Agenda and minutes

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment submits a presentation on the redevelopment of the Jewry Wall Museum.

The Chair led on introductions and the procedure for the meeting was outlined.

It was noted that the meeting was held virtually in accordance with the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus)(Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings)(England and Wales)(Regulations) 2020 (the 2020 Regulations) and in accordance with the Council’s own Remote Procedure Rules.

The Chair announced that the agenda items would be taken out of order, with Agenda Item 10. Jewry Wall Redevelopment Update being taken first. It was noted the City Mayor and Councillor Kitterick had been invited to the meeting.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a presentation on the redevelopment of Jewry Wall Museum.

The City Mayor noted the development as an exciting project and welcomed the opportunity to talk about some of the work being done to share the story of Roman history, which had shaped Leicester over a period of 400 years. This history was still evident in the street pattern of central Leicester, and particularly at Jewry Wall where the remains of the bath house were uncovered by the pioneering work of Kathleen Kenyon, described as one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20^th Century. What remained of the bath house was the largest piece of non-military roman masonry anywhere in the UK and it was important this was recognised.

The City Mayor said it had been made possible to extend the old museum from the ground floor of the building, having acquired the closed Vaughan College on the upper floor so that now the full building would be used. He added there was now an increased need to bring people into the city and that this project was an important contribution to securing the future of the city centre more generally.

The Deputy City Mayor, Culture, Leisure, Sport and Regulatory Services further noted that many businesses would not reopen due to Covid19, and that the development of the museum would be a catalyst to boost the city’s tourist offer and help to support the city economy. The Deputy City Mayor noted the museum had first opened in 1966. The council had worked closely with consultants Haley Sharp Design, a Leicester company with international expertise, and the plans being shown for the first time were very exciting. It was stated the first stage of building works to the shell of the building had commenced and would be completed December 2021. Phases 2 and 3 would soon follow with the opening of the museum planned for spring / summer 2023.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment informed the meeting it was important that detail of the large, significant scheme be brought to Scrutiny and that it was receiving considerable internal scrutiny also, with a high level project board meeting on a monthly basis to review all aspects of the project, chaired by Richard Sword, Strategic Director.

Joanna Jones, Head of Arts, Museums, Festivals and Events delivered the presentation, and this is attached  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124.

Apologies for absence were received from John Leach, Director Neighbourhood and Environmental Services.

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

Councillor Dr. Moore declared an Other Disclosable Interest in that her son worked in the Library Service.

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

The Minutes of the meeting of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Sport Scrutiny Commission held on 25 January 2021 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the Heritage, Culture, Leisure and Sport Scrutiny Commission held on 25 January 2021 be confirmed as correct record.

To note progress on actions agreed at the previous meeting and not reported elsewhere on the agenda (if any)

It was noted that progress on actions would be considered in the new Municipal Year.

The Chair thanked Members and Officers for the support she had received as Chair of the Commission. She recognised that it had been a difficult year for the city, and asked that everyone keep positive and continue to support one another.

The Chair thanked management and staff for their commitment and hard work.

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 and statements 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 Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report providing an update on how parks and open spaces are being managed in line with current Government Covid19 guidelines. Previous updates were presented to HCLS Scrutiny Commission on the 22nd September 2020, 16th July 2020 and 25th January 2021. For the purpose of the scrutiny commission this includes Parks and Bereavement Services.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Service submitted a report which provided an update on how parks and open spaces were being managed in line with current Government Covid19 guidelines and included an update on Parks and Bereavement Services. Commission Members were asked to note the contents of the report and make any comments to the Director or Executive if they so wished.

The Deputy City Mayor introduced the report. It was noted that regular Member briefings had taken place over the course of the pandemic, and that open spaces and parks had been managed in line with government guidelines

The presenting Officers informed the meeting that:

·         The Roadmap to recovery had four key steps and dates.

·         Step One on 29 March saw outdoor gatherings of up to six people or two households introduced. In terms of the rule changes for parks, it made it more difficult to challenge the large groups as it could not be checked if they were from the same household.

·         Additional security staff had been brought in to support park wardens. Static security staff would maintain a presence in some parks during warmer weather to let people know that compliance was still being monitored.

·         Various sports and fitness activities would continue to be opened, with governing bodies determining timeframes for organised sports.

