Agenda item

Adrian Spray, who is a consultant working on the project introduced the end of project report for the water gardens and gave the presentation to members.

Cllr Timmis gave her congratulations on the project and remarked on the terrific changes that had been made.She asked what had happened to the Canada geese.

C Covington said that it was part of the management plan for site to deter geese and proactive measures, such as egg oiling and specially designed fencing have been undertaken and numbers have significantly dropped.

Cllr Beauchamp added his congratulations to the team on work.  He said that it is a fantastic feature and a great asset and indeed the water was now being used by the model sail boat club. 

Cllr Banks remarked on the legacy that is being left and that it is lovely to see the area being used by families.

Cllr Sutton said that it was due to the dedication of the team comprising the consultants, the DBC and Claire that we have seen massive improvement in the area and this   iiis something to be proud of. Cllr Sutton added that there is a change in the character of the town centre where buildings that were offices are now residential and it is important to residents to have somewhere on the doorstop to visit and relax and we have achieved that.

Cllr Birnie said that he saw in the report that we had to go back to the lottery fund because of problems with the maintenance of the area, and asked that, if this was a one off grant, how would the facilities be sustained going forward.

C Covington replied that the request to the Heritage Lottery Fund was to extend funding for the Community Project officer for four months.  Her role has been to support the Friends of the Water Gardens, other volunteers and community activities. Because so much time has been dedicated to these activities, there has not been enough time to support the Friends and volunteers to become more sustainable. So the four months will help deliver this and more training. She added that we will be looking to apply for external funding and corporate sponsorship to be able to continue once the HLF support has ended.

Cllr Birnie asked Cllr Sutton whether sufficient provision has been made to sustain the actual maintenance of the gardens.

Cllr Sutton replied that yes, it had been included in budgets

Cllr Beauchamp remarked that one of the original benefits of the water gardens was the individual sound of the waterfalls. 

C Covington responded that the weirs are per original design and we only cleaned them, so whatever sound was there originally should still be in place.

Cllr Covington said that Hemel Movie Makers had created a series of short films which are a really good record of the project and would be of great interest the public and could perhaps be put on the website. The films were shown to the Committee.

Cllr Anderson suggested that a hobby and activity video perhaps featuring the remote control boat club would be a good idea.

C Covington replied that she could ask the film club if they would be happy to make another film.

The report was noted.