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 Rae Bhatia as Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and led on introductions.

The Action Log is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log of the previous meeting held 26 July 2022 was confirmed as a correct record.

Councillors will provide an update on ward related matters.

Beaumont Leys Ward Councillors gave the following update;

Councillor Westley:

·       Gave a brief update from the recent Housing Scrutiny Meeting. The demand for housing was rising, further adding to the housing crisis currently being faced.

·       A new scheme, Selective Licensing was being trialled across three areas of the City to improve rented accommodation.

·       There had been a rise of anti-social behaviour at Beaumont Leys Market. The current market was under consultation to be removed and a new open space market planned for the space to hold events.

·       The Councillors were open to take suggestions to utilise the market space to make it usable for the community.

Councillor Dempster shared with the meeting the multiple uses for Beaumont Leys Library and other libraries across the City, such as:

·       Books and eBooks

·       Computer and printing use

·       Coffee mornings

·       Self service facilities

·       School holiday activities

·       Room hire and much more, please speak to library staff for more details.

Councillor Rae Bhatia:

·       Had recently attended a meeting regarding the overflow of parking at the Beaumont Football Club and Bennion Road roundabout. It had been agreed that cones would be placed outside of the football club and double yellow lines added so it could be enforced.

·       The Councillors had been working with Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre management to organise events, employment opportunities and to address the anti-social behaviour.

·       There had been an increase in vehicle theft in the area. Leicestershire Police had advised not to leave belongings in vehicles.

An update on the Local Plan will be provided.

Grant Butterworth, Head of Planning, Development and Transportation and Fabian DCosta Planning Policy and Information Service Manger were present and updated the meeting on the current consultation of the Local Plan for the Beaumont Leys Ward.

It was noted that:

·       There had been 3 consultations, initially 200 sites were under consultation and this had been reduced down through various stages to 54 sites across the city.

·       71% of the developments would be on Braefield sites.

·       There was 8 proposed sites in the Beaumont Leys Ward.

·       4 strategic sites. 3 of those would be on Green Wedge land.

·       5 for residential use only, 1 for mixed use for residential and employment and 1 for employment and Gypsy and Traveller use.

·       1498 dwellings across the 8 sites.

·       The 8 proposed sites were:

o   Site 464, Beaumont Park

o   Sites 262 & 579, land east of Ashton Green.

o   Site 261, land north of A46

o   Sites 309, 718 and 1054, land west of Anstey Lane

o   Site 529, Glovers Walk open space

o   Site 569, Krefeld Way/Darenth Drive open space

o   Site 1001, Phillips Crescent

o   Site 1047, Land at Groby Road/Fosse Road North

In response to questions from Members and residents, it was noted that:

·       Gypsy and Traveller sites were not just in the Beaumont leys ward. There was also dedicated sites in the Western and Abbey wards.

·       The criteria for Gypsy and Traveller sites was strict and multiple sites had been assessed, alongside work with The Traveller Agency.

·       In reference to the land of Beaumont Park, it was not known at this stage what businesses would be using the land.

·       A lot of employment land around the city had been lost to redevelopment. Demand has been shown for existing businesses wanting to expand and new businesses wanting to come into the city.

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police matters in the Beaumont Leys Ward.

SGT Wayne Chapman and PC Ollie Brown gave an update at the meeting.

It was noted  that:

·       Recent staffing issues and support for the disorder in Leicester East had reduced the capacity of the beat team.

·       There had been a rise of dash cams being stolen from cars in the Heathley Park area. Residents were advised to contact the police when activity had been caught on ring door bells and not just the areas WhatsApp group.

·       There had been 9 recorded incidents where knives were not present. That was a huge decrease to the previous year and no injuries had been reported.

·       There had been 2 knife point robberies and suspects had been arrested. It involved school children outside of a school.

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

The City Warden was unable to attend the meeting. They sent the following updates;

 Community Protection Notices

Good compliance with community protection notices for various issues including waste/bulky items being left out on the public highway & on private land. If residents have any bulky items that need to be collected they can be booked in for collection via www.leicester.gov.uk/lovecleanstreets.

Untidy land

I am currently dealing with a complaint of fly tipped builders bags on Shottens Close. A land registry check will be carried out and a notice will be served on the land owner to clear the waste.

A garage court on Hopwood Close has now been cleared of waste after the land owner and garage owner was served a notice to clear the waste.

Abandoned shopping trolleys

I have received several complaints of abandoned shopping trolleys around the ward, these trolleys can be reported to Trolleywise via the Trolleywise app.

Dog fouling

Complaints have been received regarding dog fouling along Astill Lodge Road & Lime Grove Close. Patrols will be carried out and posters & stencils will be put down.

Love clean streets

www.leicester.gov.uk/myaccount has been replaced with www.leicester.gov.uk/lovecleanstreets. Environmental issues can be reported via the app such as graffiti, litter, fly-tipping, dog fouling or something else.

Patch walk

If residents wish to meet up to discuss/visit any areas of concern please let me know and this can be arranged with myself and the councillors. You can contact me via city.warden@leicester.gov.uk

Highways officers will give an update on highways matters in the Ward.

Robert Bateman, Special Projects Manager, for Planning, Development and Transportation gave a Highways update to the meeting.

It was noted that:

·       The Council were running a scheme to loan 60 free electric bikes to Samworth Brothers staff, to help reduce the amount of cars being used.

·       A consultation was taking place for Calver Hey Road to be a 20mph zone.

·       Speeding safety checks had been completed on Suffolk Drive.

·       Parking issues continued at Beaumont Lodge. Officer to enquire about a pay and display machine and new parking bay.

·       The pop up cycle lane on Beaumont Leys Lane had been reduced.

In response to questions raised in a discussion with Members and Residents, it was noted that.

The speed bumps on Astill Lodge Road, Grayswood Drive and Osprey Road were making houses shake.

Issues with parking on Croft Road, at the roundabout and in front of business entries.

A large number of pot holes across the ward, residents were advised to report these on the Leicester City Council website - https://www.leicester.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/roads-and-pavements/

Action for an officer to visit the areas mentioned.

Housing officers will give an update on housing matters in the Ward.

Unfortunately a Housing Officer was not present at the meeting.

Councillors are reminded that under the Councillors’ 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 Ward Community Engagement Officer provided an update on the Ward Community Budget.

It was noted that 10 applications had been supported since the last meeting. The budget had all been used for this year and new applications would be taken from May 2023.

With there being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.21pm.