Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor A Ware.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on:

11 January 2024 – Special Meeting

29 January 2024

13 February 2024 – Special Meeting

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 11 January 2024, 29 January 2024 and 13 February 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was no urgent business.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

There were no Members present pursuant to Standing Order 34.

There was no Chair’s correspondence to report.

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David Ousby, Assistant Director Programme & Project Delivery provided the Committee with a presentation regarding Adult Changing Places in King’s Lynn.  A copy of the presentation is attached to the minutes.

He advised that the following locations for Changing Places had been identified in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk:

·        King’s Lynn Multi Use Community Hub

·        Hunstanton bus station / library

·        Downham Market (location to be confirmed).

He added that the current proposal was to install a Changing Place Toilet at St James Pool in King’s Lynn using funding from DLUHC.  It would be a modular building which could be accessed 24/7 with remote access controlled by the Council. The start on site would be by the end of March 2024 and operational by the end of June 2024.

The Chair thanked the Assistant Director for the presentation and invited questions from the Committee.

The Chair referred to an event held in Parliament relatively recently which invited people with disabilities to talk about their lived experiences, who were told that there was a changing places toilet there but when they arrived it was out of order.

Councillor Jones explained that he had been advised from someone who worked with people with disabilities, that the bed needed to be on wheels rather than fixed to a wall would be better.

He also raised the issue of the location of the Changing Places and whether it might be open to vandalism.

The Assistant Director added that the access to the Changing Places would be via an intercom and also CCTV was in operation in that area.  Also within the location were people within the pool and nearby car park so if people did need assistance there were people nearby.

He advised that the modular unit was resilient and had a technical design life of 10 years but were as strong as portacabin buildings.  He added that it was right to have a debate about the location and could be moved to another location in the future.

Councillor Bone welcomed the provision of the Changing Places modular unit and asked whether one could be provided at The Walks to link in with the provision of the accessible play equipment and whether they could be provided for events such as Festival Too? The Assistant Director advised that this would need to be included within the capital budget and further consideration given to the issue.

The Chair took the opportunity to update the Committee on the provision of the accessible play equipment at the Walks.  She advised that she had attended an event launch ‘Everyone has the right to play’.  This had brought up some issues which needed consideration, so she wished to ensure that the play equipment was right and integrated with the existing equipment.  She also wished to include a Changing Places toilet.  She confirmed that she had informed the Youth Advisory Board and would keep them updated.

Councillor Colwell stated that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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The Chair then invited Ben Griffin, PC Chloe Geary and PC Patryck Polom to give a presentation to the Committee on NCC Targeted Youth Support Services.  She also introduced Jeff Rafter and Chris Forster to the meeting. 

Ben Griffin explained that he wanted to raise awareness of what they were doing and what detached Youth Work was which aimed to engage young people in places and spaces of their choice.  He explained that the approaches for engagement were:

·        Street based outreach

·        Relationship building

·        Peer Support

·        Skill development

·        Advocacy

Detached youth work in King’s Lynn began in January 2021, and had development strong relationships with a core group of people in King’s Lynn, who see the team regularly (3 times a week).

One of the targeted sessions related to Pizza Projects which was a youth drop-in session aimed at promoting positive well-being.  The session helped to promote:

·        Informal education

·        Education through fun activities

·        Access to professionals they could trust

·        Social and emotional development

·        Confidence

·        Signposting

·        Safe space for parents

There was also another project The Beacon Garden.

During the Pizza Projects session PC Patryk Polom had been a regular attendee and had built up a strong rapport with the young people which had helped to increase the respect for himself and the Police in general.

PC Patryk Polom went through Police Intervention statistics which demonstrated the positive impact of the projects.  He also outlined the positive outcomes that had arisen out of the Beacon.

Jeff Rafter provided information to the Committee on the Targeted Youth Support Service (TYSS). 

Ben Griffin stated that they would like to expand to other areas in King’s Lynn and Fairstead was the next area they would like to work in. 

PC Chloe Geary, Beat Manager for Gaywood, Fairstead and Reffley and looking at the crime stats there had not been a significant reduction as seen in North Lynn, which demonstrated that something was working well there.  There was antisocial behaviour taking place in Fairstead in the form of off-road bikes, and she believed that by bringing Pizza projects to Fairstead it would bring children from Fairstead and Gaywood off the streets and help to address the issues.  She added that face to face talking with the children and adults really helped the Police. 

The Chair thanked, Ben, Patryk, Chloe, Chris and Jeff for the presentation.  She added that herself and several other Councillors attended the Creating Communities event at the Beacon Church and saw first-hand the relationship that was had with the young people.  She added that Chloe and Patryk would more accurately represent and reflect young people and also the input the Churches Together were having.

Councillor Bartrum added that she knew first hand what the team did for young people. She thanked the team and encouraged the expansion of the scheme into Fairstead. 

Councillor Heneghan stated that it was amazing work that was being carried out and asked if there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee is asked to consider items for a future Work Programme for

The Committee is also asked to consider the Cabinet’s Forward Decision List.

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Councillor Colwell advised that he and Councillor Sayers had been making enquiries about using their Local Member Fund for bus shelters in the area.  However, NCC last week stated that they needed reassurance that the on-going maintenance costs for all future installations would be met.  He wanted to ensure that Members were aware of the situation.  He advised that he had been in contact with Tracy Brooker, Property Services Manager at the Council and she indicated that she would make Councillors aware.

He added that this was an issue that needed to be discussed further.

The Assistant Director stated that he would discuss the issue further with the Property Services Manager.

Councillor Jones stated that he had been contacted by a resident about a bus stop at the Hardwick outside of Next.

Councillor Kemp raised the issue of bins in West Lynn.  Both herself and Councillor Joyce had agreed to pay for a new bin in St Peters Road but there would be a charge

for emptying it.  The Assistant Director agreed to take this away.

In relation to Shared Prosperity Funding, the Chair asked the Committee if they would be agreeable to her emailing them what she had been emailed, checking with Lydia to see if that application could be transformed to enable the Targeted Youth Support Scheme to be delivered in a wider unparished area of King’s Lynn.

Councillor Heneghan raised the issue of the Town Deal Board.  The Chair suggested that this could be emailed round to the Committee.

AGREED:       (1)        That the Committee’s Work Programme and Cabinet Forward Decision List be noted.

(2)        That in relation to Shared Prosperity Funding, the Chair would email the Committee what she had been emailed, checking with Lydia to see if that application could be transformed to enable the Targeted Youth Support Scheme to be delivered to the wider unparished area of King’s Lynn.

The next meeting is scheduled for 20 June 2024 at 5.15 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Committee was scheduled for 20 June 2024 at 5.15 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall.