This meeting was scheduled to involve pre-scrutiny of two reports. It was also scheduled to involve discussions of the Overview and Scrutiny Board's own work programme and a schedule of actions arising from previous meetings.

Bromsgrove Play Audit and Investment Strategy

Councillors were scheduled to pre-scrutinise a report titled Bromsgrove Play Audit and Investment Strategy.

The strategy was scheduled to set out how Bromsgrove District Council planned to manage its play areas, and to describe the process it went through in developing the strategy.

The strategy identified a need to provide more play areas closer to where people live in the district:

There is a particular need to consider opportunities to increase the number of equipped play areas within 400m of residential areas, as these are the areas where the greatest deficit currently exists, with a current provision of 38%.

The strategy also noted that the Council has a legal duty to provide play areas under the Play Sufficiency Duty that was introduced by the Children Act 2004:

Since 2008, when the Play Sufficiency Duty came into effect, local authorities have been legally required to investigate and assess the play needs of children in their area, and to take steps to ensure that sufficient play opportunities are provided. ¹

Proposed Local Heritage List

Councillors were scheduled to discuss a report about the creation of a Local Heritage List of buildings and other sites that are not listed by Historic England, but that the council think have local significance.

The report contained the Council's proposed Local Heritage List Strategy, which is a set of criteria that officers have developed for deciding which sites to include on the list. According to the strategy document, officers will use the following criteria to decide which sites to add to the list:

• Historic Interest
• Architectural Interest
• Townscape Interest
• Archaeological Interest
• Social Value

The document went on to explain that sites will only be added to the list where:

There is robust evidence that the asset meets one or more of the criteria and its significance is sufficient to merit inclusion.

The list of sites that officers have proposed for inclusion on the Local Heritage List contains 102 sites including:

• Avoncroft Museum
• The Black Cross, Stoke Heath
• Burcot Forge, Burcot Lane
• The Coach and Horses Public House, Weatheroak
• Former Bromsgrove General Hospital
• Perry Hall Park
• The Queen's Head Public House, Sugarbrook Lane

Cabinet Work Programme

Councillors were scheduled to note the Cabinet's work programme. The report showed that the Cabinet was scheduled to discuss the Disabled Facilities Grant Ombudsman's report at its meeting on 07 January 2025. The report was also scheduled to note that the Cabinet had considered the Local Heritage List on 10 December 2024.

Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme

Councillors were scheduled to note the work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Board. The work programme set out all of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed by the board in future meetings. The programme included the following topics:

• Levelling-Up Fund Programme
• Heatwaves Preparedness
• The Artrix
• The Basement Project
• North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership
• Medium Term Financial Plan
• Biodiversity Policy
• Bromsgrove District Plan Consultation

Overview and Scrutiny Action Sheet

Councillors were scheduled to review the Overview and Scrutiny Action Sheet, which contains a list of all of the actions that the committee is waiting for officers to take.

Most of the actions on the action sheet relate to the Levelling Up Fund.