INFORMATION

RIBBLE VALLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL
REPORT TO COMMUNITY COMMITTEE

										Agenda Item No.  

meeting date:	4 November 2008
title: 		GENERAL REPORT
submitted by:	JOHN C HEAP - DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES
principal authors: Peter McGeorge,	 Rebecca Kay and Zoe Fagg

1.	PURPOSE

1.1.	To inform committee of progress on various aspects of sports development and indoor leisure provision.

1.2.	Relevance to the Council’s ambitions and priorities:

•	Council Ambitions – many of the initiatives reported here are intended to make services more accessible to disadvantaged groups and to protect and enhance the existing environmental quality of our area. 

•	Community Objectives – the issues covered in this report offer cultural opportunities, promote the development of sustainable tourism and help improve the environment of the area. 

•	Corporate Priorities – partnership working is central to many of these projects, which are intended to improve the well-being of people in the Ribble Valley. 

•	Other Considerations – none identified.

2.	WASTE MANAGEMENT

2.1	I am pleased to report that the three-stream collection service is making significant improvements to our waste management performance.  The overall recycling rate for the first six months of this year  (April 08 – September 08) is 35.08 %.  However, members should note that the second and final phase of the scheme was not introduced until July 2008 and, therefore, the recycling rate for the last quarters (July 08 – September 08) of 42.05 % may be a truer reflection of our recycling performance.

2.2	Additionally the tonnage of residual/general waste sent to landfill in the first 28 weeks of this year has reduced by over 18.45% on this period last year which was 9.96% down on the previous year providing a positive indication on how well residents have embraced the new system. 

2.3	Total waste arisings have also reduced by 2.27%, again a positive result against the national trend, where waste tonnages are generally increasing.  

2.4	Results from the Feedback from the citizens panel survey revealed that:

•	90% of respondents were satisfied with the reliability of the collection service;

•	88.8% of respondents were satisfied with the collection service overall;

•	The new recycling system is popular with panel members with over 90% of respondents stating that they always recycle when at home;

•	Glass bottles and jars and newspapers and magazines were recycled most often;

•	Almost half of the respondents stated that the new service had made it easier to recycle;

•	Whilst over 86% were satisfied with the blue bin provided for recyclable waste only 7.55% were dissatisfied with the green bin provided for green waste.

2.5	The waste management awareness budget has been fully utilised over the last two years in providing information for the 3 stream wheeled bin collection service.

2.6	Now that the introduction has been completed, officers are preparing a programme to improve recycling and waste management education in schools and to raise general awareness on waste issues. Consideration will be given to how schools might be integrated into the three-stream collection system in light of emerging policies. 

2.7	Partnership support has already been committed from the Environmental Education officers employed by Global Renewables Lancashire Operations Limited (Lancashire County Council PFI contractor) with further meetings already arranged.

3.	TOURISM AND ARTS OFFICER

3.1	Ribble Valley Tourism Association

3.1.1	It is with great regret that we report that one of the founder members of the RVTA and former employee of Ribble Valley Borough Council, Mary Parker, died on October 7th, from a heart condition.

3.1.2	Mary was an exceptional ambassador for tourism and worked tirelessly as co-ordinator for the association for many years. She will be greatly missed by all who have worked and met her.

3.1.3	In her honour the RVTA will continue to strive for improvements in the tourism industry and to encourage new membership and member benefits. The Clitheroe Visitor Information Centre will become the main contact point for the association and will assist with any administration whenever possible. 

3.1.4	The annual dinner is due to take place on Saturday 1st November at the Shireburn Arms, when the Chairman of the association will pay tribute to Mary, who was always so involved in the organisation of these events.

3.1.5	They are also hosting a re-launch event on November 19th at Mytton Fold Hotel 12 – 3pm, when the new members website will be available to view, new literature and membership packs will be available and businesses can learn about new members’ benefits. 

3.1.6	Further information about the RVTA can be sought from Clitheroe Visitor Information Centre or from Rebecca Kay, tourism and arts officer on 01200 414496.

3.2	New Ribble Valley Mini Guide Leaflet

3.2.1	In partnership with the Ribble Valley Tourism Association and Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, the Ribble Valley Tourism Department have been able to update a much-used mini guide leaflet to promote tourism. 

3.2.2	This leaflet is now available in the Clitheroe VIC.

3.3	The Ribble Valley Food Trail Website: 

3.3.1	Phase 2 of the web site www.ribblevalleyfoodtrail.co.uk has now gone live. It features two new sections: Specials Board and Recipe for Success. The Specials Board will feature the latest news and special offers from outlets on the trail, and businesses are being invited to send in their latest offers and events. 

