Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest to record. 

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 5^th and 6^th February, 2013, were considered.

Resolved: -  That the minutes of the previous meetings of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Tourism be agreed as an accurate record for signature by the Cabinet Member. 

·         Leisure and Green Spaces Manager, Environment and Development Services, to report. 

The Leisure and Green Spaces Manager, Environment and Development Services, presented a report that noted the receipt of two electronic petitions in relation to the Council’s proposals to lease land at Herringthorpe Playing Fields to Rotherham Rugby Club Limited. 

The first electronic petition, which ran between 13^th November, 2012, and 31^st January, 2013, stated: -

‘We the undersigned petition the council to refuse to lease and/or dispose of land on Herringthorpe Playing Fields to Rotherham Rugby Club Ltd Herringthorpe Playing Fields were opened by the Right Honourable George Lansbury M.P, where in declaring the fields open for ever, he paid tribute to the Council for bringing to the services of the community all the amenities that a community needs.......’

‘The fields were devoted to the service of all, and he had great pleasure in declaring them open for ever.’

This petition had gained 28 signatures.

The second electronic petition, which ran between 7^th December, 2012, and 31^st January, 2013, stated: -

We the undersigned urge the council to approve the proposed lease with Rotherham Rugby Club Ltd to provide decent facilities to be developed for amateur rugby. Rotherham Rugby Club Ltd want to provide decent facilities at no cost to the council. Please support us and help the club develop facilities that the entire town can be proud of.

This petition had gained 187 signatures. 

It was also noted that, since receipt of the two electronic petitions, further petitions and consultation responses in relation to the proposal had been received.  These had been out of the deadline to be reported alongside these two petitions at the 6^th March, 2013, Council meeting, and this Cabinet Member meeting, but would be reported at future meetings. 

The two petitions in question, and the petitions yet to be reported, would be included in the report presented to Cabinet to feedback comments received as part of the process of advertising the land for lease. 

Resolved: - (1) That receipt of the two electronic petitions be noted.

(2)  That it be noted that the two electronic petitions were presented to the Council meeting held on 6^th March, 2013.

(3)  That a report be presented to a future meeting of the Cabinet that provides information about all of the petitions and responses received as part of the process of advertising the land for lease. 

·         Customer and Cultural Services Manager, Environment and Development Services, to report.

Consideration was given to the report presented by the Customer and Cultural Services Manager, Environment and Development Services, which outlined the annual review of fees and charges for services within Customer and Cultural Services that had taken place for the 2013/14 financial year. 

The submitted appendices outlined the proposed charges for 2013/14, and the submitted report outlined the rationale for the proposals.  Managers for each Service had assessed the proposed charges’ potential impact(s) on uptake and financial performance. 

It was noted that several core services still remained essentially free of charge, such as the public library service, museum service and the archives and local studies services.  Where there were charges, there was often a concessionary rate.

It was proposed that the changes would take effect from 1st April, 2013.  However, the proposed changes in relation to the Civic Theatre would take effect from 1^st September, 2013, to fit within the programming schedule, although this structure would be reviewed.   

The proposed increases were expected to generate the levels of income required to operate services within the available budgets and the pricing structure would be monitored throughout the financial year.

Resolved: -  That the fees and charges for Customer and Cultural Services, as set out in the submitted report and appendices, be approved.

Head of Corporate Communications, Commissioning, Policy and Performance, Resources Directorate, to report on: -

·         Feedback from Yorkshire and Humberside Local Authorities' Workshop: Visitor Economy & Growth, 15^th January, 2013, Wakefield;

·         Feedback from South Yorkshire Tourism Advisory Group, 7th March, 2013;

·         Improvements to RMBC’s website;

·         Potential income generation opportunities – Rotherham Show. 

Consideration was given to the update provided by the Corporate Communications Manager, Commissioning, Policy and Performance, Resources Directorate, in relation to communication and marketing issues in Rotherham.

The update covered: -

South Yorkshire Advisory Board: -

·         Met on 7^th March, 2013;

·         The Board was chaired by Welcome to Yorkshire’s Head of Membership;

·         It appeared that the name of the group had been changed from the South Yorkshire Tourism Advisory Group to South Yorkshire Advisory Board;

·         It had been proposed that the group would meet three or four times a year;

·         A discussion had taken place regarding the membership of the Board, including the need to increase local authority attendance and attendance by smaller private sector venue and attraction representatives;

·         Members had discussed the need to focus on maximising the benefits of membership of Welcome to Yorkshire for all members in South Yorkshire, where it was felt that activity had decreased in recent years;

·         The Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing would meet with Welcome to Yorkshire’s Head of Communications to discuss joint marketing opportunities.

