Archived decisions

DRAFT

Recreation and Heritage Annual Report

`A year in the round'

P1

Introduction by Cllr Snaith

Introduction by Yinnon Ezra

P2

2007- 2008 HIGHLIGHTS

_ Completion and implementation of the Library Service restructure with emphasis on customer focus and continuing to work to Charter Mark principles

_ Successful completion of capital and refurbishment projects: Winchester DC, integration of the Archives and Local Studies in the refurbished Hampshire Record Office, purpose built Whitchurch Library, refurbishment of Stubbington, Lee on the Solent and Andover, and the first rural DC at Botley

_ Successful lottery bid. Awarded £1.2 million by the Community Libraries Project for programme of work with the community in the target areas of Havant/Waterlooville and Aldershot

_ Among the many notable accreditations received are; Charter Mark re-Certification for a further three years for the whole of the Recreation and Heritage department; First pilot inspection of quality at Calshot outdoor activity centre. The centre was rated as `outstanding' for the quality of teaching and learning

_ Expansion of the Adult Physical Activity programme funded by sport England and National Lottery and the Workplace Activity Scheme (over 25,000 attendances logged)

_ The expansion of curriculum and non-curriculum learning and development opportunities for children and young people - 37,485 pupils in organised school visits to museums & archives, 25,585 to countryside sites

_ First services to go live for Hantsdirect, Hampshire County Council's Contact Centre - Libraries and Rights of Way

_ Countryside Service: Restoration work carried out to Odiham Castle with funding from HLF. A lot of volunteers were used to help and included clearing out the moat. Volunteering will become an annual event at the site

_ Museums Service: Successful grant bids: Allen Gallery £45K from HLF; Willis Museum £50K from Wolfson Foundation; Basing House £1.1 million from HLF; Havant Museum £8K from HLF, £45,000 HLF for the King Alfred exhibition in the Winchester Discovery Centre

_ Arts Service: Successful application to Arts Council England for Phase 2 Creative Hampshire Partnerships £120K. Literature Development programme successfully reinstated. Arts Marketing Hampshire successful bid to ACE for organisational development £75K

P3&4

Working in partnership

The Recreation and Heritage Department recognises the importance of working with partners, both internal and external to deliver our objectives. This year, Services have worked successfully with partners from the private sector, district councils, unitary authorities, doctors, educational establishments, community organisations, tourist boards, other HCC departments and, of course, each other.

The Tourism Section has worked hard developing our online offering, launching both Visit Hampshire, the official tourism website for Hampshire, www.visit-hampshire.co.uk and the Defence of the Realm campaign site www.defenceoftherealm.co.uk . Visit Hampshire was developed in collaboration with the Hampshire unitary and district authorities and Tourism South East . www.defenceoftherealm.co.uk,which promotes Hampshire's 33 military attractions, is joint funded by Portsmouth County Council, Gosport Borough Council and Rushmoor Borough Council.

In March Hampshire County Council Museums and Archives Service and the Arts Service, in partnership with Portsmouth and Southampton, became a `Pathfinder' for the national Find Your Talent scheme. This government initiative will aim to provide young people with five hours of cultural activity each week. The partnership has a budget of more than £2 million for the next three years.

The Museums Service has continued to act as lead partner in the SE Hub, delivering its 06/08 £1m business plan. It is also involved with the Bournemouth University Heritage management course and the City University museum training course and continues to advise and assist non-HCC museums in Hampshire.

The Library Service has been working in partnership with doctor's surgeries to deliver the excellent `Books on prescription' scheme, in which doctors and health professionals prescribe a self-help book from their local library rather than medication. By the end of 07/08 there were 84 surgeries and health centres taking part. Fourteen libraries now hold Books on Prescription collections.

In the Rushmoor area, library staff have been working with

the National Aerospace Library in Farnborough. This collaboration has meant that the library collection of the Royal Aeronautical Society, is now open to the public and not just members of the Society.

