Agenda and minutes

Mount Edgcumbe Joint Committee - Friday 5 February 2010 10.45 am

Venue: BELVEDERE ROOM, BARROW PARK, CENTRE, MOUNT EDGCUMBE, CREMYLL

Contact: Helen Wright, Democratic Support Officer Email: helen.wright@plymouth.gov.uk

Items

No.

Item

25.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by Members in accordance with the code of conduct.

26.

MINUTES PDF 43 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2009 as a correct record.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2009 were confirmed as a correct record, subject to the following amendments –

(i)

Councillors Austin and Pearn MBE are included as attending and Councillor Preston is included as an apology;

(ii)

(minute 14 refers) should read Cdr Crocker not D L Richards;

(iii)

(minute 23 refers) should include, Members considered that it should be clarified that the Joint Committee was not responsible for the problems regarding the tender for the Cremyll Ferry; the Chair indicated that he had approached the Chief Executive for an apology.

27.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

View the reasons why item 27. is restricted

To receive reports on business, which in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

With the permission of the Chair, the Senior Commercial Investment Surveyor advised that a property matter had arisen since the last meeting of the Joint Committee on 4 December 2009. Due to the confidential nature of this matter it would need to be considered under exempt business.

Resolved that this matter is considered under exempt business.

(In accordance with Section 100(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the Chair brought forward the above item for urgent consideration because of the need for a Member decision).

28.

REVENUE/CAPITAL MONITORING 2009/10 AND DRAFT BUDGET 2010/11 PDF 34 KB

The Joint Committee will receive a report on the Revenue/Capital Monitoring 2009/10 and Draft Budget 2010/11.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services and the Director for Corporate Support submitted a report on the revenue/capital monitoring 2009/10 and draft budget 2010/11, which outlined the following main issues –

(i)	2009/10 revenue monitoring;
(ii)	medium term financial forecast 2010/11;
(iii)	2009/10 capital monitoring;
(iv)	reserves.

The following responses were provided to questions raised by the Joint Committee –

(a)

the level of retail sales/catering income had been worked-up with the support of the commercial manager; work had been carried out to look at what the enterprise could achieve across a wider site which included the Orangery;

(b)

the cost of the sales is based on the industry standard of a third of the income;

(c)

there had been three funding streams for the renovation works which were the Regional Development Agency, Objective One and match funding from the Joint Committee; if the additional monies could not be secured then both the constituent authorities would be liable to pay back £1.4m.

Resolved that the Joint Committee –

(1)

notes the report;

(2)

notes that each constituent authority has been approached to consider additional financial support of up to £100,000 (per authority) to address the 2009/10 revenue shortfall, having made all efficiencies to mitigate the deficit and using the Joint Committee’s reserves;

(3)

notes that current budget projections contained within this report are supported by the separately presented commercial business planning case and are based on constituent authority support remaining at current levels of £384,000 (£192,000 per authority);

(4)

manages the risks contained within the budget in particular catering and retail operations to achieve the higher trading surplus;

(5)

plans for a minimum level of reserves which provides contingency for a sustainable long term future.

29.

AMENDED ACQUISITION AND DISPOSALS POLICY PDF 19 KB

The Joint Committee will receive a report on the Amended Acquisition and Disposals Policy.

Additional documents:

Policy , item 29. PDF 760 KB

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services submitted a report together with the policy on the amended acquisition and disposal policy.

The report outlined –

(i)	the policy –
	(a)	guided the decision making process when considering adding items to the collection regardless of the means of acquisition;
	(b)	guided decisions and process when considering disposing of an object and ensured that ethical and legal guidelines are followed;
	(c)	clarified the Joint Committee’s responsibility within the decision making process;
(ii)	the existing acquisition and disposal policy being used was Plymouth City Museums 1998 policy (amended in 2001); it was proposed that Mount Edgcumbe had its own policy to reflect the specific needs of the Mount Edgcumbe collection and current objectives and was in line with the requirements of accreditation.

Following a question raised by the Joint Committee, it was advised that the Mount Edgcumbe collection was insured under the Plymouth Museums policy. A robust 24 hours alarmed security system had been installed and staff were on all year round.

Resolved that the amended acquisition and disposal policy is approved.

30.

PROGRESS REPORT 2009/10 PDF 81 KB

The Joint Committee will receive a Progress Report 2009/10.

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services submitted a report on the park’s progress in 2009/10, which outlined the following main issues –

?	events
?	Christmas Fayre
?	school visits
?	weddings, civil partnerships and naming ceremonies
?	talks to community groups

The following responses were provided to questions raised by the Joint Committee –

(i)

there had been no direct costs incurred by the park in relation to the cancellation of the classic car rally due to the inclement weather in the summer;

(ii)

funding would be provided by Friends of Mount Edgcumbe to provide an ‘interpretation’ of the camellia collection;

(iii)

consideration would be given to setting up a rolling programme to clear the overgrown areas of the coastal path where it was safe to do so;

(iv)

work was currently being undertaken to ascertain if it would be feasible to set up a webpage to market and sale camellias.

Resolved that the report is noted.

31.

OPERATIONAL ACTION PLAN 2010/2011 AND RISK MANAGEMENT PDF 109 KB

The Joint Committee will receive a report on the Operational Action Plan 2010/2011 and Risk Management.

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services submitted the Operational Action Plan 2010/11 and the Risk Register for the Country Park, which outlined –

(i)	the work and events planned for the financial year 2010/11 and the risk management measures taken to ensure its delivery;
(ii)	the action plan had been broken down into the core areas of works as follows –
	?	formal areas
	?	camellia collection
	?	amphitheatre
	?	woodlands
	?	beaches and foreshore
	?	footpath/signage/roads
	?	costal areas
	?	the built environment
	?	special events
	?	Mount Edgcumbe House and Collection
	?	health and safety
	?	heritage project

The Joint Committee was advised that the high risks relating to health and safety, and public and degradation of historic, chattels and documents were comparable to other institutions.

Resolved that the operational action plan for 2010/11 is approved and note the risk management strategy that supports it.

32.

GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS

The Joint Committee will receive a report on the Governance Arrangements together with the Constitution and Terms of Reference.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Culture, Sport and Leisure advised that this item had been deferred to allow sufficient time to determine the Governance arrangements together with the revised constitution and terms of reference.

33.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

The Joint Committee and officers will respond to questions from members of the public. Any questions not answered shall be the subject of a written response within five working days.

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public.

34.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

Resolved that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public are excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

35.

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS PLANNING

View the reasons why item 35. is restricted

The Joint Committee will receive the Commercial Business Planning.

Minutes:

The Director for Community Services submitted a report on commercial business planning. The Joint Committee also received a presentation.

Resolved that –

(1)

the report is noted;

(2)

the Co-Chairs are given the authority to work with officers on the business planning process;

(3)

officers present a detailed business plan to the autumn meeting of the Joint Committee.

36.

PROPERTY MATTERS

Minutes:

The Director for Development and Regeneration submitted a report outlining a property matter within the park which had arisen since the last report to the Joint Committee on 4 December 2009.

Resolved that a five year lease extension for Chalet 62 is approved.