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Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Ingrave Road, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8AY

Contact: Zoe Borman/Zoey Foakes (01277 312 736/733) 

Items
No. Item

393.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllrs Fulcher, Pound and Sanders.  Cllrs Laplain, Bridge and Pearson were substituting respectively.

 

 

394.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 249 KB

Minutes:

The Minutes of the previous Community and Health Committee held on Monday 6th January were signed as a true record.

 

 

395.

Chairs Report pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the updates from Officers as set out in the report.

 

Members raised concerns regarding Curtis Mill Green Deer Survey.  The Chair confirmed a report would be coming to this Committee in the future.

 

Concerns were also raised by Members regarding the Play Area Strategy and those areas in need of maintenance which fall outside of the Strategy.  Officers advised that these would be reviewed within the robust maintenance regime carried out by the Council.

 

 

396.

Community & Health Committee - Year In Review

A presentation will be made to the Committee.

Minutes:

Mrs Anderson presented to Members updating them on key areas over the last year.  This included updates on the following:

 

Leisure Strategy

 

      King George’s Playing Fields £7m investment

      Proposed Football Hub Development at the Brentwood Centre site

      Play Area improvements 2019/20  –KGPF Toddler Area, River Road

      Community Halls internal and external improvements works in progress

      Protection and Enhancement of Green Spaces    

 

Community Funding and Support

 

 

      Total of over £145k discretionary funding allocated in 2019/20

      Town Hall Community Hub development

      Town Hall Community Pod programme

      Joint networking event for Active Brentwood, Basildon and Thurrock 

 

Health and Wellbeing

 

      Outdoor gym installation at Warley Playing Fields 

       Community Trailer programme

       Walking for Health programme

      Promotion of cycling in Brentwood

      Support the Chat 1stprogramme at the Brentwood Centre

      Dance and Dine project for elderly residents

      Annual Sports Awards 

      Health Impact Assessments (undertaken for large developments) as part of the planning process

      Chat Benches 

      Ping Pong Parlour at the Baytree Centre

      Tuck In Project  

 

Community Development

 

      Annual Community Events Programme delivered across the Borough

      37,000 estimated visitors to the Council’s community events    

      £42,500 income generated from Community events

      200 estimated volunteering hours to support the community events

      £ 13.5k estimated income for local charities

      Dunton Hills Garden Village Education programme and Community Forum development

      Assets of Community Value

      Essex 2020 –STEAM

 

 

397.

Football Hub Development pdf icon PDF 217 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

On 30 July 2019 Extraordinary Council (min. ref. 153), Members agreed for officers to commence procurement exercise to appoint a contractor to undertake a football feasibility study to support the football hub development at the Brentwood Centre site. 4 Global were appointed with LK2 Architects, to undertake these works. Their report before members sets out the strategic context, evidence of need, consultation with key stakeholders, assessment of options and indicative costings for each of those options along with proposed next steps subject to Members recommendations.

 

Members welcomed this report and requested consultation during progression.  Concerns were raised regarding the management of the hub, and access to the site.

 

Cllr Poppy MOVED and Cllr Tierney SECONDED the motion to approve the recommendations in the report. 

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

 

1.         Note the report and its recommendation of preferred option 4; and

 

2.         Delegated authority is given to Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of Council and the Chair of Community and Health Committee to progress the development of the football hub development through the following workstreams:

 

a) For Officers to undertake further financial modelling to develop a sustainable Business Plan and operating model, and that this plan is brought back to the relevant committee for Member consideration;

 

b) For officers to procure the relevant services to progress designs for the built facilities, undertake any surveys for the site to prepare for a planning submission for the site;

 

c) For officers to undertake further consultation with Brentwood Town Football Club and Brentwood Leisure Trust on the preferred option.

 

 

Reasons for Recommendations

 

The Play Pitch Strategy (PPS) and Local Football Facilities plan for Brentwood identify the Brentwood Centre site as a preferred site for a Football Hub Development.

 

This project is linked to the King George’s Playing Fields development. The

relocation of adult football pitches from King George’s Playing Fields to the

Brentwood Centre site will mean that there is less of a requirement for changing facilities in the new pavilion at King George’s Playing Fields.

 

The football development also supports the delivery of the Council’s Leisure

Strategy in supporting improved leisure facilities and increasing participation in football.

 

 

[Cllr Reed declared a pecuniary interest as an employee of Brentwood Leisure Trust.  He left the Chamber and did not vote on the item]

 

398.

Mental Health Small Grants Scheme pdf icon PDF 233 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Mental Health Small Grants Scheme was set up to give Brentwood’s communities the opportunity to provide mental health initiatives in the Borough. In partnership with theBrentwood Health and Wellbeing Board, grants of up to £2,000 were available toindividuals, organisations and groups for wellbeing projects delivered between 1 April2020 and 31 March 2021. Projects must be delivered in the Borough and involve people with lived experience in design planning and delivery. The Council received 16 applications requesting a total of £29,058.37. The Mental Health Small Grants Scheme is currently allocated within an existing 2019/2020 budget. The funding was open from 14 January until 31 January 2020. A summary of the applications and the officers scoring sheet is attached in Appendix C of the report.

 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

 

            Agree to fund those projects highlighted in green as outlined in

Appendix C of the report out of the Mental Health Small Grants fund.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

The Mental Health Small Grants Scheme will be subject to a robust, independent and transparent scoring process to ensure fairness in the allocation of funding.

