Cash-strapped Chesterfield council considers future of parks and events in budget plan

The council’s Leisure, Culture and Community Wellbeing Director, Ian Waller, gave a presentation at the council’s Scrutiny Select Committee for Economic Growth and Communities, outlining some of the possible strategies being considered to help reduce costs for parks and open spaces.

Mr Waller said that the council is looking at management and maintenance, new technological opportunities, closing parks, toilet provision, and events such as the annual firework display at Stand Road Park and it is reviewing how it provides overall activities and entertainment while encouraging engagement and making savings. He told the meeting: “Part of the approach is to better understand these discretionary services and what options are available.”

A council Budget Implementation Plan report reveals that an estimated £50,000 to £100,000 could be saved following a review and by reducing the operational costs of managing and maintaining its parks and open spaces by looking at grounds maintenance, public toilet provision, and evening closures.

By reviewing and reducing costs of park-based community events and activities such as the Stand Road Park fireworks display, the East Midlands in Bloom competition, and other parks activities, the report states the council could also save an estimated £50,000 to £100,000.

The council recognises parks and open spaces have a clear value for residents but Mr Waller pointed out that it can be very difficult for the local authority with services that are provided by the council on a discretionary basis.

Mr Waller said that the council has to consider how it can deliver these services with savings and that it is not always about stopping services. He suggested that the council will need to look at technological opportunities, introducing new cost-saving equipment, and consider how ground maintenance is carried out.

Mr Waller said the council is really keen to make sure anything it needs to do to deliver a mid-term financial plan is done while looking at what can still be achieved. He stressed the council is focussing on areas of need, sustainability and realistic deliverability.

Mr Waller said: “It’s about taking on board the information we have received either through the ‘Budget Conversation’ [survey] or people who have taken time through the council plan and comments and complaint procedure and all that influences decisions made.”

He added: “We have a five-year plan for parks and open spaces strategy and we want to maintain the direction we have in the delivery plan and this is around maintenance and how we do things differently.”

Chesterfield Borough Council is already considering saving proposals in the Budget Implementation Plan which includes a number of possible changes relating to leisure, culture, and community wellbeing including parks and open spaces.

These include: The management and maintenance of parks and open spaces and whether changes could be made to reduce costs; Making sure the events programme effectively supports the town centre and parks while providing value; And considering the levels of funding and subsidies applied to the running of outdoor sports and leisure activities.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s parks and open spaces include community parks, recreational areas and play areas, and its borough parks such as Queen’s Park, Holmebrook Valley Park, and Poolsbrook County Park.

Other areas falling under leisure, culture and community wellbeing concerns which are being considered are: The use of digital technology; How council venues including the Winding Wheel Theatre, Healthy Living Centre and Queen’s Park Sports Centre are managed to ensure commercial opportunities and income are maximised; How tourist information services are delivered, including the use of the Visitor Information Centre in Rykneld Square; And how some council community buildings are used including Hasland Village Hall, the Assembly Rooms, and Revolution House.

The council has identified an estimated saving of between £100,00 to £200,000 if it can achieve what it calls a ‘cost-neutral provision of its outdoor sports and leisure activities’ across its bowling greens, football pitches, the cricket festival, and other subsidised activities.

It also estimates that at least a further £200,000 could be saved with a fundamental review of sports centre operations focused on achieving at least ‘a cost neutral budget position’ by focusing on operational management, fitness suite activities, activities coordination, and facility programming.

Other key areas under review include possibly reducing the costs of the Chesterfield town centre events programme including outdoor markets, specific events and the Christmas lights switch-on which the council believes could all save between £50,000 to £100,000.

In addition, the council has estimated that it could make savings worth many tens of thousands of pounds with other proposed possible changes under leisure, culture and community well-being.

These include possibly reducing grounds maintenance of highway verges; Withdrawing funding from Marketing Derbyshire and Peak District partnership; Transforming the delivery of community safety functions; Transforming the delivery of CCTV operations with improved technology; And transforming the visitor information service to digital delivery and reviewing the use of Visitor Information Centre.

The council is also looking at possibly reviewing the Winding Wheel operations by focussing on achieving a cost neutral budget position with an estimated saving of at least £200,000, and reviewing cultural community and commercial spaces by considering suspending operations from certain buildings including Hasland Village Hall, The Assembly Rooms, and Revolution House with an estimated saving of between £10,000 to £50,000.

Further savings of over £200,000 have also been estimated after a council report revealed the local authority has been considering possible increases in fees and charges in line with policy for leisure centres, regulatory services, and trade waste.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet has already approved an increase in fees at its Chesterfield town centre car parks by about ten per cent and to introducing nominal fees to its currently free Residents Parking Scheme all from April 1.

The council stated the free Residents Parking Scheme faced an estimated loss of revenue equal to £287,547 per year, but the scheme’s new fee structure is hoped to bring in an additional £126,305 of net income.

A proposal to introduce an annual charge for garden waste with the green bin collections was approved in principle by the council’s cabinet in November and a consultation was completed by January 10 before any final decision is made. It is estimated that this proposal could save at least £200,000, according to a council report.

Other proposed operational decisions, also falling under the council’s leisure, culture and community well-being services, include: Reviewing charges to commercially run operations at the Winding Wheel; Leasing out vacant floor space in Healthy Living Centre; Reshaping of market’s service delivery linked to changes in operational requirements; Reducing operational resources for car parking cash collection arrangements; Minor changes to street cleansing operational arrangements; And a review of recycling contract operations.