Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Wilkes.  Councillor O’Hara attended the meeting as a substitute.

The Executive Member, Councillor Howell, also submitted her apologies.

Resolved that the above be noted.

The chair invited those present who wished to do so to make a declaration of interest.

Resolved to note that no declarations were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2023 were received.

It was proposed by Councillor Irwin and seconded by Councillor Coleman that the minutes be approved. On being put to the vote this motion was declared carried.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2023 be adopted as an accurate record.

The circulated report of the Executive Director of Place and Economy was received to inform committee of the findings of the recent public consultation on the Kettering Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure.

Appended to the report were the following documents:

·         Appendix A – Draft Kettering Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan

·         Appendix B – Kettering LCWIP Engagement Report

·         Appendix C – Consultation Report - Kettering Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)

The report was presented to committee by David Prior, Senior Transport Planner, who explained that Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) had been recommended by the Department for Transport to provide a strategic and planned approach for short-and long-term provision for cycling and walking within the local area.

The Kettering LCWIP has been developed to enable the council to identify prioritised cycling and walking infrastructure improvements for future investment, ensuring that consideration is given to cycling and walking within both local planning and transport policies and strategies, along with making a case for future funding for walking and cycling infrastructure.

The area of the LCWIP also included the area of Burton Latimer, due to the potential for cycle journeys between Kettering and Burton Latimer and is designed to link with those of the Greenways Strategy with the intention of identifying and prioritising a network of proposed routes and improvements.

A public consultation was held between 13 April 2023 and 20 May 2023, and respondents were asked for their overall feeling about the LCWIP.  Of those who responded, 81% were either happy or satisfied with the overall LCWIP.  Only 3% of respondents were unhappy with the LCWIP (the other responses were ‘did not know’). Thus, indicating a very high level of support for the overall LCWIP.  The comments received have been examined and many have been supportive of the proposals, with only a small proportion providing negative comments.

The technical report, at appendix A, was developed taking such comments into account. 

The next stage of the process would be to commence work to procure support for the initial development of preliminary designs for those routes/ improvements identified within the LCWIP as a priority to form the basis of future funding bids to Government.

The chair thanked Mr Prior for his informative presentation and opened the debate for the committee.

Members thanked officers for the comprehensive findings and noted the amount of work that had gone into the LCWIP already, they considered that the creation of the cycling infrastructure would help with safety for users and was of great importance for the future environment.  It was noted that this was a large piece of work that would be very costly, and questions were asked about where the funding would come from and what the next step would be.

Mr Prior clarified that funding would be required for the initial design stage and the main emphasis would be to identify the main routes and to establish cost estimates before submitting bids for funding. The design was proposed to be carried  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The circulated report of the Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing was received to provide information on the Cornerstone refurbishment project. 

Kerry Purnell, Assistant Director for Communities and Leisure, explained that the project was conceived and started under the former Kettering Borough Council in 2018-19 and had been funded following receipt, in 2020 of a £3m grant from SEMLEP, and other funding meaning a budget of £4.5m was allocated to the scheme. The library roof replacement was not included in the original project.

She explained that Cornerstone was home to the Alfred East Art Gallery, Kettering Library, Kettering Museum & the Manor House Gardens with the building being Grade II listed.

The refurbishment project included a new two-storey extension, to be used for events and as a workshop space, a Garden Room and the Studio event space, accommodating up to 130 people.  A café, with indoor seating for 30 people and a further 45 outside on a new terrace. There is also a new climate-controlled gallery art store capable of storing and caring for the gallery collection, along with a refurbished gallery space and floors, again with climate control to allow for the hosting of local and national exhibitions, talks and workshops. There were new accessible toilet facilities and amenity spaces including a changing places toilet. The library floor had also been refurbished along with internal redecoration. A new business intellectual property centre for North Northamptonshire, providing the environment for creative and cultural business to start up and grow.

The original proposal was to open the site in Spring 2023, but this had been delayed due to snagging issues and concern over the library roof. Some of the snagging issues related to a blocked drain, causing a foul smell in some of the new toilets, a leak through the new art store roof, issues with the lift and additional fire breaks, which were now all resolved.

Other issues identified had included the heating in the gallery space, intruder fire alarm system, the fire alarm for the site and Wi-Fi connectivity. These had subsequently also all been resolved.

During Winter 2022 roof issues and water ingress was highlighted in the library area and had delayed the opening of Cornerstone, which remained dependent on decisions being made in relation to the roof.

Due to the library being in the conservation area, the replacement of the roof required the use of Collyweston slate. Such slate required to be mortared in dry weather conditions and there would be a need to ‘wrap’ the building to make it water tight, and to erect scaffolding, for the work to be carried out.  There were only two companies who produced the slate and once an order had been placed it could take up to 11 months for the tiles to be delivered.  

In early 2023, the design had been procured, for the replacement roof.  An additional technical report had been requested to consider health and safety issues, to provide an explanation of methodology, the cost of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The chair closed the meeting at 9.25pm.

                                                                                                            Chair………………………………………

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