PUBLIC Agenda Item: 7c DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL CABINET 17 JUNE 2014 Report of the Strategic Director Corporate Resources Elvaston Castle and Estate 10 Year Vision and Plan 1. Purpose of the Report To seek Cabinet approval to the recommendation of the Elvaston Castle and Country Park Working Party for the 10-year ‘Vision and Plan’ for Elvaston Castle and Estate. 2. Information and Analysis 2.1 Background The County Council has been looking for a number of years for a solution which will provide a sustainable future for Elvaston Castle and the surrounding estate and relieve the Council of the significant on-going annual maintenance costs, whilst maintaining public access to the Castle and the Country Park. Following approval by Cabinet in March 2013 the Council entered into a partnership arrangement with the National Trust to find a sustainable future for Elvaston Castle and Estate. On 6 May 2014 Cabinet approved the extension of that partnership until the end of February 2015. 2.2 Partnership working between the County Council and the National Trust In practical terms the partnership working between the Council and the National Trust involves three discrete activity streams over a 20 month period:- 1. Construction of a compelling and palpable vision which has wide stakeholder input and ownership; 2. The formation of a formal coalition of partners from public, private and voluntary sectors to enact the vision; 3. The construction of capital and revenue funding packages to underpin the delivery of the vision 0067 JG Cabinet 2014 06 17 Elvaston Castle and Estate 10 year vision and Plan V3 1 PUBLIC Agenda Item: 7c The intended outcome of this work is that by the end of the current joint working there should be:- • An agreed and shared vision; • A package of funding bids; • A procurement package for the future involvement of private and community sector interests to take forward the vision. 2.3 Consultation Response Documents The draft Vision and Plan for Elvaston Castle and Estate was developed following extensive engagement with the local community and other stakeholders in autumn 2013. Following approval by Cabinet on 21 January 2014, a public consultation process on the draft Vision and Plan took place from the 22 January through to the 14 March 2014. The public consultation was undertaken in a variety of ways: A County Council press release which garnered extensive local media coverage; An internal workshop with the County Council teams based at Elvaston, a public workshop, and a ‘drop in’ session at Elvaston Castle, were all held during February 2014 to raise awareness of the ‘Vision and Plan’, the consultation process, and to gather comments and views; In addition, associated meetings were held with a number of stakeholder groups such as Elvaston Parish Council, Elvaston Parochial Church Council, Friends of Elvaston Castle, Culture Derbyshire and Social Enterprise East Midlands; The draft Vision and Plan was promoted through the dedicated website www.futureelvaston.co.uk, where a copy could be viewed on-line or downloaded. Hard copies of the full document were provided on request and hard copies were made available at libraries local to Elvaston and from County Hall at Matlock. A ‘round-robin’ email was sent to all of those individuals and organisations engaged to date, to raise awareness of the consultation; and, A web-based questionnaire was provided. At the same time, many comments were provided in writing or by email. In all, over 400 people were involved in the consultation process, and over a 1000 comments were received. Attached as Appendix 1 is a report entitled ‘Part 1 – Consultation Comments Received’ which collates all of the comments fed back through the consultation process, and then draws out the ‘key issues’ from this feedback. Attached as Appendix 2 is a report entitled ‘Part 2 – Derbyshire County Council Response’ which considers each of the key issues in turn, and the response from 0067 JG Cabinet 2014 06 17 Elvaston Castle and Estate 10 year vision and Plan V3 2 PUBLIC Agenda Item: 7c the County Council on the points made, with a description of the changes proposed to the ‘Vision and Plan’ given where appropriate as a result of the key issue raised. The draft Vision and Plan has been revised on this basis. 