Agenda and minutes

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Cllr Joshi.

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

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission held on 27^th February 2025 have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission held on 27 February 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit. 

The Chair advised that the response on Public Space Protection Orders had been circulated by email, and that members could contact officers with any queries.

Any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures will be reported.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

Any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures will be reported.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

The Director of Tourism - Culture and Inward Investment submits a report on the new Museums Service Vision and Strategic Priorities for 2025-29, which is to be implemented on 1^st May 2025.

The Chair agreed an agenda variance.  The item on Museum Service Vision and Strategic Priorities was taken first.

The Director of Tourism - Culture and Inward Investment submitted a report on the new Museums Service Vision and Strategic Priorities for 2025-29, to be implemented on 1st May 2025.

The Assistant City Mayor for Health, Culture, Libraries and Community Centres introduced the item. It was hoped that the report would address and alleviate concerns raised. Points to note were as follows:

• Investment was ongoing.
• The success of the service was reflected in the funding secured from avenues such as Arts Council England
• A mixed model was being developed which meant that some venues would be accessed free of charge, and some would require payment.
• Museum venues would remain open, some sites would be open at different times across the year.
• There was a strong commitment to the Hub and Spoke model whereby Leicester Museum and Art Gallery (LMAG) remained as the Hub.

The Head of Arts and Museums provided an overview of the report noting that:

• In terms of capital investment, there had been significant investment at both LMAG and Jewry Wall Museum.
• A need to change delivery of services was recognised.
• Eight buildings were in operation, some of which were costly to maintain, impacting on the visitor experience.
• There was scope to reduce costs by changing visiting hours at some sites.
• The opening of Jewry Wall meant that operational staff could transfer over from the other sites, so there would not be cause for redundancies.
• The ambitious strategy aimed to continue to deliver a thriving museum service.
• The Hub and Spoke Model reduced the entire reliance on buildings-based work and made collections more accessible.
• There was a focus on relevance for the diverse community and supporting the development of future generations.
• The vision was to connect people and communities with the story of Leicester.
• Global collections could help to address matters of climate crisis.
• Financial sustainability would be developed through the mixed model of paid and free museums.
• Strategic priorities and key areas of focus consisted of the improvements at LMAG and New Café and Art Galleries. Stage One National Lottery Heritage Funding of £411k had been secured to develop The Story of Leicester and Environment Galleries.
• The target was for visitor numbers at LMAG to have increased annually to 300,000 by 2029.
• Phase 3, The Leicester Stories Gallery, had been completed at LMAG.
• Funding for phase 4 coming from Arts Council England’s MEND Fund, (Museum Estate and Development funding), had enabled improvements and access to the LMAG building.
• Phase 5 would be  funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
• Designs for the LMAG art gallery aimed to make art more accessible to the public.
• Jewry Wall – A Real Roman Experience would open in 2025, playing an integral part in the Leicester Old Town visitor economy, alongside the Richard III Visitor Centre, Leicester Cathedral and Leicester Guildhall.
• New access routes, a shop and café were incorporated within the Jewry  ...  view the full minutes text for item 127.

The Director for Tourism – Culture and Inward Investment submits a report providing an overview of the progress made on the actions outlined in the Leicester Tourism Action Plan 2020-2025 since the last report tabled in April 2024.

The Director for Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a report providing an overview of the progress made on the actions outlined in the Leicester Tourism Action Plan 2020-2025 since the last report tabled in April 2024.

The City Centre Director presented the report.  Key points other than those on the slides (attached) included:

