within the Council.
The Managing Director commented that Cabinet would be considering a report on the introduction of a Selective Licensing Scheme to improve the conditions of privately rented accommodation, which would look to resolve issue similar to those the resident had faced.
The Leader of the Council thanked the resident for his attendance.
5. PETITIONS AND DEPUTATIONS (15 MINUTES)
Councillor Andrew Gravells presented a petition on behalf of the residents of Abbeydale regarding the overgrown grass verges and open spaces in the area.
The Cabinet Member for Environment commented that Members would be aware of that the Contractor had been trialling a revised grass cutting regime for the past three months. The trial had been proposed by the Contractor in response to the City
Page 28 CABINET 21.06.17
Council’s request for contract savings. The proposal was estimated to save £125,000 in a full year.
Unfortunately the Contractor had not been able to maintain the six week schedule which had caused the backlog in grass cutting in some areas.
The Cabinet Member for Environment said this was completely unacceptable and the Council had taken immediate steps to bring in additional resources to catch up and reduce the future cycles between cuts to four weeks.
Cabinet noted that a press release would be issued, explaining the cause of delay.
The Cabinet Member for Environment apologised to Members who had received complaints regarding the grass cutting and asked that assurance be given to residents that the Council were taking action.
The Leader of the Council commented that the trial had not worked and would not continue in its current format, but the Council were taking steps to put the matter right.
6. LEADER AND CABINET MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME (15 MINUTES)
There were no questions from Members to the Cabinet.
7. PROPERTY INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources outlining a strategy to enable further investment in property assets.
Members had been made aware of the amounts of savings the Council had to face. The Leader of the Council advised that the Property Investment Strategy had identified an alternative key source of income that would potentially deliver additional income to help meet the Council’s financial requirements. He drew Members attention to the risks involved and the need for the Council to mitigate these risks.
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources said he had been sceptical about the suggestion before speaking to other local authorities who had been actively increasing their investment. He believed the City Council should seek to source appropriate investment assets only after conducting vigorous due diligence well in advance.
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources suggested an amendment to Appendix B to allow for a named substitute, which should be the Leader of the Council in the first instance. In his absence it should be the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources followed by the Deputy Leader of the Council.
RESOLVED that:
Page 93 CABINET 21.06.17
(1) The Property Investment Strategy, as set out in this report, be approved.
(2) The setting up of a Property Investment Board in line with the Terms of Reference set out in Appendix B be approved.
(3) Authority be delegated to the Council Solicitor to negotiate and conclude such documents deemed necessary or desirable to reflect the heads of terms negotiated by the S151 Officer and Head of Place to enable the completion of each acquisition.
RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that:
(1) Authority be delegated to the S151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources to:
a) amend the capital programme to create a Property Investment fund of £80m in order to acquire new investment property;
b) borrow as required to fund investment property purchases; and
c) Amend the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators as necessary to reflect the Council’s borrowing requirement.
d) Subject to the approval of recommendation 1, the following delegations be approved to proceed with the acquisition of assets, subject to the acquisitions meeting the parameters of the Property Investment Strategy:
e) Asset purchases of up to £15m to be approved by the S151 Officer in consultation with the Property Investment Board.
f) Asset purchases in excess of £15m be referred to the Cabinet.
8. GLOUCESTER MUSEUMS MEMBERSHIP
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure seeking agreement for amendments to the Gloucester City Museums pass tariffs and member benefits.
The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure advised that as part of the Together Gloucester process, the new Cultural and Traded Services Team had been tasked to deliver a great visitor experience, reduce costs and generate additional income. It was therefore proposed to introduce a modest increase to the annual membership fees for the City Council’s two museums.
The current costs for the two museums would remain unchanged but the annual membership would increase to £7.50, which would be an annual increase of 21p a month. Family membership would also increase from £12 to £15 per year.
Page 104 CABINET 21.06.17
The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure referred to paragraph 3.15 of the report which proposed that the Roman Soldier tours of the Eastgate Viewing Chamber would remain at £5 per person and would run alongside the Museums membership scheme which would entitle Members to a 10% discount off the full price as one of their benefits.
The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure recognised that an increase in price would never be a popular decision, however this would be a small rise and would still offer fantastic value for money.
RESOLVED that the current Gloucester City Museum membership price be increased and the benefits package revised as set out in paragraph 3.13.
9. VOLUNTARY SECTOR AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDING AND ACTIVITIES FOR 2017/18
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods outlining the Council’s proposed approach for the use of the Voluntary and Community Sector grants and activities budget in the financial year to March 2018.
The Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods summarised key areas of the report, highlighting the proposed reductions for the next two years. She added that the Gloucester Lottery had been very successful and was raising significant amounts of money.
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources pointed out that the figure in the table at paragraph 3.3 of the report relating to Councillor Community Fund should be £19,500 and not £18,000).
RESOLVED that:
(1) The proposed allocation and use of the VCS grants and activities budget for the 2017/18 financial year as outlined in paragraph 3.3 be approved.
(2) Authority be delegated to the Corporate Director, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods to enter into agreements or other documentation as considered appropriate on terms approved by the Council’s Solicitor.
10. REGENERATION AT KINGS QUARTER
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy noting the progress made for the new Kings Quarter regeneration proposals.
The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy advised that the Stanhope Development Agreement for Kings Quarter had been formally terminated. The City Council had been working closely with LDA Design and Jones Lang LaSalle to ensure the scheme was commercially and financially achievable. A further report
Page 115 CABINET 21.06.17
would be presented to Cabinet in September 2017, together with a Business Plan, for their consideration.
The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy drew Members attention to paragraph 3.7 of the report identifying two areas which would require further technical information and advised that Cabinet would be updated on progress.
The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy referred to paragraph 3.9 relating to the perimeter plan. He advised that there was no planning application in place as yet, however the background work had been undertaken.
RESOLVED that progress made with the Kings Quarter regeneration be noted, in particular: (1) The Stanhope Development Agreement for Kings Quarter has now been formally terminated and the transfer with copyright for all the agreed documents completed.
(2) Our Consultants LDA Design and Jones Lang LaSalle are on target to produce a Business Plan for the Kings Quarter regeneration for consideration by Cabinet at their meeting on 13th September 2017.
11. RAILWAY STATION GROWTH DEAL 3 APPLICATION REVIEW
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy concerning the bid for Growth Deal 3 Funding to secure improvements at Gloucester Railway Station and its environs.
The report responded to a Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Hilton.
The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy expressed his disappointment over the unsuccessful bid, but he hoped to secure funding in the future. He advised that meetings were currently taking place with partners to deliver this. Officers would continue to seek funding to deliver improvements around the station, however the footbridge would not be included as part of the proposals.
RESOLVED that authority be delegated to the Head of Place, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Economy, to continue to seek funding and submit appropriate bids to deliver improvements around the railway station and its links into the City Centre.
12. POLICY OPTIONS TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF PRIVATELY RENTED PROPERTIES
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning regarding the introduction of a Selective Licensing Scheme for landlords in parts of the City where the quality of private rented accommodation failed below an acceptable level.
Cabinet were made aware that the report had been produced in response to the motion raised at the Council meeting on 1 December 2016.
Page 126 CABINET 21.06.17
The Leader of the Council advised that tenants should live in decent and clean homes and that the Council would prosecute less responsible landlords of poorly maintained homes of multiple occupancy.
It was noted that further report would be presented to Cabinet next year.
Following the recent tragic events in London, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources commented on the need for the City Council to ensure they work closely with the Fire Service to ensure high rise buildings in Gloucester are risk assessed.
The Managing Director advised that the City Council had been in regular contact with the Fire Service and Gloucester City Homes and risk assessments and emergency procedures were being undertaken.
RESOLVED that:
(1) A further report be brought to Cabinet towards the end of 2018 recommending whether or not additional HMO licensing should be implemented in Gloucester and recommending the implementation of other policy options detailed in this report. (2) A policy for the implementation of fixed penalty notices for housing act offences be developed within the next six months. (3) The investigation for the case for a discretionary licensing scheme is postponed until 2018 which will be after the extended mandatory HMO licensing scheme has been implemented. (4) A policy for the implementation of fixed penalty notices be agreed with the relevant Cabinet Member within the next six months.
13. TREASURY MANAGEMENT UPDATE - ANNUAL REPORT 2016/17
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources fulfilling the requirements by regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003 to produce an annual treasury management review of activities and the actual prudential and treasury indicators for 2016/17. The report met the requirements of both the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management, (the Code), and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities, (the Prudential Code).
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources advised that the report had been presented to Audit and Governance Committee. He highlighted the key areas of the report commenting that no long term borrowing had been undertaken during 2016/17.
RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted.
Page 137 CABINET 21.06.17
14. FINANCIAL OUTTURN 2016/17
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources informing Members of the final Council position against agreed budgets for the 2016/17 financial year, including a summary of how the Council had progressed against key savings targets for the year. It also highlighted some key performance indicators.
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources summarised the key areas of the report highlighting that the Council had been prudent and were in a stable position, thanks to the advice given by Officers. He added that some failings existed but these would be addressed and the challenges met. He placed on record his thanks to the Head of Finance and his team for the work they had undertaken and the right action taken.
The Cabinet Member for Environment expressed his thanks to the Environment team following the successful introduction of the new Recycling Service.
The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure commented that the Guildhall and the Museums continued to endeavour to make savings.
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods commented that Shopmobility had not been in a position to meet savings. It was disappointing the Service was unable to relocate as proposed but this was not financially feasible. She thanked Cabinet Members for supporting the Service.
The Leader of the Council placed on record his thanks to Officers during these difficult climates.
RESOLVED that: 1. It be noted that: i) The savings achieved in year total £590k ii) The year-end position for the financial year 2016/17 is to increase the Council’s General Fund balance by £20k iii) The General Fund balance has increased from £1.635m to £1.655m at the end of 2016/17. iv) That this change in the General Fund balance is after a transfer to earmarked reserves of £692k v) That the business rates pool has returned a surplus of £329k to the City Council.
2. The transfers to and from earmarked reserves as below and detailed in section 8 of this report be APPROVED
15. ACCOMMODATION REVIEW
Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources outlining options to meet the future accommodation needs of the City Council and to recommend negotiations with Gloucestershire County Council to
Page 148 CABINET 21.06.17
relocate the organisation to Shire Hall to facilitate the potential disposal for the HKP Warehouses.
The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources advised that the City Council needed to make savings and improve efficiency and would be investigating to relocate from their existing accommodation. The City Council would start discussions with the County Council to move into Shire Hall in 2018. This would allow staff to be able to work remotely from home, do more hot-desking and the opportunity for the City and County Council to work more closely across services.
Cabinet Members commented on the importance of the Civic function and history. It was noted that the City Council would retain the Civic Suite in North Warehouse to maintain the Civic tradition.
Other opportunities which had been explored was to provide a new purpose built accommodation in Kings Quarter and have a facility to include a new Civic Suite.
The Leader of the Council commented that it would be a sensible approach to start negotiations with the County Council and the need to keep a new building at Kings Quarter as an option.
RESOLVED that:
(1) The relocation of the City Council from its existing office accommodation in the Herbert, Kimberly and Philpott Warehouses, Gloucester Docks be supported;
(2) The Corporate Director be authorised to commence formal discussions with the County Council to agree terms for the City Council to occupy available accommodation in Shire Hall;
(3) Potential partial location into City Council owned premises at Westgate Street also be supported;
(4) The top floor of North Warehouse be retained for Civic and Meetings purposes;
(5) It be noted that further reports on the potential disposal of the vacated HKP Warehouses would follow in due course.
Time of commencement: 6.00 pm Time of conclusion: 7.15 pm Chair
Page 159 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 7
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19 July 2017 Subject: Community Infrastructure Levy – Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Statement of Modifications Report Of: Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Wards Affected: All Key Decision: Yes Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Anthony Wilson, Head of Planning Email: [email protected] Tel: 396830 Appendices: Appendix 1 - Proposed Statement of Modifications
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To seek approval of the Community Infrastructure Levy –Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Statement of Modifications for public consultation purposes.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE that:
(1) The Community Infrastructure Levy Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 be APPROVED for public consultation.
(2) It delegates authority to the Corporate Director/Head of Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning to amend the Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 and prepare any further statements of modification that may be required following the JCS hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken.
(3) The Corporate Director/Head of Planning be authorised to agree the date of public consultation(s) with Cheltenham Borough and Tewkesbury Borough Councils.
(4) The Corporate Director/Head of Planning, following the conclusion of the public consultation(s), be authorised to compile and submit responses received to the CIL Examiner for examination.
