Agenda item

This report summarises how the Council has performed in Quarter 1 2017/178 for the key measures of success and projects for this Committee.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out the performance summary for Quarter 1 2017/18 against the Council’s priorities for the Committee:

·         Medway: A place to be proud of.

·         Maximising regeneration and economic growth.

The Committee raised the following issues:

·         Scheduling of Performance Monitoring reports - A Member made a general comment about the timing of performance reports to the Committee, noting that the information within the report covered a period that had ended over three months ago.  He suggested that it might be better for the Committee to consider Quarters 1 and 2 together, as Quarter 1 reports only gave a small snapshot of performance. 

·         New Highways Contract 2017 – A Member sought clarification on the implications of the new contract for Council officers.  The Assistant Director Front Line Services explained that the Council’s Highways Teams had relocated to the depot of the new contractor, Volker, and this had helped create a closer working relationship.    

·         Performance Indicator N1 167 – Average journey times along 5 routes across Medway - A Member expressed frustration at the lack of data for this indicator and suggested that average traffic speed would be a better indicator.  The Head of Performance Intelligence advised that continued use of the new Basemap system would result in the extraction of richer data for use in future performance monitoring reports. A Member proposed that a report on this matter be presented to a future meeting of the Committee.

·         Performance Indicator LRCC4a – Number of jobs created and safeguarded (cumulative) – A Member questioned why the target had been reduced to 300, given that last years target of 400 had been met. The Head of Performance Intelligence responded that this was decision made at Full Council and she undertook to provide the Member with the reasons given in the Council report. 

·         Strood railway station – A Member welcomed the good progress made in rebuilding the station.

·         Chatham railway station -  A Member expressed concern that there were no lifts at the station and questioned whether the station was DDA compliant.  The Assistant Director Physical and Cultural Regeneration offered to raise this with the rail operator.

·         To increase visitor numbers – A Member stated that toilets were an important facility when visitors attend Council events or walk in green spaces.  The Member was concerned that they had read a recent press article in relation to Medway Norse and the possibility that Parish Councils may have to manage their own facilities in the future. The Assistant Director Front Line Services agreed to raise this with Norse.

·         Rochester Riverside – It was confirmed that the planning application would be considered by the Planning Committee on 25 October 2017.

·         Affordable Homes – A Member expressed disappointment that only 22 affordable homes had been created during the period and did not consider that this represented a performance highlight.  The  Assistant Director Physical and Cultural Regeneration responded that the Council always sought to maximise the number of affordable homes, but consistently faced challenges in relation to the viability of planning schemes.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to:

a)            note the Quarter 1 2017/18 performance against the measures of success used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities;

b)            consider adding Performance Indicator N1 167 – Average journey times along 5 routes across Medway as an item for the Committee’s work programme; and

c)            note that officers would respond to the Members who had raised issues in relation to the number of jobs created and safeguarded (LRCC4a) (Head of Performance and Intelligence); the lack of lifts at Chatham railway station (Assistant Director Physical and Cultural Regeneration); and toilet facilities at events and green spaces (Assistant Director Front Line Services).