Meeting - January 2014

Introductions
Steve Gray was welcomed to his first meeting as vice chairman.

Mark James, Community Network Manager is the Community Network Manager for Falmouth, Penryn and the surrounding area and is thus the first point of contact for issues relating to Cornwall Council.

The Council is still facing some huge cuts. The door is is still open for people to propose ideas on how services might be operated or delivered more effectively. These can be fed through Mark.

Property, which had formerly been a difficult area, was on the agenda for transfer as well. Discussions were taking place over the transfer of the Falmouth Town Hall. Some areas, and the Watersports Cente was quoted, were having more difficulty engaging with the Council. It was suggested that the latter should be taken up through Councillors (Geoffrey Evans in this case).

Matters arising from the previous meeting
A new one-liner definition of the Forum's work was available elsewhere on the website.

The Source FM crowd-funding scheme had been successful and a new transmitter is being bought. The old one would be going to Redruth.

Falmouth in 2014
The economic indicators seem to suggest that the UK will grow more in 2014 though not yet at pre-recession levels. As one of the key tasks of the Forum is ‘to strive for the ongoing prosperity and well being of Falmouth and its community’, it was interesting to hear specific plans from members and to find ways assist where we feel the Forum can make a difference in maximising opportunities and confronting issues that may arise.

The biggest challenge for the town was likely to come from the cuts in public sector financing. Cornwall Council have already made cuts and deeper and more wide-ranging ones are in the pipeline.

Falmouth Town Council is being pro-active in seeking to pick up the services which it believes are essential to the town. It recently agreed a precept which involved an average increase of £26 per household. This would be used to fund things like the management of buses, cctv and planting. Unfortunately the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had spotted this diversion of funding and threatened to cap town councils' precepts. A final decision on this is due in February, an 'absurd' six weeks before the beginning of the financial year. The cap might be put off for one year. Under the DCLG cap proposals, FTC would have to to hold a referendum to break the cap which would cost about £20k funded by FTC.

As far as the toilets are concerned, the plan was to remove the pay barriers on 2 April when the Town Council takes over.

The Town Manager and BID Manager had very big plans for the year with activity in the town centre, for events and for tourism activity. The event calendar would be going out at the end of the week, featuring the most major event - Tall Ships - which was shaping up well.

The Town Manager now had part-time support to help grow Moor events and a programme was being developed which would include things like Moor games - a day over half term - activities by dance groups, additional flags and so on.

The International Shanty Festival was also shaping up well with over 50 groups already booked. More enquiries were coming through as the town activities grow and Falmouth is increasingly seen as an 'event town'.

The BID would be continuing following the successful re-ballot. There had been a 60% turnout with an 87% 'Yes' vote which was very high in the country. A five year renewal brochure had been produced which was very much based on ideas that had been contributed by the town. There were now six BIDs in Cornwall of which this was proving the most successful.

They would be unveiling their detailed plans in the next few weeks.The AGM, to which all were invited, was planned for 18:00 on Thursday 13 February at the NMMC.

The plans for A&P Docks for the coming year were:

• To maintain a viable business and a establish plans for growth to be realised in 2015 and beyond
• To continue to fully employ 245 permanent staff and as many other full-time equivalents as possible
• To support the local community where possible including staging the Tall Ships even in August

Fal River links were equally positive. The Fal River Festival would be extended in time. A transport contract had been won to support Tall Ships and the Visitor Information Centre was already receiving enquiries. The new bus services, while trials, were proving successful by using a more flexible model than previous operators.

Planning issues
Cornwall Council has agreed a new figure for housing which would go into the Core Strategy. At a minimum of 47,500 this was just below the previous suggestion but was not as low as some Councillors had been looking for. Encouragingly, existing planning permissions plus known developments would account for about one third of this figure. The Falmouth and Penryn figure had also been revised downwards to 2,600 with about 500 for the rest of the Community Network Area. CC had established a new policy that any public land that was sold for housing would have to contain 50% affordable housing. It remained to be seen if these new targets were going to be acceptable to DCLG.

