PRESENT: Councillor Richard Watson (in the Chair),

Councillors: Tim Benson, Ron Buzzard, Ron Day, Michael Handley, and Randall Sanders.

Councillor Peter Leahy was in attendance.

52. APOLOGIES
    Councillors Ben Miller and John Nelson.
53. CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
    None.
54. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
    None.
55. ITEMS IN CAMERA
    None.
56. SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
    Councillor Chris Short, the Borough Council's Cabinet Member responsible for Health and Leisure, and Mr Murray Calladine, the Leisure Development Manager confirmed that the post of Sports Development Officer was in the process of being filled. A paper was distributed which set out the position on the various sports development projects that the Borough Council was involved with in Belper. Councillor Short said that he had discussed all these projects with Karl Ponty before his departure. He had endorsed them all and the Borough Council was fully committed to carrying them through.
    It was stressed that both Councils must work in partnership to make the most effective use of their limited resources and ensure that sports development projects reached as broad a spectrum of the community as possible and embraced a wide variety of sports.
    It was agreed that at the next Committee meeting (16 October) the Council's priorities for sports development would be identified and then Councillor Short and Mr Calladine would be invited to the following meeting (22 January 2002) to agree a programme for Belper for next year.
57. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - BELPER HOCKEY CLUB
    Mr Roger Carter, the Chairman of Belper Hockey Club and Mr Peter Norman, the Assistant Chairman outlined the achievements of the Hockey Club over the last few years. Next season they would be in Division 2 of the National League, so would be one of the top 30 clubs in the country. Much of their recent success could be attributed to the appointment of Craig Keegan as player/coach and their water based synthetic pitch which was regarded as one of the best in the country and was to be used as a satellite pitch for the Commonwealth Games.
    Mr Carter said the Club was a victim of its own success and expenditure would increase significantly as a result of being in the National League. He was seeking sponsorship from local businesses but would also like support from the Town Council. The Council were delighted by the Club's success in putting Belper on the "hockey map", but as it had made no provision in this year's budget it was unlikely that funds would be available before April. However the Council would probably look favourably on a request for help over a period of three or four years, particularly if it was geared to encouraging young people to take up the sport.
    Councillor Ron Buzzard would liase with Mr Carter who would submit a bid that could be considered at the next meeting of the Committee and then could be taken on board in the budget making process.
58. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 24 APRIL 2001
    The Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 April were received and approved. There were no matters arising that were not dealt with elsewhere on the agenda.
59. GRANT APPLICATIONS
    a Belper Well Dressing Group
    It was agreed to make a grant of £400 towards the costs of this years event.
    b Hearing Help
    It was agreed to make a grant of £100 towards the cost of an additional monthly clinic at the Babington Hospital. However a letter would be sent to the Amber Valley Primary Care Trust stressing that it was the Trust's responsibility to fund activities such as this rather than the Town Council's.
60. MUSIC EVENTS
    The Chair reported that the first four "Larks" had now taken place. They had all been successful attracting audiences of between 200 and 450. Comment was made about the onerous conditions being imposed on the "Larks" by the Borough Council.
    At the present there appeared to be little progress on organising the Dance Workshops.
61. WORDS AND MUSIC AT ST JOHN'S
    The Chair reported that with the exception of October the recitals and lectures would be held on the second Wednesday of the month from September through to June. In October Musica Donum Dei would be performing at The Fleet on Saturday 13th. This performance would be incorporated into the Words and Music programme. To date two lectures and three musical performances had been confirmed. It was hoped to have the programme finalised by the end of the month, so that it could be publicised during August.
62. BELPER MUSIC AND ARTS
    The minutes of the meetings held on 21 May, 25 June and 9 July were noted. The Chair said that the organisation was trying to set up an event at the Rugby Club over the August Bank Holiday week end.
63. YOUTH CENTRE - BASKETBALL POST
    The correspondence from Caroline Butcher was noted. It was regretted that the Youth Service was ignoring the Council's advice not to set up a post at the Holbrook Road Youth Centre. There could be no question of the Council giving a grant towards the cost.