Agenda and minutes

The Council welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting please register no later than 24 hours prior to the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk

There were none.

An apology for absence had been received from Councillor James Denniston.

Councillor Virginia Moran substituted for Councillor James Denniston.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

There were none.

It was proposed, seconded, and AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2023 were a correct and accurate record.

The Chairman queried whether Grantham market and the cost of the running of the market would be brought back to the Committee.

The Director of Growth and Culture confirmed a market operational report would be going to Governance and Audit Committee on 14 June 2023.

There were none.

This year-end update report outlines South Kesteven District Councils performance against the Corporate Plan Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the year of 2022/2023. The end of year data represents information up to 31 March 2023.

The Head of Corporate Projects, Policy and Performance presented the report that outlined end of year performance indicators up to 31 March 2023.

Appendix A of the report was a usual template of the KPI ratings, 4 actions were rated green and 2 were rated amber. The new Committee were provided with a general overview of all work carried out towards those indicators throughout the year.

Healthy and strong communities 11 was to improve and invest in locals arts and culture venues. There were approved ongoing capital works within the centers. Roof works had begun on Stamford Arts Centre and works taking place at the Guildhall had been completed.

Healthy and strong communities 13 was a review of the arts services and short- and medium-term action had been completed. This included the agreed restructure of the team, opening hours reviews, information around Lincolnshire One Venues (LOV) working and Leisure SK Ltd.

Healthy and strong communities 4 was the adoption of sport and physical activity strategy, which had been completed.

The new Committee were provided with links to work streams discussed. Appendix one was the relevant end of year KPIs that the Committee were responsible for:

·       Capital Programme for the arts center’s – rated green

·       Arts restructure and Cultural Strategy – rated green

·       Working towards adoption of a tourism strategic framework – rated green

·       Markets – rated amber

One Member requested an update on the works taken place at Stamford Arts Centre and the timeframe of when the center would be open for full use.

The Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure confirmed that Stamford Arts Centre was fully operational at present, and the programme levels were back to pre-pandemic numbers. The only area that was awaiting completion was the introduction of a café at Stamford Arts Centre, the lease was in its final form with the tenant.

A query was raised on whether the Tennis Club in Grantham were administering the tennis courts at Wyndham Park. It was further queried how time slots could be booked and how the resource could be paid for.

It was noted that the Council were awaiting the final details of the lease paperwork being signed and then a launch would take place. There had been a slight delay due to an agreement being sought from Fields in Trust to enter the lease with Grantham Tennis Club.

It was suggested further physical activities be available at Wyndham Park to initiate an outdoor ‘mini leisure center’ in the park, which would encourage communities to become more active.  

The Chairman highlighted that many groups within the District were also community-led rather than Council-led.

One Member queried who moderated, measured and set the action statuses.

A further query was raised on works undertaken on the actions that were significantly below target.

Clarification was sought on the change of the Council’s Corporate Plan and how new KPIs would feed into each Committee.

The Committee were reminded only KPIs 11 and 13 were relevant to this Committee, and the others  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider an improved lighting display for Grantham Town Centre following a compliant procurement exercise.

The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure presented the report that outlined the Council’s responsibility for the provision of Christmas lights in Grantham.

This provision had been supported by a modest budget of £17,500 from the Grantham Special Expense Area budget. The current lights were over 10 years old and the number of serviceable lights had reduced significantly.

The Christmas period 2022, had resulted in significant complaints and negative media interest.

Following a compliant procurement, there was now an option for the Council to enter a 3-year hire agreement to provide an improved light display in the town centre for Christmas 2023 and beyond.

In addition, it was proposed that this be complemented by the usual Christmas tree in the marketplace, family friendly activities and a Christmas market on the light switch-on day.

The 3-year hire cost could be met from the Grantham Special Expense Area budget or the supporting reserve and the contract could be novated to Grantham Town Council once established.

The one-off first year infrastructure costs, including the installation of uplighters on St Peter’s Hill could be funded from the District allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Appendix one to the report provided a visual representation of the types of lights and interventions which would be provided, should the report be supported by the Committee.

A query was raised on whether Grantham Town Council would be financially impacted by the 3-year lease when the contract is novated over to them.

Concern was raised on whether this would commit South Kesteven District Council to paying £30,000 for an ongoing 3 years meaning a high budget. It was further queried whether the £17,500 currently being paid for Christmas lights would be deducted from the total of £30,000 if the 3-year hire cost be accepted.

