Meeting documents

Date

May 2005

Reporting Area

Leisure & Culture

Lead Director

Peter Rowntree

1. Main achievements to May, since last report

· The "Get Active" Strategy has been adopted by the LSP and a Get Active board will report direct to the LSP

· Sport West bid for funding sports coaches for disabled people successful. B&NES will have access to a 18.5 hour per week post

· Chairman's Sports Volunteer of the Year Award - 40 nominees attended Civic reception at the Guildhall on 31st January. Excellent press coverage

· Motivation - magazine produced in partnership with Aquaterra delivered to every household in B & NES with a high level of response

· PCT funding - promise of funding received making it possible to appoint Active Lifestyle Co-ordinator for projects such as Exercise on Referral

· Parish Play Areas Grant Fund - 41 parish play areas independently inspected. Applications received from 17 parish councils. Report with recommendations agreed by portfolio holder and grant offers made

· Easter holiday activity scheme - delivered by Sportzcoach as a pilot in Bath. Plan to extend across B & NES for the summer break

· Chew Valley Sports Centre - management agreement agreed

· Crematorium - new sound system installed in the crematorium chapel to improve service and reduce complaints about external noise

· Bath Central and Saltford Libraries have re-opened after significant refurbishments. Public feedback on the whole has been very good, with plenty of good press coverage. Many events with local authors have been held in Bath Central, and book issues and visitor numbers have increased.

· A peer review is underway in the libraries with a reward grant of £70,000 attached to implement any actions identified.

· The new mobile library is on the road after some initial teething problems

· Introduction of audioguide tours in Mandarin at the Roman Baths and new language leaflets available in Korean, Hindi and Urdu, making a total of 26 language leaflets available.

· Corsets Uncovered interactive display at the Museum of Costume attracted national media publicity and proving very popular with visitors.

· The Ana Maria Pacheco exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery attracted 25,307 people in three months.

· New Heritage Services dedicated room hire website launched - www.bathvenues.co.uk

· New Heritage Services staff structure implemented.

2. Planned Actions not achieved / issues, threats & opportunities

B7 Laser bid for innovative Book-IT (Lending Vending project) was not accepted.

B7 E-payment library demonstrator to enable mobile phone payments delayed launch in November

B7 New mobile library delayed

B7 City of Festivals strategy being developed

B7 Trees - full inspection of Closed Burial Ground trees being carried out to establish costs to maintain

B7 New cremators - awaiting proposal from Property Services for procurement

B7 Level access to Victoria Art Gallery facing planning / highways difficulties; alternative options being examined

B7 Completion of Green Spaces Strategy planned for autumn 2005. Allotments standards being drafted

B7 Leisure Facilities plan to be drafted following adoption of Get active by LSP

B7 Keynsham leisure centre investment planned late 05

B7 Sub-regional working to establish planning standards for leisure facilities

B7 Sport West (County Sports partnership funded by Sport England) - Director appointment made and in post

B7 Review of leisure assets - feasibility studies being prepared for Dec 05

B7 New Room Hire policy under consideration by Executive Member

Performance Targets

No.

%

RED

2

11

AMBER

0

0

GREEN

16

89

NOT KNOWN

TOTAL

18

100

Ref No

Indicator

Best 25% of all English Councils

02/03

02/03 actual

03/04 actual

04/05 target

04/05 estimated outturn

Status

Comment

PLAY AREAS & SPORTS CENTRES

Local 31

% of play areas that conform to national standards for local unequipped areas

N/a

26%

26%

26%

26%

Green

Local 32

% of play areas that conform to national standards for local equipped areas

N/a

73%

73%

73%

73%

Green

Local 33

Number of participants on Sports Development programmes organised by B&NES

N/a

New

789

800

800

Green

Local 34

Number of visits to sports centres per 1,000 population

N/a

6,423

6,453

6,550

6,550

Green

Local 35

Average spend per visit

N/a

A32.05

A32.82

A32.20

A32.20

Green

Local 36

Number of visits to Council golf courses '000

N/a

60

58

70

50

Red

A poor year related to adverse weather conditions

PARKS & GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

Local 38

% of grounds meeting specification on first inspection

N/a

93%

95%

93%

93%

Green

Local 41

Percentage of Parks which are accredited with a Green Flag Park award

N/a

New

10%

20%

20%

Green

MUSEUMS

170a

Number of visits to/usages of museums per 1,000 population

744

9,348

9,476

9,540

9,530

Green

Increase in coach borne visitors to Roman Baths in Spring / Summer

170b

Number of those visits that were in person per 1,000 population

522

7,874

7,628

7,712

7,710

Green

Increase in coach borne visitors to Roman Baths in Spring / Summer

170c

Number of pupils visiting museums and galleries in organised school groups

N/a

89,640

98,786

103,000

103,087

Green

Recovery in language school market in Spring / Summer

Local 39

Net museum income per Council Tax payer

N/a

A343

A347

A350

A350

Green

LIBRARIES

117

Number of visits per head of population to public libraries per 1,000 population

6,295

4,705

4,760

4,894

4871

Green

Much improved on previous year and 99.5% green. We anticipate that the refurbishments for Bath and Saltford libraries will further improve these figures.

COMMITMENTS MADE

C2

Open the Bath Spa development, involving 3 spa sites, supporting Bath as a major centre for tourism

N/a

N/a

N/a

Open in 2004/5

In progress

Red

Continued delays linked to design and construction faults

C19

All Libraries rebadged and marketed, and provide customers with access to information and transactions in relation to range of Council services to an agreed level. Location of libraries reviewed

N/a

N/a

N/a

Do It

In Progress

Green

Corporate branding used in the newly refurbished libraries. Customer first strategy being implemented.

C20

Employ member of staff to promote and co-ordinate GP Referral Schemes and Healthy Living activity both within Leisure Centres and through outreach work in order to effect improvement in well being of users and increased participation by those currently excluded

N/a

N/a

N/a

Do It

In Progress

Green

Recruitment in progress

C21

Establish 93Sport Forum For B&NES94. Create partnership to deliver Plan For Sport & Physical Activity

N/a

N/a

N/a

Do It

In Progress

Green

Get Active adopted by LSP. Partnership Board to be established

C23

Re-design and plant bed areas in parks and open spaces to reduce the use of non-renewable resources and reduce ongoing costs.

N/a

N/a

N/a

Do It

In Progress

Green