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Minutes 2nd July 2003

Minutes of a Meeting of the Council held 2nd July, 2003

Meeting of the Council of the City of Sheffield held in the Council Chamber within the Town Hall, Sheffield, on Wednesday, 2nd July, 2003 pursuant to notice duly given and Summonses duly served.

PRESENT

THE LORD MAYOR (Councillor Diane Leek)

THE DEPUTY LORD MAYOR (Councillor Mike Pye)

1 Beauchief Ward	11 Firth Park Ward	20 Nether Shire Ward
Mike Davis	Alan Law	Jane Bird
Andrew Sangar	Joan Barton	Doreen Newton
	Ilyas Khan	Peter Rippon

2 Birley Ward	12 Hallam Ward	21 Netherthorpe Ward
Angela Smith	John Knight	Steve Ayris
Bryan Lodge	John Hesketh
	Duncan Kime

3 Brightside Ward	13 Handsworth Ward	22 Norton Ward
Peter Price	Mick Rooney	Garry Weatherall
Alf Meade	Ray Satur	Beverley Wright
John Webster	Marjorie Barker

4 Broomhill Ward	14 Heeley Ward	23 Owlerton Ward
Alan Whitehouse	Terry Fox	Mark Wilde
Paul Scriven		Chris Weldon
Janice Sidebottom		James Hanson

5 Burngreave Ward	15 Hillsborough Ward	24 Park Ward
Ibrar Hussain	Peter MacLoughlin	John Robson
Steve Jones	Robert MacDonald
Jackie Field	Janet Bragg

6 Castle Ward	16 Intake Ward	25 Sharrow Ward
Jan Wilson	Martin Lawton	Jean Cromar
Mike King	Bob McCann	Basheer Khan
Pat Midgley	John Campbell

7 Chapel Green Ward	17 Manor Ward	26 South Wortley Ward
Kath Chadwick	Harry Harpham	Vic Bowden
Graham Oxley	Jan Fiore	Arthur Dunworth
Pat Fox	Gill Furniss	David Baker

8 Darnall Ward	18 Mosborough Ward	27 Southey Green Ward
Mohammad Altaf	Chris Rosling-Josephs	Tim Rippon
Terry Barrow	Barbara Belcher	Tony Damms
Mary Lea	Sam Wall	Steve Wilson

9 Dore Ward	19 Nether Edge Ward	28 Stocksbridge Ward
Colin Ross	Andrew White	Maureen Brelsford
Keith Hill	Patricia White	Martin Brelsford
Anne Smith	Ali Qadar

10 Ecclesall Ward		29 Walkley Ward
Sylvia Dunkley		Jonathan Harston
Kate Dawson		Veronica Hardstaff

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
	Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sylvia Anginotti, Martin Davis, Julie Dore, Peter Moore, Mohammad Nazir and Elizabeth Taylor.

2.	MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
	RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Pat Midgley, seconded by Councillor John Webster, that the minutes of the meetings of the City Council held on 21st May and 4th June, 2003 be approved as a correct record.

3.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	3.1 Petitions
	The Council considered petitions (a) containing 654 signatures requesting the provision of a public walkway from Broadlands Avenue to Moorthorpe Bank, Owlthorpe to assist patients attending Owlthorpe Medical Centre and, after hearing representations made by Mrs. Helen Mirfin-Boukouris on behalf of the petitioners, referred the petition for consideration by Councillor Gill Furniss, the Cabinet Member for Development, Environment and Leisure, who responded by indicating that she would investigate the matter;
	(b) containing 164 signatures expressing concern about the amount of traffic through Greenhill Village, in particular the speed of vehicles endangering pedestrians, particularly the elderly and very young and at the volume of traffic polluting the atmosphere and the effect on the buildings in the conservation area, a number of which were listed, and, after hearing representations made by Mr. Peter Chatterton on behalf of the petitioners, referred the petition for consideration by the South Planning and Highways Area Board;
	(c) containing 18 signatures of residents of Roscoe Mount expressing concern at the state of the trees and calling on the Council to take action to prune and trim the trees before they cause an accident and referred the petition for consideration by Councillor Gill Furniss, the Cabinet Member for Development, Environment and Leisure and Councillor Chris Weldon, the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, as appropriate; and
	(d) containing 1,203 signatures, expressing the view that all people in Britain living with a respiratory disease should get the lung health service they deserve, including free access to portable oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation for those who need and requested that the petition be forwarded to the Department of Health.

	3.2 Public Questions re: Success and Members' Interests
	Mr. Martin Brighton suggested that most people wanted to be associated success and asked if he could commend to Council members and officers that they looked at a website entitled www.successunlimited.co.uk.
	He also asked if the Declaration of Members' Interests and Membership of Secret Societies could be extended to officers and whether the latter declaration should include other organisations that might have any influence on Council matters.

