To scrutinise matters relating to the decision over the location of the Dover Soup Kitchen.
Minutes:
Councillor K Mills welcomed representatives from Dover Soup Kitchen and the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Public Protection, Councillor T J Bartlett, to the meeting.
Councillor T J Bartlett advised the Committee that the selection of the Adrian Street car park site for the Dover Soup Kitchen to replace its previous location in the Pencester Gardens car park had been determined following a scoring exercise conducted by the Council. Prior to that the Dover Soup Kitchen had operated out of the Russell Street car park but this was no longer available due to the redevelopment of the site.
The scoring exercise had been attended by representatives of the Dover Soup Kitchen, Councillor T J Bartlett, Councillor P Walker and officers. Councillor T J Bartlett advised that the district councillor for the Town and Pier Ward, Councillor G Rapley, had not been consulted during the initial stages of the process and that he had apologised to her for it.
The Dover Soup Kitchen had now applied for planning permission to use its hut in the Adrian Street car park site for 18 months. In the meantime, the Dover Soup Kitchen was currently operating out of the back of cars in the Bench Street car park. Councillor T J Bartlett expressed a desire to see the Dover Soup Kitchen operate from a more permanent location, such as a building, in the longer term.
It was suggested by the Director of Environment and Corporate Assets that a possible longer term solution could involve local churches in the town.
Ms J Shilling of the Dover Soup Kitchen advised that their preference would be for a permanent location in the Maison Dieu car park. However, this wasn’t support by the Council due to a number of reasons including the impact on shoppers, tourism and the perception of the guest houses in the surrounding area.
The Committee was advised that the Dover Soup Kitchen operated at 6.00pm for 30 minutes and its users did not tend to congregate for long before or after the operating hours. At Bench Street car park its users were gone by 6.40pm on average.
There was concern expressed by Members that the Council had not adequately communicated to Dover Soup Kitchen why its preferred site, Maison Dieu car park, was not suitable for its use and that this should be addressed.
RESOLVED: That it be recommended to the Cabinet:
(a) That the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee be provided with the details of the scoring exercise used to determine Adrian Street as the most suitable site for the Dover Soup Kitchen.
(b) That the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee be provided with the reasons why Maison Dieu Car Park was not considered a suitable site for the Dover Soup Kitchen.
(c) That the Portfolio Holder for Property Management and Public Protection, Councillor T J Bartlett, be requested to facilitate dialogue on finding a permanent solution for Dover Soup Kitchen and that Councillor P Walker be involved in any such dialogue.
(d) That in future District Councillors should be consulted at an early stage on matters such as this involving their wards.
(e) That the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee continue to receive regular updates on Dover Soup Kitchen.