Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles

The Mayor referred Members to the covering report for this item and the procedure to be followed. A petition to protect the services at risk by the closure of Oakley Neighbourhood Project was received at the last Council meeting on 17 October 2016.

The petition referred to the services at risk which included Job Club, Food Bank, Client Support/Advice, English and Maths Classes, activities for children and teenagers, counselling services for under 25’s, support dealing with addictive behaviours, access to computers, help with IT and social activities.

As the petition had in excess of 750 signatures it was entitled to a debate at Council

Councillor Colin Hay presented the petition as the petition organiser. He advised that he had chaired a recent meeting of stakeholders which had raised a number of issues with regard to keeping the Oakley centre open and the options going forward. Concerns had been expressed about the impact of cuts in police budgets and the cuts in the universal youth services provided by the county council. The outcomes had been a rise in antisocial behaviour. It was essential that the Cabinet ring fenced any funding which would have gone previously to the Neighbourhood Project in order that the essential work for all parts of the community could be continued.

In the absence of the Cabinet Member, the Leader responded on behalf of the Cabinet. He confirmed that a temporary caretaker manager had been put in place until the end of March to ensure the centre could stay open. The council were maintaining as many services as practical and he thanked CBH for their contribution and Councillor Hay for chairing the stakeholder meeting. He agreed that cuts by the police and in youth services had had a knock-on effect. Cabinet were committed to maintaining the level of grant previously given to the neighbourhood project and would use this to lever in other resources wherever possible. A report would be coming back to Council in February. He referred Members to the recommendations in the report which had been circulated.

A number of Members spoke in support of the recommendations and cited examples such as the Aston project where early interventions with young people could have a very positive effect and save costs in the long run. Springbank was cited as another example where a reduction in police presence had raised public concern and there had been an increase in antisocial behaviour.  Councillor Baker, as chairman of the Cheltenham Football Club, thought the council must do everything it can to help poorer families at a local level and he offered the help of the club in supporting local activities where they could.  A Member suggested that other neighbourhood groups were worried because of the situation at Oakley and would welcome reassurance that these groups are sustainable going forward. They suggested that knock-on effects from the reductions in youth services should be scrutinised. Another Member felt that teenagers were the big challenge as this council were not in a position to fund youth work.

Members emphasised the importance of community events in promoting community cohesion. Councillor Rowena Hay, as the ward Member for Oakley, said that many social activities had been organised which had been very well attended and involved whole families. These events also provided a valuable information gathering opportunity where residents who would not normally respond to consultations could give their views in a more comfortable community setting.

Councillor Colin Hay thanked Members for their responses and upon a vote the recommendations were agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED that the outcomes of work undertaken to date in connection with the petition be noted and a further update to come back to the next Council meeting in February 2017.