Agenda item

Discussion paper of the Healthy Communities Partnership Manager

The Chair introduced the item and remarked how exceptionally lucky the town of Cheltenham was to have been selected as part of the Torch Relay. 

The Healthy Communities Partnership Manager stressed that he had endeavoured to include as much detail as possible given that he was not yet at liberty to share all of the details.  He proceeded to highlight key points within the paper.

On the 18 May it was announced that Cheltenham had been selected as one of the 66 sites to host the Torch Relay which would commence from Lands End on the 19 May 2012 and embark upon a 70 day tour across the length and breadth of the UK. 

Work had been underway since 2009, when a countywide proposal was submitted to attract the Torch Relay into Gloucestershire.  The proposal identified Cheltenham Racecourse as the most appropriate venue to host the evening celebration within the county.  At this point official confirmation that this venue would play host to the celebration was still awaited. 

Thus far the only detail to have been officially confirmed was the date on which the Torch Relay would arrive in Cheltenham, Wednesday 23 May 2012.  The route across the UK was as yet, unknown, this would not be publicised until next year and this demonstrated the tight parameters within which Officers were working.

In total, 8,000 Torchbearers would carry the torch, with half of those being aged between 12 and 24 years of age and all of whom would be identified through various nomination processes. 

The original Olympic Legacy Working Group formed part of the ‘Olympic Torch Relay Community Task Force’, which now included Gloucestershire Highways, Police, local media and local representatives of the three national sponsors of the 2012 Olympics.

The cost of the evening celebration would be funded by LOCOG and the national sponsors but the financial responsibility of staging the events needed to be met locally and included the cost of policing and stewarding the celebration event, managing crowd safety along the route of the Torch Relay and the clean up operation.  There would be a cost associated to CBC but a figure had not yet been established. 

Item 5 onwards of the paper detailed other associated developments and/or discussions. 

The following responses were given by the Healthy Communities Partnership Manager to questions from members of the committee;

• As host communities for the Torch Relay in Gloucestershire, both CBC and Gloucestershire County Council were able to nominate one guaranteed torch bearer.
• The ‘Summer Sport Programme for Young People’ provided a broad range of opportunities for young people aged 8 to 16/17 years, with different aspects of the programme specifically aimed at different age ranges. 
• The cost of staging the event would be met by CBC and GCC and it was being suggested that the Police would not pass on the cost of policing the event. 
• No association with local sponsors was permitted but volunteers would be used to steward the event.
• LOCOG had proposed a route through Cheltenham to the evening celebration venue, but did not intend to make this public until approximately 3 weeks before the event for security reasons, although for planning purposes the final route would be shared with the Task Force in the autumn.  This made it difficult to justify approaching community groups across Cheltenham at this stage and raising their hopes with no guarantee of the final outcome. 
• Efforts would be made to avoid main routes at rush hour, although the final decision was ultimately with LOCOG and was therefore out of the Council’s control. 
• At this stage it was impossible to estimate how popular the Torch Relay and evening celebration would be.  The celebration would take place between 6pm and 8pm and the assumption was that the Torch Relay would be during the event.  It was envisaged that the route would be animated and community groups would play a key part in this. 
• Each local authority was invited by LOCOG to submit a proposal to attract the Torch Relay into their respective areas.  Given the existence of the ‘Olympic Legacy Working Group’ it was felt that a County bid would present a stronger case in order to secure an Evening Celebration event within the county.

A member queried whether it would be possible for the committee to consider an exempt (pink) paper on the proposed route through Cheltenham, in advance of its announcement.  Officers would explore whether this would be possible. 

The Chair thanked the Healthy Communities Partnership Manager for an informative update despite the restrictions placed upon him.