The Kennel Club, Natural England and the Countryside Service formed a partnership to investigate more enlightened and proactive approaches to managing dogs in the countryside.

A partnership between Waste Management Company Veolia and the Hampshire and West Sussex Bridleways Group, saw over half a mile of impassable bridleway restored to provide £45k all-weather track, benefiting walkers, cyclists and riders in and around Rowland's Castle village and re-establishing a key link in the local rights of way network.

The local team at Lymington Key Haven has been working successfully in partnership with the New Forest NPA and a jointly funded coastal ranger post has been created.

As part of a joint bid with Havant Borough Council Staunton Country Park received £56,000 from the Big Lottery for an Inspirational Playtrail. Park staff worked with students from the two local secondary schools, to design a free trail suitable for children aged over 8 years. The trail encourages all types of play with climbing boulders, a dutch disc for physical activity, sensory equipment and sculptures.

`Sport and Physical Activity Alliances' an initiative by Sport England have been set up by sport Hampshire & IOW to increase participation in sport and physical activity by bringing together key partners in local areas.

In addition, whilst The Healthy Schools programme is led by Children's Services, the Sports unit is working closely with Hampshire Primary Care Trust and schools to tackle obesity, aiming to increase levels of activity for children. Fitness equipment has been provided to and programmes have been established in 25 primary schools in deprived communities.

Hampshire County Council successfully bid for funds to support the development of a Hampshire learning network and this year saw the creation of Hampshire Learning which will provide strategic direction for the eleven District and Borough Council areas. Learning Partnerships in each local area will be supported to develop and strengthen the provision of adult and family learning. Approximately 200 learning providers have been signed up to the network, which continues to expand.

Hampshire County Council has also been working in conjunction with Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, on a European Social Fund financed project: Putting the `e' into learning and skills development in the Adult and Community sector. The project explores how resources, knowledge, staff training, skills and best practice can be shared to increase the range of learning opportunities.

In partnership with Children's Services, the RE inspectorate, the Intercultural Inspector, and other members of HIAS, Archives and Local Studies has been working on a two-year social cohesion project exploring the concept of how ` pupils at six pilot schools in Hampshire experience `difference' in their daily lives. The first year of the project culminated in a conference at Winchester University in March where 60 pupils made presentations. The project will be used as a case study by The Museums Libraries and Archives Council.

Hampshire Archives and Local Studies has entered into a formal partnership agreement with the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral for the safekeeping of some of the Cathedral archives and the professional management of those retained at the Cathedral.

`Making Space' at Leigh Park, Havant is a new crafts building with seven studios for artists and two training rooms. It was opened by Princess Anne in May 07.

The Arts and Library Services have been working closely together to raise awareness of the National Year of Reading.

P5&6

Making ourselves more accessible

It is important for the Recreation and Heritage Department to reach and benefit as many members of our diverse population as possible and to this end the services have been working hard to improve access to our sites and services, both physical access and by means of IT.

The new Winchester Discovery Centre has been an unequivocal success. The Centre has brought the reference and lending libraries together under one roof. Brand new exhibition, learning and performance spaces have been created for the people of Winchester and IT provision has increased to 22 terminals. Visitor numbers have increased 70% over the separate lending and reference libraries.

Provision for Visually Impaired People at Winchester Discovery Centre is multi-faceted and a model of best practice . As well as providing large print books, audio books, audio described videos / DVDs and Clearvision books, a state of the art CCTV magnifier, `My Reader' is also installed which photographs the page and reorganises it to make content easier to read. All of the People's Network terminals which provide free internet access, are loaded with Supernova software and some of the terminals are equipped with additional hardware such as large letter and large key keyboards and roller balls.

A class has started for visually impaired people. There are now nine learners, and three volunteers to support the tutor. The oldest learner is 94 and was recently delighted when she produced her first Word document! In addition drop-in sessions for people with learning disabilities, organised by Mencap, are now happening weekly in the Café.

