23 JUNE 2017
Keeping you up-to-date
The magazine for South Kesteven District Council employees
INSIDE THIS EDITION
u Goodbye Beverley, hello Aidan!, pg 2 and 3 u Flag raised for Armed Forces Day, pg 3 u Mini Olympics attracts over 1,000 children to Grantham Meres, pg 4
Raising the street standard
Leader of the Council Cllr Matthew Lee, Sandy Gray, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, Rob King and Deputy Leader Cllr Kelham Cooke
‘Big Clean’ to set higher standard for our streets We have announced a major programme for street cleaning which aims to set a higher standard for the district and will be asking residents to help identify areas to target. The 'Big Clean' will see an initial 12 week programme positively transform the district’s ‘grotspots’, tackling not only litter but also weeds, fly-tipping, graffiti and broken street furniture across the district’s 365 square miles. In doing so we aim to set a standard that consistently exceeds the national average and make SKDC one of the best performers in the country. Our Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Dr Peter Moseley said: “When we asked residents about their priorities for the area, one of the top five issues they identified
was litter and cleanliness. “Cleaner streets make our villages and towns nicer places to live in and to visit. We also want to make South Kesteven as attractive as possible to businesses that will provide the future jobs and growth in our area. “We have always worked hard to ensure the streets are as clean and litter-free as possible within our annual budget. This programme recognises that some areas need extra attention to bring them up to scratch.” An initial £450,000 will see a number of new teams formed to tidy areas and undertake work identified through an intelligence gathering exercise and operations will begin in August. Cllr Dr Moseley added: “We’re keen to transform our streets, but we can’t do it alone – it needs to be a team effort. We’ll therefore be asking
residents, community groups and businesses to help identify areas for us to target, and even inviting locals to join us in particular areas. “We’ll also be working with our colleagues in the County Council to synchronise their responsibilities with ours, emptying gullies, cleaning signs, ripping out weeds, cleaning pavements, remove graffiti and sorting out bins. It’s an exciting project, which I hope everyone will support!” Residents will be invited to pinpoint areas for the Big Clean to assess and how volunteers, community groups and businesses can get on board with the project. Watch out for updates about the Big Clean and how to get involved on Monty and social media #SKBigClean.
Chief Executive appointed for ‘new era’ at District Council
NEW ERA: left to right: Cllr Matthew Lee, Leader of SKDC; Aidan Rave, Chief Executive and Cllr Kelham Cooke, Deputy Leader
We have appointed a Chief Executive to help drive what Cllr Matthew Lee describes as a ‘new era’ for the council. Aidan Rave joined the authority last Friday (16 June) after his appointment was ratified at a Full Council meeting the previous day. Aidan joins us following the departure of Beverly Agass, who led the organisation as Chief Executive for eight years. Councillor Matthew Lee, Leader of SKDC said:: “We thank Beverly for all of her hard work and commitment to our district over many years and wish her every success in her next role. “Our challenge has been to find a new Chief Executive to help drive the Council forward positively in what I genuinely consider to be the start of a new era. “Our district has many advantages and opportunities. We also face our fair share of challenges. We have therefore been looking for a candidate with drive, passion and ambition – and a track record of delivery. “Following a rigorous interview process by a cross-party panel, Aidan was the stand-out candidate. His broad
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"I am delighted to join the Council to help ensure we deliver for our members, our residents and our community. I look forward to meeting my council colleagues and working with them as we enter an exciting new period.” Aidan Rave, Chief Executive experience in the private and not-forprofit sectors will be invaluable, as will the fact that he has held elected office. We are excited to have him on board.” Commenting on his appointment, Aidan said: “I am delighted to join the Council to help ensure we deliver for our members, our residents and our community. I look forward to meeting my council colleagues and working with them as we enter an exciting new period.” Aidan spells out initial priorities for SKDC "I’m sure you’ll find in the coming weeks and months, I like to keep things
simple, so the three key themes I’d like you to consider are: 1. Elected members lead SKDC. It may be an obvious statement to make, but officers do not ‘lead’ SKDC – and that includes me as Chief Executive, and my senior leadership team - members do. They are the reason we are here; they are elected by the people we serve - the taxpayers who pay for our organisation. It is therefore critical that every decision we make, every action we undertake is in line with their guidance. This doesn't mean we should become ‘yes’ men and women – far from it – the best organisations are comfortable with challenge and tough questions. But fundamentally, we must ensure that what we deliver is in line with the wishes of the community - and that is most simply and most profoundly expressed through our elected members. 2. We can, and will, improve from wherever we are. Whether a service is currently top quartile or lagging behind where we want to be, we are going to make real, measurable improvement. The members are
Flag raised for Armed Forces Day A flag raising ceremony was held at our St Peter’s Hill offices on Monday to commemorate Armed Forces Day. Our Leader, Cllr Matthew Lee and Deputy Leader Cllr Kelham Cooke were among the attendees that paid tribute to our forces. Chairman Bob Sampson gave a speech at the authority’s flagpole outside our civic entrance to
going to hold me to account on that and I’m going to hold you to account on it. I believe that organisations don't improve because of magic formulas or new mission statements; they improve when team members can see how what they do relates to the District Council’s goals - and make little improvements every day. All of these improvements combine to make things better. That’s what we’re going to do. 3. We’re going to be more efficient in what we do. I’m sure this won’t come as a surprise! I don’t mean cheap or ‘cut price’, just more efficient. As we become more efficient, we can spend more resource on the things that matters most to our community as opposed to just automatically spending it on the things we’ve always done – for no better reason than we’ve always done them! How will we know what to spend this resource on…? See number 1 above". Watch out for interviews and updates with Aidan in future issues of evolve. Aidan says he's a white coffee, no sugar man, so don't forget to put the kettle on!