3.0 Background
3.1 The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) authorities (Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester) have been working towards adopting a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) alongside the JCS. CIL will allow the Councils to raise funds from developers undertaking new developments to fund a wide range of infrastructure that is needed to support new development such as road improvements and schools. As almost
Page 17
all development has some impact on the need for infrastructure, services and amenities CIL is a more effective, quicker and fairer system to fund new infrastructure. CIL will replace the majority of Section 106 Planning Obligations; however, S106 will still be used to deliver affordable housing provision and site- specific mitigation measures. For Strategic Allocations, the majority of required infrastructure will still be funded through the S106 Planning Obligations process.
3.2 The proposed CIL rates for the JCS area are set out within the Draft Charging Schedule which was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination on 29 July 2016. An independent Planning Inspector has been appointed to preside over the Examination into the CIL Charging Schedule; this is the same Inspector who is dealing with the Joint Core Strategy (JCS). the CIL Hearings will take place sometime after the conclusion of the JCS Hearings.
4.0 Amendments Required Following the JCS Hearings
4.1 Following the hearings on the JCS in 2016, the Planning Inspector published an Interim Report. This report set out that in order for the JCS to be found sound further work was required and a number of recommendations were made. This included:
Increasing the level of housing provision from 30,500 to 35,175; and The deletion of the North Churchdown and Leckhampton. strategic allocations from the plan.
In October 2016, it was confirmed that the majority of MOD Ashchurch would no longer be available for development for at least the next ten years.
4.2 With the removal of the these three sites as strategic allocations and the increase in the required housing provision the following sites have been added as strategic allocations within the JCS Proposed Main Modifications. These are:
West Cheltenham Twigworth Winnycroft
4.3 Winnycroft was previously identified as a site for housing development through the Local Plan but was not identified as a strategic allocation. These additional sites had not been assessed in terms of the level of infrastructure required, their viability or their ability to pay a CIL charge in the Draft Charging Schedules that were submitted to the CIL Examiner, with those Draft Charging Schedules having reflected the strategic allocations as existing prior to the Proposed Main Modifications JCS.
4.4 The JCS authorities commissioned Peter Brett Associates (PBA) to complete a viability study on these additional sites in consultation with developers. However, at the time of when this work was commissioned, a planning appeal was underway on part of the Winnycroft site and the site was not assessed in the initial viability report. The recent appeal decision concluded that while S106 contributions were required, site viability could not support the provision of affordable housing. PBA has since been commissioned to undertake a viability study of the Winnycroft strategic
Page 18
allocation and this is currently in hand. Appendix 1 indicates the potential CIL rate applied to all Strategic Allocations and anticipated affordable housing provision based on JCS requirements, but this will be confirmed in the near future when the consultant’s final viability work on Winnycroft is concluded.
5.0 Proposed Modifications to the Draft Charging Schedules
5.1 Given the changes to the JCS strategic allocations, the Draft Charging Schedules for each JCS Authority require amending before an Examination can take place. The JCS authorities have received legal advice setting out that the most appropriate way forward is to produce a ‘Statement of Modifications’ to each Draft Charging Schedule before the examination and to consult on these statements for a period of four weeks. The statement contained within Appendix 1, sets out the following modifications:
The addition/deletion of strategic allocations as recommended by the JCS Inspector. The inclusion of maps showing the boundaries of Strategic Allocations (as required by the CIL Regulations). A section setting out how the CIL charge will be calculated (as required by the CIL Regulations).
6.0 Next Steps
6.1 Once the three councils have each approved the Statement of Modifications for their respective Draft Charging Schedules the proposed timetable is as follows:-
Consultation for four weeks commencing – late July/early August 2017 Examination – anticipated October 2017 Adoption – January 2018.
7.0 Implementation and Resourcing
7.1 In order to implement CIL the JCS authorities will be required to implement a system for the collection and administration of CIL to include the recruitment of two officers to manage CIL and S106 planning obligations; the financial costs associated with this are estimated to equate to £60,000 for each authority.
7.2 The CIL Regulations allow Councils to claw back reasonable costs in preparing and implementing CIL, by allowing them to reclaim 5% of the total CIL revenue for the first three years that CIL is levied for this purpose. In addition to this, the CIL Regulations make provision for councils to use up to 5% of each year’s CIL revenue to offset the CIL administrative costs of charging a CIL for that year which will be used to cover the additional staff costs for the collection and administration of CIL. This covers the years following the initial three year period and can continue to be recovered for as long as the CIL is being charged.
7.3 In considering the relative costs of preparing CIL, it should be noted that they will have to be borne ‘up front’, the retrieval of these costs will only be realised once the CIL regime is implemented.
Page 19
7.4 The JCS Authorities projections for CIL income is in the region of £13 million in the first three years and therefore the additional cost of a new system and additional staff resources should be able to be retrieved during that period.
8.0 Other Options Considered
8.1 At the early stages of considering CIL, an option not to implement CIL and continue to rely only on negotiations of S106 was investigated. However, the restrictions put in place which limit the ability to pool receipts from S106 would be likely to result in the loss of resources to fund identified infrastructure needs. The use of CIL would address this loss of resources towards the funding gap for future infrastructure.
9.0 Financial Implications
9.1 The cost of implementing CIL going forward has been estimated at £180,000 between the three Joint Core Strategy (JCS) authorities, shared equally between the partner authorities. Each council’s contribution will cover the following requirements:
Staffing costs - £30,000 IT system costs - £30,000
9.2 The CIL Regulations provide for Charging Authorities to recover their administrative costs from CIL income, up to a total of 5% of the annual CIL income. In addition, before adoption set up costs can be included in this recovery. As the CIL income in the first few years most likely will be variable, the 5% is averaged over the remaining time of the first year from implementation, plus the next full 3 years. The anticipated CIL income over the first three years between the JCS authorities is estimated to be in the region of £13 million. The fourth year therefore, is the first year where the 5% administrative costs will be an ‘annual amount’.
(Financial Services have been consulted in the preparation of this report).
10.0 Legal Implications
10.1 The formal procedure for the setting and adoption of CIL charges is set out in Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 and the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010 (the requirements of which, so far as they relate to the drafting of the charging schedule, are known collectively as “the drafting requirements”). Under the drafting requirements, a Charging Authority (the local planning authority) which proposes to charge CIL must, after having prepared and consulted upon a Preliminary Draft Schedule, prepare a Draft Charging Schedule (DCS) and then formally publish the DCS together with the appropriate available evidence on infrastructure costs, other funding sources and economic viability for consultation for a minimum period of four weeks. After the close of the consultation process, the Charging Authority must then submit the DCS for public examination before an independent person.
10.2 There is a “Statement of Modifications” process available in respect of amending a DCS prior to submission to examination and the process is also utilised in respect of proposed modifications to a DCS subsequent to submission. The statement of modifications must be sent to each of the consultation bodies that were invited to make representations on the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule and must be
Page 20
published on the local planning authority’s website. Substantive changes should be avoided, unless they have been sufficiently consulted upon: with Charging Authorities taking steps they consider necessary to inform people who were invited to make representations on the DCS that the statement of modifications has been published.
10.3 Anyone who makes representations about a DCS must, if that person so requests at the time of making a representation on the DCS, by heard by the examiner. Similarly, a period of four weeks is to be available for any person to make representations and requests to be heard on any published modifications. The examination will consider whether the drafting requirements have been complied with, including whether there has been due regard to the actual and expected costs of infrastructure, economic viability of development and other actual and expected sources of funding for infrastructure.
(Legal Services have been consulted in the preparation of this report).
11.0 Risk Management Implications
11.1 Failure to develop a CIL Charging Schedule would reduce the Council’s ability to ensure that new development contributes proportionately to infrastructure provision in the longer term. The Council will also continue to utilise Section 106 agreements to secure appropriate infrastructure contributions.
11.2 Failure to adopt a CIL in the longer term means that the Council could be disadvantaged by the changes to Section 106 which took effect on 6 April 2015, which limit the pooling of contributions for the infrastructure needed to support new development, and could result in a significant loss of contributions towards infrastructure until such time as a CIL is adopted.
12.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA)
12.1 The preparation of a new planning document can have both positive and negative social impacts on local communities. The CIL DCS seeks to provide appropriate and necessary infrastructure for the needs of the City’s communities. PIA will also be ongoing through the preparation of the Development Plan.
13.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
13.1 The production of a CIL Charging Schedule will allow the Council to identify specific infrastructure requirements to support the development of communities.
14.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
14.1 None.
Sustainability
14.2 The development of the CIL would take into account the three dimensions of sustainable development set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF):
Page 21
An economic role – contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy. A social role – supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities. An environmental role – contributing to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment.
Staffing and Trade Union
14.3 The CIL regime will require new monitoring and management systems to ensure effective operation. The CIL management fee of up to 5% of receipts could be utilised to provide additional staff resource.
Background Papers : None
Page 22
APPENDIX 1
Gloucester City Council Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Modifications
Changes are highlighted in bold with strike through indicating deletions and underline indicating additions.
Modifications Document Modification Reason for Modification Reference/Page/Para Number MOD CIL Draft Charging Delete paragraph 1.9.3 text ‘As there are no Strategic Allocations within the Required changes following 1 Schedule – para 1.9.3 Gloucester administrative area, these are not listed.’ and replace with ‘Table the Inspector’s findings in 1.2 also sets out the CIL rates for strategic sites that are located within the JCS Interim Report
Page 23 Page Gloucester’s administrative area.’
MOD CIL Draft Charging Add a new row in Table 1.2: Required changes following 2 Schedule – Table 1.2 the Inspector’s findings in Recommended Recommended the JCS Interim Report CIL Affordable Housing (AH) Strategic Sites Winnycroft £35 35%
MOD CIL Draft Charging Add new section: To ensure compliance with 3 Schedule – New the Regulations and section to be added Calculating the CIL Chargeable Amount relevant CIL legislation. after para 1.7.1 CIL charges will be calculated in accordance with Regulation 40 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 as amended. The Community Infrastructure Levy is generally chargeable on the net increase in gross internal floor space of all new development, except:
Minor development: that is buildings or extensions where the gross internal area of new build is less than 100m2, other than where the development will comprise one or more new dwellings (in which case the new dwellings will constitute ‘Chargeable Development’, irrespective of their size); Where the CIL chargeable amount is calculated to be less than £50; Where the development is of buildings into which people do not normally go, or which they go only intermittently for the purpose of inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery; Where the development is exempt under Part 6 of the CIL Regulations (as amended); or Where Gloucester City Council as ‘Charging Authority’ has in this schedule applied a £0m2 rate, based on viability evidence, therefore not levying a charge on that intended development due to its use, location or size.
Page 24 Page All CIL Liability will be index linked to the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) All-in Tender Price Index or any other Price Index in accordance with the CIL Regulations (Regulation 40).
As set out in the Regulations, the calculation of the chargeable amount is based on gross internal area (GIA). The definition of gross internal area is not specified in the Regulations; however, the generally accepted method of calculation is the RICS Code of Measuring Practice (6th edition, 2007).
MOD CIL Draft Charging Addition of ‘Appendix C – Strategic Allocation Boundary’ To ensure compliance with 4 Schedule - Appendix the Regulations and In accordance with Regulation 12 of the Community Infrastructure Levy relevant CIL legislation. Regulations 2010 (as amended), the following maps identify the location and boundary of the Strategic Allocation identified within the JCS.
A request to be heard by the examiner on the above proposed modifications may be made to the Cheltenham Borough Council by email or post.
Email: [email protected]
Post: JCS Community Infrastructure Levy Team, Municipal Offices, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 9SA CIL Residential Charging Zones
A10
Key
Page 25 This page is intentionally left blank JCS Strategic Allocation A10 - Winnycroft ± CIL rate - £35 sqm
Page 27 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 8
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19th July 2017 Subject: Update on the work within the Partnerships and Engagement Team Report Of: Cabinet Member for Communities & Neighbourhoods Wards Affected: All Key Decision: No Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Isobel Edwards, Partnership and Engagement Officer Email:[email protected] Tel: 396614 Appendices: 1. Funded Community Projects 201617 2. Funded Youth Projects 201617
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To provide an update on the activities in the community and neighbourhood teams, to include our work on community building, social prescribing and VCS grants.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE that the content of the report be noted.
3.0 Background and updates on key areas of work
3.1 Principles of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) guide our community and partnership work and have done so since 2012 when Gloucester City Council and other partners adopted this way of working. ABCD focuses on the strengths of a community, believing that everyone has gifts and something to contribute. It places citizens at the centre believing that they can come up with their own ideas for how to make their neighbourhood a better place to be. It is the role of the Community Builder to have those conversations with residents and then connect them to neighbours who share similar aspirations in order to make things happen. We believe that this will, over time, make communities more resilient and self-sufficient. Our role is to support communities to recognise strengths and deliver for themselves, as opposed to be mere passive recipients of public services.
