The Corporate Resources & Infrastructure Select Committee met to discuss the maximising of council spaces for private and business hire, to review the Cabinet Forward Plan, and to review the Committee's Work Programme. As part of the discussion on maximising council spaces, the committee heard from Karrie Whelan, Corporate Director of Place, Gary Penticost, Director of Operational Assets, and Fiona Sweet, Museums & Heritage Manager.

Maximising Council Spaces

The committee met with officers to ask questions about the review of business and private hire opportunities in council-owned spaces.

The review aims to assess the availability and utilisation of council-owned spaces for private hire and temporary letting use, with the objective of identifying opportunities for optimisation and commercialisation of these spaces. The review will look at spaces such as halls, rooms in buildings and libraries, rooms in the Civic Centre, and any other spaces managed by the council.

The review will assess the current usage, facilities, and promotion of these spaces, and identify ideas and opportunities to maximise income at such spaces for commercial, public, and private use. It will also explore marketing potential, including an online register and booking service, detailing their suitability for different types of events, locations, facilities and conditions.

The committee discussed the potential for co-use of spaces and rooms outside of service requirements, and the importance of a user-centric approach, including mapping out existing assets, understanding user needs, and involving the community in the process.

The committee noted that there is currently no central register of all known hireable spaces, who is responsible for them, how they are let, or how they are promoted. The committee aims to create a single point of useful information on these spaces.

The committee discussed a number of early ideas to consider, including:

• Business lettings for planned upgrades to rooms
• Serviced business suites / conferences
• Expanding online register / App / booking service
• Event Management and Lettings Service
• Targeted communications locally amongst residents, community groups and the business sector
• Streamlined / online process for regulatory requirements for space hire

Cabinet Forward Plan

The committee reviewed the Cabinet Forward Plan to monitor key decisions to be taken by the Cabinet and Cabinet Members over the coming year. The Cabinet Forward Plan sets out the actions available to the committee.

As part of its terms of reference, each select committee should consider the Forward Plan and comment as appropriate to the decision-maker on the items listed which, if it deems necessary, relate to services within its remit.

The committee can undertake its monitoring role of the Forward Plan in a variety of ways, including both pre-decision and post-decision scrutiny of the items listed. The provision of information on future items listed to the committee in advance will depend on a variety of factors including timing or feasibility, and ultimately rests with the relevant Cabinet Member to decide.

The committee may consider the following actions on specific items listed on the Forward Plan:

1. To provide specific comments to be included in a future Cabinet or Cabinet Member report on matters within its remit.
2. To request further information on future reports listed under its remit.
3. To request the Cabinet Member considers providing a draft of the report, if feasible, for the Select Committee to consider prior to it being considered formally for decision.
4. To identify a forthcoming report that may merit a post-decision review at a later Select Committee meeting.

Work Programme

The committee reviewed the Multi-Year Work Programme to note future meeting dates and to forward plan its work for the current municipal year. The committee's meetings will start at 7pm and the witnesses attending each of the meetings may include representatives from external organisations, some of whom travel from outside of the borough.

Forthcoming meeting dates are as follows:

• 23 July 2025, Committee Room 5
• 17 September 2025, Committee Room 5
• 19 November 2025, Committee Room 5
• 6 January 2026, Committee Room 5
• 12 February 2026, Committee Room 5
• 5 March 2026, Committee Room 5
• 7 April 2026, Committee Room 5