	Councillor Jan Wilson responded on the issue of success by commenting that staff at Aldine House had recently gained a National Care Standards Best Practice Award and she commended them on their achievement. On the issue of officers' interests, she stated that she would consult with the Director of Legal and Administrative Services (City Solicitor) and respond to Mr. Brighton.

	3.3 Public Questions concerning road safety at Stannington Infants School
	Dr. Trevor Bagshaw asked if the Council would reaffirm its commitment to the road safety danger reduction scheme at Stannington Infant School and to its implementation, as promised in the current financial year. He also asked if the appropriate Cabinet member would write to the school, the North Area Panel and himself confirming the position and indicate, on the assumption that the scheme was to go ahead, when work was expected to commence.
	Councillor Tim Rippon, Cabinet Member for Community Safety agreed to investigate the position and provide written responses as requested.

	3.4 Public Questions re: Illegal motorcycling at Thorncliffe and Mortomley Parks, High Green
	Dr. Trevor Bagshaw asked if the Council welcomed the recent action by South Yorkshire Police in beginning to address the wide public concern about illegal motorcycling in parks and open spaces and the Sheffield Star newspaper for its championship of the issue. He stated that for almost three years, the North Area Panel had been requesting action to protect users of Thorncliffe and Mortomley Park from the damage and dangers presented by the motorcyclists and asked when the improvement work supported by the Panel, which included barriers and other measures to protect and facilitate safer play for children and sports people, to be funded from planning obligation monies, were to be implemented.
	He also asked what action the Council was taking corporately and with others to secure for the public the safer use of their parks and open spaces and particularly in respect of Thorncliffe, Mortomley, Westwood Parks and Sheffield's sections of the Trans-Pennine Trail and asked if the appropriate Cabinet member could respond in writing to himself, the North Area Panel, Ecclesfield Parish Council and the recently formed High Green Community Forum.
	Councillor Gill Furniss, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Development, Environment and Leisure undertook to provide written responses to the issues raised.

4.	TOURISM STRATEGY FOR THE CITY
	Mr. Carl Welham, the Head of Marketing and Communications, Sheffield City Council gave a presentation on promoting Tourism in Sheffield which included four key elements involving Strategic Marketing, Inward Investment, Tourism and Conferences and Public Relations. He commented on the continuing need to counter the perception of people outside the City that Sheffield was industrial, grey and confusing to get round by demonstrating that Sheffield was a friendly, creative and changing City that was "on the up". The key messages to be conveyed were that Sheffield offered great business opportunities, through its transition from an industrial to a commercial city, that it was business-friendly and occupied a good location in the country. It had , many niche industries and was a creative city, with its arts, culture and youth scene and offered a good lifestyle as a green, safe and sporting city. The key audiences for this were potential students, youth market, entrepreneurs, investors, skilled and creative workers, business and leisure tourists, opinion formers in business, e-government and national media. He outlined the current marketing approach and focussed on the work being done now in revamping promotional materials, developing a tourism strategy, commissioning a new image bank and carrying out strategic public relations activity associated, for example, with the Winter Garden and Heart of the City.
	He stated that a Marketing Implementation Group was being created that would report into the Marketing Sheffield Group and through them to the Sheffield First Partnership Board. Membership involved representatives of the City Council, the two Universities, Sheffield One, Sheffield First for Investment, Sheffield International Venues, Theatres and Museums, Hotels, the Cultural Industries Quarter and Meadowhall and which involved a pooling of resources. He commented on the next steps which would be to co-ordinate What's On and Events Guides, improve the distribution of materials, co-ordinate events and activities, focus on national public relations opportunities and to launch a tourism strategy in September time. He elaborated on how the tourism strategy would be developed, highlighting Sheffield's unique selling points, with a vision that utilised the past sensitively and integrated with the modern, different, outstanding and bold. He added that the aim was for Sheffield to be, by 2008, amongst the top ten UK conference destinations, urban destinations for domestic leisure break and urban destinations for foreign visits and to be amongst the top three locations for major sporting and other events and festivals. He provided information on the impact of tourism promotion, the economic impact of tourism and gave details of how much Sheffield spent on tourism in comparison with other cities.
	A brief presentation was also given by Jean-Phillippe Lagarde, the General Manager of Novotel, Sheffield on the work carried out with other partners involved in Hospitality Sheffield to promote business and tourist interest in the City.
	At the end of the presentations, Carl Welham and Jean-Phillippe Lagarde answered questions asked by:-
	(a) Councillor Anne Smith who, in commenting on the need for good quality hotels and conference facilities and expressing support for the new hotel development, asked how much was the conference and tourism promotion budget;
	(b) Councillor Peter MacLoughlin who suggested that the tourism strategy did not reflect the diversity in the City and did not properly cater for gay and lesbian people;
	(c) Councillor Graham Oxley who enquired if tourist information material was to be provided at the revamped railway station and, with reference to Sheffield having the oldest football team in the world, asked if there were any proposals to promote the footballing side of Sheffield's heritage;
	(d) Councillor Veronica Hardstaff who, in referring to the work of the former City Promotions Sub-Committee in the 1970s to attract national conferences, etc., asked what would be done to make Sheffield more attractive as a visitor centre and to show off its excellent facilities;
	(e) Councillor Jean Cromar who asked questions about the social inclusion benefits of tourism and what financial contributions were made by businesses towards the production of the promotional material;
	(f) Councillor Paul Scriven who, in welcoming the general theme of the strategy, asked (i) what changes were needed internally in areas of planning and development if Sheffield was to become a 24 hour City, (ii) how did tourism in Sheffield link in with the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Office in Brussels and the Yorkshire Tourist Board, (iii) how could the tourism strategy keep Sheffield ahead of its rivals in future developments, (iv) whether more work needed to be done on the ambassadorial side, for example, utilising taxi drivers more effectively, and (v) how to ensure that visitors' experiences lived up to their expectations and quality standards were maintained;
	(g) Councillor Andrew Sangar, who, in welcoming the high aims of the strategy, (i) asked what could be done to counter the impression that Leeds and York fared better than Sheffield and West and North Yorkshire did better at a regional level, (ii) suggested that Sheffield was good as an urban destination on the cultural side but asked how the City could improve its retail aspect to move into the top ten retail centres and (iii) how it could realistically achieve its aspirations to be a top City of sport;
	(h) Councillor Sylvia Dunkley who suggested there was a need for more good quality restaurants in the city centre for people to entertain business clients and asked what work could be done to ensure that Sheffield was regularly featured on national weather maps and other nationwide media and publicity information;
	(i) Councillor Alf Meade who asked what work would be done to promote Sheffield as a regional centre for Better Government for Older People;
	(j) Councillor Mohammad Altaf asked how better support could be directed towards black and ethnic minority communities and businesses within the strategy;
	(k) Councillor Mike Pye who, in referring to the work of the Sheffield International Linking Committee, asked that the international links and city twinning links be maintained;
	(l) Councillor Peter Price who emphasised the need to overcome people's misconceptions and convince them that the tourism industry offered good careers and well paid jobs;
	(m) Councillor Jackie Field who, whilst acknowledging the attractions of the adjacent Peak District emphasised the walking opportunities available in the City and the local festivals that were held and asked how the Communications Unit could work with City Council Directorates and the local press to publicise these;
	(n) Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs who felt that there were good restaurants in the City Centre and Don Valley but suggested there was a shortage in other areas of the City; and
	(o) Councillor Maureen Brelsford who referred to the recent decision of the Oxford College of Music to choose Sheffield for an event because of the helpfulness of officers, which demonstrated how Councillors and officers can be good ambassadors for the City.
	The Lord Mayor (Councillor Diane Leek) thanked Carl Welham and Jean-Phillippe Lagarde for their presentations.

