Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Grant, Naylor and Newcombe.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 April 2013 have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 April 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

The Director of Change and Programme Management to report on the receipt of any petitions submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures

There were no petitions.

The Director of Change and Programme Management to report on the receipt of any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

There were no questions, representations or statements of case.

The Director of Culture and Neighbourhoods submits a report that sets out how the proposed changes to Belgrave Hall and Gardens have been revised in light of consultations, and confirms completion of the Equalities Impact Assessment. 

Officers will provide a PowerPoint presentation to the Scrutiny Commission, by way of introducing the item.

The Scrutiny Commission is asked to note the report and the presentation and provide any comments that they see fit to the Executive. 

The Director of Culture and Neighbourhoods submitted a report that set out how the proposed changes to Belgrave Hall and Gardens had been revised in light of consultations, and confirmed completion of the Equalities Impact Assessment. 

The Chair stated that she had agreed for Councillor Willmott as well as several members of the Belgrave Hall Conservation Area Society to address the Scrutiny Commission.

By way of introducing the item to the Scrutiny Commission, officers provided a PowerPoint presentation.  The Head of Arts and Museums covered the following as part of her presentation:

·         The initial report presented to the Scrutiny Commission in May 2012 detailed the proposals and the arrangements for consultation.  The report provided to the Commission at this meeting set out how the proposals had been revised in light of the consultation exercises.

·         The reasons behind for proposals formed.

·         A reminder of the original proposals – the reprioritisation of £40,000 in 2013/14. 

·         A summary of the consultation responses, which largely reflected a desire to retain the status quo, and the perception from the public that Belgrave Hall was closing.

·      The use of the EIA in helping to assess positive or negative equality impacts on people affected by proposed change with ‘protected characteristics’.

·         An overview of the revisions following consultation:

·         Number of days open and events increased to around 40 from ‘at least ten’.

·         An emphasis of weekly activities in forthcoming publicity.

·         The opening of the gardens on the first Saturday and Sunday of every month and every Wednesday from April to September 2014. 

·         The offering of school visits on Wednesday during term-time between April and September 2014.

·         Publicity aimed at targeted audiences for income generation purposes.

·         Publicity to generally reflect that Belgrave Hall and Gardens was a heritage site open regularly for the public. 

·         Information about opening times and events to be clearly detailed in the Belgrave Hall and Gardens brochure.

·         The publicity to be distributed in the immediate neighbourhood.

·         Information about the programme of events to be more easily available online.

·         More attention required in terms of interpreting the history of the site and the neighbourhood.

·         A recognition of the need to formally register the change of use from a ‘museum’ to a ‘heritage site’.

·         A delay in the launch of commercial activities.

·         An acknowledgement that income generation would be slower than anticipated.

This was followed by a short presentation by the Chair, who displayed a series of photographs taken during a recent visit to Belgrave Hall and Gardens.  She expressed a preference to extend the opening hours of the site once the building works had been completed. 

Councillor Clair, Assistant City Mayor for Culture, Heritage, Leisure and Sport informed the Scrutiny Commission that the report had been prepared following the previous request from the Commission.  He explained that in spite of significant budgetary pressures, all sites in Leicester had remained open, but that some, including Belgrave Hall and Gardens, were to experience a reduction in opening hours.  He stated that the proposed decision was in the best  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The meeting closed at 7:20pm.