Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting of the Cranbrook Placemaking Group held on 20 January 2025 were agreed as a true record.

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

Information on public speaking is available online

Aynsley Jones, Community Hub Manager from EX5-Alive referred to the Wellbeing Cranbrook item – Minute 56.  She advised this needed the Group’s urgent attention in considering the continued delivery of the Live and Move programme which was part of the Exeter and Cranbrook Sport England pilot which had been granted an extension until 2028. 

The Community Hub Manager raised concerns about the lack of information that had been provided about what would happen to the existing Cranbrook community groups and services from 1 April 2025 when the existing posts cease to exist.

The Chair, in response, acknowledged these concerns and confirmed that discussions would take place today but due to its confidentiality a response would be provided after the meeting.

There were no matters of urgency.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the Press) have been excluded.

There are three items which officers recommend should be dealt with in this way.

There were three matters dealt with in this way recorded at Minute 56 – 58.

The Group received the response from Stagecoach to the request made by the Group for Devon County Council to explore with Stagecoach to extend the bus service to the railway station.

The Group expressed disappointment that at present Stagecoach were not prepared to consider the diversion for the reasons given in the report until a through route was available.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the response be noted.

2.     That the Cranbrook New Community Manager confirm the housing occupation trigger when the through route would be available.

Verbal report.

The Group received a verbal update on the PAS report which had been commissioned in 2023 to assist the delivery of any future new communities. 

During consideration the Group noted the following headlines had been achieved:

·       Establish a permanent chair to the Cranbrook Placemaking Group

·       The implementation of a Terms of Reference

·       To Group to focus only on strategic issues

·       Prioritise the progression of the Local Plan

·       Establish a wider project management consisting of a two-tier officer group for more engagement with senior officers

·       Establish a wider engagement with stakeholders through workshops

The following were still in progress:

·       Terms of Reference for the higher level officer group

·       Review the processes to establish a more efficient way of decision making

·        Town & Parish Councils Forum – improve communication

It was noted that a more detailed written report would be brought to the next meeting in June.

The Group expressed frustration about the limited powers of the monthly Cranbrook meetings which dealt with operational and snagging issues which had been ongoing for many years as the Consortium were reluctant to spend money sorting these issues out.

The Chair also highlighted that he had not seen a response from the Associate Director of Brookbanks on the actions given at the previous meeting in January.   In response the Cranbrook New Community Manager advised that the Managing Directors of the Consortium have been invited to attend the next meeting but in the meantime she would chase a response.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the update was noted.

2.     The Cranbrook New Community Manager to invite Hallam to the next meeting.

3.     A detailed report to be brought to the next meeting in June.

Verbal report.

The Group received a verbal update on the Community Governance Review and noted that on 26 February 2025 Full Council resolved to proceed with the review to establish whether to include the expansion areas which would start in March 2025.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the update was noted.

2.     That the Director of Place confirm the start date of the consultation.

Verbal report.

The Group received a verbal update on the leisure centre and during consideration noted the following:

·       To be located on site TC4, adjacent to the proposed location to the health and wellbeing facility.

·       A Senior Leisure Officer is now in post who has established a Cranbrook Leisure Centre Working Group made up of:

Ø  Senior Leisure Officer

Ø  Tim Child

Ø  Naomi Harnett

Ø  Andy Wood

Ø  Thea Billeter

·       Terms of Reference and Governance Project are in progress and will be shared with the Group at a later date.

·       A paper to go to the Leisure Forum on 8 April.

·       Soft market testing completed which included questions specifically related to Cranbrook and what the community wanted to see for a leisure facility.  The responses received showed a high interest from building and managing operators.

·       Further revenue funding would be required once the OPE monies have been exhausted.  The Cranbrook New Community Manager advised that she was establishing contact with Sport England for additional support.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the update be noted.

2.     That the Cranbrook New Community Manager to contact the Senior Leisure Officer to consider including Ward Members in the Leisure Centre Working Group.

