Members were reminded that at the Community Committee on 21 July 2014 it was resolved that a borough wide news bulletin was piloted and that the first edition included the consultation on the William Hunter Way development.

It was also resolved that the pilot bulletin would cost less than £5K and feedback from residents would be sought to enable this Committee to make a decision on continuing with regular editions.

Members were advised that the final costs of the pilot edition of the ‘Borough Bulletin’ were £2,808.75. These were made up of: Printing costs £1,333.75 and distribution costs £1,475.00. The distribution costs were lower than any future editions would normally be as the costs were shared 50/50 with the William Hunter Way consultation.

The pilot edition of the Borough Bulletin was distributed w/c 15 September and contained the William Hunter Way Consultation; information on Individual Electoral Registration; William Hunter Way; Local Development Plan; upcoming Council events and a calendar of Council Committee Meetings.

The Distribution Company used a listing licensed from the Royal Mail for delivery. The Royal Mail list had 30,156 letterboxes in the Borough registered for distribution purposes. The Distribution Company was given 30,200 copies of the bulletin to distribute in the Borough.

Copies of the Borough Bulletin were available in reception at the Town Hall and at the Brentwood Centre and it was also made available on the Council’s website with contact details of where to obtain a paper copy. The website link was shared on the Council’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The Council had received nine emails and nine telephone calls from residents who said they had not received a copy and addresses were taken and copies were posted to them.

Members were advised that future projected costs per quarterly edition were: design and layout between £160-£200; printing and delivery to Royal Mail: £1,500; distribution by Royal Mail £1,878.

Concern was expressed regarding residents reporting that they had not received the Bulletin, also at the quality of the pilot.  Members were assured that delivery rates would be improved for the next Bulletin and it would also be made available via social media.  Regarding the quality of the pilot, Members noted that it had been produced very quickly and that improvements would be made in future editions.

Cllr Chilvers MOVED and Cllr Mrs Squirrell SECONDED the recommendations in the report and it was RESOLVED that:

1.   Members agree in principle to two further editions of the Borough Bulletin for 2014/15, subject to agreement from the Finance & Resources Committee to allocate a maximum revenue budget of £10,000.

2.   Members agree in principle to continue with quarterly editions of the Borough Bulletin for 2015/16 and beyond, subject to final approval through the annual budget setting process.