The installation of a lift at Aldershot Library has made the library's military book collection on the first floor accessible to all.

To cater for the new and vibrant Polish community in Hampshire our libraries ran a book promotion `From Poland to Britain' and two of the Books on Prescription collections are in Polish. In addition, Peoples Network basic instructions have been translated into 21 languages.

Libraries are now open an extra 66 hours a week. Winchester and the new purpose built Whitchurch opened with extended hours. Refurbished Lee on the Solent and South Ham increased their hours and Aldershot and refurbished Andover are now open for the first time on Sundays.

The Museum Service has almost completed a programme of work to improve access and facilities at its HQ at Chilcomb. In addition it has nearly completed an overhaul of its storage facilities, applying a grading system to the collections, identifying the objects that are of greatest interest and improving their storage so that they can be more easily accessed and viewed by people.

The final two Countryside Access Plans, Test & Itchen and Hants Downs, were published for consultation, so all seven are now published. They will be brought together into a single Access Plan in the summer 08/09.

Sport Hampshire & IOW has employed a full time Disability Sports Development Officer whose remit is to increase levels of participation in sport for residents with physical, learning and emotional difficulties.

It has also run a scheme to encourage adults to take part in a sport or activity that they may not have done before or for a number of years. To date over 3,000 people have taken part in a number of six-ten week courses held in a variety of different sports such as badminton, netball, running and kayaking.

The county Local Studies service has been integrated with Hampshire Record Office to form the new Archives and Local Studies service, creating a one-stop-shop for all county resources for local and family history.

A major re-design and refurbishment of the public search room has created an open and welcoming environment, with updated IT facilities, a rise and fall table for wheelchair users, and book shelving all around the room. More books are now on open access for browsing than when the Local Studies service was sited in the old Jewry Street library.

P7&8

Working with communities and volunteers

The Recreation and Heritage Department's role is not just in directly delivering services, but in building capacity within local communities through involvement in a range of skills training, advice, support and grant funding to ensure that cultural activities are available and accessible and to develop participation by local audiences. Work with volunteers is a significant and expanding area of activity for many of the recreation and heritage services and volunteers contribute enormously to the work of the department.

Community Panels and Friends of Library groups have been set up in Waterlooville and Aldershot, in part to provide input to the successful £1.2m Community Libraries Lottery bid. And in Lee-on-the-Solent, support for the local Residents Association resulted in a successful lottery bid for the transformation of the library garden into a `Reading Garden'.

A new facility in Botley, `Connect@Botley', a community library with IT provision was built in response to community needs. It is staffed by volunteers who have been trained by the Library Service.

During the course of 07/08 Equality and Access Officer has become a full-time post, working with services to develop access particularly for black and minority ethnic communities.

Winchester Discovery Centre has been working with Winchester Area Community Action, Community Action Hampshire and other voluntary and statutory bodies to improve access to services for Black and Ethnic Minority communities in the area and to facilitate the formation of a BME Forum in Winchester.

As part of the Andover library refurbishment, a Local Help Point desk and linked office was built to provide organisations with a central point they can staff on a regular basis, to provide information and advice to the local community. Since February 2008 Connexions, Andover Family Learning, HCC information Centres, Hampshire Record Office and Test Valley Volunteers are just some of the partners who have availed themselves of this facility.

The Fleet and Crookham Local History Group successfully attracted lottery funding from the `Awards for All' scheme. They organised the deposit of local history material at Fleet library for the benefit of the whole community.

The work put in by Countryside volunteers over the year equated to 8,491 full-time-employee days.

The Staunton supported Volunteer Scheme has developed significantly during 2007/08, focussing on the use of the former nursery site. The scheme is a partnership between various agencies including Connexions, Havant Day Services, and Highbury College.

Queen Elizabeth Country Park Volunteer Rangers became an independent group during 2007. Last year's trading in locally sourced materials within the new Visitor Centre sales area raised over £1000.

