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 no public speakers.

All Committee Members were present.

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

There were none.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on:

3 September 2024, 10:30am (Partly Restricted)

3 September 2024, 14:00pm

Minutes from the meeting held on 3 September 2024, 10:30am (Partly Restricted) and 3 September 2024, 14:00pm 2024 were proposed, seconded and AGREED as an accurate record, subject to a minor amendment.

To consider actions agreed at the meeting held on 3 September 2024.

All actions were complete.

The Deputy Leader of the Council offered commiserations to the people of Stamford as their Christmas light event had been cancelled. The traders and those arranging the event had put in a high amount of effort.

The Grantham and Deepings Christmas light switch on was due to take place within the coming week. The Bourne Christmas light switch on was due to take place on 7 December 2024.

A Beeden Park opening event was taking place on 30 November 2024 at 10am. This park had been refurbished using grant funding and provided health and wellbeing benefits for local residents.

Works were starting to take place on Dysart Park with the help of UKSPF funding and a donation from Grantham Rotary. The plans were out to tender, the scheme was hoped to be developed quickly.

The Committee were invited to attend Stamford Pantomime on 19 December 2024, invites had been sent out.  

To provide an update on the Cultural Strategy for South Kesteven, including progress with the accompanying Action Plan and the achievement of Key Performance Indicators previously agreed.

The Deputy Leader of the Council presented the report.

The report provided the second six-monthly update on the implementation of South Kesteven’s Cultural Strategy 2023/26.

Since its adoption in July 2023, significant progress had been made towards delivering the strategy’s objectives guided by key performance indicators.

The report highlighted several achievements, including the success of the Pay it Forward scheme. The scheme had raised £6900 to expand access to cultural experience for residents facing barriers to participation.

Updates were provided on outreach efforts such as the Rural Touring Scheme and the inclusion of rural communities to enjoy arts services. Innovative public art projects had been funded by UKSPF grants.

Additionally, the report outlined the significant steps taken to enhance marketing, improve accessibility and ensure the effective use of cultural venues alongside new developments such as in-house pantomimes at Stamford Arts Centre and repairs/upgrades to facilities.

The update reflected the Council’s commitment to fostering a thriving, inclusive cultural landscape across the District, ensuring value for money and enriching the quality of life for all residents.

It was queried as to how much of the £6900 raised from the Pay it Forward scheme had been spent.

The exact figure spent at present was unknown, however, it was a constant rolling scheme where money was spent to fund an activity once it was received.

ACTION: For the Arts and Cultural Services Manager to provide the Committee with an update on how much of the £6900 raised from the Pay it Forward scheme had been spent.

A suggestion was made on bringing back elements of the Gravity Fields Festival.

The Deputy Leader of the Council clarified that there were several significant events forthcoming such as Issac Newton’s birthday and 150 years of Kings School, Grantham. Officers were exploring potential opportunities to reincarnate elements of Gravity Fields festival but on a more affordable, smaller scale.

One Member raised the idea of a pop-up cinema and whether the Bourne Corn Exchange could be considered for such event. It was noted that people in Bourne either had to travel into Grantham or Peterborough.

The Arts and Cultural Services Manager highlighted that the idea of a pop-up cinema had been considered before. Bourne Corn Exchange received a high number of bookings, however, the idea could be further explored due to a projector screen being available at the venue.

The Leader of the Council informed the Committee of a venue in the Deepings which had a projector screen, which was available to the community.

A suggestion had previously been made to Grantham Museum on the idea of a ‘free-thinking festival’ which could be similar to Gravity Fields Festival. This could include a series of lectures annually to celebrate the legacy of Edith Smith, Maragret Thatcher, Issac Newton and Nicholas Parsons.

A Cabinet Member informed the Committee on the special anniversary of Charles Worth in 2025, who has the leading couturier in Paris. A celebration would take place in Bourne.

Members praised the team for the work presented. 

One Member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing presented the report.

In March 2024, a new Corporate Plan for the Council was agreed until 2027. Subsequently, the Committee agreed a series of KPI’s to receive and review the findings.

The report included the quarter two 24-25 report for the new KPI’s.  The KPI’s included eight actions, which were all rated green overall.

All KPI reports would be uploaded to the performance reporting page on the Council’s website via a new KPI dashboard. A face-to-face all-Member briefing on the dashboard and the Council’s wider efforts to enhance transparency was due to take place in early 2025.

One Member sought clarification on an action on economic impact, which stated ‘below target’.

The Policy Officer clarified that the targets were assessed overall and as a whole. The economic impact was a sub-measure which was below target, however did not impact the overall workstream being on target for the action.