3.3.2	The Recipe for Success section will feature a series of comprehensive pictorial features revealing how food trail participants make their fantastic products, starting with baking a Victoria sandwich with Mansell’s Coffee Shop, brewing the perfect cuppa with Exchange Coffee and making super-slow roasted belly pork with the Red Pump Inn.

3.3.3	The web site continues to go from strength to strength and we are still receiving very positive feedback. The web site is receiving about 900 hits and 21,000 clicks a month and many of business dedicated pages are receiving considerable interest.

3.4	The Ribble Valley Food Trail PR:

3.4.1	The Ribble Valley Food Trail continues to receive excellent media coverage and articles are pending in the Independent, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Birmingham Evening Post, Bolton Evening News and Merseymart Star Series, as well as a feature on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour.

3.4.2	The project team is currently compiling a comprehensive list of media coverage including advertisement rate equivalent values that will be included in the next report.

3.4.3	The Ribble Valley Food Trail has been shortlisted in the best low-budget campaign section of the 2008 PRide awards, the Oscars of the public relations industry. The awards feature the very best public relations campaigns throughout the country and the shortlist reads like a who’s who of PR. The award will be presented at a dinner in Manchester in November.

3.5	National Food Markets Conference

3.5.1	The Ribble Valley Food Trail is to host a delegation from the National Food Markets Conference in December. The conference will be held in Blackpool and include contributors such as Lloyd Grossman, Sheila Dillon of BBC Radio 4, Rosie Boycott, Lord Rooker, who is the Minister for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health, and Peter Ainsworth MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is a prestigious visit and a fantastic accolade for the Ribble Valley Food Trail. Further details will be included in the next report.
	
3.5.2	Next steps:

The Ribble Valley Food Trail is becoming synonymous with high quality. In order to maintain the standard of the trail, the food trail panel has decided that membership of the trail will be for one year only. It is likely that the selection criteria will change and members will receive letters inviting them to reapply in the New Year. Further information will be available in future reports and at www.ribblevalleyfoodtrail.co.uk 

4	PLATFORM GALLERY

4.1	Current Arts Development Projects in Ribble Valley 

4.1.1	Active Ageing

A fantastically successful event was held to celebrate Age Concern week at the Grand on Wednesday 15th October.  The event included Live Jazz from the Eric Ainsworth Quartet, sequence and salsa dancing, a Circle Dance performance by the Gayety Girls and a Fashion Show. All tickets were sold out with over 200 people attending and there was much demand for a repeat of the event in the near future.

4.1.2	This event and a variety of creative workshops and exhibitions have been a result of a collaboration between RVBC Arts Development and Age Concern Lancashire. Current workshops include Creative writing at Clitheroe Library and Painting classes in Longridge.

4.2	The Big Draw

4.2.1	A Big Draw event held at the Platform Gallery in October saw artist Iain Perry along with 50 participants and Platform Gallery staff experiment with new drawing techniques using remote control cars and transparent sheets of plastic! Some lovely window pieces were made and fun was had by all!

4.2.2	This was part of national drawing month, organised by the national campaign for drawing. 

4.3	Launch of the Ribble Valley Art Alliance Website

4.3.1	An event to launch the RVAA website will take place on Tuesday 11th November at 4.30pm- 8pm, at The Grand on York Street in Clitheroe.  The evening will be a celebration of the diversity of arts present in the Ribble Valley and will comprise of the following;

•	4.30-5.00 - The John Wickham Trio (Jazz)
•	5.05-5.20 - Dance Performance by Bowland High School Pupils
•	5.25-5.40 - Poetry readings by Jo Harding and Judy Sowter
•	5.45-6.00 - Theatre Performance
•	6.05-6.15 - John Travis shares his enthusiasm for locally grown creativity
•	6.15-6.25 - What is the Ribble Valley Arts website? 
•	6.30-7.00- The John Wickham Trio
•	7.05-7.20 -The Palatine Fiddlers
•	7.25-8.00 - Lancashire Ho-down

4.3.2	Alongside these performances there will be opportunities to view an exhibition of visual art, explore the website, add your organisation to the cultural trail map and gather information about The Arts Council, Spot On rural touring and Creative Lancashire business support. 

4.3.3	The event is open to anyone involved in, or with an interest in, the Arts.

4.4	The Ribble Valley Sculpture trial 
 
4.4.1	Phase 2
Commissioned sculptor Halima Cassell is working on six fantastic new ceramic sculptures for the park, size ranging from 8ft high x 2 ft wide to 5ft high x 2 ft wide.  They will be installed by the end of 2008.