The draft Local Development Framework for Falmouth and Penryn would now go forward. It was helpful that 'the University' was planning to build accommodation on its own land as this would take pressure off the towns. There were still concerns that the new build would only provide housing and would not be truly sustainable developments with proper supporting infrastructure.

Transport issues
The Town Council intended to revive the Transport and Infrastructure Working Group as there was a gap in dialogue between the town and CC following the closure of the previous group and the demise of the Mayors' Regeneration Group. This would be chaired by David Saunby. Tim Light would represent the Forum on the group. First Buses were interested in attending.

A range of issues was discussed:

• The benefits, or not, of out of town parking and how that is both controlled and managed
• Buses and bus routes. There is a need to investigate what passengers actually needed and how assets could be used more effectively. There is also a need to service the outlying villages effectively
• Traffic pressures, especially at peak hours in places such as Bickland Water Road
• The lack of progress on the idea of creating cycling demonstration towns
• Car parking, especially Church Street Car Park which was still partly barricaded off

Other Issues 
The Falmouth Bay Residents Association was welcomed as a new member of the Forum. The Association is involved in many groups in Falmouth and is not just a local lobby group. It runs a computer club, holds garden parties and raises funds raised go to local charities. Its catchment area is specific - the Gyllyngvase side of Melvill Road - but anyone can join as an associate member.

There was an active Penryn and Falmouth Foodbank who are always in need of both volunteers and donations. They would be invited to a future meeting to talk about the practical aspects of their work.

A new Falmouth Bay CIC was being created to deal with issues in that area including the removal of seaweed, enhancement of the benches, shelters and general area. Anyone inclined to help or join was encouraged to have a word with the team.

A group of local residents were starting work in the Tregoniggie area, repairing woodland with help from Cormac.

Attending the meeting which was held on the 15th were:
Andy Coote (chairman)- Falmouth Business Club
Steve Gray - Vice Chairman
Candy Atherton - Cornwall Council
Dave Saunby - Cornwall Council
David Yelland - Falmouth School
Dick Stiles - Civic Society
Jackie George - Watersports Association
Jeremy Edwards - Chamber of Commerce
Jonathan Griffin - National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Mark James - Cornwall Council
Mark Williams - Falmouth Town Council
Mike Jenks - Civic Society
Neil Tinson - Churches Together
Sally Stiles - Age Concern Befrienders
Shaun Davie - Falmouth Hotels Association
Richard Gates - Town Manager
Richard Wilcox - Falmouth BID
Tim Light - Fal River Cornwall

Meeting - November 2013

Forum administration
Councillor Steve Gray was welcomed, in absentia, as the new Vice Chair. This provided a useful cross-over between the Forum and the Town Council.

Forum purpose 
The revised purpose was tweaked and agreed as being:

'The Town Forum is a non-political, non-aligned, open, results-orientated forum which exists to assist the successful vitality, viability and sustainable growth of Falmouth. It brings together representatives of groups and organisations in the town – from the commercial, charitable and statutory sectors, and from community groups – to talk about strategic and current issues, share knowledge, and to explore and help deliver projects to the benefit of the future of the town. Being non-aligned, it has the freedom to explore ideas in ways which other organisations cannot.

'It is also a bridging body - a sounding board - and a channel of communication.'

As this hardly rolls off the tongue, members were invited to contribute alternative snappier versions.

Forum constitution
The chairman would lead a team with the aim of creating a constitution on one side of paper.

Proposed and actual cuts to Cornwall Council Budgets and their effects on the town
It was unclear what specific cuts were being proposed by Cornwall Council but Falmouth Town Council was already taking steps to pick up priority services. For example, they were planning, or looking at taking on:

• A long lease of the Town Hall
• The management of the six public toilets from April
• The costs of the core operation of the CCTV monitoring 

They were also in discussion about other areas of activity.