 

Once received the applications will be scored by a panel of officers looking at the following key priorities:

Evidence that the application meets the criteria, the Council’s priorities and

expected outcomes

Evidence that the community has been involved in the development and

implementation of the project

Evidence that the application supports the promotion of volunteering and

community participation

Evidence that the project is sustainable once the Mental Health Small

Grants Scheme contribution has ceased.

 

 

 

[Cllr Reed declared a non-pecuniary interest as a council representative for mental health]

 

 

399.

Brentwood Community Fund pdf icon PDF 266 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Brentwood Community Fund is a discretionary pot of funding, 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. It is proposed that the current supporting documentation is revised so that it is aligned to the new Corporate Strategy - Brentwood 2025, and that any allocation of funding

supports the Council’s new priorities.

 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED to:

 

 

Agree to the new guidance, criteria and scoring information for the Brentwood Community Fund as set out in Appendix A and B.

Main Report.

400.

Brentwood Centre - Parking issues pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Minutes:

On 25 January 2020, the Council received a number of complaints in respect of the Carp Show event at the Brentwood Centre in relation to the dangerous parking of cars around the surrounding roads in the vicinity of the Brentwood Centre. It is proposed that officers explore options for possible solutions to the parking issue at this annual event to minimize the problems on the surrounding roads.

 

Members welcomed this report.

 

 

Following a full discussion a  motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

R1. For delegated authority given to Chief Executive together with any

relevant Officers to explore options for possible solutions to the issues of parking around the Brentwood Centre site and bring a report back to the appropriate committee for Member consideration

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to approve the recommendation as amended:

 

For delegated authority to be given to the Chief Executive together with any relevant Officers to explore options for possible solutions to the issues of parking and management of large events around the Brentwood Centre site and bring a report back to the appropriate committee for Member consideration.

 

 

Reason for Recommendation

 

The outcome of the report will come back to the relevant committee which will

set out a number of options including indicative costings for Members to consider and improve the parking situation around the Brentwood Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cllr Reed declared a pecuniary interest as an employee of Brentwood Leisure Trust.  He left the Chamber and did not vote on the item]

 

401.

Brentwood Access Group pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Minutes:

 

Brentwood Borough Council has received a request for support from Brentwood Access Group to undertake an audit of public buildings which will inform residents and visitors to Brentwood which facilities provide a customer experience for disabled people. The Audit will be undertaken by volunteers through Brentwood Access Group and ask businesses a series of questions relating to how they could improve the customer experience and improvements to the physical space to improve accessibility. The audit

will cover all public buildings in the borough which will include retail businesses, churches, community halls etc. Those buildings or businesses that are fully accessible can display a sticker and be added to the Brentwood Access Group website.

 

 

Following discussion a  motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

 

To agree to support Brentwood Access Group with their audit of public buildings across the Borough.

 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

The Audit will not only support those disabled individuals and visitors to have a better customer experience in Brentwood but also support businesses in

attracting this market segment.

 

The Audit may also identify any business training requirements that could be

supported by the Council through the Economic Development team.

 

402.

Urgent Business - Shenfield Library pdf icon PDF 208 KB

Minutes:

There were two items of urgent business to be considered by Members.

 

 

A public meeting took place at Shenfield Library on 7 March to discuss proposals for the Shenfield Library site. It is proposed that Brentwood Borough Council Officers make contact with representatives from ECC Library Services and ECC Planning Services to identify what the proposals for development are, identify suitable location for any interim arrangements from which the library provision can be held.   

 

Following discussion a  motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

 

To ask officers from Brentwood Borough Council to liaise with officers from Essex County Council’s project team for the Shenfield Library development to seek possible solutions for a location from which an interim library service can be held. 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

To ensure that a library provision will continue to be provided for Shenfield residents during any construction phase to support the local community.  

 

403.

Urgent Business - Asset of Community Value - Eagle Field, Kelvedon Hatch pdf icon PDF 368 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Localism Act 2011 introduced the Community Right to Bid, a new right for local people to nominate buildings or pieces of land that they believe contribute to the social interests or wellbeing of their local communities to be listed on a register of Assets of Community Value (ACVs), managed by the local authority. The Right applied to public and private property, although there are a number of exceptions under the legislation, including private residences. Where land is listed as an ACV, if an owner of a listed asset subsequently wishes to dispose of it, there will be a period of time during which the asset cannot be sold, or a qualifying lease granted or assigned (a qualifying lease is a lease originally granted for a 25year term). This period is known as a moratorium and would ultimately be for a period of six months. The moratorium is intended to allow community groups the time to develop a proposal and raise the required capital to bid for the asset when it comes onto the open market at the end of that period. The owner is under no obligation to accept a bid from the community group and can sell the property to whomever they wish once the six-month moratorium is over.

 

A valid nomination has been received to list Eagle Field, Kelvedon Hatch as an Asset of Community Value and this report asks the Committee to make a decision on this nomination.

 

 

Following discussion a  motion was MOVED by Cllr Poppy and SECONDED by Cllr Tierney to approve the recommendation in the report.

 

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

 

 

To list the land known as Eagle Field, Kelvedon Hatch, as indicated on site map in Appendix A of the report as an Asset of Community Value.

 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

The nomination has passed the Council’s due diligence tests including the submission of evidence that the group is eligible to nominated. The nomination passes the first statutory test as it clearly furthers the social interests and wellbeing of the local community.

 

There is a realistic chance that the asset will continue to provide the activities for which it has been nominated. The nomination therefore passes the second statutory tests.

 

The Council could decide not to list Eagle Field, Kelvedon Hatch as an Asset of Community Value, but this would mean that it was not fulfilling its statutory duty under the Localism Act 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                        The meeting concluded at 20.10