The Friends of Hayling Billy group was formed on the initiative of local people in 2007 and has been strongly supported by the Reserves East Team, which has provided dedicated guided walks and has supplied equipment such as litter pickers, trolley and bags to aid their efforts in keeping the trail free of rubbish.

A new access trail has been created at Lepe Country Park, mostly through the efforts of volunteers and the Friends Group.

Residents and councillors from Lee-on-the-Solent helped in the clearance of invasive scrub which helps increase the variety of bird species including Dartford Warbler.

In the past year, Hampshire Learning has recruited a small band of volunteers who support tutors with the day-to-day running of learning sessions at Waterlooville Library and Gosport Discovery Centre. Some of the volunteers have themselves achieved new skills and qualifications through Learndirect and are now supporting other adults with computer, literacy and numeracy courses. It is intended to expand this volunteer programme, to provide more opportunities for adults to support their local communities. An accredited course is being developed to recognise the skills and knowledge gained by the volunteers.

Through the Access Hampshire Heritage project, Hampshire Archives and Local Studies working with volunteers from three partner organisations, was able to create digital images of 5,000 archives and make them available online at www.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-heritage . In all, 208 volunteer hours were contributed to the project.

In June Hampshire Archives and Local Studies launched the new Hampshire Archives Volunteers Scheme in partnership with Hampshire Archives Trust. This aims to encourage and support volunteers who want to work with archives.

Hog the Limelight ,the county's rural touring arts scheme, provided 47 rural communities across the county with over 100 arts performances and participatory activities during 2007-08. The success of the scheme relies heavily on a willing and enthusiastic group of local volunteer promoters and their village hall committees.

The Museum Service, through its Hub budget, has been able to support the work of the EDGE project, an innovative programme to set up youth consultation groups, beginning in Basingstoke. Some of those involved have gone on to engage in museum-related activities. A major success was the exhibition Dressed2Express, which the young people in Basingstoke produced in conjunction with staff from the Costume and Textile section of the Museum Service at the Willis Museum in Basingstoke.

The Museum Service has, this year, produced a guide to working with volunteers.

As part of Community Services' Partnership Funding Scheme, Winnall Community Association was able to set up a consultation event to find out what people wanted in their local community centre. Community Services also worked in partnership with the Test Valley Community Association Network to put together a successful funding bid for equipment.

P9&10

Children, young people and families

Children, young people and families are a top priority for Recreation and Heritage, where we seek to provide educational and leisure opportunities. The department works hard to ensure that children and young people grow up in families that benefit from a sense of place and pride in their communities and county.

During 07/08 the Library Service has continued its good work with encouraging young children to read. The Schools Library Service provides curricular and recreational reading for 98.3% of Hampshire Schools and the immensely popular `Bookstart', `Bookstart Plus' and `Treasure Chest' schemes have achieved between 80-100% success in reaching all families with 0-5 year olds.

During the summer holidays, Family Library Link converts to the Book Bus. The Book Bus staff made 24 visits to children in holiday play schemes in Fareham, Gosport and Havant areas, where they read stories and spoke to over 350 children. They also visited Staunton Country Park on four Mondays, where they talked to 180 children and their carers.

During the `Book Crawl' scheme at Chandler's Ford 340 children joined in the six-month period September 07 - May 08. In Leigh Park 483 children started the Crawl and 294 received certificates. In total 12 libraries and 3 mobile libraries staged Book Crawls and 850 children took part.

Hedge End Library had to double its number of scheduled `Rhymetimes' as demand was so high.

`Under 5's days' were held at Bursledon and Eastleigh Libraries in June 07 The events, organised by Hampshire Children Families Forum and Eastleigh Borough Council, delivered activities in partnership with Eastleigh Museum and attracted over 200 children to each event.

Children have also helped out at libraries. Wildern School children helped out with Silver Surfers at Eastleigh Library and Merdon School children helped out at Chandler's Ford.

