Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors Code of Conduct.

Councillor Willmott as Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Clair, who was unable to attend because he was in a meeting with the City Mayor.  Councillor Master had been invited but was unable to attend as he was abroad.

Strong concerns were expressed that Councillor Clair was not present; the Chair stated that the concerns and comments from residents would be forwarded on to him.

The Action Log of the meeting held on 19 June 2017 is attached and Members will be asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

The action log from the previous meeting held 21 June 2017 was agreed as a correct record.

Attendees were asked to note the progress on actions:

·      Pavement Parking

Harrison Road area– in respect of the consultation on the
Controlled Pavement Parking Scheme in the Harrison Road area, consultants had now been appointed.

Braemar Drive parking– a resident expressed concerns that traffic enforcement officers were visiting the area every day and he questioned how much that was costing, adding that other areas were in need of traffic enforcement. The Chair responded that there was a bigger presence in the area at the moment because the scheme was new. They would try to ascertain the cost but understood that more enforcement officers were being recruited. Action: Community Engagement Officer

Request for a net around the outdoor gym – residents heard that this request had been investigated; the funding for higher fencing was not available at the moment, but parks officers intended to speak to those people who were throwing balls at users of the equipment.

Coatbridge Avenue – concerns were expressed about the lighting in the alleyway. Action: the Community Engagement Officer to refer to appropriate officer.

Invitation to the City Mayor – a request had been made at the previous meeting for the City Mayor to be invited to this meeting, but that request had not been included in the action notes. The Chair confirmed that the City Mayor had been invited.  Members of the community asked that a letter be sent to the City Mayor inviting him to the next meeting. Action: Community Engagement Officer /Democratic Support Officer

The Chair announced that he was re-ordering the agenda and item 4, Transforming Neighbourhood Services – Update would be considered later in the meeting.

There will be an update on local parking schemes.

This item had been considered during the discussion on the Action Log under Agenda Item 3.

A Police Officer will be at the meeting to provide an update on local policing issues in the Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from P.C 1013 Ben Broad.

·      There was currently an anti-burglary initiative focussing around the Navratri and Diwali festivals with an emphasis on prevention.  An attendee raised a concern relating to chain snatching and heard that the Police were working to raise awareness and asking people to be streetwise.

·      There was a further issue around anti-social behaviour (ASB) and people were asked to report ASB if they were experiencing any problems. The information would help the Police direct resources to where they were most needed.

·      The Police were working with the Fire and Rescue Service in schools to educate young people (and through them, their parents) about the dangers of setting of fireworks.

·      In response to a query, attendees heard that the Police still had an office at Soar Valley College.

Concerns from attendees included the following:

·      Drug taking had been witnessed in the Watermead Park and in particular in the overflow car park.  PC Broad responded that the Police carried out patrols there.

·      Requests were made for more CCTV in the Ward. The Chair explained that the Council did not have funding for CCTV and much of the CCTV in the City had been financed through a different scheme, which was no longer available.

·      Anti-social behaviour, drug taking issues and broken glass on Lockerbie Walk were reported. Action: Police and the City Warden.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Ward.

Members of the community were asked to note an update from Mohammed Patel, City Warden.

·      There had been an increase in fly tipping from businesses in Belgrave and Rushey Mead.

·      There had been an increase in inappropriate bird feeding - people were asked to report anti-social behaviour.  

·      The 0116 454 1000 telephone number for reporting enforcement issues had been withdrawn; but problems could still be reported either on-line or via the Love Leicester App. Concerns were expressed that people had not been alerted to this change. The City Warden explained that he had only just found out.

·      Councillor Patel reported a problem with litter and food remains being left out in Rushey Fields Park which was attracting rodents (a local shopkeeper had reported seeing very large rats). A request was made for a further leafleting campaign, as this had been successful in the past. Action: Community Engagement Officer to contact the Parks Wardens.

·      A request was made for larger litterbins in the park. Action: Community Engagement Officer to enquire whether the bins could be replaced with larger bins free of charge or liaise with the resident to submit a funding application.

Fatema Burani from the Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (CRASBU) asked attendees to report an ASB to them; officers in the unit would investigate and signpost if necessary.

CRASBU could be contacted as follows:

Duty Desk: 0116 454 0250

Email: crasbu@leicester.gov.uk

There will be an update on the Transforming Neighbourhood Services programme.

Attendees were asked to note an update from the Chair:

·      Lee Warner, Head of Neighbourhood Services had provided an update as he couldn’t attend the meeting.

·      Work had been due to start in the Rushey Mead Recreation Centre but had been delayed and would not now start until January 2018.

·      Both the library and the centre would remain as they were until the end of the year.

·      The Chair had submitted a question to the meeting of the Council on 5 October, requesting feedback from Cllr Master’s and Cllr Clair’s visit to Soar Valley College as he was not aware of the outcome. The Chair would then raise a supplementary question asking for the decision on the library and recreation centre to be re-considered.

The Chair invited questions from attendees. Very strong feelings were expressed during the ensuing discussion, during which the Chair cautioned that if appropriate he would close the meeting in the interests of public safety.

Comments and questions raised included the following:

·      The Democratic Support Officer was asked to note that the opposition amongst attendees, to the decision to move the library to the recreation centre, was unanimous. Action: Democratic Support Officer to record this in the action log.

·      Strong concerns were expressed that the Head of Neighbourhood Services was not present at the meeting.  The Chair responded that this would be reflected back to him. Action:  Community Engagement Officer

·      An attendee asked whether the councillors supported residents in opposing the decision. The Chair responded that they did support the residents and had made this clear before, but he and Councillor Patel were backbench councillors and not part of the decision that had been made.

·      An attendee said that he understood there were new draft proposals and questioned whether there would be a further consultation. Councillors explained that the council did not have to consult again on the new layout.  The consultation that had taken place had not supported the proposals but the council had decided that it did not have the money to support the consultation.  

·      A representative from one of the user groups said that his group met at the centre nearly every day and he asked the councillors to support them.

·      A representative from one of the women’s groups expressed concerns that they believed Councillor Clair was ignoring women because he had met with one of the men’s groups, but not theirs.

·      Councillors Patel and Willmott were asked whether they had both met with user groups and they confirmed that they had. The Chair added that the library and recreation centre should be open to all and no user group should be favoured over another.

·      In response to a query, the Chair explained that members of the public as well as councillors could ask questions at full council meetings. The next council meeting would be held on 23 November 2017 and questions needed to be submitted 5 working days before that. Councillors could help members of the public with the process.

·      An attendee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update will be given on the Rushey Mead Ward Community Budget.

Attendees were asked to note an update on the community meeting budget:

·      Since the previous meeting, eight funding applications had been received. Five had been supported, one had been rejected and two were still to be assessed as they had just been received.

·      Funding had been approved as follows:

a.    The Art of  Relaxation - £150

b.    The Prajapati Centre for a cultural event - £250

c.    The Milap Group for room hire, Diwali and Christmas dinners  - £2000

d.    Church of Our Lady – Christmas party for children from low income families _ £500

e.    Gujarati Comedy Group (part of the Comedy Festival) - £500

A balance of £11619 remained in the budget and recipients of community meeting funding were reminded that it was essential to submit their evaluations of their project. 

The next Rushey Mead Ward Community Meeting will be held on Tuesday 27 February 2018 at 6.30pm.

The next meeting would be held on Tuesday 27 February 2018.

The meeting closed at 8.12 pm.