Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Harris welcomed those present to the meeting.

Members of the Bury West Township Forum are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the agenda and, if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

The Minutes of the Last Meeting of the Bury West Township Forum held on 17 January 2017 are attached.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Township Forum held on 17 January 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillor Walker referred to the clean up that had been held at the Daisyfield area of the route 6 cycle path and organised by Sustrans. Councillor Walker stated that he had been very impressed with the way that the event had been organised. Councillor Walker reported that Greenmount Village Community Group had attended to assist with the clean up and asked whether there would be to possibility of Bury West Township Forum making a donation to the group from the Township Forum funding that was still available.

It was stated that this would be unlikely as the Greenmount Village Community Group was located within a different Township.

A member of the public referred to the clean up event and explained that there had been an awful lot of dog mess at the site. Would it be possible to have a dog waste bin installed in the area.

Councillor Walker also stated that Wellington Square would benefit from a dog bin.

A presentation will be given at the Meeting.

Elizabeth Binns, Head of Libraries and Councillor Sandra Walmsley, Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Support Services attended the meeting to report on the consultation that was being undertaken in relation to the future of the library service across Bury.

Elizabeth explained the financial position of the Council and the decisions required to ensure that a comprehensive Library Service continued to be provided within Bury. In making the decisions the Council was aware of the value the people of Bury have for Libraries through the services they provide.  The consultation process started last Summer and was considering the following six principles:

·                    Library services across the borough

·                    Protecting the vulnerable

·                    Cost effective

·                    Technology

·                    Volunteers

·                    Communities

The following key issues are what have come to the forefront of what is important to people in what the libraries can provide; books and reading, community, staff, volunteers, children, access, technology and learning and from the first two consultations it was important to provide for the people of Bury the core offer of reading and literacy, digital inclusion, information and learning and community support and development in order to provide a service to meet the needs and aspirations of residents of the Borough.

However, there have been financial losses to the Council and the Government expect all Councils to be self sufficient by 2020.  The Libraries budget is currently 2.4 million but deducted from that must be resources including  HR, IT and Payroll Services, therefore, effectively making the budget 2 million and this will be cut by a half by 2020, meaning that the Council will not be able to continue to provide the buildings, staff and resources it does currently.

There are two options being considered, which are; to retain Bury, Ramsbottom and Prestwich Libraries plus a service wide team, or, option two which is; to retain Bury, Ramsbottom, Prestwich and Radcliffe Libraries plus a smaller service wide team.

Elizabeth explained that it was important for all residents to have their say and take part in the survey.  The consultation ends on 27 April and the final report will be put to cabinet on 18 May with a view to implementing the agreed decision by August 2017.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

·         A member of the public asked what would happen to the stock of books from each of the libraries?

Elizabeth explained that all stock would be sorted and the best resources would be kept for the library service. If surplus to requirements the remaining stock would be offered to other Council services, schools and community groups.

There would be a possibility of volunteers/community groups being given a book collection to enable them to run a small library offer. These collections could then be rotated with other groups.

·         A member of the public asked what would happen to the buildings.

Elizabeth explained that some of the buildings were rented, some of the libraries were located in other buildings such as  ...  view the full minutes text for item BWTF.645

Those present are invited to ask questions or raise issues of concern relating to the provision of local services.

There were no questions asked under this item.

The Minutes of the last meeting of the Highways Sub Group held on 13 March are attached.

Councillor Harris reported that the Highways Sub Group had met on 13 March 2017.

At the meeting Ken Asquith had reported that as far as engineers were aware all 20mph schemes had now been put on hold. Councillor Southworth stated that she had been informed that the schemes on Lomond Drive, Horridge Street, Hunstanton Drive, Brandlesholme West (Birks Drive) and Goodlad Street schemes would be going ahead. This had been confirmed outside of the meeting.

Councillor Southworth reported that she had attended a site visit at the Brandlesholme Road shopping precinct with officers and shopkeepers to discuss the parking issues. It had been stated that some of the staff at Tesco were parking in the restricted bays for all of their shifts.  Councillor Southworth explained that she had agreed to speak with the Manager at the Tesco with a view to coming up with a solution. 

Mr Jones reported that the AGM of Brandlesholme Residents’ Association would be taking place on Wednesday 24 May at 7.30pm at St Francis House.

The Township Forum Funding Report is attached for information.

The Township Forum Funding Report was submitted for information.