Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Gurjit Bains, Cllr Emma Morley, Cllr Tony Rana (Cllrs Hoskins, Caller and Gow substituted respectively), and Cllr Ejaz Aslam.

The minutes of the meeting of the Community and Leisure Cabinet Committee held on Tuesday 31 January 2023, were agreed and signed by the Chair.

Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox declared an interest as he is a Council appointee on Gravesham Community Leisure Limited (GCLL) and The Gr@nd CIC.

The Managing Director (Gravesham Community Leisure Ltd.) took Members of the Community and Leisure Cabinet Committee through a presentation outlining the changes that have happened at Gravesham Community Leisure Ltd (GCLL) over the last six months, and highlighted their ambitions for 2023.

For the presentation, please see the link below:

(Public Pack)Supplementary - GCLL Presentation Agenda Supplement for Community & Leisure Cabinet Committee, 13/03/2023 19:30 (gravesham.gov.uk)

The Managing Director (Gravesham Community Leisure Ltd.) introduced himself to Members and advised that he joined GCLL last summer, replacing Robert Swain. The Committee were presented with GCLL’s shared vision, and the following aims were raised:

·         The latter part of last year was spent evaluating the important aims for 2023. These aims covered not just what was important for GCLL, but for the wider community.

·         Continuing the working relationship with Gravesham Borough Council (GBC).

·         Post-pandemic, a sense of community had played an important role, and as such it was crucial that this is reflected in the shared vision.

·         Since the start of the pandemic, leisure centres have been closing. The Managing Director (Gravesham Community Leisure Ltd.) assured members that they were trying to avoid this by keeping the two sites commercially sustainable.

·         The two sites were community owned, with over 70% of the staff living in Gravesham. It was within their shared vision that this continues to happen.

·         GCLL were members of a professional network of governing bodies where they seek advice.

·         Members were informed about the make up of staff at GCLL. They employed a total of 158 staff; 112 females and 46 males.

·         The current attrition rate was 0.6%.

The Managing Director (Gravesham Community Leisure Ltd.) outlined statistics with the Committee and highlighted the following:

• When the pandemic hit, there was a drop in attendees of more than 50%. Trying to get members back after lockdown was difficult. During the pandemic, GCLL offered members online activities, but the attendance details of these were not included within the statistics.
• Attendees had definitely picked up, with numbers now showing over a quarter of a million over the two sites.
• Swimming had been greatly affected by the pandemic, but they were getting back to pre-pandemic levels of over 2,000.
• Health and Fitness was going in the right direction getting back up to 3,000+. They hope to be over 4,000 within the next year.

The Head of Operations presented Members with an overview of the changes that had occurred within the last year and explained that:

• There was a national shortage on the recruitment of staff with skilled leisure qualifications such as lifeguards and fitness instructors. GCLL had engaged with governing bodies to work on a training metric so that training could be performed in house. This included first aid courses and swimming teacher courses.
• They were providing fully funded training for staff, as well as apprenticeship schemes. There were three members of staff due to finish their apprenticeship within the next few months.
• They were working on their work experience scheme, which had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

The Tourism and Town Twinning Manager presented the Members of the Community and Leisure Cabinet Committee with a report detailing the progress on the delivery of the Tourism and Heritage Strategies objectives, achievements, and challenges of the past year. The report also outlined the project aims for the year to come.

• Research had been done to find out what accommodation was available in the area via AirDNA, which looked at the area and how much this brings to the visitor economy. GBC had signed onto this service for another year.
• The Cambridge Visitor Impact Model report for 2021 shows that, although we are not back to pre-pandemic level, the visitor economy figures and visits for the area have improved and looking much healthier.
• Links had been made with Badgells Wood campsite in Meopham. As there were not many campsites in the area, it was felt that this would be a good addition to the visitors offer, especially in the summer months. Links had also been made with the Roost Group, a luxury serviced visitor accommodation, offering holiday properties in the town centre and near chalk.
• Increased guided tours, including tours for Viking Cruise ship passengers on visits to the London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury.
• The Borough hosted the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay last July, and this helped to put Gravesham on the map.
• High profile visits and events took place in the past 12 months. Visit Kent hosted a networking event at the Gurdwara; the CEO of Gloucester County visited Gravesend and was offered a tour of the Borough, strengthening our links around Pocahontas and America; and more recently, a group of 20 UK Tour Operators were offered a guided tour of Gravesend with the view to promote the area to their groups.
• The Tourism & Town Twinning Manager, working with local tourism businesses and attractions, has put together a full programme of events for English Tourism Week (17 to 26 March) to showcase what the Borough offers.
• An exhibition on items from Gravesham’s collection of artefacts was being hosted in the Blake Gallery (13 to 31 March).

Going forward, a historic cycle tour led in partnership with Born2Ride instructors, was going to be trailed on the last Sunday of each month from April to August.

Additionally, the Tourism and Town Twinning Manager was looking at options to develop a new and updated website, as the current one is no longer fit for purpose

The Chair gave thanks to Lyndsey Thompson (Senior Arts and Culture Officer) for her hard work in compiling a comprehensive list of artefacts that all contributed to the historic story of Gravesham. The artefacts were being held at various locations, but they were looking to see if they could all be stored in one area.

The Tourism and Town Twinning Manager fielded questions from Members and explained the following:

• Footpaths and gates were the responsibility of Kent County Council. The Tourism and Town Twinning Manager confirmed they were aware of the unkept gates and footpaths, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The Assistant Director (Communities) introduced Members to the report which outlined the new duty placed upon local authorities. The Statement informed Members on how Gravesham Borough Council will meet this obligation and to address and reduce serious crime, whilst putting forward the best case to access funding in support of this.

The Chair assured Members that there was a good system of safeguarding partnerships, and the policy will reflect that this should be a partnership of locally focused resources. The priorities the Government allocate funding to will vary, and as such there will be a focus on what Gravesham considers to be its issues and the funding will be argued in relation to those key areas.

The committee agreed, subject to any minor amendments necessary, that the portfolio holder adopt the policy via a statement of Individual Cabinet Member’s Decision.

The Assistant Director (Communities) presented Members of the Committee with an update against the Performance Management Framework, as introduced within the council’s Corporate Plan for Quarter Three 2022-23 (October to December 2022).

Members were taken page by page and updated on the performance indicators.

Members noted the report.

As this was the final Community and Leisure Cabinet Committee before the Local Elections in May 2023, the Chair expressed his thanks to the Committee for their hard work in helping to improve the Borough. </AI9>