Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Agath, Karavadra, Mohammed and Cutkelvin.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of The Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission held on 24^th October 2023 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 November 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair announced that invitations for Commission members to express interest in being part of the upcoming task group on Ward Community Funding had been sent out.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations and statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.

It was noted that none had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures.

It was noted that none had been received.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report that introduces the emerging Active Leicester Strategy action plan, following the launch of the strategy in July 2023. 

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report that introduced the emerging Active Leicester Strategy action plan, following the launch of the strategy in July 2023.

Councillor Bonham as Vice-Chair of Health Scrutiny, the Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance, the Head of Sports and the Sport & Active Recreation Development Manager attended the meeting to assist with the discussion.

Key points included:

• The strategy was set against a backdrop of dwindling resources, but it was thought that small changes in the way organisations and internal colleagues operated could make a big difference without needing new resources.
• The strategy approach aimed to galvanise support and encourage collaborative working.
• It was aimed to utilise internal communications networks within areas such as housing, education, and neighbourhoods to better reach people within the city.
• There was a role for the corporate marketing team, such as in Parks with walking trails, maps, and the environmental scheme.  It was aimed to spread this further within some of the communication networks.
• Colleagues in public health had developed a one off non-recurrent grant for community groups and others to initiate sport and physical activity projects in line with the strategy.
• There was an emerging opportunity with Sport England to initiate change in the locality and get systems working better.
• A Health and Wellbeing hub was being piloted at Aylestone Leisure Centre which would make use of existing resources, for example, training staff to be more empathetic with service users, making the centre more welcoming and encouraging citizens to make use of it.
• Also being looked at were products, programmes and marketing, it was hoped to pilot a six-month free offer for a small cohort of 20-30 people, colleagues in Housing would be worked with so that the right people were engaged with.
• A seminar was being developed with a keynote speaker to encourage collaborative working internally across services.  It was hoped to link this in with the place-based project coming up with Sport England.
• Once internal support was galvanised, external partners would be engaged.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• The reasons behind the lower levels of inactivity in Western Ward and Knighton Ward were not known at this point although it was later clarified in the discussion that these wards were comparably better than others.  It was noted that the definition of physical activity was wider than participation in organised sport, and as such it was possible that other forms of physical activity were being undertaken in these wards.  Organisations were being encouraged to target less-active areas and various forms of physical activity were being encouraged as well as organised sport, such as active travel like cycling.
• The one off, non-recurrent funding would be an opportunity for existing sports groups to extend their activities into some of the priority groups that that were listed in the strategy or start something new for some of the priority groups.  These opportunities would be publicly advertised and solicited through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report to update the commission on the review of Leicester’s Tree  Strategy for the period 2022/23.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submitted a report to update the commission on the review of Leicester’s Tree Strategy for the period 2022/23.

The Deputy City Mayor - Climate, Economy and Culture the Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services, Head of Parks & Open Spaces and the Trees & Woodlands Manager attended remotely the meeting to assist with the discussion.

It was noted that this was year four of the five-year tree strategy.  There were 22 listed actions covering five key objectives.  The strategy would be refreshed from April 2024.

The slides as included in the agenda pack were presented as well as an additional slide showing a map of projects by Ward.  Wards with less planting would be considered for more planting.

It was further noted that Leicester was a regional and national exemplar.  It had a diverse green canopy that included a number of rare trees and had increased the number of trees across the city over the years.

It was recognised that there was an issue of maintenance and that trees could create problems for residents.  In these instances, the team worked hard to address these issues as they arose, however, it was necessary for the Council to work within its own policies.

The Deputy City Mayor - Climate, Economy and Culture noted that what had been achieved through the strategy was a testament to the team.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• With regard to the potential damage and disruption that trees could cause, it was a question of getting the right tree in the right place.  Some older trees were not in areas which would be replanted, such as when they were close to paths, highways and buildings.  In such cases, the team would look to replant further away from paths, highways and buildings.  Highways and street inspectors were worked with if trees became a hazard.  Where trees were a nuisance, action would be taken where possible.  Where there was fast regrowth on pollarded trees, the cycles may need to be reduced, however this may lead to other issues dropping off the schedule due to the lack of resource.

• Work on each site was determined over experience, species and target area, getting a full, detailed inspection on a 3-5/6-year cycle depending on the circumstances.  In the interim period trees were looked at as and when issues arose.
• Apprenticeships had been undertaken in the past through a kick-start scheme for 16–24-year-olds.  At this point the team had a full complement of staff, however if some staff were lost then apprenticeships would be considered.  There were currently 10 apprentices working in Parks on a rolling programme, and a new apprentice had been employed in cemeteries.  Apprenticeships were slightly more complicated in Trees and Woodlands due to the number of qualifications involved.  However, groundwork could be done to send people on different courses.
• There was no ideal number for the density of trees, it was necessary to balance working with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

The current work programme is attached. The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The work programme was noted.

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting ended at 18:52.