The Tour de France had been a significant agenda item. Welcome to Yorkshire would be playing a similar role with the Tour to that played by LOCOG in organising the 2012 Olympics.  Updates provided to attendees of the Board meeting included: -

·         It was expected that there would be two to three million people watching the live event across Yorkshire;

·         The ‘caravan’ of the event would be around seven kilometres long, therefore, spectators considered it to be a day’s experience;

·         The Leaders and Chief Executives of LGYH’s 22 local authorities had signed up to a legacy programme post-tour. There would be opportunities for promoting cycling in Rotherham on the back of this;

·         The police operation would be led by West Yorkshire Police, and would follow the model used for the Olympic torch relay;

·         ‘Tour Makers’ would play a key role in the process, similar to the ‘Games Makers’ in the Olympics, and would provide volunteering opportunities for local people;

·         The Tour de France brand would be protected in similar ways to the Olympic brand;

·         A road show would be facilitated by Welcome to Yorkshire in Sheffield on 9^th May, 2013, for local business on how to benefit from the event. 

Council website: ‘Leisure Activities: What’s On?’: -

Improvements had been made to the events listings on the Council website to give a greater focus on leisure activities and what’s on. The site would also include links to key local attractions rather than listings, to encourage visitors to view fuller information about the attractions, rather than simply looking at an event listing.

The Rotherham Show: -

·         Dearne Valley College had expressed an interest in becoming a sponsoring partner to the Rotherham Show, following a successful recruitment event at the previous year’s show;

·         The presence of Dearne Valley College at the show would be beneficial for Rotherham residents to find out about the opportunities available through the college, and it was hoped would also prompt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

·         Customer and Cultural Services, Environment and Development Services, to report. 

Consideration was given to the report presented by the Customer and Cultural Services Manager, Environment and Development Services, that contained a proposal to combine the current vehicle-based library provision into one dedicated service.  It was proposed that the combined service would be known as ‘Libraries on the go!’.  

The report outlined the existing service provision of the Mobile Library, the Booklink Library and the Home Library Service, and appendices one to four of the submitted report provided the current timetables for the services and the areas and addresses served. Within the report there were details of the proposed, single weekly timetable for the Mobile Library. 

The proposal put forward to the Cabinet Member to consider was to combine the vehicle-based library provision into one dedicated service that shared resources and offered a more responsive, customer-focused service.  The changes would include: -  

·         Some customers would receive a Booklink Library service, instead of a walk-on service previously offered through the Mobile Library;

·         The Mobile Library would have a rationalised timetable focused on delivering services to areas of disadvantage in line with the Council’s  corporate agenda;

·         Some of the existing stops of the Mobile Library would be retained and the timetable would be simplified, creating ease of use for customers.

Changes to the Mobile Library timetable would mean that promotional activities could be conducted in different community venues.  For example, on the ‘stand down’ Mondays, outreach work could be undertaken, including activities such as book clubs and rhymetimes, and suggestions had been received that the Mobile Library could also be used as an art bus, health information point and benefits clinic, although creative ways of using the space would need to be implemented. 

As part of the Equality Impact Assessment, the needs of all clients had been evaluated.  A detailed mapping document had been created on clients’ needs in light of the future provision and, where there was a proposal to lose an existing stop from the Mobile Library, customers would be directed to the Booklink service or their nearest static library. 

The financing for the proposal, including the suggested saving as part of the wider Library Review, and the mitigating actions that had been taken against the risks and uncertainties were included within the submitted report. 

Discussion ensued on the proposal, on the following issues were raised and clarified: -

·         Would any areas lose service provision?;

·         Did the Booklink and Home Library Services have the capacity to cope with potential increased demand as a result of the proposed changed timetable for the Mobile Library?.

Resolved: - (1)  That the proposal to combine the vehicle-based library provision into one dedicated Service that shared resources and offered a more responsive customer-focused service, as part of the wider Library Review, be approved.

(2)  That the new Mobile Library Timetable, as submitted within the report, be endorsed. 

·         Tuesday 26^th March, 2013, to start at 10.00 am in the Rotherham Town Hall. 

Resolved: -  That the next meeting of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Tourism take place on Tuesday 26^th March, 2013, to start at 10.00 am in the Rotherham Town Hall.