Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the Scrutiny Board held on 2 June 2015 and the Extraordinary Scrutiny Board held on 24 June 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Scrutiny Board meeting held on 2 June 2015 and the Extraordinary Scrutiny Board meeting held on 24 June 2015 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meetings.

There were no matters arising.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no matters the Chairman wished to report to the Board.

The Board considered a report and presentation from the Communities Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel setting out the Panel’s findings in connection with its review of tourism in the borough.

The Cabinet Lead for Communities and the Senior Economic Development Officer joined the Panel for the debate on this item and answered members questions in connection with the report.

The Board was encouraged with the work undertaken in unison with Portsmouth City Council to help promote the boroughs attractions to a wider audience. It was considered that further links needed developing with the neighbouring authorities in Chichester though, not only to capitalise on nearby events but also to raise the profile of the borough.

A question was raised over the current status of the Tourism Masterplan. It was confirmed that the Masterplan was still in place however it required investment from a developer before it could be actioned.

During the course of the debate the Board discussed how visitors could access tourist information when the Beachlands tourist information office was closed. It was noted that keeping the office open seven days a week throughout the year was financially prohibitive and the possibility of installing an unmanned information centre was being explored.

The Chairman invited the Leader to address the Board in regard to the report and participate in the debate. Attention was drawn to the need for a tourism marketing strategy to be developed as it was suggested that this would help provide a clear framework to develop tourism in the borough. 

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that:

(1)          There needed to be increased coordination between the Public Service Plaza and Beachlands regarding tourist information to ensure visitors to the borough could access relevant information all year round; 

(2)          Progress continued to be made on raising the profile of the borough attractions’ online;

(3)          An investigation in to the introduction of the slogan “Havant: Where the Downs Meet the Sea” online and on road signs leading into the borough be conducted to help create a unique brand;

(4)          The review would be an ongoing piece of work with another review scheduled in two years time to assess whether the current and proposed tourism initiatives had been successful;

(5)          The need to develop tourism links with Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council; and

(6)          To investigate the possibility of introducing a Tourism Marketing Strategy for the borough.

The Board received a report from the Governance and Logistics Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel providing an update on the Panel’s findings following its review of the Council’s mail services.

In response to a question over the costs of storing the planning department’s microfiche archive it was explained that there was a cost involved however digitising the archive would also involve significant expenditure. The Board enquired if any of the documents could be disposed of and requested that the Council’s document retention scheme be circulated.

A query was raised over the timescales involved for training staff in the new document management system (DMS). An update would be provided to the Board following the meeting.

In response to a concern raised over the mail rooms business continuity during the Christmas to New Year period it was explained that the new DMS would allow each individual piece of mail to be tracked. This would help mitigate any mail issues over this period.

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that the findings of the review be noted.

The Board considered a report from the Economy, Planning and Built Environment Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel following their review of  Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) spending allocations.

During the course of the debate the Board were supportive of continuing to hold CIL briefings which allowed members to provide a list of projects they felt were most suitable for further investigation and development.

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that the Panel’s findings on the allocation of CIL funds be noted.

The Board was given an opportunity to review progress with regard to the work undertaken by the scrutiny and policy development panels since the last meeting and to identify any additional matters for inclusion in the Board’s work programme.

Each of the Scrutiny Lead Councillors were asked to provide a brief update on their intended next steps and programme for reporting back to the Board.

RESOLVED that the progress to date with regard to the Board’s work programme be noted.