welcome local representatives of the armed forces, veterans associations and cadets. Reverend Stuart Cradduck offered prayers to commemorate those past and present who have served their country. The last post was played and a one minute’s silence observed.
FLAG RAISING: Cllr Lee and Cllr Cooke joined dignitaries and military personnel to watch the raising of the flag
Veterans at the event
Chairman Cllr Bob Sampson delivered to welcome representatives of our armed forces
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Mini Olympics attracts over 1,000 children at Grantham Meres
SKDC Leader Matthew Lee congratulates Inspire+ CEO Vincent Brittain, organisers, supporters and competitors on their fantastic milestone.
Popular paralympian Sam Ruddock leads the schools around the track
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More than 1,000 children have taken part in the tenth annual Inspire+ 'mini-Olympics' at Grantham Meres. The event at SKDC's sports stadium at Grantham Meres was themed around the legacy of the Rio Olympics which took place last year. Participants from over 30 schools were at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium to take part in a range of activities on Wednesday 21 June - one of the hottest days of the year! The opening ceremony even featured a parachute display. They met sporting stars Paralympians Sam Ruddock and Jonathan Broom Edwards and Olympians Sophie Allen and Elizabeth Cann. The games involved around 1,200 year three and four pupils from the South West Lincolnshire area, which covers Grantham, Stamford and the surrounding villages.
Director elected President of Planning Officers’ Society
Lianne Tapson, who chairs Grantham Tennis Club, was awarded the MBE for services to sport and the community in Lincolnshire was present on the day
SKDC's Director Steve Ingram has been elected President of the Planning Officers’ Society, the organisation representing England’s public sector planners. The role will bring Steve, who joined us three years ago, into contact with the top echelons of planning decisionmakers in England, including senior civil servants and Minister of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government, Alok Sharma MP. Commenting on his appointment at the Society's Annual General Meeting last Friday, Steve said: “It is a real honour to be elected by my fellow planners and to have the opportunity to work with the best planners in the country. “My presidency also provides an opportunity for me to showcase the best practice here within the council, such as our Garden Village development in Grantham and the pro-active approach to development of our new Local Plan.” Steve’s chosen theme for his year as President is 'Planning is for us all'. He explained: “Planning is about things that really matter to people. It influences and impacts upon everybody's daily lives - where we live, how we work, how we access our local services and above all how we all
experience the world around us.” Steve is a chartered town planner with more than 25 years' experience of working in local government. He joined the council in July 2014 as its Strategic Director Development and Growth with specific responsibility for leading on the Council's ambitious spatial and economic growth agendas.
“We would like to congratulate Steve on his well-deserved appointment. It is testament both to Steve’s work and a credit to the District Council that a member of our team should be leading his peers in an area that is so important to the future of our district.”
Council Leader Cllr Matthew Lee
He is also a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, a Director of POS Enterprises and Gravitas Housing Ltd and was latterly an expert advisor to Lord Taylor's review of national planning practice guidance.
Our Cabinet Member Cllr Helen Goral tried her hand at Badminton
Parachutists landed at the stadium as part of the day's celebration
Steve Ingram, Planning Officers' Society
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Building Control scoops two awards Our Local Authority Building Control team brought home a pair of trophies at the LABC Building Quality Awards 2017. The team won the award for Best local Builder or Traditional Craftsperson – Frank Goulding Ltd and Best Public Service Building for Bingham Church on June 9. Building surveyor Gareth Jones and support officers Danielle Burman and Lydia Parker attended the ceremony on behalf of the team. The event was held at the Athena in Leicester, all of the East Midlands Building Control authorities were there. The team will be going to London in November for the finals.
