To consider any communications to be submitted by the Mayor or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
The Director of Legal and Governance, in the absence of the Chief Executive, was pleased to formally announce a number of key successes in recent weeks which have been reported in the media:
(a) Local Government Chronicle Awards
The Local Government Chronicle Awards are one of the most prestigious awards in the local government calendar, with 50% more entries than last year. Barnsley reached the finals in three categories, which in itself is a significant achievement.
Firstly, for ‘Business Transformation’ the team at the digital media centre was recognised as being a hub for creative and digital businesses, skills and knowledge, generating more and better jobs and developing businesses in Barnsley; secondly in the ‘Community Involvement’ category our Ward Alliances were praised for inspiring Barnsley communities to make a difference, and finally, Barnsley reached the final for the ‘Team of the Year category’ for our commercial ICT service, Code Green, showcasing their dedicated and passionate service focussed on improving IT services to twelve local authorities, businesses and over one hundred and fifty schools. Not only does this show that our teams, communities, partners and businesses are fantastic but also that our transformation as a council is down to our huge commitment, high standards and even greater ambition.
Councillor Frost, Cabinet Support Member (Place) expressed his congratulations to Martin Beasley and the team at the Digital Media Centre for the brilliant performance at the LGC Awards for the Business Transformation category, at which they were shortlisted from almost forty other councils and beat nine others to win the award, demonstrating hard work and effort to beat off stiff competition from other much larger councils.
Councillor Platts, Cabinet Spokesperson (Communities), added her individual congratulations regarding the Community Involvement Award, expressing her pride in the work done by the Ward Alliances, with councillors, communities, businesses and officers working together to achieve so much in a short time. The Ward Alliances have grown in confidence, learning from mistakes and continuing to move forward to make a real difference to communities both now and in the future. It was highlighted that the Ward Alliances have been shortlisted for the Municipal Journal awards as one of six finalists in the ‘Excellence in Community Engagement’ category.
Councillor Noble, Dearne Area Council Chair, highlighted that whilst all the projects at Shaw Lane were brilliant it was the Dearne project which was put forward for the awards, demonstrating what a difference a small funding bid to the Ward Alliance can do to transform an area in Goldthorpe which had been a blight on the landscape for years.
Representing the Ward Alliance and in attendance in the Council Chamber were Phil Hollingsworth, Claire Dawson, Derek Brannan, Paul Jolley, Teresa Williams, Rebecca Battye, Tanya Dickinson, John Openshaw, Marcia Cunningham, Lisa Lyon, Janet Sutton and Jake Finney.
Cllr Gardiner, Cabinet Spokesperson (Corporate Services) added his congratulations to the Code Green Team for reaching the finals of the awards, highlighting that the team serve schools, academies and businesses locally and in other areas such as Manchester, Humberside and Tameside, generating in excess of £2.6 million for Barnsley. Representing Code Green and in attendance in the Council Chamber were Ian Faulkner, Julia Garner, Liam White, Chloe Cunliffe, Sara Wagstaff and Rachel Ruston.
(b) Culture and Visitor Economy
It was reported that Elsecar has been named by Historic England as one of the Country’s Heritage Action Zones. Only ten places in England have been recognised in this way, which is a reflection of the importance of the heritage at Elsecar and will provide us with the support and resources that will begin to realise the village’s immense potential as part of the region’s visitor and tourism economy.
Jointly with Rotherham, Barnsley has been recognised by the Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England as one of only sixteen ‘Great Places in England’. The Great Place Scheme is designed to ensure that Culture and Heritage has the maximum positive impact on jobs, economic performance, educational attainment, community cohesion and health and wellbeing and enables ambitious civic organisations and local businesses and communities to invest in, and put culture at the heart of, their thinking. The award attracts £1.2M of revenue funding over three years. Our scheme focuses on the immensely important heritage in the villages of Elsecar and Wentworth and it is this, together with Barnsley’s reputation and track record for delivering exemplar cultural and heritage projects that led to this incredible recognition for the Borough.
The Somme Commemoration Artwork has also won national recognition, receiving a Commendation from the Civic Trust. The artwork was particularly poignant because of the loss of around three hundred people from Barnsley on the first day of the battle of the Somme, one hundred years ago. The project engaged local school children and volunteers in its development and resonated with local people. Out of fifty-eight shortlisted projects from across the country, Barnsley was the only award in Yorkshire, demonstrating the very high standard of our work.
We also received £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop a Sound and Film Archive which will make the sound and film collections held by Barnsley Archives and Local Studies fully accessible for the first time and enable people to donate their film footage.
Finally, last week the Arts Council awarded over £77,000 to continue our excellent Museum and Schools programme. We were one of only ten in the Country to receive the funding and a tribute to the outstanding quality of our programme.
Cllr Miller, Cabinet Spokesperson (Place) expressed his congratulations to the Culture and Visitor Economy Team and in particular Jemma Conway, Michael Hardy, Kevin Wallace, Devinia Skirrow, Lynn Dunning, John Tanner, Sue Thiedeman and from Planning, Barnsley’s Conservation Officer Tony Wiles, for putting Barnsley on the map. The team has an excellent track record in securing external funding to the tune of £17 million over the years to enhance facilities, provide activities and develop the culture and heritage ‘offer’ for Barnsley. Funding ensures that museums can be provided free of charge for people to enjoy. Whilst others are cutting back, Barnsley continues to grow and improve the quality of provision for the people of Barnsley, which has now received national recognition as an example of good practice.
Sir Steve Houghton CBE added his thanks to all staff in achieving these awards and accolades, stating how proud he felt to be leading a council which was doing so well in challenging times.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed their congratulations to all concerned in the usual manner.