The Group received the Implementation Plan which set out the progress on a number of key issues.  A request was received from the Town Clerk to include the remaining town centre parcels that EDDC had purchased.  In response the Cranbrook New Community Manager advised this would be challenging.  An update was provided on the following parcels of land which were being explored to help bring these forward:

·       TC2 – ongoing issues relating to the ground conditions.

·       TC4b – DCC are still waiting for this land to be offered for transfer.

·        TC4c – In accordance with the Town Centre MOU, this parcel is not yet due for offer to transfer to the Council.

A discussion took place on the condition of land at TC2 which although it was established not to be toxic it was the cost of the clean-up and the additional cost of the foundations for a stable base which was the reasons for the delay to any building on the site.

RESOLVED:

That the Implementation Plan was noted.

The Cranbrook New Community Manager sought guidance from the Group about whether to change the Forward Plan to a six-monthly period to allow for a more realistic timetable.   In response the Group highlighted that in doing so could cause a delay to the Forward Plan or perhaps remove its focus.  The Chair suggested that a sensible approach would be to align the Forward Plan to what was coming up for each meeting.

The Group considered the Forward Plan covering the period up to September 2025.  The Town Clerk queried why the management of SANGs had been on the Forward Plan since 2023 and sought clarification for a realistic timescale as the town council had been approached by a number of developers about the long-term maintenance of SANGs.  The Director of Place advised there had been a lot of discussions on this which included:

·       the different management options for SANGs, including the endowment model and whether the council managed it in-house

·       to consider a future district wide model of stewardship

·       Community Governance Review – how SANGs were managed in the expansion areas

The Director of Place advised he would speak to the Cranbrook New Community Manager to confirm whether it could move forward to Quarter 2 – April to June 2025.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the Forward Plan was noted.

2.     That the Forward Plan be aligned to each meeting.

3.     To consider moving ‘Management of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace – preferred approach’ to Quarter 2 – April to June 2025.

The Chair to move the following:

“that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public (including the Press) be excluded from the meeting as exempt information, of the description set out on the agenda, is likely to be disclosed and on balance the public interest is in discussing this item in private session (Part B).”

The Group agreed that under Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public (including the press) be excluded from the meeting as exempt information, of the description set out on the agenda, is likely to be disclosed and on balance the public interest is in discussing this item in private session (Part B).

The Group received a report on the Cranbrook Health Provision that NHS Devon were progressing to provide a new health and wellbeing hub in Cranbrook to support the town as it grows.  It was noted that the project was time critical and intended to be completed by the end of June 2025 to coincide with the Government’s comprehensive spending review.

The report sought endorsement to the Steering Group governance structure for the Short Form Business case and asked the Group to note for the potential for an extraordinary meeting between 16 June and 7 July should the project experience an element of delay.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the Steering Group governance structure as amended be endorsed for the Integrated Neighbourhood Health and Wellbeing Short Form Business Case.

2.     That the project timescale of the Short Form Business Case be noted with the potential for an extraordinary meeting of the Group between 16 June and 7 July should the project experience an element of delay. 

Verbal report.

The Cranbrook New Community Manager reminded the Group about the concerns raised by Aynsley Jones and sought guidance about the future of the Place Partnership Programme, including Wellbeing Cranbrook.  In the event that the continuation of the Programme was supported members views were sought on preferred management arrangements for the future of East Devon’s Place Partnership. 

The Group were given three potential options:

1.     EDDC to re-instigate the programme and to host in-house

2.     EDDC to re-instigate the programme and EX5 Alive to host

3.     EDDC to re-instiage the programme and LED to host

During discussions it was highlighted that it would be difficult to make decisions as there was a lack of information about the programme and evidence should be gathered to find out about the number of groups held, their attendance, how often they meet etc.

RESOLVED:

To request a further urgent report, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, setting out:

Ø  The options for future governance of the Cranbrook Place Partnership programme.

Ø  The options for the format of the Wellbeing Cranbrook programme.

The Group received an updated report on an alternative approach to secure the funding for the Cranbox project to deliver new commercial floorspace within Cranbrook Town Centre.

RESOLVED:

That the Group note the update on the progress to secure the funding.