To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

Letters to and from the Director of Sustainable Communities regarding the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s comments on the Community Safety Plan had been received by members of the Committee. The Chairman advised that he intended to monitor performance relating to accident prevention.  

To receive the minutes of the last meeting held on 18 May 2010.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 18 May 2010 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

The Chairman announced that no petitions had been received.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

One speaker had registered to speak at the meeting in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 to Section A4 of the Constitution. The Chairman clarified at the commencement of the meeting that no other members of the public wished to register to speak.

A question was asked concerning the Gypsy and Traveller site consultation process, asking for details of how this consultation document would be considered by the Council following the letter from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The Chairman was also asked to provide details of the bid submitted to the Homes and Communities Office for the Gypsy and Traveller Site Grant, whether there had been public consultation on this bid and how the recent spending cuts made by the Government would affect this.

The Chairman explained that a bid for traveller site funding of £2.3 million had been submitted to the Homes and Communities Agency on 30 April 2010 to allow for the renovation of the existing permanent pitches; consultation had not been required prior to this bid. The Council had received a letter from the Homes and Communities Agency stating that this fund had been closed as part of the measures to address the national budget deficit and that bid assessment would not be carried out.

The results of the consultation and draft submission Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document was scheduled to be considered by the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 7 September 2010, who would take the consultation responses and emerging local needs into account before making a recommendation to the Executive. The Chairman referred to the Conservative Green Paper “Open Source Planning” and particularly comments contained in the paper relating to travellers. It was commented that further consideration of the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document would be undertaken by the Development Strategy Task Force prior to any report being submitted to the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chairman provided a full response which is appended to these Minutes at appendix A.

The Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Development commented that the Conservative Green Paper was no longer considered to be relevant following the recent general election and that MPs were working with Councils to develop clear guidance on housing needs and gypsy and traveller provisions. Urgent planning guidance was required from central government and guidance relating to housing numbers. The Portfolio Holder assured members of the public that he had seen many of the consultation responses on the preferred sites and that these would be taken into account when developing the Development Plan Document.

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to the call-in of a decision.

No items had been called-in for the Committee to consider.

To consider any items referred to the Committee at the request of a Member under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

The Chairman reported that no items had been requested under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

To receive a report on the current status of the civil parking enforcement scheme and possible options for future development of this service area.

The Committee discussed the report of the Assistant Director Highways and Transport. Members noted that the Council had responsibility for on and off street parking and its enforcement, which was managed by the parking service. The parking service aimed to:-

• provide a safe and free-flowing road environment by discouraging injudicious on street parking;
• support economic regeneration and local businesses by providing safe, convenient and competitively priced off street parking;
• promote sustainable transport, and;
• provide residents with a fair opportunity to park within the street in which they live, free from commuters and shoppers.

Vinci Park undertook civil parking enforcement on behalf of Central Bedfordshire and their contract was due to expire 31 December 2010. Members noted that section 5 of the report showed the total amount paid to Vinci Park without VAT, while the income generated included VAT.

Income generated by off street parking in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard was currently used to support the more costly on street enforcement activities in other areas of Central Bedfordshire. A draft parking strategy was being developed and officers sought a steer from the Committee on the direction they would like this to take.

Members of the Committee discussed current problems relating to civil parking enforcement which included the following:-

1.                  the high cost of Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) monitoring on street parking compared to the relatively low income generated by enforcement of on street parking did not provide value for money;

2.                  car parks not being properly maintained as the income they generated was diverted to support Civil Enforcement activities for on street parking;

3.                  high levels of commuter on street parking in Flitwick, Harlington, Leighton Buzzard, Biggleswade and Sandy due to the cost of designated parking at train stations;

4.                  inappropriate and dangerous parking that prevented free-flowing traffic;

5.                  insufficient levels of enforcement including that undertaken by police officers;

6.                  deficient signs and lines preventing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) being issued, Members stressed the importance of proper signage so that measures could be enforced properly;

