LOCAL ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 16th OCTOBER 2007
Present:
Councillor P A Hallett (Chairman);
Councillors R Cartlidge, M A Hollins, A C
Johnson, S J S Mottram, R Stafford and L T Wood.
Officers in Attendance (for whole or
part):
K
Boughey Climate
Change Officer, Direct Services
D
Marren
Executive Director, Direct Services
R
Goddard
Assistant Solicitor
K
Hercules
LSP Manager
L
Johnson
Visitor Economy Development Manager
A
Leah
Project Officer
A
Millington
Borough Planning Officer
J Smith
Democratic Services Officer
C
Young
Senior Economic Development Manager
In Attendance (for whole or
part):
Councillor J Hammond
Apologies:
Councillors M Campbell, A Crawford, K Healey,
R W Parker and S Roberts.
41. DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST
No Member declared any personal or prejudicial interest in
respect of any item of business on the agenda.
42. RECORD OF
MEETING
AGREED: That the record of the meeting
held on 11th September 2007 be approved as correct.
43. WHIPPING
DECLARATIONS
In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the
Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to
declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.
No such declarations were made.
44. RESPONSES
FROM THE BOARD
No comments were forwarded to the Board from
the Committee’s meeting on 11th September;
therefore there were no responses to report.
45. REFERRALS
FROM THE BOARD/COUNCIL
The Committee noted that there were no
responses/referrals from the Board/Council on this
occasion.
46.
FORWARD PLAN OF BOARD DECISIONS
The Committee received the Board’s Forward
Plan for 15th November 2007, 3rd January and
February 2008.
47. THE
VISITOR ECONOMY – AN UPDATE
The North West Regional Development Agency had
produced a set of guidelines for Local Authority (LA) partners
which clearly set out the new and crucial role that LA’s in the
region had to play in the continued success and prosperity of the
region’s tourism sector. The document was called “Great
Destinations – Guidelines, advice and fresh ideas on tourism for
Local Authorities in England’s North West”. The adoption of
the guidelines was approved at Board on 26th July
3007.
The Visitor Economy Development Manager
attended the meeting and presented an update on on-going activity
and future opportunities for the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich.
The presentation covered:
v The Role of the
Visitor Economy Manager;
v Concept of the
Visitor Economy;
v What the
Visitor Economy was worth to Crewe & Nantwich
v Visit Chester
& Cheshire – Working in Crewe & Nantwich;
v The Welcome
Agenda
v Business
Tourism
v Vision and
Strategy;
v Key
Priorities;
v The next 6
months;
v Cheshire
Year of Gardens 08.
The following comments/queries were raised by
Members:
Queen’s Park, Crewe: A member
queried whether consideration had been given to the promotion of
Queen’s Park as a major tourist attraction once the project was
completed. The Visitor Economy Manager explained that this
would be taken into consideration in the Tourism Strategy.
Railway Age, Crewe: The site
was now under new management and the Committee discussed the need
for improvements to the site’s appearance and its exhibits. The
Visitor Economy Manager provided some background information on the
current position in respect of the site and the new management’s
plans for improvements over the coming year. She explained that the
Borough Council’s support on this project was required and a Member
suggested that it would be useful for the Committee to have a site
visit to the Railway Age.
AGREED: That a site visit to the
Railway Age, Crewe be arranged for the Local Economy and
Environment Scrutiny Committee.
Crewe Railway Station: The
plans for the Gateway to Cheshire garden proposal for Crewe Station
were discussed and Members expressed concern over the current
adverse impression that the station concourse presented to
visitors to the area.
Year of Gardens 08: This
event was being held to coincide with Liverpool’s Capital of
Culture as Cheshire was one of the main gateways to
Liverpool. There were several events already organised for
the area and the Visitor Economy Manager explained that any ideas
or initiatives that Members thought would fit in to the programme
would be welcomed.
There was a community grants scheme set up
through Groundwork to encourage community involvement and bids for
grants of between £100 and £1000 were being sought. The Visitor
Economy Manager could supply further information on this scheme and
provide grant application forms, if required.
Perceptions of the area:
Members discussed the perceptions of the area and in particular the
negative images portrayed by the media. The need for the Borough
Council to work on improving the profile of the town was
highlighted. Members suggested a number of initiatives that
could be undertaken to improve the area’s image including:
v Production of a
film/video promoting the area in conjunction with South Cheshire
College (film club);
v Automated information
kiosk at Crewe Railway Station;
v Brown Signs on M6 for
attractions in the area;
v Tourist Information
at Motorway Service Stations.
The Visitor Economy Development Manager was
thanked for her presentation.
48. LOCAL AREA
AGREEMENTS: NEW ARRANGEMENTS
At its meeting on 11th September,
the Committee received an interim report on Local Area Agreements
(LAA). The Local Strategic Partnership Manager attended the
meeting to provide further information, setting the context for
changes to the LAA from 2008.
The report submitted to the Committee included
background information on the development of the current Cheshire
LAA which began in April 2007. An overview of the
arrangements for the new Local Area Agreements was provided and the
major changes highlighted.
