Issue - meetings

Cabinet received a report which requested it to review and approve the results from the public consultation on the use of libraries and community centres and to consider how the responses informed the Council’s spending plans for 2015-2016. The report further sought Cabinet’s approval for the approach outlined to supporting community centres in the future in order to secure a sustainable network of effective and efficient centres through a new model for community centres.

Councillor Serluca introduced the item and advised that a fact finding consultation had been undertaken over an eight week period and over 5,000 responses had been received. The top three findings for libraries, each achieving over 50% were ‘the books on the shelves’; ‘the location’ and ‘the access to information’. People had also stated that they would use their libraries more if they could be used outside normal hours. These principles would be utilised in formulating new models for delivering the libraries, with recommendations due to be presented back to Cabinet on 19 January 2014.

It was further advised that community centres had not presented a strong message but the responses had shown the strong social value that many community centres had, with a wide range of activities. Findings included ‘most people used their centres at least once a week’; ‘the highest usage was for health and wellbeing, slimming and fitness’; ‘the centres were used mostly by people who were over the age of 65’; and ‘most people did not travel more than a mile to their community centres’. Cabinet was requested to review and agree the new module for centres and task the Communities Directorate with carrying out the recommendation. It was proposed to undertake a comprehensive survey of all the community centres in order to understand their current state and further maintenance needs. This information would be paired with ward profiles and current community needs. The timeline for community centres was set to run from November 2014 to March 2016. Thanks were extended to the lead officers for all the work undertaken.

Cabinet debated the report and key points raised, along with responses to questions provided by the Council’s Culture and Leisure Partnership Manager, included:

·         The mobile library was a valued asset, particularly in the rural areas and it was confirmed that this service had not formed part of the review;

·         There were no planned changes for the mobile library service due to its importance for those individuals who could not access libraries in buildings and also those individuals who were housebound;

·         A number of libraries were utilised by school children as well as by the general public and consultation had been undertaken with those schools having a library building attached to them. Their recommendations had been taken on board and all the schools had offered their support in relation to the library service going forward;

·         There were 52 community centres in Peterborough, 33 of which were supported by the Council. All centres had been mapped against ward profiles and the need for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

The Culture and Leisure Partnership Manager introduced the report for the Committee to review the responses to the public consultation on libraries and community centres and to review the proposed approach to supporting community centres in future, to secure a sustainable network of effective and efficient centres.

An eight week consultation was carried out between 4 August and 26 September 2014 to understand which libraries and community centres people used around Peterborough, when and how often they used them and what they used them for. In total 5,110 responses were received during the consultation period.

The Council also consulted with all parish councils and clerks, registered community and resident groups, voluntary sector partners such as the disability forum, Peterborough Citizens Advice Bureau and MP’s.

In addition the Council met with the management committees of community centres to gather information about what the centres were used for, how they were managed, which sections of the community used them and when they had activities available. In total 91% of the community centres participated in the fact finding exercise.

The Committee was asked to note and comment on the report.

Observations and questions were raised around the following areas:

·         Members queried whether community centres were going to close. The Culture and Leisure Partnership Manager responded that the Council was looking to retain the majority of sustainable community centres.

·         Members suggested that a forum was created where community centres shared best practice and that the Council offered businesses a plan for best practice.

·         The Culture and Leisure Partnership Manager advised Members that comprehensive details for each building were required before any decisions on the community centres were made. The key principal was to discover if the building was fit for purpose, this work would not be complete until 2015. Most community centres had been visited to gain ideas on how the Council could support them. Closure of the buildings was not the Council’s main priority.

·         Members commented that they felt uncomfortable with the words ‘fit for purpose’. Members were reassured that the Council was keen to ensure that consultations and evaluations were carried out properly and sensitively. This was reflected by the amount of time allocated to these consultations. It was very important to be completely transparent with the community groups.

·         Members queried at what point was the Council going to engage with community centre representatives. Members were informed that the community centre representatives had already been sent the consultation results and presentations had been delivered to them, including the options.

·         The Cabinet member for City Centre Management, Culture and Tourism advised the committee to pass on her details to anyone who had any queries with reference to community centres.

·         Members queried whether the Central Library was going to be relocated. The Strategic Partnerships Manager responded that there were currently no plans to relocate the Central Library.

·         Members queried how savings were going to be made. The Culture and Leisure Partnership Manager responded that this had not yet been decided. The Council were going  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5