Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Blackmore.

It was noted that Councillor Brindle was present as a Substitute, until Councillor Blackmore arrived.

There were no urgent items.

It was noted that Councillor M Rose was present as a Visiting Member, but did not register to speak.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 July 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed, subject to the following deletion to Item 35. Economic Development Strategy - Redrafted Motion:

“In response to a question from the Committee, the Head of Regeneration and Economic Development said that stakeholder engagement and consultation exercises would be undertaken during the tendering process.”

Voting: Unanimous

There were no petitions.

There were no questions from members of the public.

RESOLVED: That the Committee Work Programme be noted.

The Museum Director informed the Committee that Innes Associates and DesignMap had worked with Officers to produce Museum development options.  The National Lottery Heritage Fund was expected to be the first funding route to be explored, and therefore the potential funding was likely to be capped at £5m.  The options were designed to be scalable so that the visionary project, estimated to cost £6.7m, could be delivered at later date if further funding became available.

Mr Mark Baker made a statement on this item.

The committee commented that:

·  Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) had allocated £350,000 to help secure external funding.  If the full funding was not achieved from external sources, the development plans were to be scaled down.

·  The report recommendations were to be amended to refer to the Maidstone Museum Foundation, as the report had erroneously referred to the organisation as Maidstone Museum Friends.

·  The Head of Regeneration and Economic Development was to consult with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure (ERL) Committee when exercising delegated authority.

·  The Maidstone Museum Foundation had successfully contributed to other projects through fundraising, and it was therefore important to work closely with the organisation on the Museum development.

·  It was important for the ERL Committee to be kept updated on the progress of the Museum development, and therefore, it was appropriate that regular updates be provided to the Committee by Officers.

RESOLVED: That:

1.  A Heritage Lottery Bid (Development Phase) be submitted in November 2019 for Option 2 (Large Minus) at a maximum of £4.9m.

2.  Delegated authority be granted to the Head of Regeneration and Economic Development to finalise Option 2 following further work as set out in paragraph 3, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee.

3.  Maidstone Museum Foundation be tasked with raising match funding for the Heritage Lottery Bid, in partnership with Officers of £140,000, as set out in Option 2.

4.  Should the Heritage Lottery Bid (Option 2) be unsuccessful, a further report be presented to the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee, seeking approval to deliver Option 3 (Medium).

5.  Option 1 (Large) be endorsed as the longer-term vision for the museum.

6.  Maidstone Museum Foundation be requested to raise a further amount of £1.7m, over a 5-year period, to enable the long-term vision (Option 1) to be delivered.

7.  The significant risks associated with the successful delivery of Option 1 and 2 be noted.

8.  A fundraising group be established, including representatives from the Maidstone Museum Foundation and Maidstone Museum, to be chaired by the Chairman of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee.

9.  Regular briefing notes be sent to Members and Substitute Members of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee, outlining progress with the application, works programme, fundraising and other associated points with the redevelopment.  If at any time members wish to discuss the issues raised in an update at committee, this can be done if they inform the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

Voting:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

The Interim Head of Finance and Information & Corporate Policy Officer introduced the report.  It was explained that the executive summary was to be amended to read:

“Overall, 90% (9 out of 10) of Key Performance Indicators, reportable to the Committee, achieved their Quarter 1 targets. For the strategic priority “A Thriving Place” 86% (6 out of 7) KPIs achieved their Quarter 1 targets, while for the “Embracing Growth and Enabling Infrastructure”, 100% (3 out of 3) of Key Performance Indicators, reportable to the Committee, achieved their Quarter1 targets.”

Furthermore, Appendix 2 (page 92) was to be adjusted to:

“Overall, 100% (3 out of 3) indicators that are targeted under this objective have achieved their quarterly target.”

In response to questions from the Committee, the Museum Director and Head of Regeneration and Economic Development replied that:

·  The funding for the Museum Education Service was provided by Arts Council England.  There was uncertainty regarding the length of time that the funding would be available for, however, Officers were working to identify alternative funding in case this was needed.

·  The legal claim regarding the sewage leak at Mote Park was ongoing.  Some losses incurred as a result of the leak were insurable, however, others were not.  The cost of the overspend was to be funded temporarily until the outcome of the claim was known.

RESOLVED: That:

1.  The Revenue position at the end of the Quarter 1 and the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant variances have been identified, be noted.

2.  The Capital position at the end of Quarter 1 be noted.

3.  The Summary of Performance for Quarter 1 for Key Performance Indicators be noted.

The Leisure Manager highlighted that the review had been renamed to “Making Maidstone More Active” in order to establish a common name for the work.  Additionally, this ensured that the objective of addressing health inequalities was referenced.  It was explained that the review consisted of two stages.  Stage One was a survey of all residents, while Stage Two included a series of forums.  The Leisure Manager concluded by stating that the report recommendations were to be amended to clarify that that a briefing note, outlining the initial results of the survey, was to be circulated to Members and Substitute Members of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee.  This meant that a report on the outcome of the survey was to be considered by the Committee by the end of March 2020.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Leisure Manager replied that:

·  A collaborative working agreement, outlining shared objectives of the review, had been agreed with the Senior Public Health Officer at Maidstone Borough Council.

·  Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were being engaged throughout the review, while GP surgeries were to be specifically targeted during Stage One to maximise survey responses.

·  Several Local Authorities had requested access to the review data, which had created further opportunities for collaborative working.

·  The funding for the review had previously been agreed by the Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee to cover the operational costs of the review and a specific Leisure Officer role.

The Committee commented that it was possible to invite organisations to attend future committee meetings, in order to address Members on key topics.  Furthermore, site visits could be arranged to enhance understanding of best practice.

RESOLVED: That:

1.  The proposed delivery approach and timeline be agreed.

2.  An all-member workshop briefing, to inform all councillors of the review, be held by the end of January 2020.

3.  A briefing note be circulated to Members and Substitute Members of the Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee outlining the initial results of the residents’ survey.

4.  A report be submitted to the ERL Committee by the end of March 2020 outlining the outcome of the residents’ survey.

Voting: Unanimous

The Chairman explained that there was an outstanding Council Representative vacancy on the Maidstone Area Arts Partnership and that Councillor Harvey had submitted a nomination form for the position.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Harvey be appointed as a Council Representative on the Maidstone Area Arts Partnership.

Voting: Unanimous

6.31 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.