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 Malik, as Chair lead on introductions and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Highways.

The Action Log of the Spinney Hills Community Meeting held on 27 October 2022 is attached, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The action log of the previous meeting held on 27 October 2022 was confirmed as a correct record.

Councillors will provide an update on recent activities in the Ward.

During the feedback it was noted that:

·       Ward surgeries had recommenced on Fridays, 5.30-6.30pm. Please contact the Ward Community Engagement Officer for more details on laura.burt@leicester.gov.uk

·       Councillors had been working closely with Planning Officers and funding had been allocated for the play area on Spinney Hills Park.

In response to a question asked from a member of the public it was noted that the play area would be unable to be moved away from the road, due to limited resources. The current stage of the funding was to make the play area safer.

A member of the Traffic Operations Team will provide an update on Highways related matters in the Ward.

Unfortunately the Highways Officer could not be in attendance. They sent over the following update, which was read out by the Ward Community Engagement Officer.

The one way system on Gwendoline Road had calmed traffic and dealt with issues, it had taken 5 years for action to be taken.

In discussions with members of the public it was noted that on Edgington Street and the side streets towards St Stephens Road cars were parking on corners and across dropped curbs taking away accessibility and dangerous for children crossing.

On Evington Valley Road a shop had opened with no allocated parking outside, drivers were parking and blocking entrances to businesses and on dangerous corners.

Councillors advised they would discuss the issue with Highways and arrange a patch walk to discuss key areas in need of improvement.

Housing Officers will be in attendance to discuss housing related matters in the ward.

The Housing Officer in attendance provided an update on housing related matters.

It was noted that:

·       Repairs were in demand and the team were still working on clearing the covid-19 backlog.

·       An improvement plan had been put into place, to improve the time taken to re let a council property.

·       A new stores operation model was approved in the budget for the next financial year, so that materials could be sourced quicker and in a more cost effective way.

·       Reminder to residents that repairs can be logged online. High priority 12 hours, Medium priority 10 days and up to 12 months for non-essential.

https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-community/housing/council-tenants/housing-repairs/

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be in attendance and provide an update on police issues in the ward.

Officers from Leicestershire Police were in attendance and shared the following update:

·       Issues with anti-social behaviour around alcohol miss use at Spinney Hill Park. Patrols would be out each night over the next month around Spinney Hills and Cossington to combat.

·       There were currently 15 live crime reports and no major incidents.

·       Recent community events had been celebrated smoothly, without any incidents.

·       There had been incidents around St Matthews of teenagers fighting. Work was ongoing to review cctv footage, speaking with witnesses and communicating with the public.

·       Operations were in place to identify issues and  deal with criminals crossing the boarders.

Residents noted that they were experiencing anti-social behaviour on Mercury Close, due to communal doors not working.

Action:

Police Officers to bring an update on current crime figures to the next ward meeting.  

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

The City Warden in attendance provided an update on works carried out on the ward.

It was noted that:

·       A patrol had taken place, with Leicestershire Police on Dorothy Road and Lindon Street.

·       Time was being spent to educate residents leaving bins out on the street, gentle warning and advised a fixed penalty notice issued at the next stage if the bins continued to be left out.

·       4 community protection had been issued for the large items that had been fly tipped.

·       Residents could use the love clean streets app for reporting any of the below issues:

o   Cleansing issues (such as fly-tipping, graffiti, litter or dog fouling)

o   Abandoned vehicles

o   Highways issues (such as potholes, problems with pavements, footpaths, verges or cycleways, street lighting or traffic light issues)

o   Illegal parking

o   Problems in parks and open spaces or play areas

o   Overgrown grass or shrubs, or a tree issue

Please see the following link for more information on how to use the app;

https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-environment/love-clean-streets/

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them. An update will be given on the Ward Community Budget.

The Ward Community Engagement Officer noted that, each ward is allocated £18,000.00 annually to support local initiatives that benefit the residents in the ward.

34 applications had been submitted and 23 had been supported. The total spend was £11775, leaving £9792 remaining to be spent by the end of the financial year.

A resident noted that in the Leicester Mercury it had stated other parks in the city were being locked in the evening. Could the issue be raised again, to get Spinney Hills Park locked in the evening.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7.33pm.