Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

Noted that there were no substitute members for this meeting.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

The Panel noted that there were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Council’s Code of Conduct.

To consider and agree the notes of the meeting of the Panel held on 18 September 2007 held at Waltham Abbey Sports Centre.

The minutes from 18 September 2007 were noted and agreed as a correct record.

Councillor Mrs Haigh asked that when an unscheduled meeting is called members, should be consulted about the date.

Chairman/Lead Officer) To note the attached updated Terms of Reference and associated Work Programme. The Panel are asked at each meeting to review both documents

The Panel noted the Terms of Reference and Work Programme, which they considered still to be relevant and would not require any amendment.

Members of the Task and Finish Panel, at a previous meeting, considered a paper prepared by the Council’s Policy and Research Officer on the Youth Initiatives Scheme.  It was explained that the scheme was initially developed to provide diversionary activities and facilities, in order to reduce anti-social behaviour.  The Panel discussed options as to how best to evaluate the success of the Council’s investment of some £100,000 in each year of the programme.  It was felt important that Local Town and Parish Councils should be asked to comment; a view should be sought from local community police officers, and importantly young people themselves.

The initiative has been spread out in a three-year programme over the financial years 2005/06, 2006/07 and finally 2007/08.  As such some schemes in this current financial year have yet to be completed, or have only recently been implemented.  While the earlier years’ schemes have been in place sufficiently long to be able to gauge their impact, to avoid any further delay in the review, it is proposed that the evaluation of the 2007/08 schemes be carried out in the Autumn of 2008.

However, in the coming weeks, an evaluation of the 2005/06 and 2008/07 projects is to be carried out.  This will be done through consultation with various stakeholders about the effect of the new youth facilities.  It is intended that this part of the evaluation be completed by the end of March 2008, to enable the results to be included in the Task and Finish Panel’s final report to Overview and Scrutiny Committee in April 2008.

The evaluation of the schemes will be in the form of a number of bespoke questionnaires seeking the views of Town and Parish Councils, the police and young people.  It is hoped that Secondary Schools and the newly formed Epping Forest Youth Council, will be involved in the consultation.

A Sample Questionnaire is detailed as an Appendix, which has been designed for Members of Town and Parish Councils.

Chris Overend, the Council’s Policy and Research Officer, the lead officer on the Youth Initiatives Scheme, has been liaising with the Council’s Consultation Officer, and will be in attendance to address any questions and provide further clarification.

Members will be aware of the success of the “Big Lottery” Play Bid, which saw an award of some £244,000 to improve play provision in Nazeing, Limes Farm and Lambourne.  As part of this bid process, extensive audit and consultation work was undertaken to produce a 10-year Play Strategy, identifying need over the period 2007-2017.  Whilst the next two years will see the investment of the additional £244,000, there are still schemes later in the Strategy Programme that will require funding.

Depending on the outcome of the evaluation of the directly funded projects, Members of the Task and Finish Panel may therefore be minded to recommend, that in future, further Capital Funding is bid for within the Council’s Capital Programme.  This would be in order to continue the improvement of outdoor play and youth  ...  view the full agenda text for item 32.

The Policy and Research Officer brought the Panel up to date on the evaluation of the Youth Initiatives Scheme. The Panel noted that:

• The scheme was initially developed to provide suitable schemes for young people, and diversionary activities and facilities, in order to reduce anti-social behaviour;
• The Panel had discussed options on how best to evaluate the success of the Council’s investment of some £100,000 in each year of the programme;
• It was felt important that the local Town and Parish Councils be consulted and also the local community police officers and the young people themselves;
• The initiative was spread out over a three year programme, with 2007/08 being the final year;
• The 2007/08 projects were only just beginning to take effect;
• There was a variety of approaches used to consult the stake holders;
• Draft consultation documents were tabled at the meeting, in the form of a draft letter to the Police and one to the local Town/Parish Council, these were for the Panel to comment on;
• By the time the Youth Council would be involved, all the schemes would be up and running.

The Chairman asked how the teenagers were to be consulted about this. The Market Research Consultation Officer responded that were to ask the Youth Council to lead on this. We would ask them to help us to design a questionnaire or maybe to organise focus groups. The Council would also go through residents associations and groups.

The Policy and Research Officer said that the question on whether Capital money should be set aside can only be decided after we have got the results of the consultation exercises.

The Deputy Chief Executive added that the Council has about a quarter of a million pounds in Lottery funding to see us through for some time. This can be evaluated over the next year to establish if we need capital money.

