The Chairman to welcome all to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies received from Councillor Werner.

To receive any declarations of interest.

No declarations of interest received.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting.

The minutes of the last meeting were Unanimously Agreed after amending the declarations of interest section to reflect that the Cllr Clark had explained he knew several members of the Maidenhead Target Shooting Club.

To consider recommendations from The Brocket task and finish group to the Culture and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

The Chairman, Councillor Clark, started by explaining the background on The Brocket and the process of what had taken place to date. He highlighted that it had been noted that no work had been carried out on the potential uses of The Brocket. A Task and Finish Group had been constituted in order for stakeholders to input their ideas. An initial meeting was held to gather information on interests. An open day took place for stakeholders to go and view The Brocket and suggest ideas. A second meeting took place to summarise all the thoughts and ideas that had been received, as some comments were not received the  interested stakeholders were given until the end of April 2017 to submit their plans. No plans were submitted by the interested parties.

The Chairman explained the review had identified three possibilities for future use:

a)    Public Use - Meeting current identified needs from within existing budgets. Demonstrably fulfilling a previously assessed and budgeted activity and therefore replacing an existing or proposed facility (subject to planning approval).

b)    Public Use - Meeting a newly identified need and requiring new funding to be assessed and approved. Demonstrably required to fulfil a newly assessed need to provide an additional facility (subject to budget and planning approval).

c)    Development Options – Preserving the listed features. Utilise the site for the creation of new dwellings or other commercial use to generate significant revenue for the Borough (subject to planning approval).

The Chairman informed the Panel that it was the role of the Culture and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel to endorse the report from the Task and Finish Group and send recommendations to the Cabinet (Cabinet Prioritisation Sub Committee).

Councillor Samantha Rayner, Lead Member for Culture and Communities thanked the Task and Finish Group for looking into the uses for The Brocket and making the recommendations to the Cabinet.

The Panel UNANIMOUSLY AGREED to support the proposals to go forward and send a report to the Cabinet Prioritisation Sub Committee.

Steph James, Maidenhead Town Manager to present to the Panel.

Steph James, Maidenhead Town Manager, gave a presentation to the Panel about the current Maidenhead Christmas lights and also showed some suggestions of what could be achieved.

The Panel discussed the feel good factor at Christmas and the expectation of residents to have lights and a fun and exciting time. The Christmas lights are an opportunity to increase the footfall in Maidenhead and increase the sales for shops.  The Chairman suggested perhaps a light feature with moving images and something that could be changed and reused could be considered.

Points discussed by the Panel included:

·         Was there an increase in spend in the town with the increase in footfall? Steph James informed the Panel that there had been a significant increase at cafes and restaurants. The retail had benefitted from events on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Generally, Maidenhead had performed better than other areas in these tough times.

·         Maidenhead needed a bigger wow factor, maybe light fewer streets but could be made more spectacular.

·         The Maidenhead branding could be improved, to strengthen the current brand.

·         The Christmas lights were an important factor to welcome people into the town centre and guide them towards the shopping areas. It was suggested that the Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce be contacted with a view to securing  further funds.

·         Steph James was thanked for all her efforts and the existing sponsors were thanked for their support.

·         A planned and phased approach was preferred.

David Scott, Head of Communities and Highways, summed up the discussion and explained that the Panel was to generally supportive of  the options suggested, and that the views of the Panel were to adopt an incremental approach of short term disruption for the good of the longer term and the need to fit in with the wider regeneration activities and continue to attract visitors and residents to Maidenhead. It would be then for Steph James to seek the support and finance for the capital purchase.

Councillor Samantha Rayner thanked Steph James. It was important to consider the full regeneration and do smaller amounts of work now and a small wow factor that could be added to in the future. It would be good to concentrate on the high street now and then expand.

The Chairman confirmed that the Panel were very much in favour and a future update would be welcomed.

Anna Robinson, Strategy & Performance Manager to present the report to the Panel.

David Scott, Head of Communities and Highways, presented the Council Performance Management Framework quarter 4 report to the Panel. The comments from the Panel would be presented at Cabinet. David Scott informed the Panel that there was a continued trend of improvement with a small number of PI short or off  targets. The recent  cyber security implications were discussed and the Panel were informed that the borough applied a number of updates that had helped strengthen our protection. As an overview following  the recent cyber attack, 300 of RBWM systems were checked and only one had required further work. It was noted that one Member was responsible  for each  target. Councillor Gilmore suggested looking into and including the Principal Member targets in the report.

The Chairman highlighted that the report was in a very clear format and it was of value and a benefit to use the traffic light system for targets. There had been significant progress since the last quarter. There was a large amount of work undertaken and the actual reporting and progress were very good.

The Lead Member, Councillor Samantha Rayner, thanked the officers. The KPI’s were challenging but it was for the Cabinet Members to continue to push the council to offer better services for residents.

The Chairman summed up by commenting that it was admirable that RBWM were improving through all the change.

To consider the work programme and add any items.

The Chairman informed the Panel that he had been tasked to organise a Task and Finish Group for Making the most of Maidenhead Riverside. The Panel Members of the Culture and Communities Overview an Scrutiny Panel would be invited, as would the Lead Member, all Ward Members and stakeholders. The meeting was arranged for Wednesday 28 June 2017 at 6.30pm in Ascot and Bray Room, Town Hall, Maidenhead. The Chairman confirmed that the draft Terms of Reference would be circulated with the minutes of this meeting.

The Panel discussed the layout of Maidenhead town centre and the limited space to offer riverside activities. The vibrant riverside areas in other areas of the borough and the way Reading has been developed by the canal with a selection of good quality eateries.

The dates of the next meetings are:

Monday 14 August 2017 – Guildhall, Windsor

Wednesday 15 November 2017 – Council Chamber, Maidenhead

The dates of the next meetings are:

Monday 14 August 2017 – Guildhall, Windsor

Wednesday 15 November 2017 – Council Chamber, Maidenhead

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 11 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act"

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 7 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act".

To Approve the Part II minutes of the last meeting.

RESOLVED UNAIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Kevin Mist, Communities Project Lead, will update the Panel.