The LSP Manager explained that the first half
yearly performance management reports would be presented to the
Communities of Cheshire Partnership on the 1st November
2007. There were a number of key priorities in the
current LAA for Economic Development and Enterprise. Detailed
information on the 4th Block together with the
performance management reports for these areas would be presented
to the Committee at the November meeting.
The Senior Economic Development Manager
discussed the content of the presentation with the Committee and
suggested that the presentation included information on the
management of the 4th Block; current priority outcomes;
half-
yearly performance monitoring report and how
the Borough Council’s priorities aligned with the structure.
The Members supported this approach.
49. CONSOLIDATION AND
AMENDMENT: OFF-STREET PARKING PLACES ORDER
Proposals for the consolidation and amendment
of the existing Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council Off-Street
Parking Places Order would be submitted to Board in November
2007. The Committee received the report of the Borough
Solicitor which updated the Committee Members on the current
position in the respect of the proposals.
The Assistant Solicitor attended the meeting to
present the report to the Committee. She explained that the
report provided information on the on-going preparatory work being
undertaken by Legal Services as part of the procedure to introduce
Decriminalisation of Parking Enforcement (DPE) that involved the
consolidation of the existing Off-Street Parking Places Order. The
temporary effect of the revision process upon current proposals for
Car Park changes, with specific reference to Edleston Road, Crewe
and Thomas Street, Crewe Car Parks was also included in the
update.
50. QUEEN’S PARK –
PROGRESS REPORT
The Project Officer and the Borough Planning
Officer were in attendance at the meeting to provide an update on
the current position in respect of the Queen’s Park Restoration
Project.
A Member queried the response to the
Committee’s request, at a previous meeting, for detailed
information on the programme of works and, in particular, a
timetable showing anticipated completion dates for the phases of
the project. Members were asked to note that the construction
programme should be available within the next couple of weeks and
could be submitted to the Committee’s next meeting in November. It
was suggested that once the construction plan was published it
would be useful to provide the information on the Council’s Website
together with video clips of the works as it progresses.
The Project Officer provided updates for the
Committee on:
v Dredging of the Lake
– The contract was on target for completion within the next few
days.
v North West Quadrant
Programme – The contract documents for the works would be sent out
by Mid-November. The programme would start early in 2008 and
would consist of Lake & Bridges work; oxygenation of the Lake
and deposition of clay in Coronation Walk Valley & drainage
works.
v Wildfowl – The RSPCA
were being contacted to assess whether the wildfowl could be
released back into the small pockets of water in the lake.
The Borough Planning Officer informed Members
of the current position in respect of the additional areas which
were not covered by the HLF funding:
1. Provision of
New Depot;
2. New
Pavilion;
3. Replacement
Bowls Pavilion; and
4. Internal Work
on the Lodges.
Capital Bids were being made for these items
and other funding options were being explored.
Provision of New Depot - The Executive
Director, Direct Services explained that no provision was made in
the original HLF bid for a new depot although improving maintenance
arrangements for the Park was part of the conditions attached to
the funding. Concern was expressed that if there was no depot
provision that there would be no security presence in the park and
it would reduce the amount of time on site for employees forced to
travel between the park and Pyms Lane.
AGREED: That the Local Economy and
Environment Committee supports the capital bid for the provision of
a new depot in the Capital Project Prioritisation
Scheme.
51. CREWE TOWN CENTRE
UPDATE
The Borough Planning Officer provided a brief
progress report on town centre matters covering the Compulsory
Purchase Order and Section 106 Agreement associated with the Modus
development, new office accommodation and the development of Market
Square.
52. VACANCY PANEL
DECISIONS
The Committee received the report of the Human
Resources Manager and noted the decisions of the Vacancy Panel
which fall under the remit of the Committee.
53. WORK PROGRAMME
2007
53.1 Task
Group Update
A briefing paper providing details of the
composition and remit of the current LEE Scrutiny Committee Task
Groups was submitted to the meeting, for information.
The Committee also received the following
updates in respect of the work of the Task Groups.
53.2 Town
Centres Task Group
A copy of a letter received from the South
Cheshire Chamber of Commerce in respect of a parking issue in
Nantwich was distributed at the meeting for the Committee’s
consideration. It was proposed that the letter be referred to the
Town Centres Task Group to be considered as part of the proposals
for a review of car parking in Nantwich.
AGREED:
(A) That the Town Centres Task Group
consider the letter submitted by the South Cheshire Chamber
further, as part of a wider review of car parking in Nantwich;
and
(B) That a meeting of the Town
Centres Task Group be arranged shortly.
53.3
Climate Change Task Group
The first meeting of the Climate Change Task
Group had been held and the notes of the meeting held on
16th October 2007 had been submitted with the
agenda.
The Committee discussed the need to appoint
Members from other Committees as it was important to gain a range
of Members views and input into the initiative. The need for
cross-party Members and Members with an interest in the subject was
also highlighted. A request was made for the Terms of Reference to
be revisited to provide more details on the Task Groups
remit.
AGREED: That the Scrutiny
Committees (Organisation and Community) be asked to reconsider the
appointment of Members to the Climate Change Task
Group.
53.4 Waste
Management Task Group
There was nothing to report back from this
group.
54. DATE OF NEXT
MEETING
20th November 2007
……………………. Chair