5.	REPRESENTATION
	RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor John Webster, seconded by Councillor Pat Midgley, that (a) approval be given to the following changes in the membership of Boards etc. and the appointment of representatives to serve on other bodies as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting, with the exception of paragraph (d) relating to the establishment of an Innovations Panel:-

Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board		-	Councillor Steve Ayris to replace Councillor Patricia Fox

North and West Planning and Highways Area Board		-	Councillor Maureen Brelsford to replace Councillor David Baker

School Organisation Committee		-	Councillor Bryan Lodge to replace Councillor Mark Wilde

School Admissions Forum		-	Councillor Vic Bowden to replace Councillor Kath Chadwick and Councillor Bob McCann to fill a vacancy

City Centre Regeneration Panel		-	Councillor Steve Wilson to fill a vacancy

Refugee and Asylum Seekers Advisory Group		-	Councillor Maureen Brelsford to fill a vacancy and Councillor Jackie Field to replace Councillor Ibrar Hussain

Disability Consultative Committee		-	Councillor Steve Ayris to fill a vacancy

Schools PFI Steering Groups (Contracts 1 & 2)		-	Councillor Peter Rippon to replace Councillor Beverley Wright

Anti-Social Behaviour Working Party		-	Councillor Bob McCann to fill a vacancy and to remove Councillor Ibrar Hussain to create a vacancy

Housing Black and Ethnic Minority Consultative Group		-	Councillor Ibrar Hussain to fill a vacancy

Adoptions Panel		-	Councillor Elizabeth Taylor to fill a vacancy

Older Persons Planning Group		-	Councillor Andrew White to fill a vacancy

Planning Policy Advisory Group		-	Councillors Terry Fox, Gill Furniss and Steve Wilson to replace Councillors Harry Harpham, Peter Price and Tim Rippon and Councillor Marjorie Barker to fill a vacancy

Children's Partnership Board		-	Councillor Maureen Brelsfor to replace Councillor Chris Tutt

CCTV Ethics Committee		-	To appoint Councillors David Baker and Pat Midgley to serve on the Committee

South Yorkshire Technology Corridor Partnership		-	Councillor Terry Barrow to replace Councillor Gill Furniss