The Economy, Infrastructure and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss a petition to build a pump track in Burntwood, and to review the Joint Archives Service Annual Report. The committee agreed to refer the petition regarding the pump track to the cabinet for consideration. The committee also commented on the Joint Archives Service Annual Report, and requested an update in a year's time.

Pump Track for Burntwood

The committee agreed to refer a petition to the cabinet for consideration, which requested that a pump track be built in Burntwood.

Rachel Stackhouse, the organiser of the petition, presented the case for building a pump track in Burntwood, stating that it would:

• encourage outdoor activity
• provide a space for people of all ages and abilities to be active and creative
• help reduce antisocial behaviour
• support inclusion for children with special educational needs
• potentially attract visitors and put Chase Water on the map nationally if built to UCI¹ standards.

Ms Stackhouse suggested that Chase Water would be the perfect location for the pump track, as it is a centrally located beauty spot with existing facilities such as toilets, car parking, and a cafe. She estimated the cost to build a state-of-the-art pump track would be £300,000. Ms Stackhouse also noted that she had already gained over 900 members on a Facebook lobbying group, distributed leaflets, conducted school surveys, promoted the campaign on social media, arranged free BMX sessions, and collected 2,508 signatures on a petition.

Councillor Andrew Clissett supported the petition, stating that it resonated with residents and that the pump track would provide much-needed youth services in Burntwood. He also noted that a pump track would be inclusive for all age groups, with approximately 7,000 of the 28,000 residents in the area being under the age of 25. Councillor Clissett added that if 100 people used the track a day, it would increase the number of visitors to Chase Water by 58%. He also pointed out that the nearest pump tracks are in Whittington, Pygreen, and Stoke, but there are none in the Brown Hills, Litchfield area.

Several councillors raised questions about the type of equipment that can be used on the pump track, potential funding sources, and the opinion of the park rangers at Chase Water.

In response, Ms Stackhouse confirmed that all sorts of equipment can be used on the track, including mountain bikes, BMX bikes, skateboards, scooters, and wheelchairs. Councillor Clissett added that radio-controlled cars could also be used, and that the track could potentially have a younger track formation and an older person track. Ms Stackhouse stated that funding could potentially come from sources such as Biffa Waste, Scottish Power, and Sports England, but that an official body would need to apply for the funding. Councillor Clissett noted that the park ranger at Chase Water was supportive of the idea, as it would bring footfall and put Chase Water on the map.

Councillor Hayley Coles, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture, stated that the council welcomed the idea of a pump track and recognised the value it would bring to the community of Burntwood. She added that the council is currently reviewing an infeasibility study for improving the area of Chase Water, and that the pump track has been flagged with the project team. Sarah Bentley, Head of Environment and Countryside, confirmed that feasibility work is ongoing to look at a wider master plan for Chase Water, and that the pump track is very much on the council's minds.

Councillor Robin Hall raised concerns about how long the master plan for Chase Water would take, and whether the £7.2 million in funding that was in place would still be available. Councillor Coles reassured the committee that the council is already in the process of looking at all of the countries like Chase Water can at Chase, and that the master plan is due to go through Cabinet in early 2027.

The committee agreed that taking no further action was not an option, and that a working group was not necessary as the group had already done a lot of work on the petition. It was therefore proposed that the committee refer the matter directly to Cabinet for consideration, as the Cabinet is a money-holding group and can balance the funding pressures with other priorities. This proposal was supported by a show of hands.

Joint Archives Service Annual Report 2024-2025

The committee received and commented on the Joint Archives Service Annual Report 2024-2025, which is provided by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Councillor Hayley Coles introduced the report, noting that the Heritage Service is delivered through the Archives Service and the Staffordshire History Centre. Joanna Terry, Head of the Archives and Heritage Service and Lead for Culture, presented the key highlights of the report, including the move of the City Archives in Stoke to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, and the opening of the Staffordshire History Centre in November 2024.

Ms Terry noted that since opening, the History Centre has received over 13,000 visits, and that the summer programme was a real opportunity to test the family offer. She added that the core work of the service is around the collections and providing access to them through in-person visits and remote access. Ms Terry also stated that the service catalogues its collections and receives many new acquisitions throughout the year, with much of this work being supported by volunteers.

