Agenda item

Report of the Director (Policy and Governance) enclosed.

Members of the Panel received a report by the Director of Policy and Governance the purpose of which was to present the single organisational business plan for 2016/17 and to review the programme of projects which had been planned for delivery over the coming financial year.

All projects within the 2015/16 organisational plan had been received and were either complete or to be carried forward with a future date for completion identified.  The plan included a significant number of large and capital investment items along with projects phased over multiple years to deliver a sustained impact and therefore 20 items were taken forward in 2016/17.

The plan included 55 projects which had been approved through the Corporate Strategy process, identified for budget investment in 2016/17 or had been carried forward from 2015/16.  In total, the 2016/17 plan incorporated 16 Corporate Strategy projects, 31 Budget Growth projects and 8 Business Improvement projects which comprised of –

·         Development of a new Buckshaw Community Centre

·         Yarrow Valley car park

·         Play, Open Space and Playing Pitch Strategy

·         Transport plan for Chorley

·         Digital access and inclusion

·         Delivery of Community Action Plans

·         Reform public services in Chorley

Members of the Panel discussed various aspects of the report:

·         The Yarrow Valley project; members of the Panel sought an update on the project in regards to the car park.  The Performance and Partnerships Manager advised that she would call upon the relevant Project Manager to provide an update and circulate it as soon as possible.

·         The management transfer of the new Buckshaw Village Community Centre, from the Council; it was reported that discussions were at an early stage and as yet nothing had been agreed.  It had been envisaged that individual groups involved in the Community Centre would join together to create a management committee.  However, if there was not enough interest expressed, the Council would consider appointing a sole management company to manage the centre.  The management transition would be facilitated by the Council.

·         School place projections project; members of the Panel raised concern about the lack of school places available at the moment, particularly high schools.  The Panel sought reassurance that when predicting the number of primary and secondary school places required, that the project considered the amount of new housing developments in Chorley that had been built recently and those which had been granted planning permission.  The Council’s Performance and Partnership Manager advised that the Panel’s concerns would be reported to the project manager and asked for this matter to be addressed in the project.  The Panel was informed that the project, which was scheduled for completion later this year, would be evidence to support any decisions made in relation to school places in the future. 

There was a further discussion about the need for providers and schools to share information to ensure that those children and families in need of assistance are identified and supported effectively.

·         Food banks; in response to enquiries made by members of the Panel the Council’s Performance and Partnership Manager advised from the data collected by Living Waters, showed a slight decline in the number of people presenting themselves at the food bank over the last 12 to 18 months.  It was explained that the Living Waters, in partnership with the Council, offered a different type of experience for its user which differed to other food banks, in that not only did Living Waters provide food to those in need, users were offered wider support, opportunities and advice.  The aim of which was to develop the user’s own skills and coping mechanisms to reduce the number of recurring visits. 

·         Friday Street; it was reported that the latest position on the project was that the funding criteria had changed and that the project would need to be referred back to the Clinical Commissioning Group for further consideration as part of the review. 

·         Market Walk Extension; members of the Panel were informed that the Council was close to its target of 75% of tenancies filled before work on the extension would begin.  However, it was important that the tenants ran the sort of businesses that the Council wanted to attract to Chorley, and careful consideration was given to any approach made.

AGREED –

1.      That the Council’s Performance and Partnership Manager inform the project manager for the School Place Projections of the Panel’s concerns and ask that consideration be awarded to new and future housing developed being addressed in the project.

2.      Clarification on specific questions raised during the discussion to be circulated to the Panel in due course.