Item 9

STAUNTON PARK OFFICERS' GROUP

Notes of a meeting of the Staunton Park Officers' Group held on 8 November 2004

Present:

John Tickle - Hampshire County Council (in the Chair)

Bevis Ingram - Hampshire County Council

Stephen D'Este-Hoare - East Hampshire District Council

Lewis Paterson - Park Manager

Christine Dier - Havant Borough Council

Ian Limb - Portsmouth Water Ltd

1 MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2004 were agreed as a correct record.

2 MATTERS ARISING

(5) Park Manager's Report

The "Staunton Live" event had been held in August and the Group expressed thanks to the Hampshire County Council and Havant Borough Council for their support.

The restyled publicity material had not yet been printed, but the Group's comments had been taken into account.

3 MINUTES OF JOINT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The minutes of the meeting of the Joint Management Committee (JMC) held on 16 July 2004 were noted.

4 MINUTES OF STAKEHOLDERS' FORUM

The minutes of the meeting of the Stakeholders' Forum held on 29 October 2004, including details of a presentation given to the Forum by Portsmouth Water, were circulated and noted.

Membership of the Forum had been expanded but it was felt that more could be done to encourage local representatives to become actively involved. An item would be included in the agenda for the next meeting of the Officers' Group to discuss how this could best be achieved.

(Action: J Tickle)

Mr Ingram reported that, due to tight deadlines, the Treasurer's draft report to the JMC had not been available in time for consideration by the Stakeholders Forum. It was agreed, subject to consultation with the Chairman of the JMC, that there was no requirement for the detailed financial report to be considered by the Forum. The Forum would, however, need to be kept informed about Park's financial position on a general level.

(Action: J Tickle/B Ingram)

5 PARK MANAGER'S REPORT

The Park Manager circulated his draft report to the JMC, setting out the current position with regard to staffing and site issues relating to the Park, including an update on the Woodland Grant Scheme and Conservation Grazing Scheme works to Leigh Park Gardens.

The Staunton Live event had attracted approximately 1000 visitors. A wash-up meeting would be held shortly to review options for developing and publicising future events with a view to maximising potential income. Officers from Hampshire County Council and Havant Borough Council, a supporters of Staunton Live, would be invited to attend the wash-up meeting.

(Action: Lewis Paterson)

The Heritage Lottery works to the ornamental farm and team rooms were now complete and management of the buildings was handed back prior to the formal opening ceremony. Installation of furniture and fittings was not yet complete, however, and there were funding issues associated with this. Priorities needed to be agreed and the Park Manager would give further thought to this.

(Action: Lewis Paterson)

Work was underway on developing proposals for a further lottery bid to be submitted in December. Work on the Management Plan, which would support the bid, was well underway.

In response to officers' concerns, the Park Manager advised that, whilst it was not intended to include refurbishment of the Shell House in this lottery bid, interim measures would be taken to protect it from further deterioration. The Park Manager also advised that a meeting of the Landscape Advisory Group would be convened to update colleagues on the position.

(Action: Lewis Paterson)

6 TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr Ingram gave an update on the current financial situation and circulated figures relating to the revenue budget for 2004/05 and the draft revenue budget for 2005/06. Mr Ingram thanked Mr Paterson and Mr Walls for their work in compiling the figures, to be presented to the JMC in a new format.

The latest projections indicated that the Park would make a deficit in 2004/05. This was due to a variety of factors, including the delay in completing the restoration works and consequential shortfall in anticipated income. A budget surplus was anticipated in 2005/06 and it was proposed that a contribution be made from this surplus to partially offset the Park's overall deficit.

It was noted that, currently, there were four staffing vacancies, two of which were considered key to the Park's operations and recruitment to these posts was a priority. Mr Paterson would provide further details to the JMC, together with a breakdown of the cost of the volunteer scheme, including a quantification of the value of volunteer days.

(Action: B Ingram)

The meeting commenced at 2.00 pm and concluded at 4.06 pm.