That the Committee:

1. Reviews and scrutinises the performance against the Corporate Plan Key Performance Indicators in relation to the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2024-27.

To provide an update regarding the performance, budget position of LeisureSK Ltd with its draft business plan for 2025/2026.

(Debbie Roberts, Paul Sutton and Councillor Philp Knowles were present in their capacity as LeisureSK Ltd Board Members).

The Chairman of LeisureSK Ltd presented the report, which was broken down into the performance of LeisureSK Ltd, the business plan for 2025/26 and a request in the budget for the following financial year.

At the previous meeting of the Committee, data on the Leisure Centres was provided. Information on attendance was included within the graphs alongside updates regarding Covid levels and how the Leisure Centres had returned back to pre-Covid levels for memberships in Bourne and Stamford. Grantham Meres had not returned to pre-Covid levels.

There was the potential for a refurbishment at Grantham Meres gym in the future.

The business plan provided was for one year only due to LeisureSK Ltd moving to an agency model from 1 April 2025. At present, LeisureSK Ltd had not received the new specification contract or set of new KPI’s going forward. Therefore, the business plan had been based on a one-year, like-for-like basis.

The request for the £150,000 was to assist with cashflow issues that the company would incur. Under the agency model, the company would receive the income on behalf of the Council and deduct expenditure incurred, a reconciliation process would take place on a monthly basis with either the Council receiving the surplus or this being topped up in the case of a deficit.  To assist with cashflow during the transition, the company would require an injection of cashflow from 1 April 2025. This would be repaid to the Council over the course of the financial year.

One Member queried what had been done to explore a simple overdraft facility for the £150,000.

A LeisureSK Ltd Board Member confirmed they were exploring costs of an overdraft facility. The cost of taking an overdraft facility from the bank would be more expensive than taking a facility from the Council.

It was noted the business plan had little specific reference to Grantham stadium. A query was raised on attendance numbers of Grantham stadium as figures were combined with Meres Leisure Centre.

One Member queried what plans LeisureSK Ltd had for the stadium to make it more attractive and attract more people to utilise it.

The Assistant Director of Leisure, Culture and Place clarified that Grantham stadium was included within the Leisure Management contract, therefore, LeisureSK Ltd managed the stadium on the Council’s behalf.

The attendance figures provided for Grantham Meres did not include the stadium.

The Council had been in negotiations with Grantham Town Football Club regarding their usage of the stadium. Once negotiations were concluded, ways in which LeisureSK Ltd could improve the stadium usage would be discussed.

The Contract Manager for LeisureSK Ltd highlighted that additional groups used the stadium and it was also used for school events in summer holidays, and for charity events. The negotiation with Grantham Town Football Club was key, as once their dates of use were confirmed, the stadium availability could then be offered out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To consider the Work Programme 2024-25.

The Committee noted the Work Programme 2024-25.

A request was made whether the ‘Markets Update’ could include the usage of the increase in stalls at Grantham market and how this could be overcome.

The Leader of the Council had visited the Union Street Gallery which was part of Grantham Creative. They were a Community Interest Company promoting art in Grantham. Grantham Creative invited the Committee to attend for a visit with view to a wider discussion around art in the community.

ACTION: For a visit to Grantham Creative at Union Street Gallery, Grantham be arranged for the Committee. 

Members were reminded of the Leisure Centre and Stadium Tours taking place on 16 December 2024. The tour would start at The Meres, Grantham at 9am.

The Leader of the Council suggested the Committee review the District’s Arts Centres (how they work, their programmes and how they could be improved.)

It was requested that ‘Sports Clubs in the District’ be brought to the Committee meeting in January 2025.

Members considered broadening the scope of the Play Area Strategy. Areas which were not controlled or managed by the Council were discussed. The suggestion was raised on creating a network of play areas across the District, including Parish/Town Council’s.

In addition to this, Members discussed who managed all other play areas in the District, not owned by the Council. The Committee were interested in inviting them to work in partnership with the Council in a best common practice exercise but an attempt to reduce the overall costs of maintenance to play areas.

The Play Area Strategy was considered by the Committee, recommended for adoption and now being formally adopted and that concentrates on the 38 areas that the Council currently maintained.

It was queried whether the Sports and Physical Activity Update being taken to the Committee in March 2025 was being heard early enough to plan events for summer 2025.

The Committee reviewed the Sports and Physical Activity on a 6-monthly review of the Strategy. It had recently been updated alongside the action plan.

There were none.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 12:08pm.