The Summer Reading Challenge, which in 07/08 was themed `The Big Wild Read' was a roaring success. Young readers in Hampshire beat the national average of 52%, with over 65% (13,628) completing the challenge. In total, Hampshire Libraries issued an amazing 412,000 children's books and 21,870 children took part. Fair Oak Library saw the number of children participating double over previous years.

In the period November to May, Winchester Discovery Centre's children's issues were up 55.42% over the same period in 04/05 and Whitchurch's children's issues were up 101%.

`Library Lizards', a monthly club for foster carers and their children at Bridgemary library, started in April 2007. In the first year, 18 children joined the library, 11 sessions were held, and 278 adults and children attended. The club hosted sessions from the Submarine Museum, Portsmouth Museum service, and Hampshire Museum service, as well as a drumming session, and one on healthy eating.

Hampshire Library Service was involved with the national `Premier League Reading Stars' project for the first time. It enabled families from Holbrook school (Better Chances, Better Lives) to be involved resulting in 20 new members for Bridgemary, and 80 attendances for the four sessions that were held at the school. Parents and children also visited a bookshop to buy books and had a celebration event at Portsmouth Football ground. Riders Junior school was also involved in the project at Leigh Park library. 10 parents and 10 children attended 6 sessions, 4 of which were held at the library.

Early Years Coordinators made nine visits to the traveller site at Tyne Field, near Fareham and gave out Bookstart packs. An average of ten children and five adults attended. This led the way to regular visits by the mobile library, which are continuing. In March 08, nationally funded Family Learning, Literacy and Numeracy workshops were held in library and Children's Centre venues across the county. Coordinators have been heavily involved in the expanding Children's Centre programme, both in terms of consultation, and in attending open days and opening events

`Library Lads' (Fareham and Gosport Group )has had average attendances of 20. Themes have included a Dr Who and Star War quiz, and comic art. The oldest lad is now 18, and has been attending for years- he and his younger brother have severe dyslexia.

Through Gosport Borough Council funding a `Looked-after Children' group operates monthly whereby Looked-after children and families enjoy cultural activities in local libraries, Museums and other venues. Numbers range from 13-30 children plus carers per session. All libraries offer a free joining pack to children when they join the library and all hire charges and losses are written off.

The Museum Service education officers delivered educational programmes to 37,000 children of school age in 2007-8 in Community Museums and SEARCH, and engaged xxxxx participants in families in out-of-school activities and outreach work.

Visits for organised family events at countryside sites have increased by more than 40% since 2005/6, with very good performance in the winter quarter when it is difficult to organise events. Organised school visits to countryside sites have increased and an Education Coordinator is being recruited.

Run in partnership with EHDC, Butserfest, the new event for teenagers attracted 900 festival goers. The event was promoted through social networking sites and the band line-up was open to online voting. The lead act, local band 'Eliot Minor' is now playing on Radio One and has a record deal!

Strong links have been established with Sparsholt College's Countryside Management course with students being placed at the Park.

The Titchfield Haven Wildlife Explorers Group, which caters for eight to twelve year olds celebrated its 10^th anniversary. On and off site events are run by the site and parents.

The Outdoor Service's work with children at risk of exclusion continued through Aiming High, Allstars (Returners Project) and the Family Learning Sailing project. The programme of half-term and holiday activities for children and families also expanded. A new initiative was the Looked after Children Sailing Project.

The Sports Section has been working closely with Hampshire Primary Care Trust and Children's Services on the LPSA2 Childhood Obesity target. A substantial part of this target is working with 25 primary schools in deprived parts of the county who have been given a range of GymKids fitness equipment. This equipment supports curriculum time physical education, but more importantly has allowed schools to establish before, lunch and after-school fitness clubs. It also to encourages children to use equipment in their own leisure time.

Sport Hampshire & IOW run the Hampshire Games, an annual multi-sports competition for 6-16 year olds each year. This year marked the 10^th year of the Games.

