It was confirmed that there would be no closures of libraries unlike other areas where economic constraints had resulted in closures.

The provision of libraries was a statutory requirement however this was subject to interpretation and hence the difference in provision of services between areas.

Currently there are 66 reading groups in Bournemouth libraries and in line with previous years various activities would take place during the school summer closures in order to try and encourage children to continue to read whilst the schools were closed.

As a result of consultation the opening hours of libraries is to be investigated to determine if they can be changed to meet users' needs better.

Libraries and doctors are able to recommend books which can assist overcoming medical conditions. These may be books about specific conditions but may also be 'mood busting' books to assist people overcome less specific problems.

Overall, there has to be a balance between people who wish to use the libraries for the more traditional quiet book reading against those who wish them to be used for providing other services and meetings where this may result in more disruption, due to noise and the number of people involved especially when the library is open plan and does not have separate meeting areas.

Libraries are looking at providing formal training for say computer usage as it has been recognised that the internet is becoming more important as some services can only be accessed through the internet. However, staffs are willing to assist people on an individual basis if requested in order to obtain what the user requires.

The usage time for computers has been increased from 1 hour to 11/2 hours as it was recognised that 1 hour was not always sufficient.

Wi-Fi services are provided on a separate system to the internet and are secured by daily changing access password, given by staff to people requesting access to the system at the library, as well as the usual security measures.

Background;

There are over 17 million single bus trips per annum in Bournemouth.

'Traveline' is an internet service which provides details of bus service provision in a particular area.

Bournemouth Hospital wanted to extend the hospital by building on the existing car park and in exchange for this a bus hub was to be provided which would assist in additional provision of public transport to the hospital due to the hub providing more bus spaces.

Current situation;

Work on the hub is planned to start in September 2013 and is expected to take up to 20 weeks to complete.

The new bus stops will provide good real time information which will significantly improve the existing information.

Questions and answers;

Q: 'When is there going to be provision of a bus hub in the town centre'

A; I cannot answer for the leader but the best identified site is not in council ownership and already has outline planning permission for the provision of a cinema and restaurants, etc. which may or may not go ahead but the leader of the council is keen for a bus hub to go ahead on the preferred site.

Q; The 4B bus is the only service serving Muscliff.

A; Muscliff has high car ownership compared with other areas of Bournemouth; hence the service provision is limited.

No area of Bournemouth, unlike other council areas, has lost its service completely but economic constraints have resulted in services being reduced.

Q; Multi-story car park provision at the hospital

A; It was confirmed that the existing multi-story car park was the only one on the site and that there was no proposal to build another in order to accommodate the car parking spaces which would be lost as a result of the hub being built.

There was some discussion about the usage of the multi-story car park, staff usage only or there being limited or full usage by the public. This resulted in great concern by Forum as to the possible loss of car parking spaces and its impact on people using the hospital who due to medical reasons were not able to use public transport. It was also stated that the loss of any car parking spaces would be a major problem as the existing car park was already full at times.

Cllr Whittaker said that he would request officers to state what the situation was concerning the provision of car parking spaces at the hospital as a result of the hub being built and this would be provided on the Forum web site as the next Forum meeting in October 2013 would be after work had started on the scheme.

Concern was also raised about the provision of bus priority traffic lights by the exit to the bus hub but it was stated that this had gone through the appropriate process and had been passed.

It was stated that car parking issue could get worse in the future if the proposed merger of Bournemouth and Poole Hospitals goes ahead as some services may be moved from Poole Hospital to Bournemouth Hospital once the merger takes place.

The traffic problems, at school opening and closing times, in East Way and the surrounding roads was not an easy one to resolve and various options had been considered.

It was proposed that a two hour waiting restriction be introduced by the church in Charminster Road to prevent long term parking (often used by cars for sale being parked there) to allow better usage by people dropping off and collecting at the school who would no longer require to use East Way.

There were comments concerning the location and number of bus stops in the area but it was stated that these were required due to the current legislation which provides free choice of school so that children came by bus from outside the area. Also, it was stated that bus stops were located a number of years ago and whilst they may not now always be in the most appropriate place it was not easy to move them give the cost and the opposition from residents using the bus stop when this is proposed. There were also guidelines on where bus stops should be located which had to be met.

After a meeting between residents, councillors and officers it had been agreed that the best way to try and prevent large lorries from using the road, in order to avoid Castle Lane, was to narrow the road in one of three proposed places. The narrowing would be decided by the residents and concluded by September 2013.

To tarmac the road was considered too costly and it was not what the residents wanted.

The emergency services would be informed of the road change so that they could plan their route to a particular incident without there being any unnecessary delay due to the restriction in access.

A new Flood Planning Panel/Committee was approved by Cabinet about a month ago to look in to Bournemouth flooding.

Currently there are five areas identified to be subject to regular flooding but Holdenhurst could be considered for addition to the list.

Once a scheme is identified then funding has to be obtained as it is not under the complete control of the Environment Agency any more.

New signage and yellow lines have been provided in the area.

Consideration is being given to change the road layout at the Sandringham Gardens junction in Muscliff and to remove the current island on Muscliff Lane.

Comment was made that leaflets only reach ½% of people so is not a good way to notify people about Forum.

Neighbourhood Watch may be used as a way of notifying people.

Banners, posters and advertising at the three big local supermarkets were suggested as alternative methods to be used.

Kinson Forum use posters and get about 50/60 attendees at these meetings (which take place every 2 months).

The current leaflet drop was criticised as areas such as Throop appeared to have been missed whilst there were also reports to some houses receiving more than one copy (3 copies in one case).

Grass cutting - The standard of grass cutting was criticised, especially in the Muscliff area. It had been reported that this was due to staff illness, equipment failures and the weather so that the cutting was about three weeks behind schedule.

Doubts were cast as to the ability of the contractors to meet standards and the lack of control now that the staff undertaking the work who were no longer directly employed by the council.

Weir Bridge - The Bridge is being replaced by Throop Mill, on the River Stour, and the new bridge should be in place by the end of the month.

Yellow lines are being pained near Castle Point and Mallard Road in order to assist traffic flow.