Agenda item

Report by Place Manager (Town Centres) and the Director for Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Place Manager (Town Centres), (circulated previously), regarding the Street Marshal Scheme.

The Place Manager (Town Centres) highlighted the following:

·         The Council had agreed, at a meeting in September 2023, to earmark reserves to extend the Street Marshal scheme from October 2023 until 31 March 2024.

·         The extension was to allow Officers to explore funding opportunities to provide a long-term solution to the provision of street marshals in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.

·         The Scheme initially only operated in Barnstaple and the extension was agreed to include Ilfracombe with an evaluation of the benefits of widening the provision to both towns reported to a future meeting.

·         During the six month extension period the scheme had operated in Barnstaple five days a week and in Ilfracombe for two days a week.

·         The scheme had contributed to a significant reduction in overall crime and incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) reported to the Police.

·         No towns in Devon were invited to apply for funding from the Safer Streets round 5.

·         A further extension to fund this scheme by the Council was being sought as seen in the report at 2.1 to 2.4.

·         The results of a recent survey of businesses and general public in both Barnstaple and Ilfracombe showed that:

Ø  92% of respondents (352) had seen a reduction in ASB

Ø  80% of respondents (352) had seen a reduction in violence

Ø  79% of respondents (352) had seen a reduction in criminal damage

Ø  93% of respondents (352) had seen a reduction in street drinking

Ø  79% of respondents (352) had seen a reduction in theft

Ø  Businesses felt that the presence of street marshals had a positive impact on the day-to-day running of their business.

Ø  96% of Businesses felt that the street marshals had a positive impact on the community.

The Place Manager (Town Centres), in response to a question on deploying the marshals to other towns and villages confirmed discussions with other parish and town councils could be held and that there could be flexibility to use marshals in other areas.

In response to a question in relation to money being saved by not funding this resource in light of there being CCTV, Police and security at Green Lanes.  The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive responded that external funding to continue this service was currently not forthcoming and that earmarked reserves had been made available to continue the service without interruption while external funding could be looked into further.  The visual presence of street marshals in the town centre had shown to be of great benefit for the businesses and shoppers in the town.

In response to a question about whether the requested deadline extension of 30 June 2024 was long enough to secure alternative funding.  The Place Manager (Town Centres) advised that the deadline was needed and hoped a solution would be found by then.

RESOLVED that:

(a)  The Contract Procedure Rules be waived and approved that a new contract be entered into, up to 30 June 2024, with the existing provider (subject to agreeing terms), on the basis that they have been delivering the service for the last 15 months and have established trusted, invaluable contacts and relationships with Council staff, Police, businesses, Town Council and wider community;

(b)  Authority be delegated to the Place Manager (town centres) and the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive to determine the exact operating hours of the scheme in consultation with key partners such as the Police and Town Councils, based on demand and available budget;

(c)  Authority be delegated to the Place Manager (town centres) and the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive to determine whether an external contract is the most effective and efficient operating model to deliver the service in the medium to long term or whether employing staff directly would be better value and provide a better service; and

(d)  The cost of the Street Marshal scheme be funded from the Town Centre Management earmarked reserve and any financial contribution from Town Councils’ as set out in section 5 of the report.