Page 29 3.2 Community Building
3.2.1 Gloucester City Council continues to invest in community building, particularly with Barnwood Trust and Gloucestershire Police. Partnership and Engagement Officer, Verona Vidal is currently on secondment to Barnwood Trust to work as a Community Builder in Westgate Ward for 2 years from December 2016-2018. Verona works alongside Marcus Essabi a Police Community Support Officer who has also been seconded to work as a Community Builder. Verona is covering the Greyfriars and Linden Homes Estates, whilst Marcus is focussing on Brunswick Square and Gloucester Park and both are continuing to build links with local residents in Westgate through street walks, local events and using the Barnwood Trust camper van as a conversation hub on adhoc days. They are also building strong links with the refugee community through the world café in Brunswick. Marcus has recently connected a group of Iranian boys to a local Arabic cafe owner who has shown an interest in supporting refugees coming to Gloucester and helping them adapt to a new culture. Verona has recently discovered an interest from local traders in setting up market stalls on Westgate Street to complement the events that take place in the area. Both Community Builders are ‘people mapping’, taking details of every person they meet and plotting them on to a map so that they can make connections between residents, groups and organisations.
3.2.2 Some of the community building stories from Greyfriars and Tredworth this year include: • Supporting a diverse group of residents in Tredworth to organise a second street party. The street party planning group includes some residents who were involved last year as well as new residents from other BME communities and local shop owners. There are plans of a follow up event to look at “ Making Tredworth Beautiful” • Building relationships at the All Nations Centre and assisting in the preparations for a Community Welcome Day in April, which included helping residents knock on doors in the surrounding streets. Well over 100 people attended and shared their interests for future events including a coffee morning, activities in the school holidays and a musicians group • An East Meets West community event to bring together residents on two sides of the same street, initiated by a local resident. • Supporting an individual who has set up a mental health support group and who is passionate about community cohesion to build links with the Muslim community • Building a relationship with a care home resident with dementia who is originally from the Caribbean but is now based in Stroud and who had come into contact with another community builder working in this area • Linking an asylum seeker to a community centre where there is support for families with learning disabilities
Page 30 3.2.3 The research teams at Barnwood Trust and Gloucestershire Constabulary are currently conducting joint research into the impact of community building taking place across the county, with support from Gloucester City Council.
3.2.4 The research involves both quantitative and qualitative data collection. The qualitative fieldwork includes producing people maps to document the spread of the community builders’ connections, as well as the links that develop amongst residents. Regular ‘download’ interviews with community builders are also taking place. Residents and community groups will also to be invited to take part in the research to share their experiences.
3.2.5 This research is part of a larger program of work being undertaken by Barnwood Trust’s research team on the impact of the organisation’s work and of Gloucestershire Constabulary’s work to capture outcomes from the ‘Building Community Capacity and Resilience Initiative.’
3.2.6 Gloucester City Council is the first local authority in the country to formally adopt ABCD and strengths based working. Croydon Council have supported community builders since 2012 and were a key partner in mentoring some of the community builders in Gloucester but have not taken ABCD as a guiding principle within their council structure. Since 2014 the city council have received many enquiries from other local authorities who have heard about the highly regarded ABCD work in Gloucester. Bristol City, North East Somerset and Surrey Councils have visited in order to learn about the Gloucester Community Building journey with the view to bringing ABCD to their own organisations.
3.2.7 There are now 7 community builders in Gloucester City and a further 3 in the rest of the county and all are employees of and/or managed by Barnwood Trust. Of the 7 Gloucester Community Builders, there are 2 in Westgate (Marcus and Verona as mentioned above), Louise (on secondment from Gloucestershire Police) in Barton and Tredworth, Liam Daniels and Byron Mockridge in Podsmead, Kat Gibson in Barnwood and Hucclecote and Katie Peacock in Matson and Robinswood. There is also consideration for future community builders. The recent creation of the Corporate Obligations Planning Group which is attended by a Corporate Director and Head of Place as well as Officers from Planning, Regeneration and Community Engagement provides an opportunity to discuss the use of S106 funding for alternative community provision. Suggestions have been put forward for this funding to be spent on Community Builders should this be what is needed to support greater cohesion between new and existing communities.
3.3 Social Prescribing
3.3.1 The city council continues to facilitate the highly successful Gloucester Social Prescribing team which has been based at Herbert Warehouse since the project was piloted in December 2014. Social Prescribing is a project with the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, Gloucester City Council and the Independence Trust. GPs refer patients who repeatedly visit the surgery with depression and/or anxiety symptoms caused by non-medical issues to Social
Page 31 Prescribing Coordinators who support the patient for up to 12 weeks by connecting them to groups and activities in their neighbourhood. Examples are: • Supporting a lady suffering from anxiety to become a city council volunteer guide at the Museum of Gloucester. She has a passion for Ancient Roman History and is able to share her extensive knowledge of this subject with residents and visitors. This has decreased her social anxiety, improved her confidence and gives her the feeling that she is giving something back to her local community.
• Referring a patient who had previously suffered a brain injury and was depressed due to being out of work to the exercise on referral scheme and the Learn Direct confidence building workshop. This improved his health and wellbeing dramatically and he is now in part time work.
• Mental health support through the VCS. Many patients have found great benefit in the support they have received from charity and voluntary run counselling service ‘Listening Post’. At Listening Post they have access to a trained counsellor for a number of weeks and are only required to pay a small donation.
• Community groups with a physical activity focus. A large number of patients have spoken about the positive impact they have experienced from being referred into exercise such as a walking group or gardening club in their local area.
3.3.2 Coordinators aim to ‘help people help themselves’ by placing the emphasis on the patient who will set goals for themselves and make steps each week towards achieving them. To date, the Gloucester Social Prescribing service has supported 289 local people. In November 2016, The Clinical Commissioning Group commissioned Dr Richard Kimberlee from the University of the West of England to carry out an evaluation of social prescribing in Gloucestershire as a whole. From his report we can understand that the primary outcome measure was an improvement in patient wellbeing. This was determined by the Warwick Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale (WENWBS) which the Coordinators complete with every patient at the beginning and end of their support pathway to measure the effectiveness of the service. Kimberlee’s report confirms a significant increase in patient wellbeing scores. Kimberlee also evaluated the rate A&E admissions and came to the conclusion that there was a 23% decline amongst those patients who had been referred to the social prescribing service. Not only was this lower but it is contrary to an increase in emergency admissions in patients who were referred to the social prescribing service but refused the support. There is also evidence to confirm a clear reduction in patient encounters with GP services. GP visits declined by 21% in the 6 months after referral to a social prescribing coordinator compared to 6 months before. The number of GP home visits declined by 26% and the number of GP telephone calls by 6%.
Page 32 3.3.3 We are planning to continue hosting the service due to the successful working relationships between the Social Prescribing Coordinators and staff from Housing, Environmental Health and Community Engagement who come into contact with the same residents. The Coordinators are also able to signpost patients into much needed volunteering roles in the City as well as connect patients to their local community builder, providing more sustainable solutions to the patient’s depression and anxiety and enabling them to contribute to their local community. In addition, the city council is making links with the ‘Culture on Commissioning’ strand of the Great Places bid, to ensure that there are effective links with social prescribing and that the development of this project benefits from the learning of the successful Social Prescribing project.
3.4 Grants
3.4.1 Gloucester City Council allocated £44,700 of community grants in 2016/17 to 13 different projects across the City. Projects were varied but shared common themes of developing resident’s skills, increasing volunteering, building strong communities and supporting partnership working. Examples include Moreland based charity ‘Increase the Peace’ who worked with local actors and members of the community to produce a film about knife crime; community radio station GFM provided free training for local people who have an interest in music and production which led to an increase of 10 volunteers at their organisation; and Friends of Saintbridge Pond who worked with a local youth group and members of the surrounding community to improve part of the balancing pond area. (See appendix 1 for a full breakdown of funded community projects)
3.4.2 Gloucestershire County Council provided the City Council with £50,000 of youth grant funding to administer to local projects in 2016/17. A total of £41,402 was allocated to 24 projects to the benefit of over 2,000 young people. The main outcomes were; an increase in the confidence and wellbeing of young people, an increase in their physical activity levels and a reduction in antisocial behaviour. Many projects also saw an increase in volunteering. Examples are; the Filipino Association of Gloucestershire who supported their younger members to organise and run the annual Philippines Independence Day and Play Gloucestershire who trained children to become Young Play Organisers so that they can help facilitate play sessions. (See appendix 2 for a full breakdown on funded youth projects)
3.5 Blue Light Training
3.5.1 Over the last financial year, a number of informal and formal events have taken place to raise awareness and train officers in strengths based working. Over the last 12 months, Officers from public protection and environmental projects have joined staff from Gloucestershire Police and Gloucester City Homes on the ‘Blue Light’ Training program. This was delivered by a former Police Officer who specialises in positive problem solving and appreciative inquiry. Over the six sessions, staff learnt how to deal with issues and complaints in a positive way with the aim of reducing demand and increasing
Page 33 community confidence. Since the training, staff from all 3 organisations have started to put the new methods into practice by talking to residents in Coney Hill. Staff discovered a desire for greater community cohesion and will be working with residents to hold the first participatory budgeting event in the coming months.
3.6 Relationship with the VCS
3.6.1 The city council continues to strengthen its’ relationship with the VCS and plan to work collaboratively in the future to organise meetings and events for networking and discussing relevant topics. The city council also supports the VCS through the partnership with Volunteering Gloucestershire. The weekly volunteer matching service signposts local people to volunteering opportunities and has seen over 100 residents fill much needed voluntary roles in the city during 2016/17.
3.7 Gloucester Lottery
3.7.1 Gloucester Lottery provides an opportunity for the VCS and other local good causes to raise additional funds. The Lottery was launched in January 2017 with support from the Finance team who arranged the gambling license and researched into the best option for a local authority lottery. As of June 2017, Gloucester Lottery now has 48 registered causes and is raising a total of £28,142.00 per year. Of that, £11,949.00 is raised amongst the good causes with the remaining £16,192.80 in the central fund which will be commissioned to community projects in spring 2018. Gloucester Lottery currently has 481 players buying a total of 902 tickets; a fantastic start. We are refreshing our communication plan and have invested in a low cost advertising campaign through Facebook in June in order to boost ticket sales.
3.8 Rising Gloucester
3.8.1 New structures are in place as the city council has recently supported the formation of the Youth Forum, also known as ‘Rising Gloucester’. Rising Gloucester is made up of 20 16-17 year olds from across the city with representation from 7 out of the 8 Secondary Schools. 2 meetings have taken place so far where members highlighted issues that are important to them and identified actions to try and resolve them. They feel strongly about improving the relationship between the older and younger generations and have plans to attend a local coffee morning to build relationships with older people. They also would like to raise the amount of young people who vote and have discussed increasing voter registration at their sixth form centres and colleges.
4.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
4.1 Principles of ABCD guide all of our work with communities.
4.2 Mainstreaming a culture of ABCD across the council is an important priority in the next year. The will require a multi-facetted approach. We need to embed
Page 34 the principle in our policies, strategies and plans, our HR processes and we need to develop, train and support officers to adopt these principles in how they discharge their duties. We also need to influence partners who deliver in our communities (including Health, Police and County Council) to shift their delivery model to a more asset based approach. This will take time.
4.3 The current re-organisation (Together Gloucester) has provided a good opportunity to embed the commitment to ABCD more structurally. It was one of the design principles for the new structure and a ‘requirement to deliver services with regard to the principles of ABCD’ has been included in all job profiles in the new structure. All managers are expected to champion the principles of ABCD and the new post of ‘Community Wellbeing Manager’ is expected to act as the operational lead for ABCD. Whilst this is not sufficient to ensure that the Council will work in a strengths based way, it provides us with an appropriate HR framework.
5.0 Future Work and Conclusions
5.1 Over the last 12 months we have significantly strengthened our links with partners in Health, the Constabulary and the County Council to contribute to the prevention and self-care work and to influence commissioning practice. We are key contributors to Enabling Active Communities and Prevention Board.
