Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

The meeting received the minutes from the previous meeting of Central Area Council held on 31 January 2024.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Central Area Council held on 31 January 2024 be approved as a true and correct record.

The Area Council Manager introduced the report, noting that each of the providers delivering of behalf of the Area Council had provided monitoring reports.  These had been reviewed and all were deemed to be satisfactory.  Review meetings had also been held with all providers and there were no concerns with the performance of any service.

Members were reminded that the contract with Barnsley and Rotherham MIND ended in March 2024.

RESOLVED that the report be received.

Twiggs Grounds Maintenance

Targeted Household Flytipping (Environmental) Officer – John Partridge

Housing and Cohesion Officer – Lisa Harris

John Twigg and Jordan Gregory were welcomed from Twiggs Grounds Maintenance.

A presentation was provided which aimed to provide a view of the added benefit the Clean and Green Service delivered in the Central Area. This highlighted the positive impact which was in addition to the regularly reported statistics such as litter collected and volunteers engaged.

Members heard of such impacts as reducing social isolation and improving mental health and wellbeing.  Members were made aware of links to social prescribing, and the benefits of ‘Green Prescribing’ on health and wellbeing. it was believed that this would be an area of growth.

Also noted were the donations provided by local businesses, which helped them feel engaged with their community and in some cases helped them to reduce landfill waste.  Members heard that donations included bulbs and other horticultural products, and also donations of meals and refreshments were provided to volunteers.  Businesses also engaged with the service to help provide volunteering opportunities.

Members noted the popular activity of tree planning with over 1,200 planted in the Central Area. The corresponding impact of reducing Co2 was also acknowledged.

Those present heard of the positive work supporting enforcement agencies in the area to address environmental challenges.

It was suggested that areas such as training and upskilling were often overlooked, with many volunteers gaining skills in health and safety, and horticulture.

Members noted the links with schools, the provision of education packs. Also noted were the links with Barnsley College, supporting placements and work experience.  It was noted that Twiggs Grounds Maintenance could now offer AQA accreditation, which helped improve employability.

Members were reminded that Twiggs had been delivering in the Central Area for 10 years, and an overview of the cumulative impact was provided. This included 14,291 sacks of rubbish collected, 8,936 volunteer hours and 3,917 volunteers.

Questions were then invited from Members.

The issue of littering around schools was discussed and it was noted that education was not one of the performance indicator for the team but if resources were available the team did work closely with schools.  Previous work had included work with Dodworth St Johns Primary, and Horizon Community College.

Many Members praised the work of the team and of the volunteers who were involved, however a question was raised about how to reduce litter and prevent the issue occurring.

It was noted that the Council did run campaigns on social media, and when large scale littering happened such as fly tipping the council responded quickly to remove this.  However, it was noted that often when this was removed some people would then take advantage and use this as a way of removing bulk waste without charge. It was noted that there were unscrupulous individuals removing household waste for a fee and then fly tipping. Members heard that a series of responses were available, which included assessing waste for information, using CCTV, and appealing to residents to provide intelligence.  Noted was the benefit of an officer being known in the area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

The Area Council Manager introduced the report which provided an overview of the Area Council’s contracted services, service level agreements and grant funded services.  In addition, it provided an overview of the financial situation of the Area Council.

Noted was the organisations being selected to receive finance from the Social Isolation and Loneliness Grant Fund:- Barnsley FC Community Trust with Reds Connect; Citizens Advice Barnsley with Advice Drop in Service; DIAL Barnsley with Community Timebank Project; and Age UK with My Community My Life.

Central – held on 24 January and 28 February 2024

Dodworth – held on 9 January and 6 February 2024

Kingstone – held on 17 January and 6 March 2024

Stairfoot – held on 8 January and 11 March 2024

Worsbrough – held on 17 January (Environmental Working Group) and 25 January 2024

Those present received the following notes:-

Central Ward Alliance – held on 24 January and 28 February 2024;

Dodworth Ward Alliance– held on 9 January and 6 February 2024

Kingstone Ward Alliance – held on 17 January and 6 March 2024;

Stairfoot Ward Alliance – held on 8 January and 11 March 2024

Worsbrough Ward Alliance– held on 17 January (Environmental Working Group) and 25 January 2024.

The report on the use of Ward Alliance Funds was received by those present, and its contents noted.