·         Trials of football/basketball (MUGA) courts opening would continue and be closely monitored. It was reported that throughout the pandemic there had been some regular non-compliance incidents, particularly in Spinney Hill Park and Victoria Park, with people gaining unauthorised access.

·         Working from home guidance had been adopted and would continue where possible.

·         Step Two on 12 April saw the opening of retail and facilities. It was noted that the use of outdoor gyms remained high.

·         Pets Corner on Abbey Park had remained closed due to an announced bird flu epidemic but had been declared safe to reopen.

·         Summer events were being planned, for example, Funfair (Covid permitting).

·         Step Three planned no earlier than 17 May would see groups of 30 people being allowed to meet outdoors, and large group performances / sporting events to resume.

·         An impact on parks was likely, particularly during nicer weather, and there would be ongoing work in partnership to address larger gatherings over 30 that failed with requests to socially distance.

·         Leicester volunteering Group sessions were looking to resume around this period.

·         All ball courts would reopen by this date and be monitored for a maximum of 30 people.

·         Partnership working with the Police remained consistent. The Police were following the four ‘Es’ – Engage. Explain. Encourage. Enforce. The Police had worked well with larger gatherings and responding to request and had supported Parks well. Some fines had been given for non-Covid compliance.

·         The site closure process remained the same.

·         For Bereavement Services, there had not been much change in the service with the Government Roadmap, with funerals still restricted to 30 people, and commemorative events still with restricted numbers.

·         A graph displayed the impact of Covid19 on Bereavement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 133.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a presentation to update the Commission on the Leisure Centres & Facilities Re-Opening Road Map. The Deputy City Mayor introduced the presentation.

Officers present gave the following information:

·         Three gyms and leisure centres had been opened around the city to provide an even spread of access to the public. The centres were being monitored.

·         The city was slightly out of kilter to what was happening in the national programme because the service was committed to supporting the city testing, track and trace programme.

·         The Health and Fitness Membership / Children on Learn to Swim programme had seen a significant impact and loss in membership from February 2020 to February 2021.

·         The centres would see phased opening. Outdoor sport activities were reported as operating well.

·         The golf course was open and very popular.

·         Saffron Lane athletics stadium was now open.

·         Alongside centres reopening for activities, the presentation highlighted the various centres providing testing support.

·         On 12 April 2021 corporately approved was the opening of three leisure centre gyms only (Aylestone / Braunstone / Cossington).

·         Staff were still redeployed to ensure there was a continuation of support of the City Reach programmes.

·         On 3 May 2021, swimming lessons for young people would be reintroduced at all centres, apart from New Parks.

·         Once those services were operating, there would be a period of review of infection rates, hospital admission rates, and vaccination uptake. Assuming everything was aligned, full activities would be open from 21 June apart from New Parks, which was committed to continuing to offer lateral flow testing.

·         The staffing summary showed a phased withdrawal of staff from the City Reach programmes as services were brought back online.

·         There was reduced membership fee of £15 per month for April, May and June. From 1 July 2021 the fee would revert to standard pricing.

·         Officers were conscious that not all customers would be confident enough to return to an indoor exercise facility and had allowed customers to suspend membership to return to the end of June 2021.

·         The gyms had opened with a sales promotion offer. Usage had been really good over the first couple of weeks with over 6k visits from customers, and 150 new joiners in terms of sales.

·         Officers were pleased to report on the refurbishment of the Evington gym which would be delivered on schedule and be ready to reopen on 21 June.

In response to Members’ queries, the following information was noted:

·         It was not yet known when the New Parks Leisure Centre would reopen as staff were still required for the lateral flow unit currently being operated until at least the Autumn. The authority was wating for Covid rates to fall in the city and were waiting for a steer for when staff could be released back. An update would be brought to the Commission when a date was known.

·         There had been a softer launch of the opening of the three gyms; a balance between reduced opening and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment will present a verbal update on the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment Services.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment provided an update to the Commission on the impact of Covid19, and the roadmap to unlocking Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment Services in the City. It was noted that:

·         The pandemic had a major impact on tourism as it had across the country. In terms of hotels and the accommodation sector, it had been hit particularly hard and had also affected a lot of new hotels in the city.

