Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Democratic Services Officer will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Deborah Collins and Samantha Kelly.

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 4.4 Appendix 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.

Rob Appleyard

The Chair announced the recent death of Rob Appleyard and paid tribute to his work as a former Councillor for Lambridge Ward and former Chair of the Alice Park Trust Sub-Committee.

There were no items from the public.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Alice Park Trust Sub-Committee of 6 September 2024 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

To update on actions taken since the previous meeting in relation to the repair/installation of bollards.

The Senior Estates Surveyor reported that he had met with the Chair on site to look at replacing the bollards and also consider the option of refurbishing the gates.  He confirmed that it would be significantly more expensive to refurbish the gates) and so would recommend the replacement of the bollards.  He undertook to circulate the exact costs to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee raised the following comments:

1.  Volker had undertaken some work to improve the walking route from the car park, but cars were still being parked dangerously and bollards were needed to restrict vehicular access.

2.  Consideration needed to be given to timing, and whether it would be better to wait until after the works to the play area had been completed as construction vehicles would need access to the site. 

3.  It would be useful to make a decision on this expenditure in the context of the overall financial position.

In response to the request for an update on the current financial position, the Senior Finance Manager confirmed that:

1.  The Annual Report 2023-24 would be presented to the next meeting in January for submission to the Charity Commission.

2.  The January meeting would be a good opportunity to discuss options for the next financial year and whether or not to seek an annual grant from the Council to help manage Trust expenditure in the future.  He advised that a figure would need to be identified, and this would form part of the Council’s budget setting process.

3.  In relation to the current financial position, there was an anticipated deficit of £16,364 which was a reduction from the £17,658 deficit in the previous year. 

4.  £2557 had been donated to the play area project through the online portal.

RESOLVED that a decision on the replacement of bollards be deferred until the next meeting to allow a discussion on the overall financial position of the Trust.

To feedback from the Youth Festival which took place on 8 September.

The Chair reported back that the Youth Festival had been a good event but not very well attended and there had been a suggestion that the event should be held in July, before the school holidays, with a view to increasing attendance.  The Sub-Committee supported this idea, and it was agreed that the Chair should discuss plans with the café proprietor.

a.  To sign off phase 1 of the Alice Park Play Area Project.

b.  To sign off the grant agreement for Community Infrastructure Levy funding.

c.  To consideration a suggestion for a raffle to raise funds for the Play Area Project.

The Chair updated as follows:

1.  A 3-phase project had been agreed with DBD Play and funding had been secured for the first phase, £125k from Community Infrastructure Levy (CiL) funding and £50k each from two charitable trusts.  She asked the Sub-Committee to agree to sign off the CiL funding.

2.  DBD Play had sent through a contract for signing and would be looking to start the construction of phase 1 in February/March, to be completed by the beginning of May 2025.

It was agreed that the Chair and Bryan Johnson would meet with lead officers to discuss the detail and Cllr Deborah Collins also be invited to attend.

In response to a question about the process for securing other funding streams, e.g., a lottery bid, the Legal Services Manager undertook to look into this and report back.

It was noted that the Events Team would need to be advised about the timing of the phase 1 construction.

RESOLVED that the Community Infrastructure Levy funding of £125k for the Alice Park Play Area project be approved for signing off by the Chair.

The Waste Strategy and Project Deliver Manager gave an update as follows:

1.  The public conveniences were well used at Alice Park, approximately 40 uses per day and this was consistent throughout the year. 

2.  Cleaning took place twice a day and there were also spot checks to confirm if the facilities were fit for purpose. 

3.  Maintenance had been carried out in the last month due to vandalism.  The vandalism of public conveniences was common in public parks, and it was not unique to Alice Park.  There had been a change in opening hours to close at the earlier time of 4pm as most of the incidents happened during the evening.

4.  There had been an occasion where contactless payment had failed on a Saturday, but the issue had been resolved the following day and cash payment was still available.

