Agenda item

The report provides service update information to the Lower Gardens Trust Board to demonstrate the Council commitment to maintain the public gardens known as "The Lower Central Gardens" in Bournemouth for the recreation and enjoyment of the public in accordance with the terms of the Charity Scheme made by the Charity Commission on the 13 May 2011.

Items include:

-        Proposed Scheme of Officer Delegations

-        Christmas event proposals for 2024 and 2025 – 2032

-        Knife Crime Month of Action paper - Request for usage of Lower Central Gardens

The Director of Environment and the Director of Commercial Operations presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report provided a service update to the Lower Gardens Trust Board to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to maintain the public gardens known as "The Lower Central Gardens" in Bournemouth for the recreation and enjoyment of the public in accordance with the terms of the Charity Scheme made by the Charity Commission on the 13 May 2011.

Items included:

-       Christmas event proposals for 2024 and 2025 – 2032

-       Knife Crime Month of Action paper - Request for usage of Lower Central Gardens

-       Proposed Scheme of Officer Delegations

Christmas event proposals for 2024 and 2025 – 2032

The Lower Central Gardens Trust Board was asked to review and comment on the proposals for the Christmas Tree Wonderland event for 2024 which included the procurement of an ice rink for a one-year period.

The Lower Central Gardens Trust Board was asked to review and comment on the proposals to tender the opportunity for the Christmas Tree Wonderland Events for 2025 – 2032, following the end of the current and proposed contracts related to the 2024 event.

The Board considered the proposals and made the following comments:

·       In response to a query raised regarding the length of the contract the Board was advised that the specification had not been finalised for the longer-term contract. A duration of seven years was proposed which would allow an operator to look at what they could provide and what level of investment they would have been willing to make as a part of the contract.

·       In response to a query raised regarding the condition of the site where the Ice Rink was to be placed, the Board was advised that due to the extended period of wet weather, the area had not had a chance to recover.

·       The Board raised concerns regarding the future condition of the site where the Ice Rink was to be placed and discussed whether the Ice rink should continue due to the damage it had caused to the gardens. Additionally, concerns were raised regarding the Ice Rink, Christmas Market and Christmas Tree Wonderland being grouped in one contract.

·       The Board was advised that the operator could find the contract less attractive if the ice rink, Christmas market, and Christmas lights offer were not offered together.

·       In response to a query raised regarding work that was done to maintain the site after use at Christmas, the Board was advised that the ground was reseeded and worked on but had been unable to recover due to weather.

·       The Board considered the positive feedback the Christmas events in the gardens had received from residents and visitors of BCP.

·       The Board was informed that the Christmas market and lighting had a contract for 2024, whereas the ice rink needed a new contract for 2024.

·       In response to a query raised regarding the recommendation, the Board was advised that the one-year ice rink tender for 2024 and the wider Christmas Tree Wonderland offer were two separate offers and would be two separate contracts for the Board to consider.

·       In response to a query regarding the ice rink and the drainage of the surrounding grass area, the Board was informed that drainage measures could be discussed with the operator while finalising the offer. Options for drainage could be explored to ensure the grass would be more protected.

·       The Board was advised that the intention was that the Christmas wonderland would be supplied by an external operator from 2025 onward without the Council having to deliver anything directly.

·       In response to a query raised regarding the location of the Christmas Wonderland, the Board was advised that the location was selected to encourage visitors into the town centre, towards businesses and through to the seafront in support of the wider economics of the town centre.

·       In response to a query about the contract length, the Board was advised that changing it could affect vendor interest, although it was uncertain without market testing.

RESOLVED that the Trustees support the one-year ice rink tender for 2024 with the condition that work is done to look at the options for a hardier form of grass.

Voting: For – 3 Against – 3

The Chair gave a casting vote for the recommendation.  

RESOLVED that the Trustees support the proposed Christmas offer for 2025 - 2030 which aligns the three contracts of ice rink, Christmas market and lighting concepts.

Voting: For – 3 Against – 3

The Chair gave a casting vote for the recommendation.  

Knife Crime Month of Action paper - Request for usage of Lower Central Gardens

In 2023 the Government introduced The Serious Violence Duty ensuring that councils and local services work together to share information and target interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence.

The Duty aimed to ensure that agencies were focused on their activity to reduce serious violence whilst also providing sufficient flexibility so that the relevant organisations could engage and work together in the most effective local partnership for any given area.

On 31 January 2024, in line with the legislation, the Safer BCP Community Safety Partnership published its Serious Violence Strategy. BCP Council had worked closely with partners and completed a Serious Violence needs assessment which had highlighted the most prevalent serious violence offences occurring in the conurbation. These were:

·       Sexual offences

·       Knife-related offences

·       Robbery

·       Domestic Abuse

Following the Serious Violence Strategy, and multi-agency working, an action plan was formulated to address the issues highlighted. The BCP Community Safety Partnership (a statutory crime and disorder reduction partnership) had formulated an action plan to tackle the priority offences. One of the projects will be the Knife Crime Awareness Month, which would comprise 5 weeks of action, prevention, education and engagement between 15 April to 18 May 2024, with the objective to reduce the number of people carrying knives in BCP, and in particular in Bournemouth, and thereby reduce the number of knife-related offences.

The Board praised the idea and fully supported the proposal.

RESOLVED that Trustees’ grants permission for the Lower Central Gardens to be used for a variety of activities during the Knife Crime Month of Action

Voting: Unanimous

Proposed Scheme of Officer Delegations

The Lower Central Gardens Trust Board considered a revised draft scheme for officer delegations following feedback at the September 2023 meeting in relation to the operational activities as laid out in Appendix 1. The revised scheme set out delegations under the direction of the Council’s Chief Operations Officer and the relevant directorates within the Council to support the timely operational delivery of functions and services that reflected the way of working since the Charity was established.

The Vice-Chair raised concerns regarding the time the Board had been given to consider the delegations. Following some Board discussion, it was proposed that the Board take some time to consider the delegations and to make any suggestions.

RESOLVED that consideration of the Officer Delegations be deferred until the Board meeting on 20 May 2024 for the Board to have more time to consider the report.