Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no Declarations of Interests.

The minutes of the Joint Cabinet Members (Business, Enterprise and Employment) and (Culture, Leisure, Sports and Parks) meeting held on 23 July 2014 were noted as a true record.

Report of the Executive Director, Place.

To consider the above e-petition, bearing 100 e-signatures which has been submitted by Councillor Allan Andrews, an Earlsdon Ward Councillor who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director, Place which provided a response to an e-petition organised by Councillor Andrews, an Earlsdon Ward Councillor, with 100 e-signatures, requesting the removal of the new charge for children using the water feature.

The report explained that the charges for the use of the Water Feature in the War Memorial park had been considered and approved on 8^th April 2014.  The Water Feature was opened in 2005 and had been free to use since that time and operated for 77 days of the year; subject to weather conditions.

The report outlined the two options available; firstly, to retain the charge as previously approved or alternatively, to reconsider whether, given the relatively small amount of income anticipated to be recovered, the charge for children to use the water feature should be withdrawn.

In considering these options, it was worth noting that excluding maintenance and replacement costs, the facility cost approximately £17,000 to operate annually. The proposed usage charge of £1.00 per child per day was estimated to recover £5,000 to help meet the overall running costs of this facility.

It was acknowledged that while only a small element of the operating costs was estimated to be recovered, it provided an opportunity to recover some of the costs incurred.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member (Culture, Leisure, Sports and Parks) approves that in consideration of the low level of income anticipated to be achieved and the impact this charge may have on families, the charge for children to use the water feature be withdrawn.

Report of the Executive Director, Place 

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director, Place which sought approval for the adoption of “A Vision of Allesley Park Walled Garden” as a framework for the future development and management of the Walled Garden.

Allesley Hall Park is one of the Area Parks within the City with a rich history and the Council is supported in its management and ongoing maintenance by very enthusiastic local people who are members of the Allesley Park Residents Association, Allesley Park Walled Garden Group and the Friends of Allesley Park. The park is under the control of the Parks Service within the Place Directorate.

All these Groups have been working over the past three years with City Council officers on a Visioning document for the Walled Garden, an integral and historical element of this well used park. The report sought approval to adopt the document as a framework for the future development of the Walled Garden and to submit an external funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for Stage 1 of the restoration works.

For a number of years, residents and groups that use Allesley Park have taken a keen interest in the management of the Park. In 2000, the Council adopted a “Proposal for the Walled Garden”, which permitted the newly formed Allesley Park Walled Garden Group to lease part of the Garden in order to lay it out as it may have looked when the Garden was first built in c1786.

The report outlined two options for consideration:

(i)  To leave the management of the garden as it is. This would mean having a quarter of the garden managed (under lease) by the Walled Garden Group with the remainder of the Garden managed in an ad-hoc basis by the Friends of Allesley Park, apart from essential work such as grass-mowing which would be carried out by the City Council. This lack of formal management for three quarters of the Garden has already proved to be undesirable as it causes friction between the two groups. This was not the recommended option.

(ii)  Adopting the vision for the walled Garden which has been agreed by all parties as a workable management framework. By adopting the Vision, the groups would work in partnership with the City Council to deliver the actions outlined in the Vision including seeking external funding to deliver the new proposal. The report recommended that this option be approved so that the Vision document is adopted, allowing external funding to be sought so this Vision becomes a reality.

Almost four years of consultation and discussion have been undertaken during the development of the Vision document. The consultation was led by the City Council and involved the Allesley Park Residents Association, the Friends of Allesley Park and the Allesley Park Walled Garden Group. The groups carried out consultation with the wider public through questionnaires, distributed within 0.5 miles of the Park and via events where members of the public have had the opportunity to comment on the proposals.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

There are no outstanding issues.

There were no outstanding issues.

Any other items of public business which the Cabinet Member decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no other items of business.