• Progress had been made in positioning the city as a sustainable and attractive destination.
• There had been more focus on people since the last report.
• The Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) included both the city and county and was an opportunity to promote the region nationally and opened up opportunities for future grant funding.
• The new destination management plan would start in 2026.
• STEAM collected information from attractions, so there was a delay on when figures were available.  Therefore, the figures for 2024 would not be available until Summer 2025.
• The value of Leicester tourism had surpassed its target.  This was particularly positive considering the disruption that had been caused by Covid-19.
• In terms of overnight stays, there were an additional 47% of bed spaces with five new hotels opening.
• In terms of visitors to Leicester, there was confidence that figures would be met in the data from 2025 once it was available.
• External factors such as Brexit had affected job figures.
• New attractions such as the Jewry Wall museum would help the city become stronger as a destination.
• The Old town festival would be an interactive participatory initiative and would hopefully attract a lot of media attention.
• The Cathedral was an important location due to the tomb of king Richard III and there had been a civic event celebrating ten years since the reinterment.
• Festivals brought people together and promoted a sense of belonging and community as well as promoting cultural heritage and unity and boosting the local economy.  Examples included the Monsters trail, Diwali, the Storm Puppet, which attracted the largest footfall seen on a Saturday, Light up Leicester and the Brew Beat beer festival.
• The Blue Tower street art was the tallest street art in Europe.
• The city had a safe night-time economy and had accreditation on Purple Flag (surpassing excellence) and Best Bar None.
• The ‘Walk Away’ campaign was funded by the Home Office and was delivered by the Violence Reduction Network, this aimed to reduce violence by changing behaviours and had led to a 16.4% reduction in incidences in the city between 2023-2024.
• St John’s Ambulance night time service located in the city centre reduced pressure on emergency services and hospitals.
• Place marketing had established Visit Leicester as the go-to website for tourist information in the city.
• It was important to have character areas such as the Old Town and the Cultural Quarter, and guides had been produced for such areas.
• The 400^th interpretation panel was being installed.
• There had been a good response from local people with regard to volunteer tourism ambassadors.  This initiative focussed on the ‘visiting family and friends’ market, and was done in partnership with Leicester  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report incorporating the 2025-2030 Tree Strategy, 2019-2024 Tree Data and Communications Launch Information.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report incorporating the 2025-2030 Tree Strategy, 2019-2024 Tree Data and Communications Launch Information.

Key points included:

The Head of Parks and Open Spaces outlined the structure of the strategy. Key points to note were as follows:

• The first Leicester tree strategy was adopted in 2018 to sustain and increase tree stock, and the quality of the city’s trees. It also promoted the important role of trees for the environment and flood risk management.
• An annual review monitored the delivery of the strategy.
• The five key strategic objectives were:
  • Promoting amenity
  • Promoting habitat and wildlife
  • Responding to global obligations
  • Managing pressure on trees in other ownerships
  • Delivering a strategy
• 22 actions were devised in line with these aims.
• A five-year review had taken place.
• The strategy had worked well and a refresh had taken place to include nine targets for Education and Community Engagement.
• A section on Ash dieback was now included within the strategy.

The Trees and Woodlands Manager gave an overview of the outcomes over the five years. It was noted that:

• There were 1290 sites with trees. The aim was for 20% of the sites to be surveyed annually. This was almost met, with an average of 19% and currently this was at around 24%.
• The total for large planting was 2000 trees, small planting amounted to over 36,000 trees.
• The Forestry Commission ran government schemes which assists with mass planting.
• On average, almost 600 trees were felled annually and the number of re-planting was on par with this figure.
• Formal complaints were relatively low.
• Work was divided between proactive and reactive work. Proactive being the cyclical surveys, and reactive work responding to storm damage. Work was in line with planned targets.
• There was a successful establishment rate for young trees, despite a drought year. Any trees that failed would be taken account for, a further tree would be planted the following year.
• Vandalism and dog attacks contributed to loss of trees.
• Ash dieback continued to have an impact, this had taken hold but was still in the early stages. 45% of felled trees were due to Ash dieback.
• Bio-mass was created from wood chip and logs, meaning that there was zero waste.
• The Trees and Woodland Team worked alongside the Planning Team.
• Work included:
  • The planning applications process involving trees
  • Tree Preservation order and conservation applications, which averaged out at around 150 protected trees within the city.
  • Emergency call out work, there was a duty of care for any tree falling which resulted in a highway blockage.
  • Planning contraventions for illegally felled trees.
• The Trees and woodland team underwent significant training to comply with health and safety legislation.
• Full details of annual reviews were available on the council website.
• There would be a main communications launch in late May 2025 to include more information.
• Work would be ongoing with the Tree Wardens and the Environment teams.
• A celebration on the city’s veteran trees would come.
• Competitions run at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider the work programme and make suggestions for additional items as it considers necessary.

It was requested that a report on museums come back to the Commission, including information on visitor figures during the School Holidays.

The work programme was noted.

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting finished at 19:28pm.