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Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Ezzie Tunnicliff  01622 602272

Items
No. Item

36.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

It was noted that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Mrs Hinder.

 

 

37.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillor Perry was substituting for Councillor Mrs Hinder.

 

 

38.

Urgent Items

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

 

39.

Notification of Visiting Members

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillor Naghi was present as a Visiting Member and wished to speak on Agenda Item 15 – Tourism Destination Management Plan Update.

 

 

40.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.

 

 

41.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillors Ells, Hastie and Lewins had been lobbied on Agenda Item 14 – Disposal of Land at Hayle Place.

 

 

42.

Exempt Items

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.

 

 

43.

Minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2017 pdf icon PDF 50 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed.

 

 

44.

Presentation of Petitions

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

 

 

45.

Questions and answer session for members of the public

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public.

 

 

46.

Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 38 KB

Minutes:

The Chairman informed the Committee that the Plaques and People Protocol and the Biodiversity Action Plan had been moved to the meeting of this Committee on 31 October 2017.

 

In response to a question from the Committee, the Director of Finance and Business Improvement confirmed that the Council’s policy on land disposal had been considered at the Policy and Resources Committee on 25 July 2017 and that it would be considered by Full Council on 27 September 2017.

 

RESOLVED:That the Committee Work Programme be noted.

 

Note: Councillor Blackmore arrived at 6.35 p.m. before consideration of this item.

 

 

47.

Change to the Order of Business

Minutes:

The Chairman suggested that Agenda Item 15 – Tourism Destination Management Plan Update be considered as the next item of business, as a member of the public had registered to speak.

 

RESOLVED:That Agenda Item 15 – Tourism Destination Management Plan Update be considered by the Committee as the next item of business.

 

 

48.

Tourism Destination Management Plan Update pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The MCL Marketing and Sales Manager presented the Destination Management Plan – Action Plan Progress Update to the Committee.

 

It was noted that:

 

·  The Destination Management Plan (DMP) was created through stakeholder engagement.

 

·  The DMP was a strategy that provided the direction for the day to day work of the Council’s tourism section.

 

·  The key objective of the DMP was to prioritise those visitor markets that could bring growth to Maidstone’s tourism economy.

 

·  The DMP Action Plan was created by stakeholders with the intention of providing a practical programme of additional tourism actions, which were being delivered by stakeholders and partners where they were achievable.

 

·  The DMP Board reviewed the action plan quarterly, although one meeting this year had to be cancelled due to resourcing reasons.

 

·  An update event would be held for stakeholders and partners in October or November, but that the details had not been confirmed yet.

 

Ian Tucker, of the Maidstone River Partnership, updated the Committee on the work of the community group, whose aim was to make the river an attraction in its own right and give the river its own sense of identity. The Committee thanked Ian and his group for all the work that they continued to do.

 

The Committee raised concerns about:

 

·  The Member representation on the smaller working groups involved with the DMP; and

 

·  The lack of communication regarding events within the Borough, both with Members and the public.

 

In response, Officers advised that the sub groups that had met previously would only meet when there was a new project, as they were primarily task and finish groups. Officers assured the Committee that there would be a high level of communication with both Members and the public going forward.

 

The Committee suggested that the huge collaborative effort between all the different organisations involved in the DMP be promoted in the Borough Insight magazine and that the DMP Action Plan should be updated to contain all the contributors and volunteers that were involved.

 

It was noted that Councillor Naghi, present as a Visiting Member, addressed the Committee on this item.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That current progress via the Destination Management Plan be noted.

 

2.  That further detail be included in the next report to acknowledge all contributors and volunteers.

 

 

49.

Key Performance Indicator Update Q1 17/18 HCL pdf icon PDF 95 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Performance and Information Manager presented the Key Performance Indicator Update Report to the Committee.

 

The Committee were advised that:

 

·  In Quarter 1, one Key Performance Indicator (KPI) had achieved its target, one KPI was within ten percent of its target, and three KPIs had not achieved their target.

 

·  Methodologies for collecting data were being reviewed to see if there were more accurate or robust ways to do so.

 

It was noted that the Committee was concerned with the footfall at the Museum and Visitor Information Centre. Officers informed the Committee that the low figure was due in part to the closure of the Ancient Lives Gallery for renovation. The Committee noted that Officers were considering purchasing electronic counters to ensure that the figure was accurate. Officers were requested to look at benchmarking against other similar museums in order to compare the amount of visitor information enquiries.

 

In response to a question, Officers informed the Committee that the Festivals, Events, and Parks income target be removed for the following reasons:

 

·  The indicator is already measured through budget monitoring;

 

·  The rationale for including the indicator was unclear;

 

·  The Committee had a large amount of KPIs already; and

 

·  It was unclear what the Committee wanted to measure with this indicator.

 

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That the summary of performance for Quarter 1 of 2017/18 for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) be noted.

 

  1. That the indicator for Festival, Events, and Parks be removed.

 

 

50.

First Quarter Budget Monitoring 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 65 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement made a presentation to the Committee relating to budgets within the Committee’s remit for the first quarter of 2017/18.

 

The Committee noted that for the first quarter, there had been an overall underspend of £33,401 against the budget. It was highlighted to the Committee that, after an overspend last year, Mote Park Café had performed in line with the budget for the first quarter of this year.

 

RESOLVED: That the revenue position at the end of the first quarter and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position where significant variances have been identified be noted.

 

 

51.

Disposal of Land at Hayle Place pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leisure Manager presented this item to the Committee.

 

The Committee noted that:

 

  • Disposal of the two parcels of land would transfer the maintenance responsibility to The Hayle Park Nature Reserve Trust.

 

  • It was suggested that these parcels of land should be transferred to The Hayle Park Nature Reserve Trust via a leasehold agreement.

 

  • As this land was worth less than £100,000, disposal could proceed under officer delegation following advertisement.

 

In response to a question, the Officer informed the Committee that the two parcels of land would become part of The Hayle Park Nature Reserve Trust.

 

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That the two parcels of land to the north of Hayle County Park (as shown in Appendix 1) be declared as surplus to operational requirements.

 

  1. That a Public Notice, pursuant to Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, be placed in a local newspaper in order to consult local residents.

 

 

52.

Duration of Meeting

Minutes:

6.30 p.m. 8.02 to p.m.