Richard Horniman, Director of Regeneration and Culture and Geoff
Field, Director of Environment and Community Services will be in attendance to provide
the panel with an overview of their service areas and to discuss the key
priorities for 2022/23.
Minutes:
The Chair welcome to the
panel to the first meeting of the municipal year and advised that as per normal
procedures, the panel would be provided with an overview from the Directors
regarding their service areas.
The Chair firstly welcomed
the Director of Regeneration and Culture, who providing the following
information:
● The Director was
responsible for the Regeneration and Culture Directorate.
● In terms of Regeneration,
this comprised of Economic growth, Infrastructure, Planning, Capital Projects,
Design Services and Housing, community learning, and Culture. Culture was
within regeneration as a lot of its aims was improving the towns
image, helping the economy to grow etc.
● In terms of what the
Culture service comprises; Middlesbrough runs a number of venues - encompassing
the Town Hall, Middlesbrough Theatre and Newham Grange Leisure Farm, which act
on a commercial basis. Museums, namely the Dorman and the Captain Cook
Birthplace Museum and Open Spaces including Stewart and Albert Parks. The next
focus is developing the Dorman museum, where there is a capital programme being
undertaken.
● Cultural Services also
covering a range of events including the Orange Pip Market and Christmas events
such as the Reindeer Parade. The Director also advised that there would be a
number of new events next year. It also contributed to events such as the Mela and Discover Middlesbrough.
● The service
also oversees the delivery of the contract with Sports and Leisure Management
(trading as Everyone Active) as well as playing field provision.
● The Service was also
responsible for Teesside Archives, which operates from the old county Cleveland
partners, which has recently moved to its new home at the Dorman museum.
● Lastly, within Cultural
Services, they operate Arts Development, consisting of arts and music projects
and this is where the service find it easiest to secure external funding.
In
terms of 2022/23 priorities, the Director outlined that there were a number of
targets for culture to achieve.
Within the Strategic plan, the priorities were as follows:
•
Every child playing
a musical instrument- programme being expanded at present
•
Improve Thorntree
and Pallister Parks (through the Town’s fund)
•
Increased ticket sales and
attendances of events (all ticket sales are tracked)
•
Complete improvements to Teesaurus Park (to be completed as soon as possible)
•
Create three new annual events in
2022 (being scoped and will be launched in due course)
•
All children to get an experience of
live theatre (funding pending)
•
Increase attendance at existing
Council events
•
Increase visitor numbers to museums
and attractions
•
Increase tickets sales for Town Hall
performances
The
Director finally provided some examples of cultural activities, including
events in Teesaurus Park, Middlesbrough Cultural
capital investment prospectus and he also advised that Middlesbrough has
secured £4.2million through the Cultural development fund that will enable a
number of cultural developments to be progressed, including the redevelopment
of central library, to be more focused on children’s literature.
Following
the presentation, the panel made a number of comments, especially in relation
to the Cleveland Show being reinstated. In response, the Director advised that
it wasn’t 100% sure why this was the case however quite often long standing
events lost popularity.
The
Chair secondly introduced the Director of Environment and Community Services.
In
terms of the overview of the department, it was split into 5 main areas:
1.
Environment
Services
2.
Highways
and Infrastructure
3.
Property
and Commercial Services
4.
Community
Services
5.
North
East Migration Partnership
The Director provided a broad
overview of the services:
Environmental
services
•
Waste services and
recycling – Domestic refuse, recycling
and green waste collections, collection of household bulky waste, Waste Disposal Contract. Pest
control.
•
Area care -
Green Strategy, Play
areas, and alley cleansing, grounds maintenance and animals and needles,
street, trees and arboriculture, burials, parks maintenance.
•
School Catering
Highways
and Infrastructure
•
Highway engineers - Bridges and Structures, Highway Maintenance, vehicle
crossings, highway inspections and intervention, flooding issues,
beck maintenance, highway emergency response, winter maintenance (includes
gritting and snow clearance), Street Lighting.
•
Fleet services – Vehicle and machinery repairs, MOTs, car hire,
servicing of Middlesbrough Council vehicles, fuel
Property
and Commercial services
·
Middlesbrough is the lead on Emergency
planning.
In terms of stronger communities, the service was
responsible for the following:
•
Libraries and hubs
•
Community Safety Partnership
•
Neighbourhood Safety
•
Migration
•
Enforcement
•
Flying Squad
•
Pest Control
•
Volunteers
In terms of priorities for 2022/23 were as follows:
•
Increase Cleanliness of the town and its physical Environment.
•
Develop and Implement Green Strategy
•
Tender for Main waste Disposal for post 2025/26
•
Increase recycling
•
Transporter Bridge
•
Improve Highways Assets
•
Light up the Town
•
Provide efficient and effective front line services post pandemic.
•
Implement Towns fund
•
Reduce Environmental Crime
•
Explore outcomes of Environment Bill and its implications for
Middleborough
•
Implement Green Strategy
•
Improve A66 through Middleborough.
•
Highways investment to improve roads
•
Plant another 10,000 trees. ( tree planting days)
•
Increase Wildflower coverage across Middleborough.
•
Expand wild spaces across the town in introduce more growing spaces.
•
Library development
•
Transporter Bridge Investment
•
Light up key Buildings across the town
•
Front Garden Competition.
•
Community growing areas
•
Play areas in conjunction with town’s fund.
Following the
presentation, there was a discussion regarding household waste disposal and the
main waste disposal site to ensure the site was ready for 2026.
In terms of pest
control, the Director advised that they were looking to instigate this in the
summer, depending on recruitment of staff as well as recruitment of street
wardens. In terms of recruitment , this was due to a
number of factors including the change in the labour market.
The panel also
commended the officers of environmental enforcement for the excellent work they
do across the town.
Both Directors
were thanked for their presentations.
AGREED- That the
presentations be noted and information be considered in decided the scrutiny
work programme for 2022/23.