4.4.2	Phase 3
We will be sending out the brief for this in the next 4 months, looking for an artist/ graphic designer to design leaflets and prepare signage for the park, in collaboration with the local community.
    
4.4.3	Castle
We have commissioned artists Justine Cook and David Lewis to produce a piece of permanent sculpture in response to the well site at Clitheroe Castle, to be situated in the new café. 

RVBC including Ribble Valley Arts Development and The Platform Galley staff are working with the museum service to put together an exhibition programme and education focus for the launch in 2009.

We have secured the exhibition, Facing North for September 2009 and will be holding a Ribble Valley open exhibition for the October to December period in 2009.
 
We are also putting together a bid to fund a part time education post at the gallery for the next 3 years, which will feed into work at the castle.
 
4.5	Creativity works 

4.5.1	Ribble Valley Arts Development continues to support creative business through Creativity Works, working with Creative Lancashire and a number of other creative business experts to supply top quality advice to creative businesses within Ribble Valley. We are looking into the possibility of hosting the awards Ceremony in 2009.
   
4.6	The Platform Gallery
 
4.6.1	The Christmas exhibition ‘Wonderland’ is opening on Friday the 31st October and you are invited to join us for a mince pie and mulled wine between 5-8pm on Friday 31st or 12-2pm on Saturday 1st of November.  The exhibition features over 150 British crafts people’s work and offers some fantastically original Christmas gifts.

4.6.2	The Platform Gallery continues to put on high quality craft exhibitions and workshops over the coming years and hopes to strengthen links to educational establishments in the region, if we secure an education officer.

4.6.3	Despite the credit crunch, the Platform Gallery financial figures for the first half of the financial year are nearly double that of previous years, which highlights the reputation the gallery has built up locally and nationally over the past few years.

4.6.4	Please see below for details

		2006-2007	 	2007-2008	 	2008-2009	
	April	£3,817.50	 	£3,168.20	 	£5,832.55	
	May	£3,917.20	 	£2,888.40	 	£5,054.00	
	June	£2,315.75	 	£3,814.40	 	£5,049.25	
	July	£3,022.40	 	£3,363.05	 	£5,886.55	
	August	£3,492.65	 	£3,583.95	 	£8,651.20	
	So far…	£16,565.50		£16,818.00		£30,473.55	

4.7	Embroider Your Skateboard

4.7.1	This unusually titled project is a collaboration between the British DIY craft community, the Platform Gallery, Clitheroe, Turnpike Gallery in Leigh and the Ribble Valley Youth Service. A group of 30 young people will get to work with an artist from Gorilla embroidery to design and ‘embroider’ a new skateboard that will then be on exhibition at the Platform Gallery with the winning entry to be exhibited at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh. This project is specifically targeted at young men, some of who are ‘at risk’.
  
4.8	Ludus Dance

4.8.1	Ribble Valley Arts Development continues to work with Bowland High School and Longridge Youth Club to provide contemporary dance through Ludus Dance at both centres (part fund with Longridge youth group).
    
4.9	Spot On Rural Touring

4.9.1	Spot On is now being overseen by a steering committee made up of LCC and borough council representatives including RV Arts Development Officer. This group has taken over from Community Futures and hopes to integrate the scheme into wider arts development events and objectives working with local promoters. The management of the scheme will be going out to tender by the end of November 2008.
 	 
4.9.2	Ribble Valley BC continues to promote and part fund Spot On Rural Touring, which sees a fine selection of high quality performances visiting rural venues throughout Ribble Valley. 
   
4.10	Art Barn- Calderstones

4.10.1	We are supporting staff at Calderstones residential medical centre in Whalley, who have put together a proposal including eight artist commissions to develop an arts barn in the grounds of the centre for residents of Calderstones and local community groups.
 
4.11	Kicking leaves

4.11.1	This youth literature festival will be going ahead in Schools in the Ribble Valley this Autumn, delivered by Mid Pennine Arts, part funded by RVBC.  

4.12 	Workshops at the Platform Gallery

4.12.1	We have a number of adult and children’s’ workshops coming up before Christmas including silver jewellery, Christmas decoration and vintage textile bag making. Please contact the gallery or check out the Ribble Valley Borough Council website for more information.

5.	CONCLUSION

5.1	Committee note the contents of the report

JOHN C HEAP
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES
Background Papers - None 
For further information please contact Chris Hughes 01200 414479
Ref: PMcRK/ZF/SW/Repcom/Nov08