5.2 Key projects include:
i. Taking the lead in the development of a Social Impact Bond for vulnerable women with multiple and complex needs. This will see a two year joined up investment of £100,000 by five commissioners (GCC, Gloucestershire County Council, CCG, PCC and Gloucester City Homes) to provide in- depth person centred support to 25 individual women through the Nelson Trust. We are keen to develop a local ‘concept of proof’ and are looking for a local social investor. We expect the SIB to start in the autumn.
ii. The CCG are investing £50,000 into Gloucester for a local community led project to demonstrate the impact on an asset based approach to promote wellbeing and health and reduce demand on GPs and/or A&E. The project is being scoped and is likely to see a community builder within Kingsholm who will be based within ‘Roots Café’ with strong links to the local GP practice.
iii. We are taking a lead role across the County to explore and promote how the planning function can better contribute to creating resilient and healthy communities. This is happening through a number of workshops, training and support to officers across the system with a view to improving officers’ mutual understanding of planning and health; generating political and system leadership by-in to the planning and health agenda and pro-active engagement with developers.
Page 35 5.3 Together Gloucester provides a prime opportunity to spread the culture of ABCD furthermore. The new community wellbeing team will be the driving force behind this piece of work and aim to support and encourage staff to encompass this new way of working through events, meetings and training. Barnwood Trust will be a key partner in this and will support community wellbeing as the program is rolled out.
6.0 Financial Implications
Not applicable.
7.0 Legal Implications
Not applicable
9.0 Risk & Opportunity Management Implications
9.1 The most significant opportunity is to provide power and space for people to take a responsibility for issues that matter within their communities.
10.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA):
10.1 The PIA Screening Stage was completed and did not identify any potential or actual negative impact, therefore a full PIA was not required. More importantly, ABCD has seen significant positive improvements to people and their communities.
11.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
11.1 ABCD can help increase social interactions and add to a feeling of security, thus reducing the fear of crime.
11.2 Studies have shown that increased social connections and community projects can add to a feeling of security in communities as well as lower crime.
Sustainability
11.3 ABCD principles should help people to lead to sustainable, healthy lifestyles.
Staffing & Trade Union
11.4 None identified.
Background documents: None
Page 36 Community Grants 2016/17
Name of Organisation Funding Project Summary Funding decision Funding amount amount 14/6/2016 (JD/AB) approved requested
The Venture: White City £9,170.00 Children, young people and Agreed £9,170.00 their families will actively Page 37 Page develop new and exisitng skills through the provision of volunteering opportunities and supported Friends of Saintbridge Pond £2,985.00 Intergenerational project to Agreed pending necessary £2,985.00 conserve and enjoy a permissions obtained popular feeding area where the bank has eroded , by utilising existing skills and provide opportunites for Gloucester Street Pastors £1,200.00 Volunteers who patrol the Agreed £1,200.00 city centre to increase safety for the night time economy and signpost residents to other organisations GFM £6,535.00 To support individuals to tell Agreed £6,535.00 their own stories by receiving radio and production skills which will empower themselves and others to become more Gloucester Boxing Club £2,500.00 Install female changing room Agreed £2,500.00 to introduce mixed classes and repairs to roof.
Abbeydale Senior Citizens Club £600.00 Provide a diverse program Agreed £600.00 for senior citizens and Page 38 Page encourage more members and younger people to volunteer
Garas £5,050.00 Working with those new to Agreed but reduced £3,325.00 the UK and Gloucester by teaching ESOL and preparing them for work or volunteering and to become more active in community The Family Haven £8,433.00 Outreach worker to visit Agreed but reduced £6,080.00 families not currently accessing the services to provide advice and assistance Rainbow Social Club £4,000.00 Weekly social club providing Agreed but reduced £2,640.00 activites and trips for people with learning disabilities
Coney Hill RFC Ltd £8,300.00 Repairs to front doors to Agreed but reduced £800.00 make building more accessible to users and volunteers
The Redwell Centre £9,534.00 Staff to help community Agreed but reduced £3,535.00 members through training Page 39 Page and self belief by volunteering or organzing social support groups.
Increase the Peace £4,640.00 To deliver workshops Agreed but reduced £1,500.00 educating young people about the dangers and consequences of knife crime and weapon behaviour
Increase the Peace £4,247.00 To create a film educating Agreed but reduced £3,300.00 young people around knife crime and produce educational and support guidance material to be used in youth clubs and St Hilda's Lunch Club £4,000.00 To subsidize lunch club and Agreed but reduced £2,640.00 transportation 3 times per week for older people to attend lunch club Page 40 Page Funding amount Aim One: Aim Two: Aim Three: Reason for refusal or approved (Y2) Projects that develop Projects that support Projects that support reduction 14/06/16 and provide strong diverse and residents through (JD/AB) opportunities for cohesive commnuities provision of Health and Gloucester residents Well-being advice
X Page 41 Page
£4,674.00 X
£10,207.00 X X £13,428.00
X X
£4,000.00 X Page 42 Page
X Contribution toward Volunteering and running costs
X X Funding towards salary of outreach worker only X Contribution towards overall running costs .
Structural works to clubhouse. Refer to county council re: refurbishment advice and support
Contribution towards staffing costs. Refer to Matson & Page 43 Page Robinswood ward Councillors Community Fund
Contribution towards staffing costs. Refer to PCC and All ward councillors community fund
Contribution towards knife crime strategy £1,700 X X Contribution towards overall running costs Page 44 Page Youth Grants 2016 - 2017 Funding Decisions Name of Funding Project Summary Funding decision 26/5/2016 Funding amount Funding amount Reason for refusal or reduction Organisation amount (JD/AB) approved approved (Y2) 26/5/16 (JD/AB) requested Friendship Café £2,500.00 To maintain subsidised 2 single sex Approved £2,500.00 swimming sessions a week for Young people and Families in a religiously accepted way (without excluding others ) Costs towards pool hire and lifeguards.
Together in Matson £2,500.00 Youth Clubs 3 x weekly offering activities Approved £2,500.00 that are fun, safe and with learning and is a distraction from anti social behaviour. Social Events which give options to young people to plan, design and attend trips and social events to combat lack of opportunities to see new places and learn about their surrounding area.
GAY - GLOS £1,500.00 Established social group for young Approved £1,500.00
Page 45 Page LGB&T people. To provide support and activities to become activie citizens.
Gloucestershire £2,500.00 Activity based respite support group for Approved £2,500.00 Young Carers "Senior" young carers. Offering a place to go to take a break from their caring roles, mix with other young carers and access trained youth workers.
Gloucestershire Bike £2,500.00 Bike building and bike repair and Approved £2,500.00 Project CIC maintenance workshops using their own bikes or provided with one to keep. Followed by mountain biking or BMX track days. 15th Gloucester (St £1,662.20 First Aid at work trainer training and Approved £1,662.20 Peter's Sea Scouts equipment for 3 leaders. This will enable training to a standard to look after young people in their care. The young people trained can use their training in the community.
Abbeymead Rovers £2,000.00 Encourage more young people to Approved £2,000.00 Football Club become coaches and referees to work with younger teams and contribution towards hire of astro - turf Reachout £1,760.00 Weekly softball night during spring and Approved £1,760.00 summer on a playing field or sports hall.
Longlevens Youth AFC £2,325.00 Provide better training and facilities by Approved £2,325.00 introducing floodlit training sessions, set up costs for a new girls under 14, new kit, balls and training equipment which will all help to set up new teams to expand Youth section.
Glo - active Street £2,350.00 Competitive, weekly dance club for Approved £2,350.00 Beat different ages at different times with a focus on fitness, building confidence and fun. Youth and £2,500.00 All Welcome , weekly youth work Approved pending further £2,500.00 Community Services support and positive activites for young discussion with P & E Team people from the czech community and beyond. Based at GARAS building.
Active Connections £2,437.00 To develop sporting interventions with Approved £2,437.00 an identified group of young people who gather around outside GL1 Leisure Centre and a local supermarket
Page 46 Page Roots Coffee and £2,000.00 To build better relationships and create Approved £2,000.00 Community CIC greater interaction amongst young people from various backgrounds in the kingsholn area Churches 4 Change £2,500.00 To provide access to culturally Approved £2,500.00 appropriate social therapy to young people who have been traumised by witnessing acts of violence Venture, White City £2,065.00 Access to activities outside of the Approved £2,065.00 normal environment to improve emotional health and overall well being
Increase the Peace £2,500.00 Summer programme of activities using Approved £2,500.00 music and arts, workshops, cookery and life skills and cyber safety to enhance emotional well being and contribution to the community
TS Queen Elizabeth £650.00 Opportunity for weekend of Approved Sea Cadets waterbourne activities and camping experiencing canoeing, sailing, sailboarding, paddle boarding etc allowing cadets to put their training into practice Quedgeley & £865.00 Prioritise and promote youth cricket as a Approved £865.00 Hardwicke Cricket result of the increasing numbers of Club young people attending training sessions
Filipino Association of £850.00 Opportunity for the youth group to Approved £850.00 Gloucestershire organise and celebrate Philippines Independence Day and a cultural Filipino event Gloucestershire £1,800.00 To reduce the anti social use of mini Approved but reduced £300.00 Contribution towards equipment Youth Mini Bike bikes/pit bikes on the highway and in and resources project the local community by providing young people with a positive activity, where they can learn basic motorised bike skills in a safe and controlled environment, utilising local qualified volunteer marshalls.
Gloucestershire £2,500.00 To contribute towards trialing Approved but reduced £1,600.00 Contribution towards pilot scheme Constabulary participatory budgeting with young people in the tredworth area Team Multi Styles £2,500.00 Free workshops for young people in Approved but reduced £1,750.00 Contribution towards workshops Battle CIC music and dance categories leading to a only
Page 47 Page dance battle in B -boying style
The Chamwell Centre £2,480.00 To develop a RaceRunning Club at Approved but reduced £1,400.00 Contribution towards further Blackbridge athletics track, in which development of exisitng club physically disabled athletes are able to run safely, both for leisure and for sport
Glo - active Saturday £2,500.00 Weekly Club for disabled young people, Approved but reduced £1,500.00 Contribution towards running costs Starz providing respite for parents and carers. Activities include bowling, swimming, plays, cinema, different activity providers and equipment for young people. My:UK £1,150.00 Introduction of Multi sport camp with a Approved but reduced 300 Contribution to summer Glow Sport twist to current youth programme as already started provision over the May and summer holidays Parents United £2,000.00 Series of arts and craft activites and a Approved but reduced £1,400 Contribution towards programme summer trip over the summer holidays costs and a talent showcase during Black History Month This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 9
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19th July 2017 Subject: Update on the Performance of the Enhanced Recycling Service Report Of: Cabinet Member for the Environment Wards Affected: All wards Key Decision: No Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Dawn Fearn - Street Scene Strategy Officer Tel: 396829 Email: [email protected] Appendices: 1) Comparison of Commodities collected during the periods Jan – Apr 2016 & Jan – Apr 2017 2) Financial Services Report
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To update Cabinet on the performance of the enhanced recycling service that was introduced on 16th January 2017.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE
(1) The performance of the new recycling service be noted and
(2) To endorse the ongoing and proposed work that aims to further reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill within Gloucester City.
3.0 Background and Key Issues
3.1 On 16th January 2017 the Council introduced an enhanced recycling service, which in addition to an existing wide range of items, enabled residents to recycle corrugated cardboard, mixed plastics and textiles as part of the kerbside service. Recycling and food waste continues to be collected weekly..
3.2 As a comparison, between January and April 2016, 4499 tonnes of material was collected for recycling in the City. This year during the same period 5341 tonnes has been collected, an increase of 842 tonnes. Through extrapolation it is forecast that in 2017/2018 the total amount of material recycled in the city will have increased from 39% to 44%, an increase of 5%, which meets the expected forecasts as outlined in the original enhanced service project plan. The introduction of the enhanced recycling service will result in a further 2500t of material being diverted from landfill.
Page 49 3.3. Appendix 1 compares the breakdown of commodities collected during the periods Jan – Apr 2016 and Jan – Apr 2017 and it is evident that the introduction of corrugated cardboard and mixed plastic has contributed more than 60% of the increase in material collected. The introduction of the enhanced recycling service has originally forecast, also had the impact of increasing the volume of original materials collected through advertising the enhanced scheme.
3.4 The recycling service offered by the Council is now extensive in the range of materials it collects, and easy to use with limited number of containers and weekly in frequency. It is clear however that if we are to continue to increase our recycling rate and divert further material from landfill then it is prudent to review how we collect residual waste through our black bin.
3.5 Resident participation monitoring took place in March and identified that 76% of Gloucester residents are recycling, to varying degrees. However further investigation into the 76% showed that 25% of this number are not making full use of the service and could be recycling more.
3.6 The “Recycle More for Gloucester” campaign commenced in June with a focus on the 25% of households who are recycling to some degree but, as per paragraph 3.4, could recycle more. It is a city wide campaign aimed at further maximising the amount of recycling we collect at the kerb side. It is recognised that it is necessary to keep recycling messages fresh in resident’s’ minds and ensure that the capital investment in the new service is fully utilised.
