Agenda and minutes

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 March, Chair for the meeting welcomed those present and led introductions.

Councillor Whittle declared an interest in the budget item but retained an open mind and was not therefore required to withdraw from the meeting at that point.

Apologies for absence were received from the police representative, city warden.

The action log of the previous meeting, held on 12 November 2019, is attached for information and discussion.

The action log of the last meeting and progress against those actions was noted.

Ward Councillors will provide an update on local ward issues.

Ward councillors provided feedback on work they had been doing since the last meeting which included the following points:

·         Involved in looking at policy around school places, numbers being raised as there was high demand for more school places.

·         Raising awareness of issues around parent parking at schools in the area and steps being taken to address that such as parking enforcement; introducing 20mph zones and encouraging walking to school.

·         Noted that Millgate School had received an outstanding Ofsted rating.

·         Concerns about the levels of crime and perception it was growing had led to a meeting with Lord Willie Bach Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss steps being taken to prevent crime.

·         Local plan was being consulted upon, this included housing development. Residents were encouraged to have their say by completing response to consultation online.

A representative of the Knighton Neighbourhood Forum will deliver an update.

A representative of the Knighton Neighbourhood Forum read a statement as appended and published with the agenda.

It was noted there were no flood reports and the environment agency and Leicester City Council had worked well together, especially in the Carisbrooke Road area to clear the storm water system.

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in Knighton Ward.

It was noted that a representative of the police was not present at the meeting and the Chair asked that the police be reminded to attend future meetings.

ACTION: WCEO to chase up progress on the points raised previously.

Residents raised concerns that the police were not present at the meeting and that issues in the area were not being addressed.

Councillors encouraged residents to report any incidents direct to the police and to capture any details/evidence if possible by taking pictures on their mobile phones.

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

It was noted that a representative of the City Wardens team was not present at the meeting.

Residents expressed concern that this was another regular non-attendance and issues around warden work were raised.

It was acknowledged that the City Warden team responded to emails and were a stretched resource.

Residents asked that the following matters be investigated:

·         Mud on bus stop on Welford Road

·         Walkways being littered

·         Anti-social behaviour of people burning items in public areas.

An update will be provided on the upcoming Knighton Fun Day 2020.

A fun day had been arranged for the Ward to take place at Knighton Park on the Sunday 6^th September 2020.

More details would follow.

An update will be given on the developments of the Knighton Green Group.

Noted that there was work taking place however a representative was unable to join the meeting to provide an update.

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 Ward Community budget.

The WCEO provided an update on the ward community budget noting a rec that 21 applications had been lodged in the current financial year. 17 applications were supported by ward councillors; 2 applications were not supported as they were not relevant to the ward and 2 applications were still being considered.

Art House a recipient of ward funding were present and thanked the ward councillors and the ward for its continued support.

ACTION: Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service be invited to attend future meetings to provide updates of their work in the area.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.25pm.