Report of Head of Community and Environmental Services.  There will be a presentation from the organisations which operate Holywell and Meriden Community Centres.

The Contract Monitoring Officer informed the scrutiny committee that it was in the second year of the three-year cycle.  Representatives from the community centres would be present at this and subsequent meetings to speak about their centres and the work they were carrying out as part of the commissioning framework. 

Meriden Community Centre – Watford FC Community Sports and Education Trust

Rob Smith and Steve Williams from Watford FC Community Sports and Education Trust gave a presentation about Meriden Community Centre and the work of the Trust.  They set out the aims and objectives and the five key themes.  They outlined the Trust’s range of partners and the funding that had been obtained.  The long term aim was to make the centre a sustainable community hub.  Steve Williams advised that the next step was to source funding for the play area located at the centre, which would be the third phase of the development.

Councillors were invited to put questions to the representatives.

Steve Williams and Rob Smith explained about the Trust’s role in ‘Employability’.  It was noted that it was a county-wide scheme which was aimed at the long term unemployed who possibly had other challenges.

Steve Williams expanded on the information in the presentation about targets, which were set by the different funding partners.  He outlined some of the local groups the Trust was working with at the community centre, including Meriden Residents Association and Watford and Three Rivers Trust. 

Rob Smith stressed that Sport England had awarded the Trust the maximum grant of £500,000 as the aim was for the centre to be used by the community and to promote health and well-being. 

Steve Williams informed councillors that the Trust did not have its own football teams.  It arranged ‘turn up and play’ sessions which were open to young people, with sessions for under 8’s ranging up to under 19’s.  The Trust had relationships with local youth football clubs.  If attendees to the casual sessions wanted to play with a regular club, the Trust could direct them to relevant local teams.  The Trust had held a girls’ school tournament and a football festival at the community centre.  The Trust also had an outreach programme at Westfield Academy; a BTEC programme for 16-19 years old.  The Trust had been quite successful with BME groups.

Rob Smith provided a breakdown of the staff, including the number of full-time and part-time and ethnicity.  It was recognised that the ethnic make up of staff was an area that needed to be addressed.  Almost 50% of staff were female.  15% of the 80 sessional staff were from BME groups. 

Steve Williams stated that the Trust was proud of its venue and would continue to maintain it to a high standard.  He said that the site in Harrow had started five years ago and looked as good now as it did on the first day.

Steve Williams also referred to the music gym which met at Meriden Community Centre.  Whilst families were waiting for the students they were able to participate in other facilities at the centre.  The Trust was proposing to hold a ‘Meriden’s Got Talent’ event and to set up a choir.  It engaged with local young people and schools.

Holywell Community Centre – Watford and Three Rivers Trust

Nicky Fawcett, Deputy CEO for Watford and Three Rivers Trust, gave a presentation about Holywell Community Centre which was managed by Watford and Three Rivers Trust.  She advised that the Trust also operated ‘The Barn’ in Watford Town Centre.  She outlined the facilities at the site, which were set in King George V playing fields.  Watford Cycle Hub occupied a building next to the centre which was also managed by the Trust.  She informed the scrutiny committee about the community programme which took place at the centre.  40% of visitors came from the WD18 post code area.  Some users came from outside Watford, usually for private events.  54% of responders to the survey came from the BME community.  The activities ranged from those for early years to those for older people.

Nicky Fawcett explained that the Trust’s focus was on health and well-being.  There had been an increase in the range of activities.  The Barn provided an alternative venue for events and groups.  Community programmes equated to 89.5% of all activity taking place at the centre, private events (celebration events and charity meetings etc) equated to 10% and commercial bookings (meeting room hire by businesses) equated to 0.5% of activity.  She assured councillors that the Trust did not want to change the level of community events.  It was necessary to balance the needs of the community against the income from private events.  The Trust hosted other groups within the facilities, including Watford Cycle Hub, the Polish School and Herts Inclusive Theatre.  Office space was rented out to community groups at discounted or reasonable cost.  Nicky highlighted further information from the survey which had emphasised people’s responses about health and well-being.

Councillors were invited to put questions to Nicky Fawcett.

Nicky Fawcett informed councillors that 304 people had responded to the survey, 54% of whom were from the BME community.  The Trust had targeted regular user groups and staff had attended sessions to provide support to complete the survey.

Following a comment about the two trusts working together particularly in respect of football, Nicky Fawcett advised that whilst the works at Westfield were being carried out, the groups had used King George V playing fields.  She acknowledged that all community centre management teams needed to communicate with each other and all were keen to do this more moving forward.

The Contract Monitoring Officer informed councillors that a community centres network meeting had been scheduled for July.

Steve Williams added that his trust did outreach work with a local school through the Premier League’s ‘Primary Stars’.  It had been well received.  There were after school football clubs.  At Westfield Academy there were ‘kick sessions’; the numbers had increased at these events.  He welcomed the opportunity to work with other centres.

In response to further questions about King George V playing fields, Nicky Fawcett explained that Veolia was responsible for the grounds but that Watford and Three Rivers Trust would like to review those responsibilities moving forward.  The trust linked in with the council’s Sports Strategy where possible. 

Nicky Fawcett informed the scrutiny committee about the trust’s funding.  It received an annual grant of £76,000 and had generated an income of £96,000 in the last year.  Income from activities was increasing each year and was up 20% on the previous year.  She advised that the trust’s main building was getting older and as part of a long term strategy other funding sources would be sought to help make improvements.  The trust was aware it needed to become sustainable and would look at the various services it could make available.

The Chair thanked the representatives for attending the meeting, giving their presentations and responding to councillors’ questions.