Meetings, Minutes and Plans

Minutes of the Forum Annual General Meeting

Thursday 5th August 2010 at 7.30pm at The Atrium Room, The Brunswick Hotel.

Present:

Bob Anderton - Chairman.
Ettore 'EB' Bernardi - Vice Chairman & Treasurer.
Councillor Carol Ainge.
Councillor Cheryl Johnson.
Minutes Secretaries Gill Richards / Cheryl Legg.
Cheryl Legg - Press Officer.
General Committee Members.
Guest Speaker David Ifould - Landscape Manager, Bournemouth Borough Council.

Agenda:
1. Welcome and Annual General Meeting introductions.
2. Apologies.
3. Minutes of Forum Meeting of the 3rd June 2010.
4. Matters arising.
5. Report on the Council's Budget for the coming year.
6. Any other Forum Business.

1. The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.

2. Apologies for absence;
Corine Coppen Cllr Mark Anderson. Gill Richards.
3. The Minutes of the last meeting (3rd June 2010) were agreed as a true and accurate record.

4. Queens Park 'Play Builder' scheme:

The Chairman introduced Mr David Ifould - Landscape Manager from Bournemouth Parks &
Technical Landscape Team. Mr Ifould explained that in the previous year, 11 of the
Government funded schemes had been completed in the Borough. There are currently ten sites across the Borough and some have a higher priority than others, each must undergo a consultation process.
Mr Ifould referred to the recent Government change and stated that; '£600,000 was available but is not currently there and the proposed scheme for Queens Park may not be feasible. The Council are keen to see the proposal for the Park to succeed however the scale may have to change.'
Cllr Johnson asked; 'Will we have money spent on Queens Park and how much money is left?
Mr Ifould replied that; 'This is to be decided next week, the money gone is replaceable by
Central Capital. Money will be available but could be scaled down.'
Cllr Ainge stated that; 'There may not be enough money to proceed and enquired if Section 106 money was available, it would be nice to know where the money is from?'
Mr Ifould stated; 'Some Section 106 money is available. The public consultation was quicker than he would have liked as it had to be slightly pushed because they needed to spend the money before it was gone.'
Vice Chair 'E.B.' asked if a costing exercise had been carried out and how much would it cost?'
Mr Ifould replied that; 'It had and there was an allocation for £80,000-£85,000. More has been applied for of which an additional sum of £30,000 had been secured based on the old scheme, giving a total of circa £115,000-£120,000 although it is not all there anymore.'
Other queries arose such as; 'How was it that the proposal had been changed between the two consultations such as changing the site from the end of the 18th fairway to the slope in front of the pavilion entrance. Concerns were raised over the golfers having a disproportionate influence over the general public who pay for the facility, as the change of location was more expensive than the original proposal?' Mr Ifould said; 'It was because of the risk of golf balls overshooting the green.' Cllr Ainge asked Mr Ifould if, during negotiations, 'Could the unresolved problem of lack of access to the toilet facilities be resolved?' Mr Ifould agreed but said the 'budget cut is a problem.'

5. Matters arising:

The Big Society: The term refers to the community becoming more involved and having greater influence over local/central government. The recent change of government and the effects of recession will mean change for all. Bob Anderton opened the debate and stated that: 'The Council budget is coming up, the local community will have a greater say in what should happen, what local authorities should keep or lose. Change is taking place and various Councils will have their budgets cut by Central Government by as much as 20-40%. According to the last complete accounts our local authority budget was £470,000,000. I am unable to attain the most recent accounts.' Cllr Johnson suggested; 'This figure has diminished.' Bob Anderton said 'We will have to manage on less money and decide on what services should be preserved.'
Sue Delafield raised the cost of the I-Max stating 'That demolishing it would create more cost also 'top end' salaries and expenses of councillors must be re-negotiated.' There was general agreement that the practise of Council's using expensive consultancy firms should be scrapped, it used to be done 'in house' by competent staff. It appears that departments within the council lack the expertise they need. In conclusion, if the staff are 'not fit for purpose' they should go. In other cases departments have grown in size when they used to manage with a more moderate level of staff.

6. Any Other Forum Business:

Queen's Park: Cllr Ainge was thanked for having the foliage cut back at Queen's Park.

Double Yellow Lines: The saga of the lorry parked on the corner of Richmond Park Road and Queen's Park Gardens has been resolved. An enforcement order has been served and the double yellow lines will be in place by the next meeting.

Litter: it was reported that litter was accumulating around bushes, sub stations and the Wessex Way: All have been tidied up. Caroline Abbis organised a litter pick up but Cllr Johnson said; 'Overnight more stuff appeared.' It was pointed out that there was a lot of broken glass in the subway of Lowther Road. Cllr Johnson said that she will; 'Look into it.'

The Chairman thanked the public for their attendance and participation in the local issues, and looked forward to them attending future meetings.

The meeting closed at 9pm.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING : 7th October 2010 at 7.30pm at The Atrium Room, The Brunswick Hotel, 199 Malmesbury Park Road, Charminster.

Minutes of earlier Meetings

3rd June 2010 meeting

7th October 2010 meeting