Agenda and minutes

Prior to commencement of the meeting a period of 15 minutes will be put aside to allow members of the public who have pre-registered to do so, the opportunity to ask questions.

For further details, contact Sandra Dessent Democratic Services Officer, on 01372 732000.

No questions were asked by members of the public.

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors in items on this agenda.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee held on 29 May 2018.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee held on 29 May 2018 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to receive and note the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee final accounts for the financial year 2017/2018.

The Committee received a report setting out the final accounts for 2017/2018.  It was noted that £22,000 had been transferred to reserves bringing the total to £178,000 which represented 49% of the Joint Management Committee’s annual gross expenditure.  It was further noted that most of the transferred sum had already been ear marked for repairs that had been budgeted for but not carried out in 2017/18 due to adverse weather conditions. 

Members were informed that although the reserves figure was higher than the 9% historic minimum threshold and there was no suggested maximum figure.  However, it was pointed out that the reserves figure should reflect the nature of the high costs associated with the maintenance and repair of the park and a grade II listed building. 

It was agreed to undertake a review of the Committee’s terms of reference and practices and bring a report before the Committee.  An explanation of the financial arrangements including an appraisal of the level of reserves will be included in the review.

Accordingly the Committee noted and received the final accounts for the financial year 2017/18.

This report identifies the planned maintenance priority works for 018/19 and advises on the progress of outstanding works.  The Committee is asked to note the contents of the report and give approval to proceed with the priority works.

The Committee received and considered a report outlining the planned maintenance priority works for 2018/19. 

The fire protection works were discussed and it was noted that the original estimate of £10,000 had increased to £30,000, following inspection and recommendations made by the Surrey Fire Service. 

The replacement of windows at Castlemaine Lodge was also discussed in relation to the Council’s responsibilities as landlords of the property and the Committee agreed it was prudent to prioritise the works. 

Members were given assurance that whilst the list of priorities in Annex 1 did not set out the methodology used for ranking the priorities all the works had been risk assessed.

It was explained that items1-7 of the priorities listed in Annex 1 would be funded firstly from the 2018/19 maintenance budget, with the balance funded from reserves and that the remaining priorities would be regularly reviewed and undertaken as and when necessary dependent on funds being available.

Therefore, having considered the priorities listed in Annex 1 of the report, the Committee:

(1)             Authorised items 1-7 and 9 to be undertaken during 2018/19*

(2)            Noted the costs and health and safety implications for items 8 and 10-15

* At £91,290, the estimated cost of the works is £16,840 above the combined maintenance and asbestos budgets of £74,450.  This £16,840 will be funded from the prior year underspend, which will reduce the working balance reserve from £155,956 to £139,116.

The Committee is asked to note the current Events Calendar.

The Events programme for Nonsuch Park was discussed and the Committee agreed that the park’s historical importance should be advertised and celebrated.  To that end it was proposed that the forthcoming event, Nonsuch Awareness Day, scheduled for September presented a good opportunity to further promote the park.

For maximum impact it was suggested that the event could be rebranded to include a historical aspect and renamed to enhance public appeal.  It was agreed that a historical feature that could easily be linked to the event would be the 60^th Anniversary of the Nonsuch Park dig.

The importance of ecology and supporting conservation of the park was also highlighted and it was agreed that any event should be carefully managed to mitigate any risks and balance the needs and preferences of the existing park users.

It was decided that the best way to move forward with the many suggestions was to form a working group to collate ideas and progress the development of a theme.   It was pointed out that staff resources were limited and all those present were encouraged to get involved with planning the event. 

Officers agreed to develop a project brief and circulate to the Committee.

It was also agreed that a review of the event would be presented at the October Committee meeting.

A report to inform the committee on the progress of items previously discussed, and the activities of the volunteer groups.

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Bid:  The Committee noted that the match funding needed to progress the bid had not materialised and therefore despite receiving positive feedback from the development team at the HLF headquarters the preparation of a bid had not advanced. 

However it was proposed to continue to monitor opportunities to submit a bid and agreed that officers would report back to the Committee when appropriate. 

It was emphasized that it would take input from both Councils to maximise the potential for success with a bid. 

Nonsuch Watch: In addition to the informative update included in the agenda pack, Frances Wright from Nonsuch Watch expressed concern regarding the parking of cars at the recent Country Fair and it was agreed that officers would undertake a review and present the findings at the next meeting.

Friends of Nonsuch:  Gerald Smith from Friends of Nonsuch addressed the Committee with an update.  He reported that in the previous quarter the Friends Working party had spent 3,157 house on maintenance and presentation of them museum.  In the same time 1,051 people had visited both the museum and Nonsuch Palace Gallery; coming from all parts of the world.  On the education side 350 children in school parties had visited and benefited from the use dedicated rooms. 

The Friends of Nonsuch had also recently commissioned a replica in plaster of a Stucco panel made possible by piecing together fragments of one panel recovered at the foot of the South west tower.  Originally there were thought to be 700 in the palace.  The commission had been given to the City & Guilds of London Art School and it was hoped it would be ready by the end of the year.

Nonsuch Voles:  As well as the extensive works and numerous activities reported in the agenda the Nonsuch Voles informed the Committee that the Britain in Bloom judging was taking place on July 3.