3.7 The campaign will be driven through social media, with daily Tweets and Facebook updates. Our website will be updated every month with information about how much material we have collected, supported by photographs. In addition a bin sticker will be applied to the lid of every residual black waste bin in Gloucester advising what materials can be recycled and can therefore avoid be being put into the black bin.. This is a tried and tested method which will be a constant reminder to residents to “think before they throw”. This strategy was used in the food waste campaign last year and contributed to an increase in the amount of food waste recycled in the city by 56%.
3.8 Waste sent to landfill by our residents has reduced by over 1500 tonnes since April 2015, which should not be underestimated, against a national picture of increasing waste year on year. During the first week of April 2017 waste composition analysis was carried out on a number of bins. The study concluded that 51% of bins are presented for collection only half full. However a large proportion of residents are taking advantage of having more space in their bin to dispose of items that would previously have been taken to the HRC or charity shops.
3.9 In particular high percentages of green waste, toys, DIY waste and bric-a-brac were found to be presented for collection. Although residents are legally able to dispose of these types of material through their black bin if capacity is available to them, it is difficult to see how we will further reduce waste sent to landfill, without reviewing the capacity available or the frequency with which we collect residual waste bins. Officers are currently reviewing the residual waste collection service, with a view to presenting a report to Cabinet in late summer 2017. It should be noted that any proposed changes to the frequency of waste collections will require consultation with the public (as detailed in section 9 “Legal Implications”).
Page 50
4.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
4.1 We will be engaging with residents and aim to identify Recycling Champions within the community who will make a valuable contribution during implementation of this new initiative.
4.2 Recycling champions would be particularly useful in promoting not just general recycling messages within their own communities, but providing practical advice particularly in those communities where there is a transient population and families that may never have participated in recycling before.
5.0 Alternative Options Considered
5.1 N/A
6.0 Reasons for Recommendations
6.1 Considerable investment in the new recycling service is being rewarded by increased recycling and the associated revenue. Participation is up to 76% from 62% when it was last measured in 2015. A positive campaign during the summer months will ensure that the 76% are recycling as much waste as possible and will also remind residents not to fill up their waste bin unnecessarily.
7.0 Future Work and Conclusions
7.1 The success of the new service is attributed to the effective communication campaign that supported its implementation. Continued promotion of recycling through social media and ongoing campaigns, will maximise the Council’s investment and increase recycling tonnages and income even higher.
7.2 Our new fleet of recycling vehicles have an advertising banner available for businesses to purchase, for means of advertising their business. This will be an additional revenue stream for the Council.
7.3 It is recognised that we need to further reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill each year and Officers are currently reviewing residual waste collections, with a report to follow in Autumn 2017.
8.0 Financial Implications
8.1 The amount of waste diverted away from landfill and into recycling has increased significantly and it should be expected that recycling credit income for 2017/18 will exceed £500,000.
8.2 Based upon the tonnages collected in the first 4 months of the new service we can expect £519k of additional income on top of what was forecast in the savings model, it should be noted however that this relies on commodity prices holding throughout the year and the amount of material we are collecting remaining constant. Financial Services report is attached at appendix 2.
(Finance have been consulted in the preparation this report)
Page 51 9.0 Legal Implications
9.1 The Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows the Waste Collection Authority to stipulate how waste is collected and may require the occupier to place the waste for collection in receptacles of a kind and number specified. Furthermore, The European Waste Framework Directive 2008 requires the United Kingdom as a whole to reuse and recycle 50% of household waste by 2020. The proposed scheme will contribute towards this national target. Conversely there are also targets imposed by the European Landfill, Packaging, and Electronic Waste Directives with regard to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. The combined effect of these directives is that by 2020 55% of all waste should be diverted from landfill. Again the proposed scheme will contribute towards this national target.
9.2 Any future review of the waste collection service will have to pay due regard to the Council’s best value (S3(2) Local Government Act 1999) and public sector equality (S149 Equality Act 2010) duties:
(One Legal have been consulted in the preparation this report)
10.0 Risk & Opportunity Management Implications
10.1 It should be stressed that within all the financial information presented in this paper, there are significant variables which may affect the “bottom line” figures – the two main factors being commodity prices and a reduction in residual tonnages.
10.2 A positive summer campaign “Recycle More”, which is driven by social media and other digital means, will allow us to reinforce the recycling message and maximise the quantity of material we collect from the kerb side, during the summer months when traditionally recycling tonnages are higher
11.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA):
11.1 The PIA Screening Stage was completed and did not identify any potential or actual negative impact, therefore a full PIA was not required.
12.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
12.1 Improving waste management will have a positive effect on the streetscene in some areas, particularly where space is limited. Recycling is collected every week and we should encourage residents to make full use of the facilities available to them.
Sustainability
12.2 Participation in the new recycling service has increased significantly. Further promotion will ensure that effective waste management is sustained long term.
Staffing & Trade Union
12.3 Temporary staff recruited for 4 – 6 weeks, for bin sticker work. No TU consultation was necessary.
Page 52 Appendix 1 - Comparison of Commodities collected during the periods Jan – Apr 2016 & Jan – Apr 2017
(Weight in tonnes)
Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 Total Increase
Cans and Plastic 114.62 106.34 114.61 110.08 445.61
Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Total
171.62 149.21 137.73 154.86 613.42 167.77
Glass Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 Total Increase
215.77 204.91 211.13 206.03 837.24
Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 April 17 Total
184.00 205.47 258.56 216.77 864.80 27.56
Paper & Card Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 Total Increase
263.01 242.69 256.43 241.95 1004.08
Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Total
433.13 297.99 357.53 319.88 1408.53 404.45
Food Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 Total Increase
290.98 253.76 290.08 269.92 1104.74
Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Total
305.30 265.02 300.12 251.74 1122.18 17.44
Green Waste Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 Total Increase
117.20 169.00 349.58 471.40 1107.18
Jan 17 Feb 17 Mar 17 Apr 17 Total
126.60 156.30 420.46 628.42 1331.78 224.60
Page 53 Appendix 2 - Financial Services Report
PRICE PER TONNE (current COMMODITY prices) Collected Jan 17 - April 17 Monthly Figure Yearly Forecast cardboard £112 439 £49,168 £14,048.0 168,576 plastic bottles (HDPE) 30% £300 138 £41,400 £11,828.6 141,943 mixed plastic (PET) 70% £100 322 £32,200 £9,200.0 110,400 paper £85 984 £83,640 £23,897.1 286,766 glass £20 866 £17,320 £4,948.6 59,383
mixed cans(50% steel, 50% aluminium) 860 76 £65,360 £18,674.3 224,091 100 76 £7,600 £2,171.4 26,057 textiles £350 22 £7,700 £2,200.0 26,400 2923 £304,388 £86,968.0 1,043,616
Annual Forecast 1,043,616
2016/17 Actual Income 386,237
Forecast Increase 657,379
Assumed Increase in Savings138154 model
Additional Savings 519,225
Page 54 Agenda Item 10
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19 July 2017 Subject: The City Museums Service Report Of: Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure Wards Affected: All Key Decision: No Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Jonathan Lund, Corporate Director Email: [email protected] Tel: 396276 Appendices: None
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To present the findings of a review into the viability and operation of the City’s Museums Service and set out the actions taken to date to respond to the issues raised in the review report.
1.2 To seek agreement in principle, and subject to contract, for the transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site.
1.3 To seek endorsement of proposals to develop a bid for HLF Resilience Funding to take forward other significant elements of the review report’s recommendations.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE that
(1) The Review into the City’s Museums Service is received and welcomed and that Jill Shonk is thanked for her work in undertaking the review (2) Agreement in principle is given to the transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site and subject to contract. Delegated authority is given to the Corporate Director, after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, the Head of Policy and Resources and the Council Solicitor to agree the terms and details of the transfer and complete the transaction; and (3) The Head of Cultural and Trading Services be authorised to pursue proposals for a bid for HLF Resilience Funding and other funding options and actions necessary to implement the findings of the review and in particular those matters set out in paragraph 3.4 to this report.
3.0 Background and Key Issues
3.1 Gloucester City Council currently operates two museums. The Museum of Gloucester (previously the City Museum) is based at premises in Brunswick Road, Gloucester. The Gloucester Life Museum (previously the Folk Museum) is based Page 55 in Westgate Street. The two museums are managed and operated jointly. Following changes to the staffing structure resulting from the Together Gloucester review, from June 2017 the two premises will be operationally managed as part of Cultural and Traded Services by the Visitor Experience team. The programme of events, exhibitions, marketing, learning and engagement at the museums will be delivered by the Cultural Development Team.
3.2 There have been a number of significant changes to the shape and structure of the City’s museums service in recent years.
2003 - the Transport Museum was sold to fund improvements to the City and Folk Museums 2004 - restrictions to the opening hours of the Folk Museum were reversed due to public demand. 2008 - £755,000 of Heritage Lottery Funds (HLF) were secured and invested to improve learning and engagement – including investment in the “Ed Shed”, improve displays and diversify income streams to help make both museums financially sustainable. 2011 - the City Museum reopened after a major refit offering “The Story of Gloucester” and a remodelled café on the ground floor, the “Ed Shed” reopened with a replacement Victorian Classroom, improved cloakroom and toilet facilities and a landscaped garden. Admission charges were introduced. 2013 - £500,000 capital funding was earmarked for improvements to the upstairs galleries at the City Museum. 2014 - some of the capital funding was rescheduled to tackle roof repairs, a further HLF funding bid was unsuccessful, the café at the Folk Museum closed and the café at the City Museum began to struggle financially. £43,000 was awarded by the Arts Council England (ACE) to purchase new furniture for the Ed Shed, enhance the Victorian Schoolroom experience for participating schools and upgrade the lighting to LED. An external independent review of the Museums Service was commissioned by the Council from Michael and Partners. 2015 - budget savings targets of £132,000 were included in the Council’s Money Plan and Savings Plans, admission charges were increased, a catering review recommended the closure of the loss making café at the Museum of Gloucester and the City and Folk Museums were rebranded, 2016 - the City Council launched its Cultural Strategy, began the establishment of a Culture Trust and bid for £1.5m funding from HLF/ACE and Historic England to fund a £3.1m Great Place Scheme. 2017 – The City secured Great Place funding of £1.49m. Together Gloucester established a new Cultural and Traded Services Team incorporating a Visitor Experience Team to manage delivery of the Council’s principal cultural venues and a Cultural Development Team to manage a programme of events, exhibitions, promotions, displays, education and learning backed by a marketing team.
3.3 In order to ensure that the City’s museums service was able to operate successfully within the constraints of reducing local authority budgets and contribute fully to delivering the objectives set out in the Cultural Vision and Strategy and also achieve the outcomes sought from the Great Place project the Cabinet Lead and Corporate Director invited Jill Shonk from the County Council’s Archive Service to critically review the existing service. Jill was asked to consider the continued relevance of the previous studies and reviews, assess how the service currently operates and
Page 56 identify the pressures, problems and opportunities it faces, review how comparable services are delivered elsewhere and make recommendations on how best to take the service forward.
3.4 The final report is comprehensive, considered and timely. The headline findings are these:-
3.4.1 The museums services are in a financially vulnerable position and budgets and the capacity to address the financial situation are stretched by operating across two sites. 3.4.2 Access to significant future grant funding is limited because the 2008 HLF funding did not achieve the predicted increases in visitor numbers and the 2014 HLF bid failed to focus sufficiently on access and participation. 3.4.3 The Council needs to re-establish its ability to deliver successful audience development and engagement programmes via the implementation of smaller projects achieving measurable outcomes. 3.4.4 An assessment using the “Resilient Heritage Health Checker Tool” indicated an ongoing need for external support to assist in making the service sustainable; a requirement to focus on improved marketing; a need to revisit service specific plans and strategies to plug emerging gaps, develop an improved track record and strengthen the service in regard to quality, impact and stakeholder relationships. 3.4.5 The capacity of the museums service to deliver change is limited because the service lacks strategic leadership and project development and management capacity and because the team is overstretched by the demands of running two venues.
3.5 The report recommends:
3.5.1 Agreement to focus the service on a single venue and adopt an invest to save approach to enhance the museums offer 3.5.2 Consider an approach to the HLF Resilience Fund for a Resilience Grant to help deliver a) A managed exit strategy from two venues to one b) An options/development plan for the single venue c) Audience development d) Consultation around a future application for a major capital project at the single location. 3.5.3 Develop proposals for a major HLF funded capital and activities development programme 3.5.4 Implement a comprehensive Development Activities Plan to be delivered over the short and medium terms as part of the Resilience Fund and Major Capital Works projects to provide a clear mission and vision, a sustainable structure/governance arrangement, sound and secure premises, an audience/visitor plan, an improved exhibitions and events programme, a well- stocked shop, a café that adds value to the service and contributes to high standards of customer care, a good online presence (providing information, purchasing and payment facilities, social networking and formal and informal learning), customer insight, a volunteer strategy and a “Friends” or Development Trust to broaden participation and engagement and increase access to external funding
Page 57 3.5.5 A revised staffing structure to deliver strategic leadership, management capacity, access to the necessary expertise and appropriately trained and qualified staff.
