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.

Two members of the public addressed the Committee with comments which were noted.

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 28 June 2018.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee held on 28 June were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

Note:  The following volunteers were not recorded but did attend the meeting:

·                 Paul Airey (Nonsuch Voles)

·                 Gerald Smith (Friends of Nonsuch)

·                 Frances Wright (Nonsuch Watch)

This report advises the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee of the mid-year financial position for 2018/19 and the forecast outturn.

Brendan Bradley (Chief Accountant EEBC) presented the mid-year Budget Monitoring Report to the Committee as set out in the report and Annex 1.

The Committee noted that there was an adverse variance of £16,437 forecast against the budget in the main due to unforeseen spend on essential maintenance. (detailed in the Planned Maintenance report agenda item 5).

As a result the forecasted balance working balance had reduced to £139,519.

Accordingly, The Committee noted the mid-year financial position.

The report provides an update on progress of works on the 2018/19 priority list, and requests approval for funding additional 2018/19 works.  The report also presents 2019/20’s priority works list for note.

The Committee received a report outlining the agreed priority maintenance works, and an update on the estimated costs as set out in Annex 1.  It was noted that an additional £45,795 against the budget was required to complete the works.

Tony Foxwell (Senior Surveyor) informed the Committee that since the publication of the agenda, the ceiling on the first floor of the Mansion House incurred damage which was estimated to cost in the region of £1,000 to repair.  The Committee approved the additional expenditure.

It was noted that the repair to the old greenhouse wall had not been assessed as a high priority as the area had been made safe and the damaged area fenced off.  However, it was agreed to obtain an estimate for the repairs in order to better assess a timescale for when the works could be carried out.

Having considered the schedule of maintenance works the Committee:

(1)            Noted the progress of the priority works

(2)            Approved funding for the additional spend of £45,795 (plus an estimated £1,000 for ceiling repairs to the Mansion House first floor ceiling) for urgent works during the 2018/19 financial year

(3)            Noted the proposed priority works for 2019/20

To note the current event calendar, the success of Nonsuch Park Open Day and consider a proposal to host the 2019 Town & Country Show in Nonsuch Park.

The Committee received the Events in the Park report outlining a proposed timetable for events in 2018/19 as well as a review of the Nonsuch Park Open Day which was held on 9 September.  Whilst the event had been scaled down from the proposed scheme, valuable feedback had been gathered on the day which would be used to plan a bigger, improved event for 2019.

The proposal for a Town and Country show on 26/27 May was discussed and the following points were raised:

·                 It was recognised that the show raised much needed income for Nonsuch Park however it was important to balance the revenue from the event against the environmental impact.

·                 Health and Safety considerations were raised with particular emphasis on parking.  It was therefore recommended that the event be referred to the Council’s Safety Advisory Group (a multi-agency risk management group) to ensure that the event organisers had all the appropriate measures in place to mitigate potential risks. 

·                 It was suggested that park and ride arrangements be considered.  It was agreed to pass on the suggestion to the Safety Advisory Group.

·                 Environmental concerns were acknowledged and it was noted that Epsom & Ewell Borough Council’s in-house Ecologist did not consider that temporary parking limited to a two day period would have a detrimental impact on the habitat.

·                 Reviewing and learning from other similar events that had taken place would help the Joint Management Committee to better gauge a list of requirements for the organiser

Accordingly, the Committee:

(1)            Noted the current event calendar

(2)            Noted the success of the Nonsuch Park Open Day and feedback from visitors

(3)            Approved the proposal to host the 2019 Town & Country Show, subject to conditions of hire and other matters required to be addressed.

To review the current arrangements for car parking in Nonsuch Park.

The Committee were asked to review the current car parking arrangements in Nonsuch Park.  The report set out the current capacity and emphasized the concern that park users were increasingly parking outside designated parking areas.  It was noted that this was happening on a daily basis.

Dominic Aslangul (Neighbourhood Manager) outlined the details of an enforcement trial that was currently taking place in Beddington Park, Sutton which was introduced to tackle the issue of unauthorised parking.  He informed Members that positive feedback had been received and the enforcement measures were having an impact and reducing unauthorised parking.  The trial was at no cost to the Council. 

It was agreed to arrange a visit to Beddington Park for Members to view the parking arrangements and better assess the scope for an enforcement trial in Nonsuch Park. 

The importance of working with stakeholders to address parking issues was stressed, particularly Nonsuch school.

Having reviewed the current arrangements for parking in Nonsuch Park, the Committee:

(1)            Noted the current car parking facilities available in Nonsuch Park

(2)            Agreed to a visit to Beddington Park to evaluate the enforcement trial

(3)            Agreed that a report on the introduction of car park enforcement be brought to a future meeting

To note the progress of items discussed at previous meetings of the Joint Management Committee and to receive updates from the voluntary groups.

The Committee received a report detailing the outcome of recent events and updates of ongoing projects including:

·                 South & South East in Bloom – Officers and volunteers were delighted to receive a Silver Gilt Award from the judges, which was particularly noteworthy as unlike its competitors, Nonsuch Park had not been the recipient of Heritage Lottery funding and does not charge an entrance fee.

·                 Fencing in Pinetum – With the assistance of the Nonsuch Voles a second stage application had been submitted to the Suez Communities Trust Landfill Fund for replacement security fencing. 

·                 Heritage Lottery Bid – It was noted that a bid could not be progressed at this time as the required match funding was not available.  However officers were proposing to look at alternative, albeit it smaller funding opportunities and report back at the next Committee meeting.

·                 Members noted that Nonsuch Voles had undertaken repair works of the lawn edging in front of the Mansion and this was in the main due to large vehicles driving over the lawns.  Notices had not been a deterrent and officers agreed to investigate.

In addition to the comprehensive written update from Nonsuch Voles, Friends of Nonsuch and Nonsuch Watch gave verbal updates to the Committee as follows:

Friends of Nonsuch – Gerald Smith from friends of Nonsuch reported that the museum was now closed for the winter with the exception of the gallery which would be open on Sunday afternoons. 

It was noted that timescales for the recent commissioning of a Stucco panel, had slipped and it was now likely to be Spring 2019, and it was hoped that the panel would be in place to coincide with the 60 year anniversary of the Nonsuch dig.

To highlight the relevance of the Farmer memorial seat (commemorating the Farmer brother’s involvement in the Battle of the Somme in World War 1) a silhouette of the silent soldier had been placed next to the seat.

Nonsuch Watch:  Frances Wright from Nonsuch Watch reported that the latest butterfly surveys were available to view, and was pleased to inform the Committee that some rare species had been spotted.

Accordingly the Committee noted the progress of outstanding items and updates from voluntary groups.