Ms Terry highlighted two examples of deposits that the service has received: plans, ledgers, administrative files, and photographs from Stafford Markets, and items for the Shelley pottery firm and Intarsio pattern book at Stoke. She added that in total, the service added 10 new shelves worth of archives at Staffordshire and 51 accessions at Stoke.

Ms Terry stated that the service engages wider audiences through touring exhibitions, events on-site and off-site, and a range of targeted projects. She noted that the service developed and toured two large exhibitions and three smaller ones, which were visited by over 55,000 people in total.

Ms Terry emphasised the importance of volunteers to the service, stating that they work in a variety of roles and that their contribution in kind is worth over £100,000 for the service. She added that the service collects a large amount of statistics and measures performance against key targets, such as the use of the service online and in person, attendance to events, the number of volunteer hours, and customer satisfaction.

Ms Terry reported that the performance for visits in person has gone up dramatically, from 47 visits the previous year to 7,909, because both services reopened. She added that the number of documents produced went up by 222%, and that attendances at all-out events and talks increased by 16.7%. Ms Terry also noted that volunteer hours increased by 13.45%, and that the National Archive Customer Survey in autumn 2024 showed that 94.5% of respondents scored the staff advice as 10 out of 10.

Ms Terry stated that the service has a risk register, which is reviewed annually by the Joint Archives Committee. She noted that there is one red risk, which relates to digital services, and that the service is in the process of implementing digital preservation software. Ms Terry also stated that the service conducts a benchmarking exercise, which compares it to near neighbours. She noted that the service compares well on volunteers and dealing with enquiries and delivering events, but less well on the number of professional archivists employed.

Councillor Coles thanked Ms Terry and the team for their hard work, and noted that the engagement of visitors and the services have gone up as a result of their efforts. She added that the Staffordshire History Centre is a leading example of how to access archives in a creative and accessible way, and that the museum service is now fully accredited by the Arts Council England as a direct result of the History Centre opening.

Councillor Robin Hall asked how the council can increase footfall to reduce the cost per physical person visiting, and what steps are being taken to accelerate digitalisation so the service can reach more people.

Ms Terry responded that the biggest cost for the service is in providing the correct conditions for the archive collections and museum collections, and in cataloguing them. She added that the service is making the collections available digitally through Find My Past, the Staffordshire Name Indexes site, and a new digitalisation studio. Councillor Coles added that the council is working on a full marketing plan and looking at ways to transform the service.

Councillor Paul Jones asked how Staffordshire performed in the 2024 National Archives benchmarking exercise, and what insights were gained. Ms Terry responded that Staffordshire compared well in terms of the number of volunteers and the hours they give to the service, and in terms of engaging people at events. She added that Staffordshire has fewer archivists than its neighbours, but still ranks highly in terms of the amount of archives that can be searched for in the online catalogue.

Councillor Simon Tagg, Shadow Portfolio Holder for Strategic Highways, asked if there is a new strategic plan in development to replace the 2015-2025 vision, and whether stakeholders will be consulted. Ms Terry responded that the service operates to a three-year forward plan as part of the joint agreement with Stoke-on-Trent, and that the new plan was brought to the Joint Archives Committee in March.

Councillor Conor Wileman, Shadow Portfolio Holder for Connectivity, asked about collaboration and joint working between the different museums in the county, and with larger organisations and national organisations. Ms Terry responded that the service convenes the Staffordshire History Network, which includes over 44 museums and heritage organisations, and that it has a good relationship with the Brampton Museum and the Stoke-on-Trent Museum.

Councillor Taggart asked about the flood risk and the CCTV and detection devices in place, given the wet start to the autumn. Ms Terry responded that the new store is raised up off the ground and that there were no problems. She added that the flood detection in Stoke-on-Trent did work, and that the issues are being investigated.

The committee recommended that the Cabinet Member for Communities and Cultures provide an update in a year's time.

Work Programme Update

Jacob, whose last name and title are not known, updated the committee on the work programme. The Community Learning Self-Assessment Report annual update has been scheduled for 17 November. The report of the Network Management Working Group has been moved from 18 December to 17 November. The library service or library strategy item has been moved from 25 September to 18 December. The meeting on 23 October has been moved to 2pm due to an extraordinary council meeting to discuss local government reorganisation. Councillor Gary Bentley has been added to the membership of the Network Management Working Group.