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Hampshire County Council.

Sir George Staunton Country Park Item 8

Joint Management Committee.

16 July 2004.

Expansion of Stakeholder Forum Membership Report

Contact : Lewis Paterson (Telephone: 023 9245 3405).

1. Introduction

1.1. At the Stakeholder Forum Meeting of 30^th April 2004 the Park Manager was asked to prepare a report suggesting additional members to the Stakeholder Forum that would benefit the overall management process.

1.2. The following report provides a list of possible new members to the Stakeholder Forum for consideration by the Joint Management Committee.

2. Increased Representation.

2.1. It is proposed that the following individuals or group representatives be invited, by the Park Manager, to join the Stakeholder Forum;

(a) Local School Head Teacher.

(b) Local Community Representative.

(c) Chairmen of any current or future established Park volunteer groups.

(d) Volunteer representatives from individual Park teams (farm, gardens, ranger team).

(e) Chairman or representative from the Park Angling Club.

2.2. It is proposed that input is also sought, via members of the Park Team, from the following groups which do not necessarily have a structure that lends itself to providing a representative.

(f) Wild 4 Nature Group, through the Education Officer; and

(g) Park members through the Marketing Officer.

3. Background

3.1. Members of the current Stakeholder Forum can be seen at Appendix A.

3.2. It is felt that in order for the Stakeholder Forum to function as intended there is a need to increase the diversity of its members.

3.3. A list of proposed new members is included in Section 2.

3.4. The nature of many of the proposed members may preclude personal involvement (such as work commitments of volunteers) to the meetings. This will require either introducing a means of involvement by proxy, or perhaps just rescheduling the Stakeholder Forum meetings to be held during evenings.

Head Teacher

3.5. In order to further promote and integrate the work of local schools it is felt that a senior member of teaching staff should be invited to attend meetings.

Local Community / Dog Walker

3.6. A number of people utilising the Park have become well known to staff and often provide good representation of the local community. Inviting such a person to become involved will improve communications between the Park and the general community.

Volunteer Groups

3.7. The Park is in the process of establishing a number of community volunteer groups. It is important that these groups feel integrated within Sir George Staunton Country Park. Whilst promoting ownership of the Park to its individual community members it is equally important that groups are also aware of the wider issues. For this reason it is felt that the Chairmen of any existing, and future, recognised groups be invited to contribute.

Individual Volunteers

3.8. Sir George Staunton Country Park has a thriving volunteer scheme. At the moment volunteers typically work within the farm, gardens, or ranger teams. A volunteer from each section should be encouraged to contribute as Stakeholders.

Angling Club

3.9. The Angling Club is a valuable asset and link to the community, particularly within the Leigh Park Gardens Area. Representation from this group would almost certainly provide a refreshing contrast as to differing needs of this growing recreation group.

Wild 4 Nature

3.10. The Wild 4 Nature Group, comprising around thirty children aged from 8 to 14, has expressed an interest in contributing to the management of Sir George Staunton Country Park. Due to the age and nature of the group it is felt that their input should be provided to the Forum by the Park Manager via the Education Officer.

Members

3.11. The membership scheme at Sir George Staunton Country Park has recently enjoyed significant growth. It is felt that encouraging input from this group will benefit the Stakeholder Forum as many members visit on at least a weekly basis and will view the Park in a more commercial way. The nature of the members scheme is not such that a representative could easily be chosen. Therefore it is initially proposed to encourage participation through the regular news letter and members events. This would be presented to the Forum by the Park Manager, with information gathered via the Marketing Officer.

4. Conclusion

4.1. Through increasing the depth of involvement and input to the Park via the Stakeholder Forum it will be possible for the Park Management Team and the Joint Management Committee to gain a better perspective of all issues facing Sir George Staunton Country Park.

4.2. For this reason the Joint Management Committee are asked to support the recommendations set out in Section 2 of this report.

Recommendations

1 That, the following individuals or group representatives be invited, by the Park

Manager, to join the Stakeholder Forum;

(a) Local School Head Teacher.

(b) Local Community Representative.

(c) Chairmen of any current or future established Park volunteer groups.

(d) Volunteer representatives from individual Park teams (farm, gardens,

ranger team).

(e) Chairman or representative from the Park Angling Club.

2 That input is also sought, via members of the Park Team, from the following groups

which do not necessarily have a structure that lends itself to providing a

representative.

(f) Wild 4 Nature Group, through the Education Officer; and

(g) Park Members, through the Marketing Officer.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report. NB this list excluded:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

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APPENDIX A: SIR GEORGE STAUNTON COUNTRY PARK STAKEHOLDER FORUM

Forest Enterprise

Mr. Stephen Neal,

Hampshire Garden Trust.

Mrs. June Parkinson

Hampshire Constabulary

PC Colin Stockdale

Portsmouth City Council

Mr. K. Golden, Head of Property

Portsmouth Water Company

Mr. A. Neave,

Rowlands Castle Parish Council

Cllr. G Leonard

Horndean Parish Council

Cllr. Mrs. V. Foley

Cllr. Mrs. A. Walker ( Deputy )

Hampshire County Council

Cllr J.Waddington

Cllr. E.F. Gale, MBE

Cllr. Mrs. E. M. Byrom

Cllr. Mrs. V. Steel

Cllr. W.H.Wheeler

Mr. J. Tickle, Head of the Countryside Service, Recreation and Heritage Department

Mr. B. Ingram, County Treasurer's Department

Mr. A. R. Knight, Democratic Services,Chief Executive's Department

Mr. L. Paterson, Park Manager, Sir George Staunton Country Park

Mr. K. Gardner, Head of Legal Services, Chief Executive's Department

East Hampshire District Council

Cllr. Mrs. D. K. Denston

Havant Borough Council

Cllr. K. Moss,

Mrs. Joy Okwuadigbo, Head of Regeneration

Mrs. Christine Dier, Tourism Manager.

Local Stakeholder Member

Cllr. Terry Hart