Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Byrne, Pickering and Shelton.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to declare any interest they had in the business to be discussed.

Councillor Barton declared an interest in the open spaces discussed for the Leicester Local Plan (2020-2036) item, as they had used, archaeologically studied and campaigned for the spaces in prior years. 

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the interest was not considered so significant that it was likely to prejudice the Councillor’s judgement of the public interest. The Member was not, therefore, required to withdraw from the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 9 August 2022 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

Members were asked to confirm that the minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure, and Tourism Scrutiny Commission held on 9 August 2022 were a correct record.

Joanna Jones, Head of Arts and Museums, requested change to the Ugandan Asians 50 Anniversary item, as the commemorative statue was not funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which funded the exhibition for the Ugandan Asian Anniversary at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. It was also noted that the exhibition was not currently touring, and the deadline had been extended to January 2023, therefore the statement referring to the exhibitions return on 23 December 2023 was invalid.

AGREED:

That the minutes from the Commission meeting held 9 August 2022 be amended as noted above and confirmed as a correct record.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits information requested by Members of the Commission for the Swim Leicester item from the meeting held 9 August 2022 to be noted as follows.

Learn 2 Swim – Ethnicity report

Data capture for children’s ethnicity is not mandatory to sign up to be a leaner on the Active Leicester scheme.  Therefore, information on ethnicity is limited.  At the time the report was pulled, of approx. 7100 learners on the cities scheme:

·       64% members are unknown ethnic origin (around 4600 members).

·       27% are from a BAME origin (around 1900 members)

·       9% are other…either white British or white European (600 members)  

Based on the 2,5000 learners who have listed their ethnicity, we can make the following assumptions:

·       1900 or around 75% are of BAME origin.

Open Water Swimming

The virtues of Open Water swimming is known to have benefits above any other sport. It promotes better sleep, increased happiness, boosted immune system and prevention of long term health conditions.  The chill, thrill and exhilaration of the cold water is said to increase positive hormone production, resulting in these virtues.

Leicester City does no have any open water facilities. Although, a number of swimming clubs who operate from Active Leicester swimming pools do build it into their member offers. Clubs such as Masters Swimming Club, who operate from Cossington, provide organised open water swimming sessions for adults.

A number of open water facilities exist in the County, close to the city boundaries: Kirkby Mallory, Stoney Cove, Rutland Water. More details can be found by visiting:  How To Start Open Water Swimming

Considerations for establishing an open water swimming venue in the city would include, but not limited to:

1.     Water quality to meet EU regulations.

2.     Size of water space, has to be enough to allow on and off shore safety.  This includes spotters and safety craft.

3.     Has to be a designated space, free from other users, i.e boating.

4.     Ancillary provision of showers, changing and toilets.

AGREED:

That the updates of the progress against actions of the previous meetings be noted.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statement of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation submits a report which outlines the main strategies and proposals of the submission for the City of Leicester Local Plan for public consultation in November 2022.

A presentation will also be made at the meeting covering the report and related details.

Members of the Neighbourhood Scrutiny Commission are invited to participate and contribute to the consideration of this item.

Members of the Neighbourhood Services Scrutiny Commission were invited to jointly participate in the agenda item.

The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation submitted a report and a presentation which outlined the main strategies and proposed site allocations of the Local Plan for the City of Leicester. Members of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism, and Members of the Neighbourhood Services Scrutiny Commissions were recommended to note the key local plan strategies, policies, site allocations, and provisions for consultation and provide comment to the Director of Planning, Development and Transportation if they so wished.

All Members were requested in an email sent out earlier in the day, to submit their questions early to allow for a more detailed answer by Planning Officers present.

The Chair reminded Members present to limit any questions to be asked to the terms of reference of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Tourism Scrutiny Commission and the Neighbourhood Services Scrutiny Commission.

Grant Butterworth, (Head of Planning), Rachael Mkanza (Senior Planner) and Joseph Todd (Planner), were present to answer any questions put forward by Members of the two Commissions.

The Head of Planning presented the report and associated presentation and outlined the following:

·       Comments made during the meeting would be referred back to in Overview Select Committee on Tuesday, 27 September, before being put forward to Full Council on 11 October 2022.

·       The Draft Leicester Local Plan had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through since the last consultation, 3,500 representations had been received.

·       According to Government changes to Housing guidance and legislation, Leicester was required to increase the housing available by 35%, equivalent to 39,424 dwellings, or 2,464 per annum.

·       Policy changes and impacts on the hospitality sector, energy, environment, and public health and equalities had been assessed during the consultation stage to inform the plan and ensure the viability of the final proposal.