7.                  not being able to enforce disabled bays if a traffic order was not in place;

8.                  the need to develop greater consistency of parking charges to minimise the confusion caused by varying costs in Council owned car parks;

9.                  potential mechanisms for Town and Parish Councils to manage their own civil parking enforcement and develop appropriate rural and urban solutions;

10.             the use of consultants for developing a Parking Strategy for Central Bedfordshire and consultation with Members during this process;

Members discussed whether automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) was a viable option. This would allow a car to automatically register any cars parked illegally and they would be issued with a PCN by an authorised Civil Enforcement Officer, this would reduce the time CEOs spent on the street and would capture more parking offenses.

The Committee felt that ANPR should be considered for incorporation into the strategy and recommended that the Executive amend the appropriate Traffic Orders to allow possible ANPR and CCTV enforcement.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To receive a report detailing the value for money aspects of the leisure and theatre facilities within the contracted services of Leisure Connection in the Community and Stevenage Leisure Limited.

Members considered the report of the Director of Sustainable Communities regarding Value for Money aspects of leisure and theatre facilities within the leisure management contracts for Central Bedfordshire. The authority had inherited two contracts from the former South Bedfordshire District Council (SBDC) and Mid Bedfordshire District Council (MBDC) for the management of various leisure centres and the Grove Theatre.

Leisure Connection operated two contracts, one 25 year contract for the Grove Theatre Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre and  Dunstable Leisure Centre   and one for Houghton Regis Leisure Centres which end in December 2011.

Stevenage Leisure Ltd managed Flitwick Leisure Centre, Saxon Pool and Leisure Centre, Sandy Sport and Community Centre and Biggleswade Recreation Centre. The contracts for these facilities had been extended until 31 March 2012 in order to harmonise the contract end date with Houghton Regis at which time they would all be retendered as one group.

In response to a Member’s question the Committee was advised that the government grant of £150,000 to fund free swimming for the over 60s and under 16s would cease from 31 July 2010. The Council could not find the funds needed to support free swimming and, with effect from 1 August 2010 free swimming for over 60s and under 16s would not be available. A member commented on  concessionary rates for disabled swimmers and agreed to contact the Head of Leisure Services separately.

Members of the Committee discussed the report with officers and raised a number of concerns regarding the Grove Theatre in Dunstable including the following:

• The management practice of ticket sales which prevents the purchasing of circle tickets before the stalls are full;
• whether the Grove Theatre is still showing films;
• perceived lack of community engagement;
• the perceived high cost  of hiring the Grove Theatre for functions
• the concessions policy for community and council use;
• lack of quality in the programming choice and not being varied enough to appeal to many members of the community;
• concerns regarding the length of the contract.

The Head of Leisure Services advised members that the Grove Theatre and each of the leisure centres had Customer Forums where concerns about pricing, ticket sales, publicity and programming could all be raised directly with the theatre or leisure centre. It was agreed that a list of these dates would be circulated with the minutes (attached at appendix B) and that Customer Forums would be publicised in the Members’ Newsletter. Members of the Committee asked to see the comments from the previous Customer Forum which were to be circulated to Members outside of the meeting,

Members discussed the budget for the Grove Theatre. The budget for the Grove was broken down into £287,000 management fee plus £14,000 for RPI for Leisure Connection to run the Grove, £33,000 for utilities and a fee to the site management company of £50,000. The 25 year contract stipulated that in the 7^th, 14^th and 21^st year Leisure Connections should approach the Council with investment opportunities or proposals. The Head  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To consider and agree the work programmes of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Development Strategy Task Force, and to note the latest Executive Forward Plan.

Members discussed the work programme. Members were asked to let the Chairman, or any member of the Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordination Panel, know of any issues that they felt should be considered at future meetings.

It was noted that the meeting in September would take place in two parts, breaking for lunch around 1pm and re-convening at 2pm to review the Highway Programme.

RESOLVED:

that the work programme be noted and received.