Hampshire Learning has been supporting the development of family programmes which encourage family members to learn together, giving opportunities for inter-generational learning and, wherever possible, leading both adults and children to pursue further learning. Courses are taught by specialist `Skills for Life' tutors who work with parents, alongside specialist teachers supporting children's learning. All parents on these courses have the opportunity to take national qualifications and, as their literacy and numeracy skills improve, they may move on to further learning and employment.

As part of the Big Draw, Hampshire Archives and Local Studies held children's workshops on the theatre, Christmas card and gift-making, Tudor seal making and painting and on literature.

P11&12

Valuing Older People

Many Recreation and Heritage facilities are used by older people and the department has a vital role to play in providing services that contribute to this age-group's quality of life.

Over the course of the year Community Services has worked in conjunction with community centres to provide activities for older people. Activities have included sing-along sessions and armchair aerobics. Older people are also well represented in the popular new-age curling groups which started last year and have been increasing in number during 07/08.

The Museum Service continues to work with Adult Services and the Arts Service to deliver reminiscence training in Hampshire, and staff at SEARCH also train staff from other local authorities in this work.

The Museum Service operates Friends organisations for most of the Community Museum in its portfolio, most of whose members are elderly, and makes space available for them to meet in those museums.

Many of the people who volunteer across all Recreation and Heritage services are from older age-groups and their work and support is much appreciated.

Silver Surfers sessions have continued to be run in libraries up and down the county, giving older people the confidence to engage with today's technology.

Lepe Country Park played three important roles in the D-Day landing, code-named Operation Overlord. It was a major departure point for troops, vehicles and supplies, a construction site for part of the prefabricated floating Mulberry Harbour and the mainline base for the P.L.U.T.O pipeline. An event held at Lepe to commemorate this historic event was a great success, particularly with the generation old enough to remember.

The Arts Service continues to work in partnership with Adult Services delivering over 1,000 events to the County's 32 residential and nursing homes . `Activehearts' provides performances, reminiscence, arts, crafts and poetry sessions at the homes and also delivers a wide variety of training sessions for Activities Co-ordinators to allow them to work alongside artists delivering some of these activities themselves.

P13&14

Awards And Accolades

The quality of service that the Recreation and Heritage Department provides is assessed externally and measured against best practice benchmarks. In 07/08 we were the recipients of a number of high-profile awards, giving testaments to the hard work and dedication of the Department's staff.

In April 08 the whole department received the Charter Mark standard for Excellence in Customer Service, a significant mark of quality services. The whole department also achieved IIP.

Staunton and Queen Elizabeth Country Parks both retained their Green Flag status recognising high standards of customer care, of their facilities and their role in community engagement.

Staunton country Park was also awarded VisitBritain's coveted VAQAS*Blue Badge quality mark at its first attempt. Joining a select group of just 20 Hampshire top tourist attractions, it is the first county owned attraction to achieve this award.

The Museums service retained Level 2 for all its museums through the MLA standards accreditation scheme.

In September 2007 Calshot Outdoor Centre, as part of a pilot scheme of assessment of outdoor education equivalent to Ofsted, was rated `outstanding'. The assessment focused on the quality of teaching and learning.

Hampshire Record Office achieved a top 3-star rating in The National Archives self-assessment of local authority archive services - at 83.5% it was the second best score in the country. They also Achieved 98% overall satisfaction in the 2007 national survey of visitors to British archives, including 99% rating for helpfulness and friendliness of staff.

River Hamble Harbour Authority was awarded `Leading Light' status by the dept of Transport for its achievement in complying with the Municipal Ports Review

Gosport Discovery Centre was rated `highly commended' in the Gosport business Awards 2007.

During 07/08 Sport Hampshire & IOW achieved the Sport England Equality Standard - A Framework Sport, Foundation Level and is actively working towards the intermediate level.

Hampshire Learning gained re-approval for the NCFE Investing in Quality (IIQ) Licence for the period October 2007 - September 2008. The IIQ Licence provides formal recognition to locally-devised adult and family learning programmes.

