Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Cllr Norton explained that he wished to stand down as Chair of the Sub-Committee.  He nominated Cllr Geoff Ward to be Chair; this was seconded by Cllr Lin Patterson.

RESOLVED: That Cllr Geoff Ward be elected Chair of the Alice Park Trust Sub-Committee.

(Cllr Geoff Ward in the Chair)

The Democratic Services Officer explained the emergency evacuation procedure.

There were no apologies for absence.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no urgent business.

Janet Marton had submitted some public questions to the Sub-Committee.  The Chair explained that a response to the questions would be sent within 5 working days of the date of this meeting.

A copy of the questions and responses is attached as Appendix A to these minutes.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2017.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2017 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

(Note:  Cllrs Appleyard and Patterson disputed the resolution under minute no. 8 as they felt that in resolution (1)(a) there had been no agreement of the skatepark being approximately 50% of the original design and in resolution (1)(e) felt that the word “contribution” should read “surplus”.)

£97k of capital funding has now been approved by the Council for the installation of a skate park and further capital improvements at Alice Park, at the request of the sub-committee.  In addition a further £30K has been pledged by the community for delivery of a skate park.

Members are asked to consider the attached report which sets out the design and project plan for the delivery of the facility.

It was noted that the Cabinet Member had now approved capital funding of £97k for the installation of a skate park and further capital improvements at Alice Park.  In addition a further £30k had been pledged by the community for the delivery of a skate park.

Mark Cassidy, Team Manager – Parks and Bereavement Services, presented the report and explained that provisional designs for the skate park had been put forward in the summer. 

It was noted that due to the time lapse the tenders submitted for the design were now void and officers would now retender for the work incorporating the criteria specified at the last meeting.  Mark Cassidy outlined the revised tender brief. Before going out to tender the £30k pledged by the community needed to be confirmed.  Cllr Appleyard stated that this had already been confirmed in writing.

The following issues were then discussed:

·  Cllr Ward stated that he would like to see some surplus monies to put towards other park improvements.  Now that a smaller skate park had been approved he hoped that this would be possible.  He was keen to start the work on the skate park and other projects as soon as possible.

·  Paul Hooper asked for further details on the project brief and confirmation of the proposed location for the skate park.  He also queried whether the views of all stakeholders would be taken into account.  He stressed the need for costs, performance and quality to be considered along with the appropriate risk assessments.

·  Mark Cassidy explained that the Council had a great deal of experience in running major projects and had overseen the instalment of the skate park in Royal Victoria Park.  He confirmed that Jane Robson, Parks Manager, was liaising with the relevant user groups.  Trial pits would also be dug in the proposed location to ensure that this was suitable prior to starting any work on site.

·  Cllr Appleyard stated that the location had already been agreed in line with the relevant criteria e.g. to protect the boules area and the trees.  It was important to move the project forward as soon as possible.  He also pointed out the strong demand for the skate park and stated that funds raised by the community should only be used to provide a skate park as this is what it was intended for.

·  Cllr Patterson expressed concern about any proposal to redesignate some of the skate park funding as surplus and to spend it on other improvements.  She felt that the allocated funding should all be spent on the skate park.  Cllr Patterson was also unhappy about the specification that the skate park should be approximately 50% of the original design.  Mark Cassidy confirmed that this wording was not included in the project scope.  He also explained that the dimensions set out in the scoping document were only a guide to ensure that the project remained below the requirements for seeking planning permission.

·  Jane Robson explained that tenderers would require price brackets to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To consider a report giving an update on the use of Alice Park for organised football.

The Sub-Committee considered a report setting out an update on the trial of organised youth football within the park and the actions necessary to reduce the impact of this use next year.

Mark Cassidy, Team Manager – Parks and Bereavement Services, presented the report.  He informed members that the use of the park for organised football had been very successful.  However at the tail end of the season the grass was sparser due to the impact of sports use.  If the Trust decided to continue the sports use then it would be necessary to re-seed the area in April/May using a more durable mixture.

·  Paul Hooper stated that the park appeared to be used for football more often than stated in the officer report.  He asked about the charging policies.  Mark Cassidy confirmed that the charges for football could either be per use or per season.

·  Cllr Appleyard stated that he was in favour of re-seeding the area.  It was important to obtain the right balance on charging and how this was managed.

·  Mark Cassidy explained that the standard rate for B&NES mini football hire was £25.20 including VAT per use. This was benchmarked to other facilities in the area.  The youth football team had not been charged for the last year as this had been a trial period.

·  Sujata McNab stated that it would be important to consider the charge rate in the light of costs incurred.  She also suggested that rather than look at one charge in isolation all fees and charges for events and use of the park should be considered together.

·  On balance members felt that a charge should be levied for use of the park for organised football but that this should not necessarily be the full £25.20 in the first instance.

·  Members also requested that the question of fees and charges (including collection of monies) be considered at the next meeting.  The report should include indicative activity figures.

·  Paul Hooper asked whether the “bootcamp” that takes place in the park currently pays any fees.  Mark Cassidy confirmed that they are not currently charged.  It was felt that officers should approach the organisers of the bootcamp with a view to charging for this use.

RESOLVED:

(1)  To permit the continued football use of the area.

(2)  To improve the current grass sward by re-seeding to increase dwarf perennial rye and creeping red fescue species.  This will make the site far more durable for football use and events generally and ensure the site recovers quickly at the end of future seasons.  This seeding should be carried out every three years.

(3)  To fill any holes that may cause injury.

(4)  To request the Team Manager – Parks and Bereavement Services – to negotiate with the football organiser to agree a suitable fee for the organised football use of the park.

To consider when to hold the next meeting of the Trust Sub Committee.

It was agreed that the next meeting will take place on Monday 5 February 2018 at 4pm.