This work had caused the Town Council to look at its priorities:

• They had recently appointed Christina Hayman, an FU Events Management graduate, as events management assistant
• They had also dropped the idea of funding a Neighbourhood Plan
• They had commissioned a review of the seafront furniture so that areas could be targeted for repair

All agreed that the wider Cornwall Council agenda looked very bleak and there was a real chance that everything discretionary would have to go. The Town Council could pick things up, funded from an enhanced precept.

Everyone was encouraged to tell councillors what they saw as priorities.

Marine Issues
The report on the dredging trial was still awaited.

Cruise Ship calls were reportedly down for 2014. The main reason given was that larger ships were avoiding the port because of the inability to dock alongside and the problems of trans-shipment.

There was no further news on the proposed Special Protection Area.

BID Renewal
The manifesto and voting slips have been sent out. Early indications were that there is a good response. We will know the full picture after the ballot closes on 28th November.

Tall Ships 2014
Progress is reportedly being made.

Radio Signals
Thing seem to have improved recently following conversations with Ofcom.

Source FM are close to securing their new Transmitter. With thirteen days to run they are still about £1.2k short of their £4k crowd-funding target. Although they have won a £10k award from Santander, this funding cannot be used for their new transmitter.

Any other business
The Forum bank account is now empty.

The Civic Society has published their latest newsletter. They will be posting some more information about sustainable development and town extension onto their website. This is very relevant for a town seeking to grow as fast as is planned.

The Bickland Water Road planning application is with FTC.

The Local Development Plan is now being delayed until 2015 which is leaving the way clear for some pretty undesirable developments. The Town Council is promoting its view that the target for new houses for Falmouth and Penryn should be 4,000 rather than 5,000.

Penryn Campus has received planning permission for two new projects:

• The Heart project which will create a new, public, open space and involve landscaping to make the whole site link together much better
• A new science and engineering research support facility for the University of Exeter. This will be located at the top of the site close to the Environment and Sustainability Institute and adjacent to the Tremough Innovation Centre 

Both are planned to be completed in 2015 subject to funding being confirmed.

The Town Council:

• Is still discussing an application for a new cemetery 
• Did very well in the Britain in Bloom competition (in Cleethorpes in the rain), winning a Silver Gilt award. They have been encouraged to go for gold

Attending the meeting were:
Andy Coote (chairman)- Falmouth Business Club
Candy Atherton - Cornwall Council
Chris Smith - Falmouth and Penryn Community Plan
David Yelland - Falmouth School
Dick Stiles - Civic Society
Jackie George - Falmouth Watersports Association
Jilly Easterby - Falmouth Exeter Plus
Jonathan Griffin - National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Mark Williams - Falmouth Town Council
Mike Jenks - Civic Society
Neil Tinson - Churches Together
Sally Stiles - Age Concern

Meeting - September 2013

The purpose and plans for the Forum
Andy Coote introduced his first meeting as chairman with a discussion about the role and responsibilities of the Forum focusing on the summary that had been previous circulated. This was then updated.

In discussion, people highlighted a variety of issues and opportunities such as:

• A recent report which had suggested that Falmouth was the 11th most deprived seaside town in the country. This was disputed, especially given the changes over the last five years, but it was recognised that the town still had much work to do in some residential areas
• The importance of being a group which not only discussed ideas but did something about the conclusions, fitting in with the work of other bodies such as the Town Council and the BID
• The use of working groups to tackle particular issues. The Town Council had formerly asked the Forum to look at specific strategic issues but this seemed to have waned
• Whether the Forum should include a representative of the police, at a strategic level 

The summary was re-drafted along the following lines:
'The Town Forum is a non-political, non-aligned, open, results-orientated forum which exists to assist the successful vitality, viability and sustainable growth of Falmouth. It brings together representatives of groups and organisations in the town – from the commercial, charitable and statutory sectors – to talk about strategic and current issues, share knowledge, and to explore and deliver projects to the benefit of the future of the town. Being non-aligned, it has the freedom to explore ideas in ways which other organisations cannot.' This was open to more considered re-drafting.