5.  It would be useful if Healthmatic was advised of events where an attendant was required. 

The Sub-Committee requested details of the costs of an attendant as any additional costs would need to be met by the event organiser to avoid increasing the Trust’s deficit.  It was noted that there was a process was in place for securing facilities for events organised through the Council’s Events Team, this may include the use of Portaloos for bigger events.

1.  Marque in the Park Car Show - April

2.  Alice in Wonderland - May

Marque in the Park

The Chair reported that the café proprietor had requested to hold a car show in April and she had quoted £556 for that event with an extra £556 for a fun fair.  She had also advised that an application to the Events Team would need to be submitted in good time.

The following comments were raised:

1.  A car show did not contribute to the Trust’s objectives of children’s play and in view of that, it may be appropriate to seek a larger fee.

2.  Consideration needed to be given to the impact on the grass.  It may be appropriate to take a deposit bond from the organiser to pay for any repairs (this was one of the proposals in the report on the operating and financial management of the park which would be presented to a future meeting).

3.  There should be a limit on the number of cars and paths would need to be accessible for walking/cycling.

4.  The timing would clash with phase 1 of the play area improvements which needed to be considered as part of the event planning.

The Chair undertook to discuss this further with the café proprietor.

Alice in Wonderland

The Chair advised that she had requested more details about this proposed event in advance of making a decision.

Corporate Events

The Chair advised that L&C Mortgages had requested to use the park again for a corporate event in the summer and she would meet them in January to discuss but she would be recommending the same terms as this year in terms of the charges and a contribution to 3 events for the Bath Area Play Project.

It was agreed that the Sub-Committee should look at other corporate sponsors with charges to be in line with the Council’s Fees and Charges Policy. 

The Chair advised that she had been approached by James McInerney from The Poetry Project about working with the Trust with a view to securing a poetry installation at Alice Park.  The Sub-Committee agreed that the Chair and Cllr Oli Henman would look at this in more detail to see if Alice Park was the right venue, or if there was a more appropriate venue for the project. 

Dogs in Alice Park

Cllr Saskia Heijltjes reported that she had received representations from local residents complaining about dog mess and dogs not being on leads.  The Sub-Committee agreed it would be useful to have signage to remind owners to pick up dog mess but it was noted that the issue of dogs being let off leads was complicated and controversial and would need careful consideration.  The Legal Services Manager undertook to check if there were any relevant bylaws relating to dogs at Alice Park and report back to the Sub-Committee. 

Volker

The Chair updated the Sub-Committee on the work undertaken by Volker to update the children’s cycle area with new markings and signage.  She asked the Director of Place to thank both Volker and the Highways Team and hoped that similar projects could be undertaken in future years.

Alice Park Trees

1.  Tree of Hope

The Chair reported that the National Trust had named Alice Park as one of the 49 recipients of a ‘Trees of Hope’ Sycamore Gap sapling which would be planted in the park for all the young people who are looked after in B&NES as a public place for them to connect to and to create a vision for hope and regeneration.

2.  Rob Appleyard Memorial Tree

The Chair also reported that Rob Appleyard’s widow would like to donate an apple tree to be planted in Alice Park in his memory and that a suitable location had been agreed with the Council’s Tree Officer.

Flags

Brian Johnson updated the Sub-Committee to confirm that St Marks School had agreed to work with the Trust to design and print flags for flying at Alice Park.  He undertook to give a further update at the next meeting. 

Larkhall festival – e-cargo bikes

The Chair asked officers if it would be possible to borrow 1-2 e-cargo bikes for people to try out during Larkhall Festival as there was a concern that people were not using the bikes through lack of knowledge.  The Director of Place undertook to discuss this with his team. 

Signage

Following a question about whether there should be signage about the speed limit for vehicles using the park, the Legal Services Manager undertook to look into this issue.

The Sub-Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:

“the Sub-Committee having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, RESOLVES that the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A), because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.”

The Sub-Committee having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972,

RESOLVED that the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A), because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.

RESOLVED that the officers’ recommendation in relation to the rent review of 1 Alice Park Cottages be approved.

RESOLVED that officers report back to the next meeting.