L-R: LABC President Richard Scott presents Gareth Jones and Danielle Burman with their awards joined by football commentator John Motson
UNISON trip to Oxford Saturday July 8 Departing Grantham bus station at 8.30am and returning at 6pm, the trip is free to Unison members or ÂŁ12.50 to non-members.
To book tickets contact Branch Secretary Tara Owen by emailing t.owen@southkesteven.gov.uk
WEAR IT RED Colleagues from the People and OD Team will be touring the building today (Friday) collecting money for Wear it red. The annual event raises money for the British Heart Foundation. Let's raise lots for this great cause!
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Local Plan consultation offers “golden opportunity” to help shape the district Residents and businesses across South Kesteven have the opportunity to help determine the future shape of the district in a series of ten drop-in events that begin on Thursday 6 July. They are encouraged to attend consultation events during July and August to see the latest version of a Local Plan, which aims to pave the way for high-quality sustainable growth in the district until 2036. The plan will be published on SKDC’s web site on 3 July. Drop-in events organised and manned by SKDC’s spatial planning team will take place over a six week period until Friday 11 August. Comments are invited until 4.00pm that day. In the Local Plan foreword, Cllr Mike King, Cabinet Member for Economy and Development, described the new Plan as 'a framework document' to help South Kesteven's towns, villages and countryside to grow as thriving local communities. It combines tried and tested policies with new or enhanced measures for employment and housing locations and a policy relaxation to allow some homes for local people in even the smallest villages. Specifics include a new 96-hectare employment location close to the A1 at Grantham, development of the town’s Spitalgate Heath Garden Village, a new housing area in Stamford, limited new housing sites to the north west of Bourne and new employment and housing sites in
Cupcake Day The organisers of the Alzheimer's Society Cupcake Day held last week wanted to say a massive 'thank you' for all your generous donations of prizes, cakes and hard-earned cash, which managed to raise a fantastic £350.15.
Market Deeping The Plan recognises the importance of the visitor and retail economy building on the heritage and vibrancy of South Kesteven's market towns and villages. A new Supplementary Planning Document will also be produced to ensure good design. A questionnaire will help gather information about specific polices and site allocations. Cllr King said: “This is a golden opportunity for everyone to have their say on what the district is going to look like for years to come and how it can perform for everyone. “We have a variety of ways for everyone to voice their opinion, from the general public to our business leaders and partners. We welcome comments regarding the Plan's aims
and proposed policies. “Please come along to one of our public events and talk to our staff. Alternatively you can go online and leave us your comments or fill in our questionnaire. Last year’s consultation resulted in 600 responses and we want to exceed that this time round." The roadshows, starting in Long Bennington on 6 July, will showcase preferred site allocations and reflect representations received during the last consultation in 2016. Paper copies of the Plan and questionnaires are also available free of charge from council offices at Grantham, Stamford, Bourne Community Access Point and Market Deeping Community Centre.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Cllr Mike King, our Cabinet Member for Economy and Development is encouraging everyone to view the latest version of a Local Plan
Fancy a round of golf?
With the longer, warmer summer nights why not spend an evening on the golf course?
We are looking to gauge interest in a golf evening near to Grantham before the end of the summer date to be confirmed. If you would be interested in playing please email Chris England in the Communications Team c.england@southkesteven.gov.uk. Once we have an idea of numbers we will sort out a date and venue.
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The Stamford Georgian Festival needs you! We need your help to steward our fantastic Georgian Festival, which takes place in Stamford between 21 and 24 September. As ever there will be an exciting programme of events celebrating the town’s Georgian heritage and involves great entertainment for all the family. The majority of events are on Saturday 23 September and Sunday 24 September when roads will be closed in the town to allow traders to sell goods and activities and entertainment to take place. No previous experience is required! All we ask is that you are available
between 8am and 6pm on both days in September and full training will be provided. Your main role would include acting as a point of information for people at a selected event. Our Premises and Facilities Coordinator Carolyn Baker volunteered at the festival in 2015 and said: “It’s a really enjoyable event to volunteer at and feels like anything but work! “The festival has a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere and being a helpful hand to guide people in the right direction is really rewarding. The fun you have as part of a team
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of volunteers and getting to see the festival up close is more than compensation for giving up a day or two at the weekend.”
If you want to join in the fun and be part of this event, please email Sharon Haythorn s.haythorn@southkesteven.gov.uk For more information about the festival visit www.stamfordgeorgianfestival.co.uk