It is also a bridging body - a sounding board - and a channel of communication.

Administrative matters
There was still a need for a Vice-Chair to support the Chairman in the many representative calls on his time. Volunteers were sought (but no one came forward).

The Constitution of the Forum would be updated in the light of the discussions.

Tall Ships 2014
This event is predicted to bring in 9,000 participants and over 100,000 visitors to the town.

The Tall Ships event is going to need about 150 volunteers. Anyone who wishes to apply should register with Volunteer Cornwall. There will also be an opportunity for young people to sail on board the Tall Ships. This is a contractual requirement on the Organising Committee and needs our support. See here for details.

There may also be a need for pastoral support in liaison with the Mission to Seamen. Neil Tinson is pursuing this with the Tall Ships Committee.

Radio signals in the centre of town 
The poor quality of reception in the town means that many people cannot receive digital radio. Chris Smith will bring together interested parties including Brod Ross, Matthew Rogers (SourceFM) and others with the intention of whatever taking action we can and producing a letter from the Forum to the relevant authorities.

BID Renewal 
The Business Improvement District is up for renewal in November and is finalising details of its manifesto. Some 471 businesses are involved and more than 50% have responded to the recent survey seeking new ideas. Richard Wilcox would share the draft with the Forum to seek its input. He was hopeful of success especially given the support for the surveys.

A recent report - the Grimsey report - highlighted a range of things that town centres should be doing to make themselves attractive. [Late entry: a further report by the Centre for Cities is also available here]. The BID had been pursuing many of these ideas itself, which was encouraging. The Forum offered Richard whatever help he needed in developing these ideas further.

A big issue remained the need to separate in constituents' minds the difference between the remits and work of the BID, the Town Council and the County Council, especially in the light of the cuts (see next item) and change sin responsibility through localism.

Cornwall Council cuts
A 'tsunami of cuts' is on its way and it is likely that Cornwall Council will end up operating at a level which one councillor had described as being 'at the margin of acceptability' and 'at the margin of statutory requirements'. These cuts have largely been imposed by central government. Falmouth Town Council is trying to take up the slack by managing things such as toilets and roundabouts but even their room for manoeuvre is restricted by the political acceptability of putting up the precept. There was also a real danger that government might limit the level of increase in the precept as it had done for Cornwall Council.

An event is due to take place at Mabe Town Hall on 3 October when the budget will be discussed in more detail.

Dredging
The trial dredge to check the dead maerl habitat has taken place but unexpected delays means that full report is unlikely to be complete until January. If this proves helpful then it is hoped that the MMO will issue a licence. That licence may contain a number of requirements which will need to be negotiated.

Special Protection Area
A new issue was emerging: the possible designation of a large area of the coast as a Special Protection Area because of its importance to four species of migratory birds. There was a real need for a full management specification before the consultation process starts so that one could understand the implications of protection. This had not happened in the past and designations had been enforced in ways that had never originally been interpreted.

Access to Finance event
The Federation of Small Businesses is running an Access to Finance event on 17 October at the Greenbank Hotel from 19:00. Tickets available here.

Dates for future meetings
The next meeting would be held on 13 November in the NMMC Haddon Board Room at the new time of 18:00. The provisional dates for 2014 are on the separate page.

Those attending
Andy Coote - Falmouth Business Club (Chairman)
Caroline Robinson - Federation of Small Businesses
Chris Smith - Community Plan
Cllr Candy Atherton - Cornwall Council
David Yelland - Falmouth School
Jonathan Griffin - National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Mark Williams - Falmouth Town Council
Mike Jenks - Civic Society
Mike Reynolds - A&P Docks
Neil Tinson - Churches Together
Richard Wilcox - Falmouth BID
Shaun Davie - FDHA