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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone

Contact: Ezzie Tunnicliff  01622 602272

Items
No. Item

82.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

It was noted that apologies were received from Councillor Hastie and Councillor Mrs Hinder.

 

It was noted that apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Ells.

 

83.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

The following Substitute Members were noted:

 

  • Councillor Naghi for Councillor Hastie; and

 

  • Councillor Boughton for Councillor Mrs Hinder.

 

84.

Urgent Items

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

85.

Notification of Visiting Members

Minutes:

There were no Visiting Members.

 

86.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillor Ells and Councillor Naghi both stated that they had received complimentary weekend tickets to the Ramblin’ Man Fair.

 

87.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

 

88.

Exempt Information

Minutes:

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

 

89.

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2017 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed.

 

90.

Presentation of Petitions

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

 

91.

Questions and answer session for members of the public

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public.

 

92.

Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 37 KB

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Work Programme for 2017/18.

 

It was noted that the Museum Future Governance Options would now presented to the Committee in March 2018.

 

RESOLVED: That the Committee Work Programme 2017/18 be noted.

 

93.

Festival and Events Strategy Update

Minutes:

The MCL Marketing and Sales Manager updated the Committee on the Festival and Events Strategy and highlighted to the Committee that:

 

·  The Council supported two events per year both financially and with officer time: Proms in the Park and Shemomedjamo. Core funding for these two events was being reduced by £10,000 per year for three years from 2017-18 and by 2020-21 the Council funding of these events would be zero.

 

·  Shemomedjamo was on target to be self-financing by the end of year three.

 

·  Parkwood Leisure provided the event management for Proms in the Park as part of their contract. The Council provided Parkwood Leisure with £14,000 for delivery of the event as well as staff resource in planning and marketing the event.

 

·  It would not be financially viable to run Proms in the Park on the existing model in 2018. Additional income was required to support the event and by 2020 it was required to be self-financing.

 

·  Investigations into sponsorship of the event were not successful because the event was regarded as too short in length with a small and unguaranteed audience.

 

·  The date for Proms in the Park 2018 was not going to be on the same weekend as the Royal Wedding or the FA Cup Final.

 

·  The direct economic impact of events in the Borough was estimated to be in excess of £10 million.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, Officers replied that:

 

·  The proposed cost of an adult ticket for Proms in the Park would be between £5-7 and children up to the age of 16 would receive free entry to the event.

 

·  Any surplus income would provide additional entertainment, as well as extra facilities for the event.

 

·  The tickets could be purchased in advance using the Hazlitt Theatre’s ticketing system.

 

·  Proms in the Park 2018 would be similar in structure to previous years, but we would seek to enhance the event through the addition of concessions, extra facilities and performers. 

 

The Committee requested that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman be consulted on the planning of Proms in the Park in order that Members’ views could be incorporated into the process.

 

It was noted that Councillor Ells arrived at 6.42 p.m. during consideration of this item.

 

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That Proms in the Park becomes a paid for event through tickets sales and other commercial activities.

 

  1. That the idea of free entry for children up to the age of 16 and an entry fee for adults of no greater than £7 be supported.

 

  1. That a steering group be organised to include the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

 

Voting: Unanimous

 

94.

Commemorative Plaques Scheme pdf icon PDF 253 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Equalities and Corporate Policy Officer presented the item to the Committee.

 

It was noted that:

 

·  The Commemorative Plaques Scheme was being introduced because past and present Members of this Committee thought that there should be a scheme or mechanism in place which enabled Maidstone’s rich local heritage and historic environment to be celebrated.

 

·  The design of the plaque, which gave it local significance, was conceived by the Committee and was included at Appendix A.

 

·  The further detail on the number of words and content came from English Heritage and this strengthened the design and would create uniformity between the plaques.

 

·  The proposed scheme would be deliverable within current resources and the Committee would evaluate all the applications.

 

The Committee requested that the Scheme be renamed as the Commemorative Plaques Guide.

 

The Committee were concerned that the Scheme was too rigid and that a person could be prevented from being commemorated because they had not lived in the Borough for at least 5 years. Therefore, the Committee agreed that a person could be commemorated if they had a direct association with a building in the Borough.

 

RESOLVED: That the introduction of the Commemorative Plaques Guide be agreed, subject to the addition (seen in bold below) on page 21 of the agenda:

 

·  The building on which the plaque will be fixed must be directly related to the proposed person, and they must have lived or worked there for at least 5 years or have had a direct association with the building.

 

Voting: For – 7   Against – 1  Abstentions – 0

 

95.

Duration of Meeting

Minutes:

6.31 p.m. to 7.27 p.m.