Present:
| Members | Present | Apologies | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair: Cllr S Andrews | Present | ||
| Deputy Chair: Cllr A Skipper | Apologies | Personal Circumstances | |
| Cllr C Barnes | Present | ||
| Cllr J Domigan | Present | ||
| Cllr L Ball | Present | ||
| Cllr J Griffiths | Present | ||
| Cllr T Searles | Present | ||
| Cllr J Tuckfield | Apologies | Personal Circumstances |
Also Present:
Cllr G Darrington
Cllr P Darrington
Cllr L Dyball
Cllr M Foster
Cllr M Horwood
Cllr C Lee
Cllr V Letchford
Officers:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Ryan Hayman
Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) – Steve Innes
Park & Open Spaces Manager – George Brooker
Venue Manager – Kerina Keir
LINK Centre Manager – Claire Cormack
11527 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr A Skipper
Cllr J Tuckfield
11528 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
11529 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
to approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 19th January 2022
APPROVED AND SIGNED
11530 PARKS AND OPEN SPACES MANAGER REPORT
Parks and Open Spaces Manager said section 3.5 ‘Park Opening’ the updated total for April’s Pedalo income was £11,939.99 and the total number of trips was 1,410.
It was mentioned that a resident had commented that he was happy to see that the park benches had renovated.
He also mentioned that the park benches in the Recreation Ground needed some attention too.
It was confirmed that the Parks team would be visiting sites this week to ensure that all the benches are prepared for Green Flag next week and at the weekend will be painted.
3.7 Incidents – it was asked what incidents took place between February, March and April.
It was reported that the majority of incidents were fishing.
There is a quad bike that Kent Police are aware of and are awaiting evidence to be able to confiscate the vehicle.
Catapult incidents have dropped and there was one arson attack in the Play Area.
One of the catapult offenders was in the park fishing, the Police have visited them again and are hoping to ban them from the Park.
It was noted that there is a patch of grass in Bonney Way which is owned by Belgray Houses.
They looked after it when the houses were built in Squirrels Court but when contractors changed they ceased to take care of it.
A lot of communication took place and it was agreed for them to look after it again but contractors have changed again and it is now left uncared for.
It was asked for someone to take over the correspondence.
CEO requested the chain of communication be forwarded to him.
Chair of Estates and Facilities congratulated George on his report and all his efforts.
The Park was not a profit making area but is a service we give to our residents, but to be able to reclaim back some of that money back with the amount of profits we are making is fabulous.
11531 VENUES MANAGER REPORT
Venues Manager reported that a correction to the Platinum Jubilee afternoon tea should read the 2nd June not the 6th June. She confirmed that it is fully booked and there is a waiting list.
It was asked why the snooker tables are so busy again when they had previously been quiet.
She said that she did not think the figures were highlighted to show how successful it already was, it has been promoted and it is getting better but it has always been successful.
More investment has been made into improving the tables.
It was asked about the darts league. She confirmed that there is one darts league currently and the second one is coming.
The Olympic is fast becoming a sports venue with the Rugby and Boxing too.
It was mentioned that it was a shame that the Noypichef was reducing his days.
She said that Tuesdays and Wednesdays were very quiet and he will not lose those customers and anything he does designing his menus he will bring that back to The Olympic which is a good thing.
It was asked if The Olympic was open on a Tuesday or Wednesday are there any plans as to how we can cater for food requirements for customers.
She confirmed that there is not a lot of call for food on a Tuesday or Wednesday as it is taken over by the darts and the new darts will be on Wednesday.
A small buffet may be provided for the second darts team but is yet to be discussed.
It was suggested that the food policy be reviewed insofar as people bringing in food to the venues. She confirmed that The Olympic does not serve food currently because of the Environmental Health Organisational side of it as we are not registered to serve food – only the Noypichef is registered.
It is hoped that The Olympic will serve food again but currently there is no second kitchen. It was suggested that we are missing out as people will go on to eat after playing snooker, darts, rugby, etc if the facilities were there.
She confirmed that it is a possibility to open again for food but it will need to be decided as to what will need to be done to make it possible.
It was confirmed that any food that was provided is either made at the Alexandra or by the Noypichef.
It was confirmed that no profit was being made from the catering of the darts as it is part of the condition that they play there, sandwiches or a light buffet are supplied.
It was asked what the rugby team do regarding food.
She confirmed that they come into Pavilion to use the bar on a Sunday and the Alexandra make sandwiches ready for them and their sponsors will provide them food.
It was mentioned that the new décor was a real improvement and well done for the 5 star hygiene rating at the Alexandra Suite. Kerina and her team were thanked for everything they do.
11532 GATEWAY MANAGER REPORT
It was asked what services NatWest would provide. Claire confirmed that customers would have an iPad/computer screens in front of them and they were able to help them navigate.
She said that most basic day to day transactions at a bank can be done via the Post Office and so it will be educating people to be able to do that.
She said that she is currently waiting to hear back whether or not we will have a banking hub in the area.
It was mentioned that there had been some complaints about the lengths of queues at the Post Office.
It was asked if this was because the banks had closed or was it a long-term theme and was there any scope to see if they could open another counter or amend the building in a way that could cater for the increased queues.
She responded that the Post Office have assured her that when NatWest closes they are ready to go with extra staff when they are needed.
The issue is at the moment with lots of Bank Holidays it causes some backlog on a Tuesday so extra staff would not necessarily be needed on days other than Tuesdays, however, she has been assured that they will be able to have staff on call ready to come in if there proves to be an issue – this has also be reported back to Laura Trott MP.
It was asked when the repair to the Swanley Link building would be going ahead. She reported that it was currently out to tender and KCC were having some issues getting quotes in.
They have asked her what she wanted and she confirmed that she would like to put it back as near as it was.
They are trying to source a window as close as possible to the one that was damaged without a huge waiting time.
She reported that KCC had reacted very quickly in the beginning she has given them some time to get the repair done as it is not affecting the organisations in there presently.
A question was raised regarding the sale of the refuse bags and if people were aware they could get them there.
Claire confirmed that it has been advertised that they can buy refuse bags at Swanley Link.
She believed that the same amount are being sold. It was asked if there was any scope to extend the service via KCC to offer the bags on a Saturday as part of the Library service.
She confirmed that there are already being offered,
it was not being advertised but if requested they would be served. CEO confirmed that there are complexities surrounding why we cannot advertise the Saturday.
It was asked if Swanley Link still gets asked for SDC services and if so what are the residents asking for.
She said that a resident came in to have their benefits form checked which has not been completed by Swanley Link since SDC withdrew their funding.
On the back of the benefits form it actually said that they could go to Swanley Link and she has been waiting to be able to prove this to SDC.
It was asked how this would be resolved. She reported that they can send their form direct to SDC.
She reported that there used to be a benefits advisor who attended on a Wednesday but this ceased. She confirmed that every day she receives queries like this.
This highlights that we have residents in Swanley that are not being serviced by SDC as the facilities have been removed.
Claire was thanked for her report and for attending the meeting and suggested maybe that the Swanley Link have a feature in the next Town Crier as to what services are available there along with a location map.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING – Wednesday 20th July 2022
MEETING CLOSED AT 20:40
SIGNED: 20/07/2022
Cllr S Andrews
Chair of Estates and Facilities