Not only have we received many awards and accolades, but we've been giving them too!

Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight there are a number of highly talented and dedicated sports participants, volunteers, coaches and officials. Sport Hampshire & IOW in partnership with Hampshire County Council hosts an annual sports awards evening to officially recognise these individuals. The level of people nominated for the Sports Awards 2008 was extremely high and the event was a great success with approximately 250 people attending.

From October 2007, Hampshire County Council has been promoting the national Investors in Families (IiF) scheme, a new accreditation scheme for organisations working with children and families. IiF recognises and promotes the importance of family friendly approaches in the delivery of the organisation's services. Currently, The Romsey School and Testwood Sports College have been awarded Investors in Families.

*Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service Scheme

P13&14

Exhibitions, events and festivals

Events and exhibitions are a great way to engage with the public, provide them with excellent leisure and learning opportunities and keep them coming back to our sites. This year has seen some superb examples.

The Museums service staged the first major exhibition in the Gallery at Winchester Discovery Centre, bringing together priceless exhibits from 18 different lending institutions. The subject, King Alfred - Warfare, Wealth and Wisdom suited it's location beautifully and made for a unique and stunning exhibition. It brought in 11,607 visitors and a further 2,963 to the accompanying events programme.

To coincide with the Alfred exhibition, Hampshire Record Office created its own exhibition Quills to Keyboards telling the story of changing record keeping over the centuries starting with King Alfred's contribution to cultural development. Also linked to the Alfred programme of events, there were workshops on reading old writing, children's workshops on making Anglo-Saxon books, and a `meet the conservators' session to show how manuscripts are conserved.

Our exhibition to commemorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade toured Hampshire throughout the year visiting eight community centres, ten libraries and Discovery Centres, a country park, the North Hants African and Caribbean Network. It was back at Hampshire Record Office for the launch of Black History Month in October.

There were events at six libraries to celebrate Black History month including a performance of Essequibo Music attended by 60 people at Gosport Discovery Centre.

Winchester Discovery Centre was also the location for an Orange Prize party in June. It was attended by nine different reading groups who came together to discuss and champion the six short-listed titles.

A major exhibition organised by the Arts service was the Bill Woodrow Exhibition, held at the Great Hall in Winchester as part of the Year of Sculpture. The Great Hall saw visitor numbers of in excess of 19,000 during the exhibition.

Royal Victoria Country Park's Pumpkin Festival was a huge success this year with national media coverage and attendance from the team from the BBC's `Blue Peter'. The event attracted a record number of visitors with well over 4,000 attendees. The event was organised by the Jubilee Sailing Trust.

This year saw the fourth year of Staunton Live, a fantastic free community event which in its short life so far has attracted in the region of 8000 visits Four thousand people attended this year's four events which showcased music acts ranging from local youth bands to a Beatles tribute band.

October 07 - December 08 saw a celebration of Black History, culture and the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, with music performances, music making workshops and storytelling for all ages taking place across Hampshire arts centres, libraries and countryside sites. An exhibition was created by the Hampshire Records Office, to mark the bicentenary showed a range of historical records illustrating Hampshire's past links with the Abolition campaign and toured alongside the events.

P15&16

Investing in the future

The Recreation and Heritage Department strives hard to get the balance right between meeting our communities' needs in the here and now and anticipating and providing for future needs. During 07/08 we have continued to invest in the future of our services whether that be through staff, countryside conservation or capital investment.

Providing excellent resources for our local population means that we also provide excellent resources for visitors to our county, and their patronage is of course good for our local economy. This year saw the launch of Hampshire County Council's Strategic Priorities for the Visitor Economy 2007 - 12, on which we worked closely with other local authorities and the private sector. It's objective is to clarify what should be the actions at county level to support and manage the visitor economy over the next 5 years.