·       The current proposed submission for the Local Plan includes 4 strategic housing sites, of which the Leicester General Hospital, part of  land North of the A46 bypass had since been removed. A further 21 smaller sites had been removed on the grounds of representations, availability, biodiversity, and loss of open space.

·       The Strategic Growth Plan for Leicester and Leicestershire had sets the context for a Statement of Common Ground which had been signed by a number of Authorities, to secure redistribution of the shortfall number of 18,700 dwellings, and 23 hectares of employment land.

·       An error was noted in the report regarding the hectares the proposed plan was able to meet for employment need, with 30 hectares being the correct number. 

·       Regarding the Central Development Area (CDA), capacity for provision of dwellings had been increased from 4,900 to 6,286. The focus of the area was for commerce, retail, culture, leisure, and entertainment. Emphasis was placed on protecting and enhancing historic sites and environment, as well as to improve current open green spaces. Further detailed Tall Building policies in the form of Supplementary Planning Guidance would need to be developed for consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submits a report on the Heritage Panels Project across Leicester city.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a report on the progress of the Heritage Panels Project across Leicester city. Members were recommended to note the report and provide comment on future panel themes.

Clare Hudson, Project Manager, and Mark Simmons, Audience Development and Engagement Manager were present to answer questions put forward by Members of the Commission.

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Culture, Leisure, Sport, and Regulatory Services introduced the item.

Members discussed the report which included the following points:

·       As of 16 September 2022, 193 of the targeted 300 panels had been achieved.

·       The project was noted to be the biggest heritage interpretation project in the UK.

·       The target of 300 panels by March 2023 was noted to be achievable and the project was ahead of schedule.

·       Collaborative work with the Council Tourism team was underway to identify historical landmarks with communities in Leicester, as potential locations and themes for Heritage Panels.

·       Concerns were raised regarding the Panels potentially obscuring their landmarks, and using names of individuals for Panel themes, which could cause confusion for both locals and tourists who were not aware of the identity of the individual. It was noted that work was underway to identify ways to change named panels without changing the design and purpose.

·       New staff with skills in writing and interpretation with archaeological or historical backgrounds were involved in the research of potential panels, which had lead to two panels being shortlisted in the women’s movement and Unitarian categories.

·       Members were advised to contact Clare Hudson or Mark Simmons with any ideas for Heritage Panels.

The Chair thanked the officers for the report.

AGREED:

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That an update be brought to the Commission in a future meeting.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment to submit a report on the Autumn / Winter events programme being held in Leicester city in 2022.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a presentation on the Autumn / Winter events programme held in Leicester city in 2022. Members of the Commission were recommended to note the report.

Chris Hackett, Deputy Festival and Events Manager, was present to deliver the presentation and answer questions put forward by the Commission.

Councillor Clair, Deputy City Mayor for Culture, Leisure, Sport, and Regulatory Services introduced the item.

The Deputy Festival and Events Manager summarised the Summer and Autumn programme of events. It was noted that the summer events had been successful with high rates of attendance. The programmed events were noted to vary in their delivery; either delivered in-house or in partnership with other communities or organisations.

Members were pleased with the success of the summer events programme, noting that it had brought back a sense of normality to the city after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Members were also happy with the environmental theme for the programme.

Members questioned how the events team would engage with local communities for future events. It was noted that engagement with different schools and communities were ongoing throughout the year to ensure the events and their sites were informed and held relevance.

Members discussed the importance of festivals and events for the city and their connection to the reputation and relevance of the city.

AGREED:

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That the Commission thanked the staff involved in the events programme for their hard work.

3.    That an investigation into the economic impact of festivals in the city be brought to a Commission meeting in the new year.

The Chair will provide an update on progress with regard to the task group review into Women’s Participation in Sport, and in particular, will raise awareness of a survey that has recently been launched online to seek views and experiences.

The survey questions are appended and to access the survey in full, please do so via https://consultations.leicester.gov.uk/comms/sports-survey/

The Chair provided a verbal update on the progress of the task group review into Women’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activity in Leicester.

It was noted that the review continued to progress well, and that the survey attached was live to the public. The Chair requested Members present to publicise the work in hopes of increasing feedback received.

The survey was expected to run for six weeks. Members agreed that the survey be extended for an extra week due to the impact of the Queen’s passing.

Members considered the impact of external factors on answers provided; and questioned the relevance of the information gathered and the usefulness of the questions on the survey. 

AGREED:

1.     That the update be noted, and a final draft report be brought to the Commission later in the year.

2.     That the findings presented in the final report inform the Council’s new Sports Strategy work.

3.     That the survey be extended a week’s duration in light of the Queen’s passing.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

AGREED:

That the Work Programme be noted.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 7:19pm.