2.4 Final Vision and Plan for Elvaston Castle and Estate The final Vision and Plan, and associated maps are attached as Appendix 3, and includes:- The Vision statement which looks ahead to 2024; The ‘Outcomes’ over the next 10 years; The Guiding Principles Section 5 ‘Why are we doing this?’ has been strengthened to include much more information on the heritage significance of the landscape and the buildings. Section 7 Estate Masterplan, which sets out options for future uses of the various buildings and spaces across the Estate, has seen the most changes including: That whatever the final mix of uses agreed for the various buildings and spaces, the controlling body for the Elvaston Estate will need to ensure the uses provide a balanced and complementary portfolio of visitor facing activities, business and other uses that make sense collectively and work cohesively as a whole, whilst being in keeping with the Guiding Principles and helping to deliver the Vision. That whilst the ‘Vision and Plan’ sets out options for the future uses of the buildings and spaces, the Council remains open to other suggestions that are appropriate to the setting and significances of Elvaston, and that would contribute to delivery of the Vision and meet the Guiding Principles. It is also envisaged that the final mix of uses will be developed in conjunction with the proposed single management body; The explanatory detail on potential enabling development has been expanded. It has been made clear why enabling development may need to be considered by the Council and the safeguards that are embedded in the related planning regulations to protect the designated heritage assets (i.e. the Registered Park and Garden and the Listed buildings and structures). The site of the former London Road Lodges has also been removed as a potential enabling development site; The proposed new access driveway and additional car parking for the Estate have been removed. However, it has also been made clear that there is a range of ‘Enabling Infrastructure’ that requires further investigation to fully unlock a sustainable future for the Estate. This includes providing better vehicular access to the core buildings; drawing more visitors to the core buildings and improving the financial contribution to the facilities provided as the visitor offer grows, and improving the services (power, etc.) that provide for the Estate. 0067 JG Cabinet 2014 06 17 Elvaston Castle and Estate 10 year vision and Plan V3 3 PUBLIC Agenda Item: 7c 2.5 Elvaston Castle and Country Park Working Party Recommendations The Working Party met on 23 May 2014 to consider the final Vision and Plan and is recommending that Cabinet approves the document. 3. Council’s Commitment Delivery of the Vision for Elvaston Castle and Estate will help meet the County Council’s pledges to the people of Derbyshire: A Derbyshire that works Delivery of the Vision will result in a vibrant and working Estate that provides an attractive visitor and tourist attraction, together with a setting for business and living, supporting the local economy. This will gradually secure the future of the site financially, reducing the historical annual deficit facing the Council, and allowing Council funds to be prioritised elsewhere; A healthy Derbyshire The Elvaston Estate already provides a wonderful resource for recreation and play, and this will only increase through delivery of the Vision; A safer Derbyshire The regeneration of the site will provide a safer, more resilient Elvaston. A Derbyshire that cares The Elvaston Estate already provides a resource for all sectors of the community, and this will only increase through delivery of the Vision; A local Derbyshire Community and other stakeholder engagement have already helped inform and shape the Vision for Elvaston. Going forward, increasingly community involvement in the care of the Estate will be central to its future success and delivery of the Vision. 4. Financial Considerations Funding of £125,000 was approved by Cabinet on 26th March 2013, £75,000 of which was to finance the National Trust Project Development Team in delivering the Project Management Plan work streams identified. A further £80,000 of funding was approved by Cabinet on 6 May 2014 to resource an extension to the joint working with the National Trust. 0067 JG Cabinet 2014 06 17 Elvaston Castle and Estate 10 year vision and Plan V3 4 PUBLIC Agenda Item: 7c 5. Legal Considerations Appropriate legal frameworks which would allow for the development and future management of the Estate are being investigated. Any proposal to dispose of any parts of the Country Park to which the public have access will require the Council to publish statutory notices and consider any responses received before reaching a decision on whether to proceed. 6. HR Considerations Consultation with staff based at Elvaston Castle and Estate has already commenced and will continue to be carried out in accordance with County Council policies and procedures. In preparing this report the relevance of the following factors has been considered: prevention of crime and disorder, equality and diversity, environmental, health and transport considerations. 7. Key Decision NO 8. Call-in Is it required that call-in