Policy and Project Advisory Board - Tuesday, 18th November, 2025 7.00 pm - Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17th September, 2025 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 17th September, 2025 were agreed as a correct record.

To appoint a Chair of the Board for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED: That Cllr S.J. Masterson be appointed as Chair for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

To appoint two Vice-Chairs of the Board for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED: That Cllrs Abe Allen and Lisa Greenway be appointed as Vice-Chairs for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

To consider a review of the Council’s work to produce a Rushmoor Cultural Strategy and the next steps in the project.

 

Lee McQuade, Economy and Growth Service Manager, will be in attendance at the meeting to provide a short presentation and to guide the discussion.

The Board welcomed Mr Lee McQuade, Economy and Growth Service Manager, who provided an update on work towards reviewing the Council’s Rushmoor Cultural Strategy.

 

The Board was advised that the Rushmoor Cultural Strategy had been adopted in 2022/23 and had set out six shared priorities:

 

·                    Communities – Support Rushmoor’s varied communities (especially the least culturally engaged) to express and develop their cultural identity and celebrate these together

 

·                    Town centres – Ensure that culture plays an important role in the regeneration of Aldershot and Farnborough town centres

 

·                    Heritage – Build on the rich military and aviation heritage of Aldershot and Farnborough to increase both community pride and the visitor economy

 

·                    Creative industries – Work with artists and the Createch sector to establish Rushmoor as a centre for innovation and excellence in creative media

 

·                    Young people – Give more young people in Rushmoor the opportunity of developing a sustainable career in the Creative Industries

 

·                    Build capacity – Establish new arts team, the Cultural Compact and key partnerships

 

Mr McQuade ran through a number of initiatives that had contributed towards these priorities including:

 

·                    Rushmoor Heritage Festival

 

·                    Aldershot and Farnborough Heritage trails

 

·                    Town centre banners and graphics

 

·                    Makers’ Yard in Union Yard in Aldershot town centre

 

·                    The Landing in Farnborough town centre

 

·                    Temporary artworks and installations, including murals at Aldershot Station and North Camp toilets

 

·                    Delivery of free Council events

 

·                    Supporting arts projects and initiatives, such as Bula Festival

 

·                    Surrey+ Creative Constellation, alongside key partners such as University of Creative Arts, Farnham

 

·                    Farnborough Film Studios

 

·                    Employment, skills and training promoting pathways in film, media and digital arts

 

·                    Strengthened partnerships with Hampshire Cultural Trust, Arts Council England and other partners

 

·                    New Cultural Programming Group

 

·                    Cultural Places project

 

It was explained that the Cultural Strategy would not be rewritten but that a document would be produced that would set out a direction of travel for the Council and its partners. Members were asked to suggest what activities should be included in any future plans and what the future focus should be on.

 

In discussing the content of the presentation, the Board raised the following points:

 

·                    Important to engage with Nepali community but also to remember that there are many other ethnic groups in the Borough that are hard to reach

 

·                    Must ensure that people know that they are welcome to host their own event(s)

 

·                    Could the Council run training/workshops to assist people in organising their own event(s)?

 

·                    Councillors to assist with this training?

 

·                    Can further assistance be sought from Hampshire Cultural Trust?

 

·                    Important to engage with young people to establish their wants

 

·                    West End Centre (WEC) has had a pioneering approach – important facility

 

·                    Could more flag raising be done – e.g. all four Saints’ days?

 

·                    Could we buy staging etc. and then market an ‘events package’ to individuals considering hosting an event at The Landing?

 

·                    It is not felt that current events are marketed sufficiently – Arena magazine, website and Facebook not enough – need to consider younger persons’ technology such as Instagram, TikTok and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To consider the Council’s events programme, which is being reviewed as a result of the withdrawal of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the Community Response Fund (CRF) (see document attached). The Board is to submit its recommendations to the Council’s Cabinet.

 

Lee McQuade, Economy and Growth Service Manager and Alex Stone, Business Analyst will be in attendance at the meeting to guide the discussion.

The Board welcomed Mr Lee McQuade, Economy and Growth Service Manager and Mr Alex Stone, Business Analyst, who provided details of the Council’s events programme, which was being reviewed as a result of the withdrawal of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the Community Response Fund (CRF).

 

The Board was advised that the current plans for the 2026/27 Council events programme included 24 events with a forecasted cost of £135,300. To aid the relative assessment of events, the report analysis assigned a ‘value rating’ to each event based on a relative assessment of:

 

·                    The event’s contribution to the Council’s Delivery Plan priorities

 

·                    The event’s contribution to adopted Strategies and Strategic Plans

 

·                    The event’s value to partners seeking outcomes that aligned with those of the Council

 

·                    The public expectation around the event

 

The scope of the ‘events programme’ did not include:

 

·                    Events that were considered part of service delivery or statutory activity, such as committee meetings

 

·                    Economic Development Service’s markets, craft fayres and car boot sales, as these were focussed on economic opportunities for traders and small businesses rather than an event offered directly to the public

 

·                    Events that were not organised by the Council but that the Council participated in, promoted or otherwise supported

 

The event cost vs value rating plotted each of the 24 events in a table and suggested whether the event was considered to be high cost and high value, low cost but high value, low cost and low value or high cost but low value. The Board was invited to consider the assessment of the relative value of the events and, given the current financial situation, whether there were any recommendations they wished to make to the Cabinet as to how events might be prioritised. In response to these specific considerations, the Board requested the report's analysis of events should incorporate the ratio of event cost to attendance and an Officer based assessment of the value-for-money achieved in the delivery of the event. No specific recommendation on prioritisation was made by the Board. 

 

In discussing the content of the presentation and the table, the Board raised the following points:

 

·                    Friends of the Earth are a key partner in terms of the Eco Festival

 

·                    Should ‘Men’s Health Day’ be redesigned as ‘Family Health Day’?

 

·                    Cost of Annual Council Meeting seems high – can the cost of this be reduced in terms of buffet etc? - would be good to know the cost of a normal Council meeting for comparison purposes

 

·                    Should consider doing more flag-raisings – low cost and high impact

 

·                    Civic Banquet and Ball – need to understand where the cost is over and above the cost of the ticket to the event – not clear how much this event raised the profile of the Mayor’s chosen charities

 

·                    Could ‘Carols at The Landing’ be a new event for Farnborough?

 

·                    Need to consider these events in the context of the Council not existing in this form from 2028 – part of our heritage?

 

·                    There needs to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To discuss the Policy and Project Advisory Board Work Plan (copy attached).

The Board noted the current Work Plan.

 

It was agreed that the work plan would be updated following the inaugural meeting of the Programme Management Working Group on 1st December, 2025.