Weymouth Town Council Annual Town Assembly Wednesday 22 May 2019

1. Weymouth Town CouncilAnnual Town AssemblyWednesday 22 May 2019

2. Established on 01 April 2019 • Took on freeholds and legal responsibilities immediately • Website and social media launched • Staff team in place • Assets legally and effectively run from Day 1 • Elections on 02 May 2019 • Councillors announced on 04 April 2019 • First Council meeting held on 14 May 2019

3. Key facts: • 29 Councillors • Up to 55 staff • £3.34m budget a year • Band B precept rate of £2.78 per week, per household (= 5 ½ pints of milk, or 1 small Starbucks latte)

4. Main budget areas: • Beach - £1,056,060 • £455,000 – Supplies and services • £302,000 – Staff • £299,000 – Premises • Greenspaces - £1,097,335 • £780,000 – staff • £220,000 – premises • £194,000 – supplies and services • £192,000 – transport

5. Main budget areas: • Public Conveniences - £405,190 • £397,000 – premises • £8,000 – supplies and services • Property - £126,000 • Civic and Councillors - £69,000

6. What we do? • “..in charge of pot plants and the council broom cupboard” • “..it won't really be a "Town Council", …. just an "Allotment Management Agency” “ • “.. A couple of toilets and some allotments” • “If the Council did nothing and spent nothing on the beach - guess what, it would still be there in one year’s time” • “Cutting grass is not that hard” • “The Town Clerk ….. now has 29 Councillors to spread over some jobs that she has thought up.”

7. Beach Management • Blue Flag and Seaside Awards • 3.5 miles of seafront • Health, safety and welfare of over 1 million visitors to the seafront • Annually hire of 30,000 deckchairs, 5,000 windbreaks and over 4,000 sunbeds • Manage and accommodate 10 attraction concessions, 10 catering concessions and 4 retail outlets • Working with local, regional and national organisations, businesses and groups for the benefit of the environment and development of the seafront area • Incident management – WW2 ordnance, lost children etc

8. Parks, Open Spaces, Cemeteries, Allotments and Play Areas • 18 play areas, 1 country park, 7 gardens, 1 sports field, 4 playing fields and 2 open spaces • 2 Green Flag gardens • 4 open cemeteries and 5 closed cemeteries • Strategic development of Tumbledown Farm • Production of 38,000 summer and 22,000 winter bedding plants • 8 allotment sites (353 allotments) plus 2 self-managed allotment sites • 18 residential open spaces • Tree management and planting schemes

9. Garden waste recycled composting operations • Support 6 Friends groups and 5 volunteer groups • Community consultation • Raising awareness within the community of public open space • Support 45 events in parks and gardens per annum • Lottery and other grants for various projects • Grounds maintenance and assets inspections for Dorset Council including the Crematorium, car parks, roundabouts and verge/shrub/flower bed maintenance • Play and tree inspections for Portland Town Council • Hanging baskets for Dorchester Town Council and the Park District • Production of plants for Wessex Ground Services

10. Property & Facilities • 9 public convenience buildings (+ 1 temporary seasonal) • Over 30 properties and assets • 31 leases & licences for use of Council land and assets • Clocks & monuments - King George statue, Jubilee clock, Victorian shelters, Weymouth Cenotaph • Over 2 miles of water supply pipe • 2000 + town centre and Christmas lamps plus 100 anchor points • Multiple mechanical and electrical service contracts and equipment

11. Events & Festivals • Over 150 community, sporting, cultural and arts-based events together with major festivals • Maximising commercial and sponsorship opportunities to generate an income • Encouraging more people to come to Weymouth through major events and festivals with a particular emphasis on out of season • Increase and support the level of community volunteer and local club involvement in the Town and with the Council • Public promotional campaigns • Civic events programme, including Nationally Accredited Armed Forces Celebrations and various annual commemorations throughout the year including Anzac, US Memorial, Remembrance Sunday.

12. Community Development • Sharing best practice, enabling networking • Helping set up new projects • Equipment loan • Supporting and leading work to development “Strong and Resilient Communities”, reducing inequalities • Community engagement - particularly with hard to reach/more vulnerable communities • Capacity building with communities and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector • Supporting funding bids

13. Town Centre • Purple Flag for the Town Centre • Supporting Local Businesses and Organisations - BID, Chamber of Commerce, Civic Society, Community Groups, Disability Access Groups etc. • Working with Dorset Council – Waste, licensing, highways, conservation areas • Crime and Disorder – work closely with Dorset Police - Purple Flag, Community Alcohol Partnerships and general safety • Improving the look and feel of the town centre • Town Centre Officers Group and the Weymouth Town Centre Management Group • Linking in with national and regional high street trends and best practise

14. Support Functions • Finance • Communications and social media • Democratic services • Supporting Councillors – training, case work • Civic Services. Mayoral functions, twinning arrangements, civic services and the Mayor’s attendance at events (about 255 per year.) • Guardianship of numerous pieces of civic regalia and artefacts

15. The only legal duty of a Town Council is to provide allotments But…. the Town Council has many, many legal responsibilities and powers What would Weymouth lose if we only did allotments……..

16. Thank you Any questions?