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Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission - Thursday, 19 June 2025 5:30 pm
June 19, 2025 View on council websiteSummary
The Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission met to discuss a range of topics, including an overview of culture and neighbourhoods, a business case for the King Richard III Visitor Centre café, updates on Public Space Protection Orders, and findings from a household waste engagement survey. The commission was also scheduled to discuss and note the terms of reference, membership, and dates of meetings for the commission in 2025/26.
Household Waste Engagement Survey
The commission was scheduled to review the findings of a Household Waste Engagement Survey, which sought to understand how residents manage their waste, their priorities, and their concerns about future changes to waste collection services. The survey, which ran for six weeks, aimed to gather insights into household attitudes towards waste management and recycling, including barriers to participation and support needed to maximise recycling and reuse.
According to the report pack, the council wanted to understand:
To understand what influences how households currently manage their waste, including issues with space and understanding of recycling.
The survey also sought to inform the public about upcoming changes to household waste collection services, including the introduction of separate food waste collections.
The report pack states that the council received 5,390 responses to the online survey, a 4% response rate. The report pack suggests that this was an excellent response
compared to other city-wide engagements.
King Richard III Visitor Centre Café Business Case
The Director of Tourism Culture and Economy submitted a report on the business case for a new café at the King Richard III Visitor Centre. The report pack states that a £551,000 capital investment loan is to be used to redevelop the catering offer and improve linked elements of the service provision at the King Richard III Visitor Centre. The intention is to reduce expenditure and increase income generation.
The report pack outlines several planned physical changes:
- Relocation of the existing café to the front of the pay perimeter.
- Conversion of the existing temporary exhibition space into a café seating area.
- Conversion of the existing reception/retail/ticket sales point into a combined reception/retail/ticket/café servery sales point.
- Creation of an exterior seasonal seating area.
- Clearing of the existing café seating area to create a dedicated schools and education facility.
- Releasing the King's Suite for additional private/corporate hire income.
The report pack claims that the changes are expected to cost £551,000, financed through prudential borrowing over 10 years, resulting in an annual revenue cost of £72,000. The report pack also claims that revenue savings of £111,000 have been identified to cover the cost of borrowing, through operational savings and increased income generation, delivering an estimated net saving to the council of £39,000 per year.
The report pack states that advice was sought from external catering consultants and from Leicester City Council's Estates & Building Services Capital Projects Team.
Public Space Protection Orders
The Director of Neighbourhood & Environmental Services was scheduled to provide an update on the progress of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO).
The report pack states that City Wardens and Community Safety Staff were tasked with implementing the new Leicester City Council Public Space Protection Order commencing from 2 April 2025.
The report pack describes a PSPO as:
a legal tool that can be local authorities to address antisocial behaviour in public areas.
The report pack states that, for Leicester, the PSPO covers the following offences:
- Loitering and Begging.
- Charity or commercial subscription collectors.
- Microphones, loudspeakers, megaphones, loudhailers or any other equipment used to amplify the volume of speech or music.
- Temporary structures
- Ebikes, Bikes and Scooters
The report pack states that the PSPO is based in City Centre Zone 1 and around the train station, providing high visibility. An education campaign took place in April to advise people of the new PSPO, with enforcement and the issuing of fines commencing on 1 May for members of the public not conforming to instructions. Leicester City Council has worked alongside Leicestershire Police in implementing the PSPO.
The report pack states that, to date, 3 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued, demonstrating that the engagement work in April was successful.
Overview of Culture and Neighbourhoods
Directors were scheduled to give a presentation providing an overview of the Culture and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Commission. The report pack includes information on the key service leads, including Jo Jones, Head of Arts & Museums, Tony Flint, De Montfort Hall & Haymarket Theatre, Sarah Harrison, City Centre Director, Graham Callister, Festivals & Events and Cultural Policy, and Mike Denby, Place Marketing/ Visit Leicester1.
The report pack lists the services relevant to the commission, including museum and visitor attraction services at six key sites: Leicester Museum, Jewry Wall, Leicester Guildhall, King Richard III Visitor Centre, Abbey Pumping Station and Newarke Houses Museum.
The report pack also lists key priorities, including a new Cultural and Creative Industries Strategy & Museums Vision & Strategic Priorities, strengthening engagement work with schools and communities, developing new art, climate change and social history galleries, and creating visitor experiences through capital investment at Jewry Wall & LMAG.
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Visit Leicester is the official tourism website for Leicester. ↩
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