·         Attractions such as the Space Centre had suffered, and though some recovery funds have been able to offset income loss, it was known that their reserves had been hit hard by the pandemic, but were still in place would continue to operate.

·         Similarly, attractions such as the Great Central Railway had also had a big hit on their finances but were looking forward to reopening.

·         The King Richard III Centre had moved in-house to the Council in November / December 2019. Had they still been operated by an independent trust with very limited financial resources, it would have been a real difficult situation for them, but because they were now in-house has given them a degree of protection.

·         The cultural sector had been hit hard. Pointed out, though, was some of the innovation seen during the pandemic, particularly from Curve in terms of its digital streaming offer, which had been some of the best in the country. In spite of all the difficulties, Curve’s reputation had in some ways improved as a consequence of what they had been able to do.

·         Reported before was how innovative some of the festival organisers had been in terms of creating meaningful online content. They were looking forward to going back to public events, but believed digital innovation would continue with more hybrid events in the future.

·         With regards to Inward Investment, some interest had slowed during the pandemic, but the team was busier than ever, with an encouraging continued level of interest from investors in the city, both new investors and existing businesses who are seeking new space to expand into.

·         How the office sector was going to emerge from the pandemic was a matter of great debate and conjecture. It was believed the sector would see a flight to better quality office space, with fewer people. Being brought to the market was the Gresham Works scheme, which would be open for business in September 2021.

·         The was to open the city’s museums, King Richard III Centre and Visit Leicester on 21 June, subject to the Government’s roadmap for unlocking through the different stages.

·         There were over 30 front-facing colleagues temporarily redeployed working on the City Reach Covid testing programme. The Museums service were working with the team organising the City Reach programmes to release employees back to enable the reopening of museums.

·         There would be a programme for reopening as buildings had been closed for a while. Covid19 secure building regulations would continue, using track and trace and a booking system to limit numbers to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

The Director of Tourism, Culture, and Inward Investment submits a presentation on the redevelopment project for Leicester Museum and Art Gallery.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submitted a presentation on the redevelopment project for Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. The Deputy City Mayor introduced the presentation, which explained what changes and investment needed to be made. During its delivery, the following points were highlighted:

·         Concerns from residents had been responded to.

·         Investment had been made in some of the galleries, but some areas still needed investment, for example, wild space gallery.

·         The café was unable to open at different times to the museum. The café could have a separate access and be open at different times to the museum to generate further income.

·         The Leicester Stories gallery would be put in Gallery, currently a back of office space, to maximise use for public benefit. There was funding from the Arts Council to fund the development.

·         The current wild space area was no longer fit for purpose and could be better interpreted.

·         A gallery of star exhibits could go into a new gallery near to the entrance.

·         Designs were being worked on for Areas 1 and 2. Funding needed to be identified to move forward.

·         Staff would be located to new offices on the 1^st floor. An old conservation area studio has been cleared.

·         The ambition was to raise visitor attendance to 300k per annum (currently at 220-230k pre-Covid).

In response to members questions the following information was noted:

·         The Capital Projects Team were currently working on the costs involved. The authority would be looking for external funding, for example, Arts Council England were due to shortly release a MEND fund, used for vital infrastructure repairs for museum buildings.

·         External funding would also be sought to create new galleries, as previously gained to create the new ancient Egypt gallery (£200k).

·         There were no plans to expand the current car park, and people would be encouraged to walk, cycle, or use public transport as part of the Council’s public transport strategy.

·         One of the key aims was to enhance the architecture of the museum, therefore any designs for the new entrance would be sympathetic in consultation with the Conservation Team.

·         Any planned events would be consulted on with local residents and to hear their concerns.

·         There was interest in the proposals for changes to the front of the building and the requirement for changes to have listed building consents.

·         In terms of the design for what might or might not be for the conservatory had not yet been explored. The architect that would work on the design had experience in working with listed buildings, and when images were available, they would be provided to Members of the Commission. It was further noted that an option might be to stick to the parameters of the building with no external changes.

·         There was an advantage for the café and potential shop operation to be independent from the museum.

·         The focus on the new social history gallery would be on post-war and modern Leicester, and there would be no conflict  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

The Chair was thanked by the Deputy City Mayor, Mayor and Officers for the way she had chaired the Commission meetings and for the scrutiny of the reports brought to the Commission during a difficult year.

There being no other items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 8.10pm.