Councillor Chana asked if Limes Farm was a different scheme. He was told that it covered projects that were funded directly over the last two / three years. Limes Farm will be coming on stream in the coming year.

            RESOLVED:

1.                  That the Panel were happy to endorse the general approach being adopted;

2.                  That the Panel had no amendments to make to the  design of the questionnaire; and

3.                  That the Youth Council be asked if they wished to participate in helping in consultation with the youth of the area.

Following the earlier presentation on options available to the Council to maximise the benefits of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there have been a number of developments with potential implications for the District.

(i)   White Water Canoe Venue:

                   In October 2007, the Olympic delivery agency announced that, due to the risks of contamination as a result of soil tests, the planned venue at Spitalbrook, Broxbourne, was no longer considered viable.

Investigative work has been undertaken on alternative venues.  A site some 6 miles south, still on land owned by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, in close proximity to Waltham Abbey (although in the Broxbourne District Council administrative area) has been provisionally identified as an alternative.

On face value, the new site may present less concerns regarding construction traffic and spectator congestion, enjoying better public transport links.  It may also present a good boost to the local economy of the District and in particular Waltham Abbey as well as a valuable legacy resource for canoeing and outdoor education.

In November the Director of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority gave a presentation to the Council’s Cabinet and Waltham Abbey Town Council, which whilst lacking in final detail, was well received.

The International Olympic Committee and International Canoeing Federation have still to give final endorsement to the alternative site, but officers will endeavour to keep Members abreast of developments and timescales as they start to emerge.

(ii)               Mountain Bike Venue:

As Members may be aware, Essex was to host the Mountain Bike Event at South Weald Park in Brentwood.  However, in the last two weeks, the International Cycling Federation have withdrawn their endorsement for the venue, on the basis that it lacks sufficient “drop” to be technically challenging enough to their top performers, by 2012.

This is a major blow for Brentwood, who had anticipated some significant legacy benefits.  A search is now underway for an alternative venue in Essex, although at this stage it is difficult to identify where an incline of 300m could be achieved.

Originally, sites were identified in Epping Forest at the pre-bid stage, although the Corporation of London were not prepared to authorise the use of Forest land, largely due to the potential environmental impact.  Again, Members will be advised of any new approaches to utilise sites in the area.

(iii)              Olympic Breakfast – 6 December 2007:

The East of England was one of the foremost supporters of the London 2012 Olympic Bid, with Essex being a strong contributor in helping the region to register the highest level of public support for the Games, across the whole of the UK.  The economic impact study undertaken to support the bid, identified that the economic benefit to Essex could be as high as £139M.

As Epping Forest is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the Games, the District Council along with Business Link East, hosted a Business Breakfast designed to assist locally based businesses in winning contracts directly associated with the Games, as well as increasing the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 33.

The Panel noted the latest updates on the various venues for the 2012 Olympic update.

i)          White Water Canoe Venue

It was noted that the proposed venue at Spitalbrook in Broxbourne was no longer considered viable. Another site, owned by the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority and in close proximity to Waltham Abbey (the showground site), was being considered as an alternative. This venue would come under the Broxbourne District Council administrative area.

There were plans to keep the site going after the Olympics, by reducing the flow of the white water system so that it was useable for beginners.

Waltham Abbey Town Council was known to be enthusiastic about this new venue, believing it would bring economic advantages with it, post games. It would also provide a legacy for children and young people. 

It should be noted that the IOC had not yet agreed this venue.

It was also noted that:

• It was intended that this was going to be the most sustainable games ever;
• It was also intended that that all the games venues should be car free. A traffic plan has been agreed between Essex Police, the organisers and the council. There were concerns about the impact on Epping District and the Central line;
• There were still openings for smaller local contractors to get contracts for the games and they have been made aware of this;
• The legacy costs would fall to the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority and not to EFDC, although the Lea Valley Authority does charge precepts to London Boroughs and to Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils and there may be an increase in their precepts to us.

ii)         Mountain Bike Venue

The International Cycling Federation had withdrawn their endorsement for the planned venue at South Weald Park in Brentwood, as there was not a sufficient “drop” to be technically challenging for the top performers.

A search was now underway for an alternative venue in Essex. It was noted that the Corporation of London were not prepared to authorise the use of Forest land.

iii)        Olympic Breakfast – 6 December 2007

The event was well attended. The main procurement contracts had now been let, but all sorts of smaller contracts were still to be had for local companies.

iv)        Officer Working Group

This group will be established to improve co-ordination within the Council.