3.6 Actions and Options – Since receiving the report a number of actions and options have been explored or implemented which seek to address the recommendations.
3.7 Together Gloucester – The Together Gloucester review has sought to address some of the capacity and management issues. The new structure will provide a Head of Cultural and Traded Services able to deliver stronger leadership and management to the service. The establishment of a Visitor Experience Team seeks to broaden the award winning success of the TIC across all of the City Council’s cultural venues including the museums and build greater operational resilience. The creation of a Cultural Development team seeks to deliver a more co-ordinated cultural programme, better marketing and strengthen the audience engagement and learning delivered by the museums’ curatorial staff. A consolidated food and drinks team led by a new manager will be tasked with delivering commercially sustainable catering services that enhance the experience of visiting the City Council’s venues.
3.8 Gloucestershire Museums Development Service – The City Council is working closely with the Gloucestershire Museums Development Officer – also a member of the City’s Cultural Trust/Board. This co-operation is designed to ensure that successful appointments are made to the current vacancies in the new Together Gloucester structures. In addition we are working together on the potential for a bid to the HLF Resilience Fund to take forward many of the recommendations set out in para 3.4 above. The Museums Development Officer is also supporting the City Council’s discussions with the Gloucester Civic Trust on the future of the Gloucester Life Museum site in Westgate Street,
3.9 Gloucester Civic Trust/Gloucester Life Museum site – The City Council has been approached by the Gloucester Civic Trust about the future of the site which currently houses the Gloucester Life Museum. Discussions are at an early stage but the Trust is interested in taking ownership of the site in order to deliver a range of activities including:
3.9.1 An administrative and operational headquarters for the Trust 3.9.2 A base for the Trust’s expanding volunteer organisation 3.9.3 A starting and end point for Civic Trust guided tours and City walks 3.9.4 A venue for heritage and Trust related displays and exhibitions 3.9.5 A location for continuing heritage based education and learning 3.9.6 A café and restroom/toilets for visitors, volunteers and the public 3.9.7 Facilities for income-generating room hire 3.9.8 A programme of repair, refurbishment and restoration of this historically important city centre building led by an organisation with a passion for the City’s built heritage.
3.10 To support the Civic Trust in its due diligence process the City Council has shared the reports and surveys we hold about the condition of the building, the budgets we hold to maintain, repair and operate and information about the income we have generated through room hire etc.
Page 58 3.11 If these discussions were to conclude successfully they would provide an opportunity to plan and implement a managed decant from two museum locations to one, whilst still preserving the Westgate Street site for future heritage related activity, public access and a sustainable programme of managed and sympathetic repair and restoration. It would support the development and expansion of the Civic Trust and their growing volunteer numbers and would be broadly consistent with the objectives of the HLF and ACE funding invested in 2008 and 2014.
3.12 If the actions and options outlined above are endorsed following consideration of this report is it intended that an HLF Resilience Fund grant application is prepared and submitted later this year; that discussions continue with the Gloucester Civic Trust around appropriate heads of terms for the transfer of the site to the trust, and a managed decant of the museum’s collection from storage and display in the Gloucester Life Museum potentially starting in Autumn 2017 after the History festival; and that we confirm with HLF and ACE their agreement that the proposals do not frustrate previous awards of funds.
4.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
4.1 The potential transfer of the current Gloucester Life Museum site in Westgate Street to a well-established charitable organisation with a track record of heritage related activity in the City and a growing volunteer base would represent a strong ABCD outcome. It offers the potential to entrust the building to an organisation well placed to manage its protection and renovation and able to access a broader range of funding than is possible through the City Council. It would also provide the Civic Trust with a base from which to expand its activities, support its volunteering and contribute further to the cultural development of the City.
5.0 Alternative Options Considered
5.1 A wide range of alternative options were considered as part of the review undertaken by Jill Shonk. Options included retaining both the Museum of Gloucester and the Gloucester Life Museum, consolidating the service at one or other of the two sites, seeking a new, purpose built venue (either shared or stand- alone), exploring alternative governance models (restructuring, outsourcing, creating a museums trust, community asset transfer). The conclusion was that a number of fundamental issues – premises, leadership, vision and strategy, development plans, audience development and engagement and capital investment needed to be addressed before any of the alternative options became viable or sustainable.
6.0 Reasons for Recommendations
6.1 The recommendations seek to welcome the findings of a comprehensive report into the operation of the City’s Museums Service and adopt and implement the recommendations. This is achieved in part by changes and actions already underway, by pursuing the potential of a transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site to the Gloucester Civic Trust and by developing plans as part of a bid for HLF Resilience Funding and subsequently a major capital works application to address other elements of the review report.
Page 59 6.2 Taken together the proposals present a comprehensive, reasoned and practical response to the Review Report and seek to implement a solution which addresses the needs of the service whilst also supporting the development plans of a significant partner organisation which shares the City Council’s commitment to the preservation, enhancement, access to and interpretation of the City’s heritage.
7.0 Future Work and Conclusions
7.1 This is a significant programme of work which will involve negotiation and compliance management to secure a lawful transfer of the site; development of a comprehensive HLF Resilience Fund Bid, a managed decant from the vacated premises, over time, with suitable arrangements for the safe and secure storage of the museum’s collections which are not in public display and the development and implementation of an extensive range of strategies, policies and plans to take the service forward.
8.0 Financial Implications
8.1 Building running costs, including insurance and business rates, have been in the region of £65k per annum over the last two financial years. If the building were to be transferred from the Authority then it is anticipated that these costs would be saved.
8.2 The museum in its current form generated gross income of £35k in 2016/17. Although this income would no longer be received this should be offset by savings produced by focusing the museums service on a single venue.
(Financial Services have been consulted in the preparation this report.)
9.0 Legal Implications
9.1 The City Council has a statutory duty to secure the best consideration reasonably obtainable when disposing of the freehold or long leasehold interest in a property. Disposals at an undervalue are permitted where the value foregone is less than £2m and Councillors are of the opinion that to do so is for the social, economic or environmental benefit of the City or its inhabitants. It is good practice to link such deliberations with existing strategies and policies if possible.
9.2 The City Council will have to comply with HLF requirements imposed on the Gloucester Life Museum before the transfer is affected or agree the transfer of those obligations to the Civic Trust. If the City Council applies for HLF funding on the remaining building then obligations are likely to be imposed on the Council in respect of that application.
9.2 In making the changes set out in this report the council will need to have due regard to its equality duty as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and also to the duty to consult in accordance with its best value obligations as set out in section 3(2) of the Local Government Act 1999.
(One Legal have been consulted in the preparation this report.)
Page 60 10.0 Risk & Opportunity Management Implications
10.1 The review report questions the long term sustainability of the Museums Service operating across two distinct venues. This points to a real risk in choosing a “do nothing” option.
10.3 HLF and ACE funding has been secured to implement improvements and developments at the Gloucester Life Museum. Discussions remain on-going about the implications of the proposals contained in this report with both organisations. There is a risk that if either or both, do not accept that the proposals remain consistent with the original funded purposes, partial repayment may be required and future grant applications may be jeopardised.
10.3 The proposals set out in this report depend upon our being able to agree terms with the Civic Trust and the Trust being comfortable with the responsibilities associated with the transfer of the building to them. There is a risk that agreement will not be reached and other alternatives will have to be explored.
10.4 Any application for funding carries a risk that the bid will not be successful. The City Council is in discussions with HLF to manage this risk and the proposals have been developed with the support of the County Museums Development Officer. We know that the HLF Resilience Fund is designed to support the sort of service development challenges we are seeking to address.
11.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA):
11.1 The PIA Screening Stage was completed and did not identify any potential or actual negative impact, therefore a full PIA was not required.
12.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
12.1 None
Sustainability
12.2 These proposals seek to improve the sustainability both the City Museums Service and the development of the Civic Trust, whilst also enhancing the likelihood of managed and sustainable investment in the protection of the historic site in Westgate Street.
Staffing & Trade Union
12.3 None. These proposals do not seek to have any impact on staffing. Existing staff employed to work at the Gloucester Life Museum will be redeployed to support activity at other City Council venues. This is consistent with the revised role profiles developed as part of the Together Gloucester process.
Background Documents: Gloucester City Museums – Options Review – Jill Shonk .
Page 61 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 11
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19 July 2017 Subject: City Events Programme 2018 375th Anniversary of the Siege of Gloucester 1100th Anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed Report Of: Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure Wards Affected: All Key Decision: No Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Jonathan Lund, Corporate Director Email: [email protected] Tel: 396276 Appendices: 1. Proposal for Marketing Gloucester Ltd
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 A Notice of Motion, agreed at Council on 29 September 2016, acknowledged the Administration’s manifesto commitment to stage a major history festival in 2018 to celebrate the 375th anniversary of the Siege of Gloucester and the 1100th anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed.
1.2 This report presents proposals, developed by Marketing Gloucester Ltd (MGL) for events and activities to mark the two anniversaries. If approved, the proposals would form part of the 2018 City Events programme delivered for the City Council by MGL.
1.3 In the context of the establishment of the Gloucester Culture Trust (GCT), the delivery of the Cultural Strategy and the ambitions set out in the successful Great Place bid, Cabinet is also asked to consider the extent to which this proposal and future City Events programmes should be led by the GCT and whether the GCT should be invited to consider what further activity might be commissioned to mark the two anniversaries.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE that
(1) The proposals received from MGL for events and activities to mark the two anniversaries in 2018 are welcomed and endorsed.
(2) GCT is invited to consider what they could add to the proposals as part of a wider consideration of how the events could fit within a broader programme of activity in 2018 which would optimise the availability of Great Place funding, deliver key cultural strategy objectives and make a significant contribution towards Gloucester’s ambition to be City of Culture in 2025.
Page 63 3.0 Background and Key Issues
3.1 2018 marks the anniversary dates of two events of major, national historic importance; the 375th anniversary of the siege of Gloucester and the 1100th anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia who was buried at St Oswald’s Priory in Gloucester, which she founded with her husband Aethelred.
3.2 MGL has submitted proposals to mark the two anniversaries in 2018 with a series of events and activities. Aethelflaed would be marked in early June with a week long festival culminating on 12 June. The Siege of Gloucester celebrations would commence with Gloucester Day in September 2018 and form part of that year’s History Festival. Details of the proposals are set out in Appendix 1 to this report.
3.3 In previous years proposals of this type would come to the Cabinet for consideration and comment and, if approved, would be included in the relevant year’s calendar of planned city events. Funding would usually come from the events budget provided annually to MGL by the City Council or via a mix of City Council funding, sponsorship and marketing and other funders.
3.4 Receipt of these proposals from MGL provide a useful and timely prompt to consider the extent to which the recent establishment of GCT might change how the City’s programme of events and festivals is considered, developed, commissioned and funded in future.
3.5 The Council’s Cultural Vision and Strategy 2016/26 talks about the need to recognise that the City Council cannot, alone, deliver the cultural regeneration of the City and that Gloucester Culture Trust (the name the organisation will be known as) will be instrumental in delivering the aspirations set out in the Vision and Strategy by harnessing the efforts of a broad and collaborative partnership of individuals, organisations and groups.
3.6 The Strategy goes on to refer to our ambitions to develop artistic and cultural capacity in the city, encourage grass roots community arts activity, support Gloucester based arts organisations, commission high quality outdoor arts events, develop audiences, invest in the creation of new events with potential to grow into nationally significant signature events – all with the potential of making Gloucester a credible candidate for City of Culture in 2025.
3.7 In this context the opportunity to deliver two nationally significant historic anniversaries in 2018 is an important one and consideration needs to be given to whether the proposals from MGL should be referred to GCT with an invitation to GCT to consider what could be added to the proposals.
3.8 To help Cabinet, GCT Director, Hollie Smith-Charles has indicated that if given the opportunity GCT might
3.8.1 Use the anniversaries as an opportunity to support the development of the independent creative and cultural sector in Gloucester. Recognising that MGL are an important, but not the only, curator of this kind of work. The Trust could put out an open call and commission work from artists and arts organisations in Gloucester (or involving Gloucester locals) to create and deliver work. This would ensure as much of the anniversary budget as possible goes to artists and arts organisations and gives them an opportunity to strengthen their practice as part of a big, local project. Page 64
3.8.2 Engage with the new Culture Forum to explore how the wider community in Gloucester might want to mark, create, participate and enjoy the two anniversaries.
