Agenda and minutes

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Cabinet Member for Culture, Lifestyle, Sport and Tourism held on 14^th December, 2010.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member held on 14^th December, 2010, be signed as a true record.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Clifton Park Restoration Project Board held on 10^th December, 2010.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Clifton Park Restoration Project Board held on 10^th December, 2010, be noted.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Play Pathfinder Project Board held on 13^th December, 2010.

Reference was made to Minute No. 58 (Stoney Bank, Kiveton Park) where it was noted that the preventative measures for accessing the play area after hours had now been fitted.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Play Pathfinder Project Board held on 13^th December, 2010, be noted.

Consideration was given to a report introduced by Elenore Fisher, Cultural Services Manager, which detailed options for the future delivery of the Bookability, Home Library Service and Exchange Collection services.

The report set out in detail the remit of Bookability, the Exchange Collection Service and the Home Library Service.

It was noted that the Transport team based at Hellaby Depot had advised that the Bookability vehicle was now more than ten years old becoming increasingly un-roadworthy and expensive to maintain.

By using the budget allocated for the hire charge for the Bookability mobile and also the budget for taxi fares (Home Library Service) it would be possible to hire from Translinc a smaller vehicle than the present mobile. This could then be used to deliver the Home Library Service and the Exchange Collection service as well as Bookability.  Furthermore, the proposed vehicle could be driven by anyone with an ordinary driving licence including all members of the teams currently delivering the separate services. This would facilitate the creation of one team and would be accompanied by a reorganisation of the existing routes to ensure the public were offered an integrated service. No existing users would be deprived of a library service.

The new service would release potential savings, which would contribute to savings required in the next financial year.

Resolved:-  That the three Library and Information Services known as Bookablity, The Home Library Service and the Exchange Collection Service be amalgamated into one new service and delivered by means of a new vehicle.

Consideration was given to report introduced by Andy Lee, Green Spaces Operation Manager, which sought an exemption from Standing Order 47.6.2 (requirement to invite at least two oral or written quotations for a contract with an estimated value between £5,000 and £20,000) to allow an order to be placed with Leander Architectural for the supply of signage to be installed throughout Clifton Park.

A major element of the interpretive plan for Clifton Park, which formed part of the agreed project objectives with the Heritage Lottery Fund, was the placement of a number of interpretive monoliths and welcome signs throughout the park.  It was agreed that these signs should reflect the design of the monoliths, already located in the park that were designed and manufactured by Leander Architectural a number of years ago.   Detailed proposals for the signage were passed to UCS Civils as main contractor for the Clifton Park Project and Leander Architectural were sub-contracted by UCS Civils to manufacture and supply the monoliths.  However, when UCS Civils entered administrative receivership in November, 2009 Leander ceased all work on the signs.

An order was placed by the Council with Leander Architectural in September, 2010 to supply the pre-manufactured monoliths.  In addition, the anchor cradles for the Leander welcome signs had already been installed by UCS.  It should be noted that a competitive procurement exercise was carried out by UCS Civils when identifying a manufacturer for the signage.

An order was now needed for the welcome signs.  It was requested that this could be placed directly with Leander Architectural, as they had already commenced development of the signs whilst employed by UCS Civils and have previously supplied the monoliths in the park.

The Cabinet Member was happy to proceed with the same supplier to ensure the consistency of design throughout the park.

The handover of the Garden Building and the relocation of the park staff into that building was also welcome news.

Resolved:-  That the exemption of the contract for the purchase of signage for Clifton Park from Standing Order 47.6.2 (requirement to obtain at least two oral or written quotations for contracts with an estimated value of £5,000 but less than £20,000) be approved and the contract be awarded to Leander Architectural.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Lisa Broadest, Principal Officer, Archives and Local Studies, which detailed how in November 2009, the National Archives was presented to Parliament resulting in a new Government policy on archives entitled “Archives for the 21st Century”, which addressed five key recommendations:-

1.      Bigger, better and sustainable services

2.      Leadership and workforce

3.      Digital preservation

4.      Online access

5.      Cultural learning partnerships.

Rotherham was committed to working towards and developing these recommendations which applied in equal measure to both Archives and Local Studies as a joint service. At the core of this commitment was the delivery of excellent customer service.

An outline of Rotherham’s commitment to the five recommendations was emphasised at the meeting, but set out in specific detail as part of the report.

Discussion ensued about the future location for the permanent storage of valuable archive and local studies materials and artefacts and it was noted that discussions remained ongoing.

Resolved:-  That  officers working towards the new Government policy be approved.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended March 2006) (information likely to reveal the identity of an individual):-

Resolved:-  That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended March 2006) (information likely to reveal the identity of an individual).

Consideration was given to a report presented by Nick Barnes, Principal Project Development Officer, which proposed the transfer of the Rotherham Adventure Playground asset along with the three members of staff to Chantry YMCA in order to secure the long term sustainability of the facility and remove future budget pressures.

The pros and cons of the asset transfer were considered, but it was believed that the long term sustainability of this playground could be secured through the transfer, whilst noting that should there be any plans to use this playground for anything other than it was intended would result in its return to the Local Authority.

Resolved:-  (1)   That the Rotherham Adventure Playground be legally transferred to Chantry YMCA and that appropriate covenants be put in place to ensure the continued delivery of play at the facility or the return of the asset.

(2) That an exemption be made to the general decision to defer all transfers because of the risk that the Council would lose the opportunity and indeed the facility if it were not to take place. 

(3) That in line with Council Policy this matter be referred to the Capital Strategy and Asset Review Team and then to Cabinet for approval.