pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL To: Chairman and Members of the Public Services Committee: Council Offices Cllrs Mrs Collins DL, Dixon, Jarrett, Johnson, Lord, Marmara East Court (Chairman), Matthews, Mrs Waddingham (Vice Chairman), College Lane Mrs Wilson, Mayor and Deputy Mayor. East Grinstead (Other distribution for information only) RH19 3LT Tel: (01342) 323636 Fax: (01342) 327823 2 March 2005 Dear Sir/Madam, Your attendance is requested at a meeting of the PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE to be held in the Council Chamber, East Court on THURSDAY, 10th March 2005, at 7.45 p.m. Yours faithfully, C J ROLLEY Town Clerk A G E N D A 1 Public Question Time. 2 To commence not later than 8 p.m. - Apologies for absence. 3 To receive Minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2005 (previously circulated). 4 To receive Members’ Declarations of Prejudicial and Personal Interest. 5 To receive a presentation from Ian Burton, Head of Outdoor Business (Environment) with Mid Sussex District Council. 6 West Sussex County Council Local Committees 7 Public Payphone in De La Warr Road (Min 52 10.06.04) 8 West Sussex Transport Plan Stakeholder Consultation 2006 - 2016 and North Mid Sussex Area Transport Issues (Mins 269 & 270 13.01.05). 9 People, Places and Prosperity – ODPM Reports 10 Highways Works Programme 2005/2006 & Forward Programme (Min 390 11.03.04) 11 Policing Issues in East Grinstead (Min 272 13.01.05) 12 Public Rights of Way Routine Maintenance (Min 311 08.01.04) 13 West Sussex Fire Service Integrated Risk Management Plan 2005/2006 14 Queen Victoria Hospital Burns Unit 15 Terms of Reference and Business Planning 16 Performance Indicators - Concessionary Rail Passes (Min 276 13.01.05). 17 Written Reports from Members of Mid Sussex District Council and West Sussex County Council. (Min 277 13.01.05). 18 Any Other Urgent Business. NB The next meeting of the Committee will be held on THURSDAY, 9th June 2005 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL To: Chairman and Members of the Public Services Committee (10.3.05) (Other distribution for information only) Agenda Item 6: WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL LOCAL COMMITTEES West Sussex County Council has been discussing for some time how best to engage better with local communities and their representatives and to ensure that their decision and policy making processes are better informed by local views and needs. The County Council will consider the report attached as Appendix A on 18th March. It can also be viewed on the West Sussex County Council web site with the Governance Committee papers for 21 February 2005, www.westsussex.gov.uk If the recommendation contained therein is approved details of the proposals will be developed further before implementation in the summer. The Town Council has been asked to express views on the proposals. Due to the timescale it is not possible to bring this report to the Finance & General Purposes Committee, which would be the normal course of action. It has been agreed with the Chairmen’s Group that this matter should be dealt with by Public Services Committee in their representational role. Any Member of the Council wishing to attend and speak on this item will be given permission to do so by the Chairman of Committee. The Committee’s instructions are requested. Agenda Item 7: PUBLIC PAYPHONE IN DE LA WARR ROAD (Min 52 10.6.04) At the meeting of Committee on 10th June 2004, Members considered a detailed report following advice from BT Payphones that they were considering removing 6 payphones in East Grinstead on grounds of unprofitability. The Committee noted with regret this proposal and specifically objected to the proposed removal of the payphone, 01342 323559, adjacent to the car park in De La Warr Road, RH19 3BP, “as this payphone appears to be significantly well used and is close to centres of entertainment and two large car parks where visitors may not have access to mobile telephones or land lines.” A letter has now been received from BT Payphones that advises that every payphone they consider for removal receives low usage, in many cases just a fraction of what they would normally expect from a public payphone. Accordingly they confirm that they are only targeting the very least used boxes and that in order to safeguard the future of the payphone network it is absolutely vital that they remove those payphones where there is no longer any demand for service. They go on to say that over half the payphones nationally now make a loss and as a business they need to be commercially aware of how the payphones are performing and they must act accordingly. Notwithstanding the above it is pleasing to report that they have, in the light of Town Council objections, reviewed this particular payphone in De La Warr Road and have decided to cancel the proposed removal. They will, however, keep this payphone under review and should it be reintroduced back into the removals programme at a later date they will write to us again. Members are requested to note the content of this report. 1 Agenda Item 8: WEST SUSSEX TRANSPORT PLAN STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION 2006 - 2016 AND NORTH MID SUSSEX AREA TRANSPORT ISSUES (Min 269 & 270 13.1.05) It will be recalled that consideration of the above documents was deferred at the last meeting to give Members the opportunity to consider the documents in detail and then to register their views to either the Chairman of Committee or Leader of Council so that a response could be submitted by those Members under delegated powers. At the time of writing this report no Member responses have been received by either Chairman and therefore they will now be formulating a response based upon their own views and this will be the subject of a verbal report to the meeting. Agenda Item 9: PEOPLE, PLACES AND PROSPERITY – ODPM REPORT At the above conference in Manchester in late January the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) launched a number of strategy documents. The first “Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter”, the second “Vibrant Local Leadership”. These reports can be downloaded from the website www.odpm.gov.uk or if members want a hard copy this can be obtained from ODPM Free Literature, PO Box 236, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7NB, tel 0870 1226 236 or e-mail [email protected] These documents form part of a series of documents being published to inform the overall vision of what local government in England should look like in ten years time and the specific issues that need to be considered. Central Government is developing a ten-year vision for local Government - local:vision. At its heart is a vision of central and local Government working together to deliver better outcomes for people and places. The Citizen Engagement discussion document offers new opportunities for people to take action in their neighbourhoods to help shape the local services they receive. It is published as part of the development of local:vision - the strategy for the future of local government. This document discusses why neighbourhoods matter, explores new governance opportunities with a view to securing improvements in public services, outlines ways in which people in neighbourhoods can act (and this includes mention of parish and neighbourhood arrangements) and considers issues of resource and capacity. The report acknowledges (paragraph 68) that “parishes are a level of local representative democracy which offers opportunities to develop neighbourhood engagement.” It lauds the Quality Parish Scheme which has sought to boost the role of parish councils and has “helped parishes to take on service functions, typically exercised at county and district level, which have a significant impact on local people.” Importantly the ODPM recognises (paragraph 70) “there should be opportunities everywhere for communities to set up a parish council if there is sufficient demand. We should therefore seek to remove the existing barrier on urban parishes which currently exists in London.” Members are encouraged to read the full document which recognises that local civic engagement can help create sustainable communities and that there is no one size fits all solution in relation to neighbourhood governance opportunities and solutions. The Local Leadership paper considers how to achieve more visible, representative and responsive local leadership. It covers the role of the local authority and councillors and considers the implications for the future. Issues addressed include the roles of councillors and councils, political leadership of the locality as a whole and of neighbourhoods and communities, and the future supply and development of local political leaders. Whilst it is 2 clear that the main focus appears to be directed towards principal authorities, paragraph 64 specifically refers to first tier councils. “In a number of areas, effective parish or town councils already operate, serving a range of purposes and, in some cases, delivering delegated functions. Such councils clearly have a role and democratic mandate to represent their communities. Councillors from principal authorities will need to work with and through parish and town councils.” In summary the ODPM wants to encourage strong, self-confident local government that leads communities and enables quality services. Councils have unique potential to bring people together and encourage them to work in partnership and that is why the ODPM places importance upon councillors and officers working with others who have leading roles in communities. Members are invited to consider this report.