3.8.3 Want to consider taking some bold decisions about putting artistic excellence at the heart of the proposals - alongside other factors, such as visitor numbers. If the City is aiming to become a cultural capital, there is a great opportunity (backed partially by Great Place funding) to see what happens if we cast a wide net, with an open call as suggested above, and explore what other ideas are out there. This could supplement the proposals put forward by MGL and act as a creative stimulus for new work for and about Gloucester.
3.8.4 GCT would be keen to work with a 2018 anniversary steering group with representatives from MGL, the History Festival, Heritage Forum, Civic Trust and the City Council to coordinate activity, assess proposals and commission a varied programme. MGL would also continue to play a pivotal role bringing it all together, promoting and delivering the content as suggested in their proposal.
3.8.5 Use this as an opportunity for the History Festival, Civic Trust and Heritage Forum to work together (with support from the new Great Place-funded Heritage Forum Community Engagement Officer) to build their professional experience too.
3.8.6 The Cultural Strategy has a strategic focus on the development of audiences and this should be at the centre of the proposals. This would be strengthened by a clear marketing plan which: identifies the target audiences (socio-demographically, as well as expected numbers of audience/visitors), considers the opportunities for the participation of Gloucester’s communities, not just history enthusiasts and which dovetails with City Voices, via links to the History Festival committee and possibly Carnival too.
3.8.7 The fact that Aethelflaed ties in with the centenary of women's enfranchisement, feminism and women’s rights might be good hooks to make the story of an Anglo-Saxon woman leader resonate with contemporary audiences. For example, Cheltenham Literature Festival are planning activities to mark the centenary of women’s suffrage in 2018, which offers a neat opportunity for a co-programming partnership (History Festival in Sept; Literature Festival in Oct) to develop these wider links.
3.9 If Cabinet considers it appropriate to take the proposals forward in this way any Great Place investment could be used to build signature community events in 2018, celebrating the City’s history and its impact on contemporary life with as much funding as possible going direct to the city’s creative community.
4.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
4.1 The City Council has been pivotal in the establishment of a Gloucester Culture Trust to harness the energy of a wide range of individuals and organisations with a stake in the cultural development of the City. Taking the opportunity to devolve
Page 65 leadership of the development of the City’s cultural offer to GCT is consistent with the City Council’s approach to ABCD. In addition, taking advantage of the opportunity of the 2018 anniversaries to take forward aspects of the cultural strategy and the Great Place programme by seeking to promote creative activity, support the local arts community and develop local capacity support the principles of ABCD.
5.0 Alternative Options Considered
5.1 In previous years the Council has directly commissioned a programme of City Events from Marketing Gloucester. This report invites consideration of an option to invite GCT to comment and advise the City Council on the City Events programme, prior to a final decision by Cabinet, in order to strengthen the programme and ensure greater liaison with other cultural activity in the City and the strategic aims of the Board/Trust.
6.0 Reasons for Recommendations
6.1 MGL has submitted proposals for activity in 2018 to mark two significant historic anniversaries. Given the City Council’s strategic cultural ambitions, the establishment of GCT and the availability of Great Place funding, it is proposed that the proposals from MGL are welcomed and supported and that GCT is asked to consider how they might form part of a wider programme in 2018 that maximises the opportunities to deliver against both our strategic and Great Place ambitions and helps our aspirations to be City of Culture in 2025.
7.0 Future Work and Conclusions
7.1 If the recommendations are approved the Culture Board/Trust will work with MGL to take forward the matters set out in this report.
8.0 Financial Implications
8.1 None at this stage. Any funding is anticipated to come from either existing Great Place funding or other funding streams (e.g. ACE/marketing/commercial activity/sponsorship). There are no proposals to drop or reduce elements of the existing City Events programme to divert funds to towards the two anniversaries.
(Financial Services have been consulted in the preparation this report.)
9.0 Legal Implications
9.1 None
(One Legal have been consulted in the preparation this report.)
10.0 Risk & Opportunity Management Implications
10.1 There is a risk that either the level of funding being sought by MGL from the Great Place funds cannot be met or that the scope of the proposals do not fully address Great Place objectives, making the award of funding difficult.
Page 66 10.2 There is a risk that broadening the scope of the programme and the range of participants might introduce complexity and delay which will need careful management and co-ordination.
10.3 There is an opportunity to maximise the timing of the two anniversaries to mark the delivery of a substantial programme of activity which helps deliver the City’s strategic cultural objectives and significant elements of our Great Place programme.
11.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA):
11.1 The PIA Screening Stage was completed and did not identify any potential or actual negative impact, therefore a full PIA was not required.
12.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
12.1 None
Sustainability
12.2 None
Staffing & Trade Union
12.3 None
Background Documents: Appendix 1 - MGL Proposal
Page 67 This page is intentionally left blank Plans for 375 Civil war commemoration 2018
The Siege of Gloucester was an engagement in the First English Civil War. It took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643, between the defending Parliamentarian garrison of Gloucester and the besieging army of King Charles I. The siege ended with the arrival of a relieving Parliamentarian army under the Earl of Essex. The Royalist forces withdrew, having sustained heavy casualties and had several cannon disabled as a result of sallies made by the defenders.
5th September 2018 will be the 375th anniversary of the day the siege of Gloucester was lifted. This is annually commemorated during “Gloucester Day” celebrations which are generally held on the first Saturday in September.
#Gloucester375 commemorations
To commemorate the 375th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Gloucester there a number of initiatives that are being discussed with a range of partners across the city which would take place, appropriately across the two weeks of the History Festival and Heritage open days including
· Enhanced Gloucester Day celebrations (some re-enactment -possibly Col Massey and a few troops) · Series of Talks at History festival Blackfriars and City voices · Programme of Civil war walking tours (Civic Trust and others) · Civil war Re-enactment in Gloucester park involving 200 reenactors and horses and living camp, possibly a ticketed all day event 15/16th September (Sunday main focus) · 15/16th September living camp in bowling green Gloucester · Heritage Open Days (HODs) 5th/6th September, themed around Civil War, with costumes provided 6th/7th September · Also during HODs re-enactment of scenes depicting stories of Gloucester from the civil war such as the canon ball that rolled down Southgate and the famous pig that was taken around the city walls · Special brochure explaining history of siege of Gloucester, civil war and Col. Massey distributed free to all Gloucester primary schools · Museum Exhibition – possibly exhibits from Leeds Armoury · Permanent memorial to Col Massey · Bring back Scrumpty to tell the civil war story · One ticket giving joint entry to museum exhibition and Gloucester Park re-enactment · Parade through city by re-enactors, with Col Massey at the lead. Either during HODs or Saturday 15th before battle re-enactment 16th in Gloucester Park
Page 69
NOTES
Background
On 10 August, the Royalist army arrived at Gloucester and promptly demanded that Colonel Edward Massey surrender. Massey refused and Royalist forces began digging in and setting up artillery batteries around the south and east gates of the city and also severed or diverted water pipes. The defenders burned houses and other obstacles outside the city walls. The bombardment of the city began.
However, over the next days, ably lead by Massey, the defenders made several sallies from the gates, attacking and disabling Royalist artillery, taking prisoners and tools. Breaches in the wall were filled with cannon baskets and wool sacks. The Royalists made attempts to drain the city moat and fill it in at places.
As the siege was prolonged, the King requested his favourite, Prince Rupert, who was currently holding the newly captured port of Bristol, to acquire a newly built cannon from his friends and associates in the Low Countries. This was done post-haste and this huge cannon was shipped over to Bristol and escorted up the Severn Channel to Gloucester, to be positioned just outside the city walls (actually on the high wall of Llanthony Secunda priory in Hempsted), aimed at the cathedral itself.
Unfortunately for the King, his gunners had no experience of firing the brand new gun, especially one larger than they had ever used before, and, on its initial firing, the cannon exploded. With this failure and the excessive time spent trying to take Gloucester, the King had given Parliament enough time to gather huge London forces to march to its relief.
On 26 August the Earl of Essex left London with an army of 15,000 men to relieve the City. Meanwhile, the Royalist army began tunnelling to place a mine under the East Gate, but a sudden spell of bad weather flooded the tunnel, leaving enough time for the Earl of Essex to arrive and reinforce the city.
By the end of the siege, Massey had only three barrels of gunpowder left for the defence of the city.
Commemoration
Page 70 For centuries afterwards, the lifting of the siege was marked by an annual Gloucester Day. This died out in the nineteenth century but was reinstated in 2009.[1]
The modern Gloucester Day has recently included a parade by the Mock Mayor of Barton, an office created after Barton was moved outside of the limits of the city following the restoration of Charles II
Page 71 Plans for Aethelflaed commemoration 2018
June 12th 2018 will be the 1100th anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed – First Lady of Mercia, warrior Queen, mother, skilled politician, city planner and a woman without whom we possibly would not have an England as we know it.
History has been written largely by men and whilst most famous among her contemporaries her fame did not survive her. Aethelflaed has been claimed by historian Michael Wood to be the second most significant female figure in English history, and someone who should be a feminist icon. She is buried in Gloucester at St Oswald Priory, which was founded by her and her Husband Aethelred.
2018 #Aethelfaed festival in Gloucester
To commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians we are proposing a week long festival will be held in Gloucester, culminating on June 12 2018 with the unveiling of a new monument to this most important and influential woman. It coincides with the 100th anniversary of Women attaining the vote in 1918
The web site AethelflaedRises.com, and facebook page facebook.com/QueenAethelflaed were initially published in late 2014. The team at Marketing Gloucester are working up a plan with a number of partners including hopefully all the “Burghs”. We are very happy to hear from anyone who would like to be involved and envisage that the History Festival in September could be an important part of the celebrations. Currently we have partners involved in the following, or who are investigating
· Large Statue of Aethelfaed (similar dimensions/position to Angel of the North) · Re-enactment around the anniversary in June 2018 (Anglo Saxon/Viking re-enactors sourced) · Play on Aethelflaed (possibly outdoors at St Oswalds) · Further archaeological/DNA research · New devoted Aethelflaed Website · Partnership with the other towns/cities connected with Aethelflaed – focusing on Gloucester being the centre for celebrations · Creation of temporary “Greek Theatre” with raised seating in the round using St Oswalds Priory as backdrop. This to be used for talks and performances · Series of Talks on Aethelflaed · Museum exhibition · Schools education piece/competition · Civic Trust walking tours · Events also during National festival of Archaeology
Marketing Gloucester will be coordinating events with the other Cities, Towns and Burghs which have strong historical connections with Aethelflaed. We will be looking for contributions from (among others)
Page 72
Hereford, Bridgnorth (912); Tamworth (913);Stafford (913); Eddisbury (914); Warwick (914); C hirbury (915); Runcorn (915). Leicester, Chester.
Marketing Gloucester have been discussing this with a number of parties who have a particular interest in Aethelflaed and have identified others that could be involved which include:
Andrew Armstrong Gloucester History Festival
Caroline Heighway Theatre Gloucestershire
Civic Trust Richard Graham MP
Museums Gloucester cathedral
Paul James Tom Holland
Jarek Adams Janina Ramirez
Strike a light Bernard Cornwell
Jess Gordon
Re-enactment around the anniversary in June 2018/St Oswald’s “Greek” theatre
We are currently investigating whether we can have an event at St Oswald’s including re- enactment. The Priory and Cathedral would make a marvellous backdrop, similar to the Greek Theatre in Taormina and if we have covered tier seating with sound proofing behind it, it could make for a good event and present other opportunities for additional performances through the Summer. This would also provide a wonderful venue for talks including one which showcased St Oswald’s
Further archaeological/DNA research
Jason Smith has spoken to Reading University about the bones, which they hold, but they are not keen on spending the money as yet on doing the DNA tests, but we will keep pushing as a reinternment would make a great story. There is also an opportunity to complete the unfinished dig of the undercroft of St Oswald’s priory, which potentially could hold Aethelflaed’s remains.
Series of Talks on Aethelflaed/Museum Exhibition
Page 73 The Museum of Gloucester are planning an Anglo Saxon/Aethelflaed exhibition during 2018 and possibly put on some talks during this time, although it could be good to look to do a series of summer talks at St Oswald’s
Page 74 Agenda Item 12
Meeting: Cabinet Date: 19 July 2017 Subject: Gloucester Culture Board Update & Gloucester Great Place Programme Report Of: Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure Wards Affected: All Key Decision: No Budget/Policy Framework: No Contact Officer: Jonathan Lund, Corporate Director Email: [email protected] Tel: 396276- Appendices: None
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To provide a general update on the work of the Gloucester Culture Board and the establishment of the Gloucester Culture Trust.
