| Joint Development Group Summary 22042008 |
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Summary of the Joint Development Group Report 22 April 2008A IntroductionThis is a summary of the full report of the group which is available electronically by e-mail from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .The Joint Development Group was set up in November 2005 to discuss the “Community Properties of the town and their management. The group comprised three members of each of the The Town Council, The Town Trust and The Old School Community Trust. Our shared aim is to plan for the best possible resources for the town, fit for the foreseeable future, and to suggest ways in which they may be funded and managed most efficiently. • In 2006 we created a single table of community assets and their ownership and management • In 2007 we canvassed all community groups using building facilities in the town for their views, with a questionnaire and a follow-up meeting. The detailed results of that study and a copy of the questionnaire are available. The information in the report is based on that questionnaire and the resulting meetings together with subsequent discussion within the Joint Development group. B Main Findings from The SurveyGeneralThere are several buildings in Bradninch which are available for hire for events and meetings. But there are several problems with the buildings. Some groups were satisfied with the facilities available to them, but many groups were not entirely happy. Guildhall The Guildhall is at the heart of the town but has a number of limitations which make it a less than ideal building for community use, particularly the lack of parking. We feel that the Guildhall is an inherently expensive building to maintain and it is likely to take up substantial resources in the future to maintain. Based on the feedback we received from groups, from reviewing facilities that are available in comparable communities and from our own discussions, the group believes it falls short of modern expectations of wiring, safety, accessibility and amenities. West End Hall This building has a number of problems, most significantly: 1 It is in a poor state of repair and will require significant maintenance expenditure. 2 It is let by the Bradninch Youth Centre Trust (whose members are the Town Councillors) on a lease to the Scout Group,. Currently there are 16 years remaining. The lease requires the landlord to maintain the building externally and the Scouts internally, but the landlord has limited funds to do this. This lease could be reviewed by mutual consent. Youth Facilities Our research indicates that the facilities for youth in Bradninch are inadequate for a modern growing community. C Options examined by the Joint Development GroupThe group considered a large number of options to address the issues. These included renovation of the existing West End Hall, (which would not be able to provide any exterior space) and development of the Old School, currently boarded up behind the Baptist Church (which would not allow easy access to facilities.)Options range from the very low-key which would not involve many changes or much expense to others which are much more fundamental and would involve considerable work and expense to carry them out. In the report we present four main options: Option 1: No major change to the buildings and their management Option 2: Minor upgrades to the Guildhall plus new-build dedicated youth building on another site. Option 3: Major alterations to the Guildhall plus new-build dedicated youth building on another site. Option 4: New-build Community Hall on another site incorporating dedicated youth space. The full report provides a detailed discussion of each of these options and it is not the intention to discuss these in depth here tonight. D Sites in BradninchA local landowner has identified to the Town Council a number of possible sites for development in Bradninch. Further work will need to be done on these and any other apparent sites to determine their suitability.E Outline proposals for governance and management.The options chosen will influence the most appropriate detail of management and governance. Here follows an outline of the issues faced by all options.Bradninch buildings and other assets are owned by three groups: • The Town Trust • Bradninch Town Council • A Corporate Trust consisting of members of the council. The following options are put forward for thought and discussion with a view to improving the future governance of the town’s assets. Option 1 No Change Option 2 The creation of a new property owning trust to manage and develop all the town assets. Option 3 Form a new body with a strategic role for development of facilities. Opportunities for external funding and partnership working exist today which could not have been envisaged by the founders of the Town Trusts’ governing documents or those that have from time to time revised the documents. The existing trusts might benefit from being modernised and rationalized in order that they may better serve the town and that the townspeople may fully understand and support their role. F RecommendationsThe group recommends that these four options together with the associated governance issues are considered in more depth by the Bradninch Town Council, Bradninch Town Trust and Bradninch Old School Community Trust.We also recommend that the full report is made known to the people of Bradninch as part of a wider consultation on the way to make better facilities available to the aspiring groups and the people of Bradninch. Clearly there are significant issues for the town to address and the group feels that the Town Council is best placed to drive this forward. Although the Joint group have fulfilled their role, individual members are willing to contribute to the development of these proposals.
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