There was none.

The Committee RESOLVED to approve as a true record the minutes of the Community Committee meeting held on 21 July 2014,

The Chair updated Members regarding:

King George’s Play Strategy: A meeting was to take place on 23.10.14 to discuss the play strategy and improving play facilities across the Borough for the future.

Health and Wellbeing Board – Cllrs Mrs Davies and Ms Sanders were the Council representatives and would give six monthly updates to the Committee.

Local Support Services Framework (LSSF): A partnership agreement had been signed by the BBC Acting Chief Executive, Job Centre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau, Brentwood MIND and Synergy Therapy and Addiction to deliver a framework of support to residents suffering from problems with debt and discussions were taking place with the Family Mosaic with a view to their inclusion. There was to be a soft launch of the framework in November and negotiations were taking place regarding accommodation for framework partners at the refurbished Town Hall.

Members were reminded that, as part of the Funding Strategy agreed at Strategy and Policy Board on 21 November 2013, all discretionary grants and support to voluntary and community sector organisations were reviewed. A set of future funding principles was agreed at Strategy and Policy Board in relation to the Parish Councils.

Various one to one meetings had been undertaken with each of the Parish Councils to review the level of funding and looking at ways in which Brentwood Borough Council and the Parish Council could work more effectively together. This included a much clearer idea on roles and responsibilities for Essex County Council, Brentwood Borough Council and the Parish Councils. Although it was proposed to reduce the Discretionary Grant funding over the next three years, the Borough Council was also looking at strengthening the support that it provided to the Parish Councils with the development of a Service Level Agreement and other in kind support to mitigate against this reduction, and minimize the impact on local residents.

Cllr Aspinell advised that the Chairman of West Horndon Parish Council had suggested an alternative scheme to that proposed by the Borough Council and Cllr Mrs Squirrell MOVED and Cllr Carter SECONDED and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that consideration of this item be deferred in order that the revised proposal could be investigated.

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.

Members were reminded that Brentwood Borough Council currently provided festive lights to Brentwood Town Centre and Shenfield.

In 2012 a number of lamp columns failed the stress tests that were undertaken as part of the licence to erect festive lights (banners, hanging baskets etc.) Essex County Council considered that the festive lights could potentially increase the stress to the lamp column which was designed purely to provide street lighting.  As a result some of the motifs that had been attached to the lamp columns had to be replaced with rope lights that would not significantly impact onto the stress of the column.

For 2014/15, Officers were asked to explore ways in which the festive lights and activities in and around the Town Centre and in Shenfield in particular could be enhanced.

Costs of the proposed improvements were before Members and a more detailed  breakdown was circulated at the meeting.

Cllr Chilvers MOVED and Cllr Mrs Squirrell SECONDED the recommendation within the report and it was RESOLVED that Members agree to support in principle the additional festive lights and the Lighting Up Shenfield event, subject to budget agreement at Finance and Resources Committee on 29 October 2014.

Members had indicated that they would like to see additional community events for 2015/16, with a particular emphasis on the local heritage and cultural background of Brentwood.

It was therefore proposed to run a series of events under one branded umbrella which would include a number of events engaging local schools, arts and heritage organisations to look at bringing local history and heritage alive through intergenerational projects to engage the whole community and a proposed Community Events programme for 2015/16 was before Members.

Cllr Chilvers MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED an amendment to the recommendation and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

1.  Members agree in principle to review the resources required to deliver the Community Events programme for 2015/16 as listed in Appendix A to the agenda (subject to final approval through the budget setting process).

Members were reminded that the Brentwood Community Fund was set up to give Brentwood’s communities the opportunity to provide local initiatives to improve the quality of life for local people living in the borough. The fund had £50,300 available in total in the current financial year, and grants of up £3,500 were available for applicants, the application period having lasted from 1 April until 1 September 2014. A total of 24 applications were received requesting a total of £60,778.65 of funding.

Appendices to the report informed Members of the application process, the scoring system and officer’s recommendations as to how the funding should be awarded.  If Members approved officer’s recommendations, there would remain a balance of £8055.35 which it was proposed should be divided equally between all Members’ Ward Budgets.

Cllr Chilvers MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED an amendment to the recommendation and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

1.   Members agree to fund from the Community Fund those projects highlighted in green as outlined in Appendix B to the Agenda.

2.  Any unspent budget from the Community Fund is allocated to the ward budget allocation for 2014/15 and be equally split between all Councillors.

3.    Feedback to be given to all applicants.

(Cllr Barrett declared a non-pecuniary interest since a family member was involved with the Scout movement; Cllr Carter declared a non-pecuniary interest since he was involved with Brentwood Fairtrade; Cllr Reed declared a non-pecuniary interest due to being a Trustee of Brentwood Leisure Trust and left the Chamber, taking no part in the discussion on this item).

Members were aware that Local Government was increasingly looking to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) as a strategic partner to help support stronger, more cohesive communities, which would lead to improved health and well-being, and contribute to a decrease on the demand on public services.

Prevention and early intervention were recognized as instrumental steps in addressing health, social or public safety issues before they became so significant that they required input from public agencies. At the same time, all public agencies were looking at innovative ways in which to work in a climate of reducing resources and a challenging financial environment that would continue for some time. In times of decreasing resources, a focus on acute need and statutory duty was naturally emphasised, thus resulting in a call for more collaboration with the voluntary and community sector on prevention and early intervention programmes.

The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) had been set up as an endowment fund to provide a sustainable income stream to the Voluntary and Community sector (VCS) in Essex. The Fund would support the VCS to develop the abilities of communities, families and individuals to help themselves and each other.  The Essex Community Foundation would  be managing the Community Resilience Fund (CRF)  and was asking all city, borough and unitary authorities to each commit to £20,000 annually for the next five years in order to build a substantial endowment fund over this time.

Members expressed concerns regarding the way in which the fund would benefit Brentwood residents and requested further clarification before they made their decision.

Cllr Parker MOVED and Cllr Mrs Coe SECONDED an amendment to the recommendations as follows:

That Members agree to support in principle to the financial commitment of £20,000 per annum over the next five years (2015/16-2019/20) subject to final approval through the budget setting process and :

(a)  Provision of full details of how the Fund would benefit Brentwood

(b)  Provision of full details of the administration of the Fund.

Following a full discussion Cllr Chilvers MOVED and Cllr Mrs Squirrell SECONDED that consideration of the item be deferred pending provision of further clarification of the initiative.  Cllr Parker and Cllr Mrs Coe were  in agreement and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that the item be deferred for consideration at a future meeting.