1.2 To report on the successful bid for Great Place funding and to outline the programme of activity that will be supported by the Great Place Grant.
2.0 Recommendations
2.1 Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE to note and welcome the Report
3.0 Background and Key Issues
3.1 Gloucester Culture Board
3.1 A Cultural Strategy for the City of Gloucester was adopted by the Council on 24 March 2016. The strategy was developed using support from Arts Council England (ACE) and a partnership of organisations having a stake in the cultural economy of the City including
Gloucester City Council Marketing Gloucester Ltd Gloucester Cathedral (Project Pilgrim) University of Gloucestershire Create Gloucestershire ACE GUST (organisers of the Gloucester History festival)
Page 75 3.2 The Strategy has six broad objectives
To develop artists and arts organisations To broaden the cultural offer To develop a vibrant city centre To develop audiences To put Gloucester on the cultural map To make things happen
3.3 The Cultural Strategy seeks to establish a Cultural Trust to deliver the Strategy. The Trust will be a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) led by a Board of 12 Trustees (including the Chair); one of whom will represent GCC (currently Councillor Lise Noakes). The establishment of the Trust to deliver the Cultural Strategy effectively devolves strategic leadership of culture to this broader cultural partnership. Individual organisations, including the City Council (and through the City Council Marketing Gloucester Ltd), will remain responsible for delivery, but the Board/Trust will shape, articulate and lead the delivery of the strategy by supporting and commissioning activity, fundraising and grant giving, enabling, co-ordinating facilitating and influencing. MGL will continue to support the City Council, and through the City Council, support the Trust’s strategic responsibilities, by delivering a range of ancillary activities. These are set out in a Contract for Services between the City Council and MGL and include: business, tourism and destination promotion; marketing and the promotion of a high quality visitor experience; inward investment and particular support for tourist related businesses; provision of business, local skills and training advice and support; outcomes delivering economic and promotional impact and improvement; provide a link between business and the public sector; educational and promotional visits to the City; marketing related market research, tourism marketing and information; income generation and city and civic events programmes.
3.4 In late summer 2016 the process started to recruit the Board of Trustees. Councillor Noakes was appointed as the City Council nominee. An interview panel was chaired by Dame Janet Trotter DBE, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, and appointments were made in October 2017 to a further eight of the twelve Board places. A further round of recruitment is taking place this summer to the three vacant places. Interviews are underway and if we are able to notify the successful candidates in advance, the outcome will be reported at the meeting.
3.5 The first nine Trustees are
3.5.1. Lise Noakes – Gloucester City Councillor and Cabinet Lead for Culture and Leisure.
3.5.2 Donna Renney - Company Director, founder of GUST and organiser of the Gloucester History Festival, former Chief Executive of the Cheltenham Festivals
3.5.3 Neil Hopwood – Social entrepreneur and community activist – Project Manager with GFirst LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership)
3.5.4 Deborah Potts – Chief Executive of Active Gloucestershire and The Music Works
Page 76
3.5.5 Nickie Miles-Wildin – Artistic Director of TwoCan Theatre Company, associate artist at GDance, Chair of Theatre Gloucestershire
3.5.6 Stephen Marston – Vice Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire and Board Member of GFirst LEP
3.5.7 Anne Cranston – Community Trustee, Project Manager for Gloucester Cathedral’s Project Pilgrim, founder member of Gloucester Heritage Forum.
3.5.8 Tyler Attwood – student of contemporary dance, Director of Multi Styles Battle Community Interest Company, Trustee of Theatre Gloucestershire
3.5.9 Julie Reynolds – Fundraising specialist and Gloucestershire Museums Development Officer
3.6 In December the Board began the process of recruiting a paid/employed Director. Following receipt of a strong field of applications Hollie Smith-Charles was appointed to the post and she took up her new role in March 2017. Hollie has worked in fundraising and business development for organisations including Cheltenham Festivals, Birmingham Museums and Create Gloucestershire. She has particular experience in collaborative working and a passion for talent development, new work and supporting young people.
3.7 An external firm of Solicitors has been engaged to advise the Board on the formal steps to be taken to establish the CIO. An application has been made and the response from the Charity Commission is awaited.
3.8 Since the adoption of the Cultural Strategy and Vision the City of Gloucester has seen the successful 2016 Summer of Music, Art and Culture (SOMAC), the further development of the Gloucester History Festival, the very popular Robots exhibition and the Henry III celebrations, the opening of space in Kings House to provide temporary accommodation for artists, performers and producers and the provision of financial support towards the establishment of a Music Works studio in Gloucester. In June 2017 Gloucester Guildhall-based Strike-a-light theatre group were successful in achieving Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation status (a first for Gloucester) alongside the same achievement for Create Gloucestershire which is a partner in the Great Place scheme (see below).
4. Gloucester Great Place Programme
4.1. In March 2017, the City Council supported the Culture Board in a major application to the ACE/Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)/Historic England (HE) Great Place Scheme. Gloucester City was one of only fifteen applications to be awarded Great Place funding. The Council was awarded £1,489,200 to support a £3.1million, three-year programme entitled:
“Gloucester – a proud past: Culture at the heart of an ambitious future”
4.2. Gloucester’s was one of only two successful applicants in the South West (the other being Torbay). Nationally 15 schemes won funding from a total of 141 applications.
Page 77
4.3. GCC is the grant-holder and is accountable to HLF but delivery will be led by the Gloucester Culture Trust (GCT) who will manage and spend the grant and work directly with project partners to deliver the activity. GCT will therefore provide leadership of the programme and ensure quality control. The Project Manager for the Great Places programme will be the Director of GCT, Hollie Smith-Charles. A Project Steering group is being established as a formal sub-committee of the Board, convened by the Project Manager and chaired by the Chair of GCT, Councillor Lise Noakes, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Culture.
4.4. Great Place will help GCC & GCT deliver on all aspects of the 10-year cultural strategy, published in 2016. The vision is to put “Culture at the Heart of Gloucester for the Good of All”.
4.5. Great Place provides a fantastic opportunity to invest in culture, regeneration, heritage and place-making in new, coordinated ways. It will support the achievement of the six strategic objectives, especially towards:
4.5.1. Developing leadership and building capacity in all areas of the city’s arts & heritage ecology 4.5.2. Transforming how our historic buildings and outdoor spaces are viewed and used 4.5.3. Increasing the appeal, quality and diversity of our festivals and events 4.5.4. Raising the aspirations of all our communities, especially young people
4.6. There are seven interlinked strands of activity:
GreatGreat Place:Place: OurOur 33--year,year, £3.1m£3.1m schemescheme to invest in Gloucester’s arts & heritage to invest in Gloucester’s arts & heritage 2.2. GloucesterGloucester VenueVenue –– feasibilityfeasibility && pilotpilot activityactivity basedbased onon anan ethosethos ofof inspiringinspiring 1. Development of young people + heritage, music 3. Cultural 1. Development of young people + heritage, music 3. Cultural GloucesterGloucester CultureCulture TrustTrust CommissioningCommissioning toto embedembed asas aa newnew organisationalorganisational cultureculture inin publicpublic policypolicy modelmodel organisationsorganisations GREATGREAT PLACEPLACE 4.4. DestinationDestination Seven MarketingMarketing toto growgrow 7.7. DevelopingDeveloping CulturalCultural Seven thethe visitorvisitor economyeconomy EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs throughthrough interlinkedinterlinked andand attractattract inwardinward anan incubatorincubator hubhub strandsstrands investmentinvestment
5.5. AchievingAchieving RegenerationRegeneration inin 6.6. FestivalsFestivals && EventsEvents –– thethe CityCity ThroughThrough HeritageHeritage developingdeveloping communitycommunity artsarts && (ARCH)(ARCH) toto enhanceenhance thethe builtbuilt heritageheritage activityactivity ++ flagshipflagship eventsevents environmentenvironment forfor allall
Page 78 4.7. In practice, this will involve a range of practical activities:
4.7.1. A Big Conversation with the people, communities and businesses in Gloucester to talk about what culture means to them, what type of culture we should be creating, offering and supporting and what festivals and events we should make Gloucester known for. 4.7.2. Practical development of the Culture Board as an effective strategic leadership body and the establishment of a Cultural Forum to provide a platform for people to have their say in the cultural development of the city 4.7.3. New weekly provision of music, drama and music technology workshops for young people at risk of exclusion 4.7.4. New, community-led arts projects to investment in a ‘creative industries incubator’ for start-up businesses 4.7.5. A feasibility study, business plan and three years of pilot performing arts activity to test the need/desire for a major city-centre arts venue, based in a heritage building currently ‘at risk’ 4.7.6. Development of new models for embedding culture into the city’s public policy organisations, such as health, criminal justice and housing – in other words, how can the arts help us tackle long-term, urban challenges in new ways? 4.7.7. Digital marketing, website training 4.7.8. Workshops for local property developers and homeowners about caring for heritage buildings 4.7.9. Development of a City Heritage Strategy 4.7.10. Heritage focussed volunteer development, training and management 4.7.11. A comprehensive review of the City’s Festival and Events programme to help inform decisions about our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and gaps 4.7.12. Funding to support new events and festivals and to grow the History Festival as one of the City’s signature offers. 4.7.13. Creation of a Cultural Entrepreneurs Hub to provide practical support to people and organisations wanting to establish and grow sustainable creative businesses based in Gloucester.
4.8. The funding will drive forward many strategic priorities, including:
4.8.1. Investment in Gloucester’s year-round cultural offer and festivals to help put the city on the cultural map 4.8.2. Making the city a more attractive place to live and work once formal education has finished; supporting young creative entrepreneurs to develop their talents, networks and businesses in Gloucester 4.8.3. Advancing our ambition to be City of Culture in 2025
4.9. The headline budget is £3.1m over three years. £1.3m is match funding from activity already underway or planned in the City – for example £60,000pa the City Council’s expenditure on events and festivals is included as matched funding and a further £300k is in kind and volunteer support. The remaining £1.5m is provided by the Great Place Fund. The detailed breakdown is shown below.
Page 79 Total Budget for Proportion of Match funding Match funding Great Place funding each strand project budget (Cash) (In Kind & Volunteers)
1 Development of Culture Trust £426,250 14% £115,500 £104,100 £206,650 2 Gloucester Venue: feasibility & activity £449,250 14% £195,000 £90,000 £164,250 3 Cultural Commissioning £482,100 16% £304,300 £177,800 4 Destination Marketing £360,000 12% £215,000 £145,000 5 ARCH (Heritage) £260,300 8% £72,000 £64,800 £123,500 6 Festivals & Events £832,000 27% £420,000 £412,000 7 Cultural Entrepreneurs' Hub £290,000 9% £0 £30,000 £260,000 TOTAL £3,099,900 100% £1,321,800 £288,900 £1,489,200
4.10. Great Place is a project fundamentally built on partnership working; the HLF identified this as one of the strengths of our bid. Local partners who will help us deliver Great Place include a range of local cultural charities, education partners and other not-for-profit organisations, including:
GCC’s Cultural Development, Visitor Experience, Community Wellbeing & Growth & Delivery teams Gloucester Heritage Forum and its members, including Gloucester Cathedral Marketing Gloucester University of Gloucestershire Gloucester History Festival Create Gloucestershire The Music Works and Strike A Light A nationally significant arts organisation
5.0 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Considerations
5.1 The Cultural Strategy and Vision, the establishment of the Culture Trust and the Great Place Scheme are founded on the belief that there are abroad range of stakeholders, organisations and individuals with the talent, energy and capacity to help take forward Gloucester’s cultural ambitions and the approach that has been adopted seeks to recognise, harness and develop those assets in the community.
6.0 Alternative Options Considered
6.1 This report seeks to provide an update on actions previously reported and agreed.
7.0 Reasons for Recommendations
7.1 To report back on progress and welcome the actions taken so far.
8.0 Future Work and Conclusions
8.1 None arising from this update report
9.0 Financial Implications
9.1 None arising from this update report
(Financial Services have been consulted in the preparation this report.) Page 80 10.0 Legal Implications
10.1 None arising from this update report
(One Legal have been consulted in the preparation this report.)
11.0 Risk & Opportunity Management Implications
11.1 None arising from this update report
12.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA):
12.1 None arising from this update report
13.0 Other Corporate Implications
Community Safety
13.1 None arising from this update report
Sustainability
13.2 None arising from this update report
Staffing & Trade Union
13.3 None arising from this update report
Background Documents: None
Page 81 This page is intentionally left blank