Investing in the future of library provision is always a priority for Recreation and Heritage and this year saw the launch of a visionary new Centre in the heart of Winchester's emerging cultural quarter, Winchester Discovery Centre. Developed in conjunction with Winchester City Council, this iconic building houses lending and reference libraries, galleries, learning spaces, a 180-seat performance hall and a café. Winchester Discovery Centre has proved hugely popular with visits since opening numbering 254,531 which represents a 63% increase over the same period in 05/06 for the combined lending and reference libraries.

Total issues are up 10% on three years ago and new library customers were up by over 5,000 in the first six months.

In addition, we have been awarded £1.2 million by the Big Lottery Fund which will be used to improve facilities in the libraries at Havant, Waterlooville, Leigh Park, Hayling Island and Aldershot, in line with the expressed wishes of local communities.

Following 18 months of determined fundraising, the Countryside Service has successfully completed a £140k Biomass (wood-chip fired) Boiler and associated boiler house project at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. The boiler will act as an impressive 'shop window' for biomass boilers, demonstrating sustainable energy generation, Hampshire County Council's desire to reduce it's carbon footprint and a new market for wood at a time of depressed timber prices and heavily under-managed Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty woodlands.

At Staunton Country Park the first phases of restoration of the Vinery Glasshouse have been undertaken, to preserve the Walled Garden glasshouses for future generations.

Community Services has provided a six-week training programme for managers of community centres covering areas such as trustees, marketing and general running.

Through it's Records Management Service, Hampshire Archives have provided essential advice to the County Council's Information Management Board and have worked extensively with IT Services to develop and implement electronic records management within the Council. This is essential to ensure that records which today are being created electronically, rather than on paper, continue to be accessible and retrievable well into the future for as long as they are needed and can then transfer to the archives if they have permanent historical value.

We're getting rid of plastic bags! It will take a while for us to move entirely to more sustainable solutions within the Department, but the journey has begun. Recreation and Heritage sites will be using paper or bio-degradable plastic bags in future and some libraries are continuing to recycle old plastic bags. The Museum Service is designing it's own biothene bag promoting it's sustainable solution.

In order to secure the future of some key sports within the county, such as athletics, swimming, netball and hockey Sport Hampshire & IOW sourced and negotiated a range of funding to ensure that key Development Officer posts could be maintained through to 2009. New three-year positions in adult physical activity and water sports have been funded through National Governing Bodies and the Sport England Community Investment Fund. In addition Sport Hampshire & IOW has received a three-year award of £225,000 from the Big Lottery Well Being Fund towards adult physical activity projects implemented through Sport and Physical Alliances.

In 07/08 a total of 155 athletes from 28 different sports were enrolled onto the Hampshire Talented Athletes Scheme. This scheme was set up by Hampshire County Council and Sport Hampshire & IOW in recognition of the fact that elite athletes, our potential Olympians, incur many expenses in pursuit of excellence in their sport. The scheme allows athletes to select support packages best suited to their circumstances including grants of up to £550, free peak access to training facilities and discounted fast track physiotherapy. Those who enrolled this year were supported with financial contributions totalling £43,000.

Grazing by Highland cows has been seen for the first time in decades on the chalk downlands at Shawford Down, West Down Chilbolton and Avington Park, as part of the Countryside Service's programme for maintaining species-rich grassland habitats through sustainable management. Extensive consultation took place with local communities prior to erecting Defra funded fencing to contain the herd. Thanks to new Higher Level Stewardship awards, funding is in place for the next ten years.

Restoration work to Odiham Castle or King John's castle began in September 2007, a project partnered by Hampshire County Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund under the guidance of English Heritage.

Although the battle between the elements and this historic ruin is ongoing, the Council is determined to preserve this historic site for future generations.

P17

Financial summary

P18

Performance report

* BV 170a includes a count of visits to the Museum website pages

* 2007/8 visits to principal countryside sites re-based

P19

Recreation and heritage hits the headlines

P20

Cultural and Communities Select Committee