At the Panel’s meeting in August, Members considered a proposed new Dual Use Agreement for the management of Waltham Abbey Sports Centre.  The draft covered the respective responsibilities of the Council and King Harold School.  This was followed by a site visit to the Sports Centre in September, which assisted the Panel in appreciating the current facilities and activities offered.

As previously reported, despite some initial resistance, the School, through ongoing dialogue, now have a greater understanding of the implications of a Third Party Leisure Management Contractor, being appointed to undertake the day-to-day operation of the site.

In January 2008, the Deputy Chief Executive and Assistant Head of Leisure Services, attended a meeting with the Headteacher and School Bursar, where it was confirmed that the Governing Body had now formally considered the matter.  In summary, provided that there was not direct interface with the contractor, who in effect would be the Council’s appointed management agent, they would be prepared to go down the external contractor route.  The School were also keen to stress that no “education expenditure” could be used to subsidise community use.

The Headteacher went on to explain in outline terms, how the School had aspirations to achieve a major refurbishment and redevelopment, which would see the demolition of the older parts of the building and replacement new build facilities.  This was hopefully to be funded by the “Building Schools for the Future” programme.  A decision about whether King Harold’s application had been successful would be known, in late Spring 2008.  The indicative plans would appear to leave the Sports Centre largely unaffected   although the building programme may have some implications in terms of access and potential impact on parking.  Another consideration highlighted was the potential need to have some extra gymnasium space provided within the Sports Centre, if funding could not be found to have it within the main rebuild.

  However, whilst the School would be in agreement to an external contractor, as previously indicated, this would need to be by open competitive tender.  This is based on legal advice, as the management of the site could not be a variation to the Council’s current Contractor’s contract, as it was not within the original offer tendered.

It would take in the region of 6-8 months to undertake the tender process, once a decision had been taken to proceed.  As the current formal agreement between the Council and School expired in October 2007, and both parties are holding over on the existing terms, if is recommended by the Council’s Legal and Insurance Officers, that a holding agreement is entered into in the short term until any new Dual Use Agreement/Contract is let.  The School are willing to enter into this, but would like it to be for a minimum of 12 months to assist their forward planning.

The Council has built the costs of operating Waltham Abbey Sports Centre in the current way, into the 2008/09 budget.  Therefore resources have been allocated up until the 31 March 2009.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 34.

The Deputy Chief Executive updated the Panel on the recent events surrounding the future management of Waltham Abbey Sports Centre. He reminded the Panel that they had considered a proposed new Dual Use Agreement for the management of Waltham Abbey Sports Centre in August. It had covered the respective responsibilities of the Council and King Harold School. Despite some initial resistance from the school, through ongoing dialogue they now have a greater understanding of the implications of a third party Leisure Management Contractor being appointed to undertake the day-to-day operation of this site.

In January 2008, the Deputy Chief Executive and the Assistant Head of Leisure Services attended a meeting with the Head teacher and the School Bursar, when they confirmed that the Governing Body had now formally considered the matter. They agreed that as long as there had no interface with the contractor, who in effect would be the Council’s appointed management agent, they would be prepared to go down the external contractor route. However, the school was still adamant that education funding should not subsidise community use.

King Harold School is now at the top of the list for refurbishment in Essex, and they have drawn up plans for a new school which are to be agreed this year. This will have knock on effects as the new school will have a gym built. The plans appear to leave the Sports Centre largely unaffected although the building programme may have some implications in terms of access and potential impact on parking.

However the above turns out, there was still the need to formalise an extension with King Harold School on the existing terms of the current agreement, up until 31^st March 2009.

Councillor Cohen, the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Young People, apprised the Panel of recent developments. Consideration had recently been given to the building of a new sports hall next to the swimming pool. This was currently not a very attractive venue and the addition of a new sports hall would improve its usability and attractiveness to the public. The cost will be approximately £2.3 million and current indications are that the money will be available. A report on this will go to Cabinet on 10 March 2008. As this will need careful consideration, the Cabinet will be asking that Overview and Scrutiny look at the implications that this would have on the area, the Sports Centre and King Harold School.

Councillor Rolf asked where on the site it would go, Councillor Cohen replied that a suitable site had been identified.

Councillor Mrs Rush asked how this would affect the school site. The Deputy Chief Executive answered that benefits will be found in savings in staff; a new gym hall will make the swimming pool venue popular. Waltham Abbey is an area where investment in facilities would be worthwhile. Other Schools have sports halls that are let out to the community, so there is nothing to stop the school making their site available out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

No other business was raised.

The Panel is asked to decide on a suitable date form the following:

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Thursday 13 march 2008

Tuesday 25 March 2008

Tuesday, 25 March 2008 was agreed for the next meeting.