Further information of the grant was requested and whether the Council could determine how the fund be utilised.

The Chief Finance Officer reminded the Committee the report was a recommendation on the allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity funding for the Christmas lights. UK Shared Prosperity had its own governance and criteria to be met. Officers had undertaken an initial assessment and deemed the appropriateness to signpost the £30,800 to UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

It was confirmed that when Grantham Town Council comes into fruition, there would still be a requirement of a Grantham Special Expense Area operated by South Kesteven District Council. Once a Town Council was formed, ongoing discussions would take place regarding the services appropriated across in a mutual agreement. If accepted by the Town Council, they would then precept upon residents of Grantham to run services. The £30,800 commitment would become a Town Council responsibility and they would precept accordingly. At that point, the District Council would stop its precept of that money and the money would be transferred from one entity to another. The Grantham residents would either pay through the Special Expense Area charge or through their Grantham Town Council charge.

The £17,500 was an existing commitment through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To update the Committee on the work undertaken to develop a refreshed Cultural Strategy for the district.

The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure presented the draft Cultural Strategy. There was a commitment within the Council’s current Corporate Plan to develop a refreshed strategy to support the Council’s ambition to be the best place to live, work and visit.

A significant amount of research and consultation had been undertaken prior to developing the draft strategy. The Council had been supported by Red Quadrant, who were appointed following a compliant procurement exercise.

The basis of the work and key areas included, were previously agreed by Members of the Council’s former Culture and Visitor Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

Appended to the report were details of the results of the extensive consultation, which had been undertaken across the District. The results of the consultation were being used to inform the final draft of the strategy.

Although the Council’s arts and cultural activities were highly regarded by residents and visitors of the District, spend on the area was discretionary. It was important that the service provided value for money and delivered the Council’s outcomes. 

The strategy focused on engendering a collaborative approach to providing cultural activity across the District.

It was proposed the Committee receive six-monthly updates to monitor progress on the strategy, if adopted. 

One Member highlighted the public engagement and that the greater proportion of respondents were aged between 65 and 74. It was noted very few respondents were aged 34 and under. It was queried as to whether the Council had a policy to encourage the younger people of the District to become involved within cultural events. The suggestion was put forward for engagement of ages 34 and under to take place on social media.

The Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure confirmed that activities took place at the venues for children and young people. Recent Arts Council Transitional Funding had been received which would enable activities to take place out in the community. The Council were conscious of encouraging a younger audience and were also engaged with Lincolnshire One Venues which had young audience interest.

It was further suggested that Facebook groups be utilised to provide information to people within the District.

One Member requested lessons learnt, strengths and weaknesses of the previous Cultural Strategy. The journey of the document was also questioned.

It was queried as to what the low, medium and high funding ask was for the strategy and whether a timetable could be provided as to when the funding envelope would be worked on.

The draft strategy was presented to the Committee to receive input from Members, to take comments, suggestions and feedback and a report was due to be presented to Cabinet on 11 July 2023 for adoption. The Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure proposed draft KPI’s are brought back to the Committee to form the basis of the six-monthly updates.

The established budget had been received and there was no current ask for any additional funding. The Council were willing to work collaboratively with community groups, both to which were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider the Committee’s Work Programme for 2023-24.

The Committee noted the Work Programme.

The following items were added to the Work Programme for the meeting held on 5 September 2023:

·       Sports and Physical Activity Strategy (including health outreach working and clubs)

·       Performance of LeisureSK Ltd

·       Cultural Strategy KPI’s

·       Review of Hello SK App and presentation on the DiscoverSK Website

·       Update on Markets

One Member suggested a workshop take place to discuss Cultural Strategy KPI’s prior to being brought back to Committee. Performance of Arts Centers was also suggested as a future item.

The Head of Policy, Performance and Corporate Projects suggested that a workshop take place once the aspirations and deliverables for the new Corporate Plan. The new Corporate Plan would be endorsed on 1 April 2024, therefore a workshop would be appropriate for the end of 2023.

One Member suggested the inclusion of a discussion around festivals within the District.

The Director of Growth and Culture informed the Committee that the Council used to primarily run the Georgian Festival and the Gravity Fields Festival in Grantham. A decision had already been taken that the Council would no longer fund festivals.

The following items were added to the Work Programme for the meeting held on 30 November 2023:

·       Review of a district-wide Blue Plaque Guide and Information Trails

The Chairman informed the Committee that Bourne Skate Park was now officially open. 

The Chairman closed the meeting at 11:40.