Minutes of the Community Centre Committee Meeting – Monday 27th July 2020
BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
THE NEXT MEETING OF BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Community Centre Committee MEETING
Monday 27 July 2020 at 6.30pm
Via Video Link
Members Present
Cllr T Giffard – Chairperson
Cllr D Aston
Cllr I Hibble
Cllr A Pucella
Cllr J Spanswick
Mrs R Keepins – Clerk of the Council
Mr P Ley – Assistant Clerk/ Responsible Finance Officer
Miss H May – Admin Officer
1 Apologies for absence
None
2 Declarations of interest
Cllr I Hibble declared a personal interest as a Civil Servant working for Welsh Government.
Cllr J Spanswick declared a personal interest in relation to Item 3 ‘Re-opening of Brackla Community Centre and Playpark’ as his Grandson attends Banana Moon Nursery.
The Clerk of the Council, R Keepins declared a personal interest in relation to Item 3, ‘Re-opening of Brackla Community Centre and Playpark’ as her Daughter will be attending Banana Moon Nursery.
3 Re-opening Brackla Community Centre and Playpark
Community Centre
The Clerk presented a brief report to Members indicating a number of phases for the re-opening the Community Centre. The Clerk also advised that although announcements had been made by Welsh Government that community centres could reopen, the legislation that has been published in relation to this clearly stated that the opening was limited to voluntary and essential pubic services. It also required approval from the Local Authority as to what and when activities could recommence in the community centre. Based on this, Cllr D Aston suggested that the Council should not really consider any reopening until September, should legislation and guidance allow.
Cllr J Spanswick further proposed that the Centre should not be open during August or September and should aim for re-opening in October depending on new guidelines and rules. He proposed that groups should be contacted to see when they would like to return in order to work out how the Centre could be run during Covid-19.
Members agreed with this proposal in that it provided a suitable amount of time for planning and to ensure that everything that was required could be undertaken and put in place to ensure the safety of users and of the community.
Members also discussed the request from the doctor’s surgery to possibly use the hall for issuing the flu vaccination in September/October and highlighted that this would be classed as an essential service and so should be given consideration.
Members also discussed the nursery usage and requested that they be asked to put in place a suitable procedure for social distancing when parents are queuing to drop off or pick up children. The Clerk agreed to take this up with them and put something in place. The
Resolved:
The Committee recommend that based on the current legislation only allowing community centres to open for essential voluntary or public services, and in the interest of public health, the Council do not open the Community Centre for normal usage for either August or September. Instead, the Committee recommend that usage by the nursery (as an essential public service) as well as consideration of the request to use the hall for the issuing of flu vaccinations, be prioritised for these months.
In relation to any future reopening, the Committee’s initial observations are:
• That the kitchen should not be used as it is difficult to socially distance in this area;
• That the maximum number of users in the hall at any one time be 30;
• That a one way entry and exit system be introduced if required;
• That social distancing and all other relevant signage be placed in the building and outside;
• That a toilet procedure be introduced so that only one person leaves the hall at a time so as to maintain social distancing i.e. queuing outside the toilet would not enable social distancing;
• That the cleaning charge be met by the Community Council as it was felt it would be unfair to put this cost onto the individual user groups;
• That the Committee room and Small Office remain closed;
• That a designated room be assigned for any person(s) showing signs of symptoms so that they can self-isolate until they are picked up or leave the building.
This was proposed by Cllr J Spanswick and seconded by Cllr I Hibble.
Play Area
The Clerk advised Members that the play park gate had been locked at the start of lockdown which is believed to have be carried out by BCBC, but that we would contact them to get this removed in order for us to reopen the park. The Clerk also proposed that BCBC be asked for their sign template which they have used in parks throughout the Borough in order to ensure consistency of advice. The Clerk was also looking into whether BCBC would agree to setting up a Service Level Agreement (SLA) where their officers would continue with the checks and regular inspections of the park and it’s equipment as they had the experience and the knowledge as well as the ability to undertake repairs if needed.
Cllr T Giffard said the park needed to be open as soon as possible which all Members agreed with. Cllr A Pucella asked that clarification be sought on whether the signage needed to be bilingual to which the Clerk agreed to look into.
The Clerk confirmed that once the equipment has been safety checked, the grass cut and the signage put in place the park would be able to be re-opened.
Resolved:
The Committee made the following recommendations and observations:
• Reopen safely as soon as possible as all BCBC parks were now open;
• If possible try and get the template for BCBC safety signs to ensure consistency between play areas;
• Safety checks to be carried out and area to be cleared – grass and rubbish etc;
• Ensure signs are bilingual in accordance with Welsh Language legislation;
• Signs to also be put up by goal posts and fitness areas.
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This was proposed by Cllr J Spanswick and seconded by Cllr D Aston.
Meeting closed at 7:30pm
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