Agenda and minutes

Councillor Malik as chair led on introductions.

Apologies were received from Darren Evans the City Warden.

The first main item on the agenda is Declarations of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything on the agenda they have a personal interest in. For example if a meeting was due to discuss a budget application put forward by a community group and one of the Councillors was a member of that group, they would not be able to take part in the decision on that budget application.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Spinney Hills Community Meeting, held on Tuesday 3 September 2019, is attached for information and discussion.

The action log of the of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 3 September 2019 was noted.

Councillors will provide an update on ward related matters.

Councillors were working on independent casework loads from constituents and work referred to by other Councillors.

Councillors were working alongside the Police with issues around drugs and anti-social behaviour (ASB) at hotspots across the ward.

Work was still on-going with issues around the Gwendolen Road area and solutions to the issues were being sought.  

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on police matters in the ward.

Sergeant Chris Richardson from the local policing unit was in attendance and provided a feedback to the meeting.

It was noted that although the police were aware of hotspots across the ward, no reports had been received. Officers were currently working with the Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (CrASBu) to tackle issues but requested if residents were able to share information, this would help deal with matters.

The Councillors were concerned with the BT telephone box on Earl Howe Street and reported it was being used for drug related matters. Sergeant Richardson informed the meeting that BT were responsible for removing the telephone boxes. The police were able to take enforcement action but would need local residents support to do so.

Robberies that had taken place on Spinney Hill Park involving knives had been resolved with suspects being charged. Following this there had been no repeat incidents. It was noted that other safety precautions such as, lighting and CCTV were being considered.

In relation to knife crime, operation New Tronic was in place. It was noted that the Police were taking different levels of approaches to deal with these matters. The Police were working with schools and colleges to have an educational approach for young people being drawn into knife crime, whereas habitual knife carriers were being caught and convicted in an attempt to direct them away from criminality.

Police statistics can be broken down into local wards and Councillors requested that the police provide these statistics at future meetings. ACTION: The Police to provide quarterly reports to for the local ward to future community meetings.

The Police had been working with local community groups and continue to do so. It was noted that the police were building trust and relations with local parents who were concerned with children but were reluctant on reporting. The police were keen on helping prevent and diverting young people away from criminality. The Police were aware that the local area consisted of predominantly BAME communities and at times there were language barriers. Spinney Hills Police station had many officers from different backgrounds and were confident they would be able to develop the trust and authority required.

Councillors suggested that working in confidence with local parents and changing terminology can help change peoples attitudes towards the Police.

An Officer from the Highways Team will provide an update on highways matters in the ward.

Rupert Bedder the Highways Network Asset Manager was in attendance and provided an update.

Residents in attendance shared their concerns with the parking problems on Melbourne Road. Local Councillors along with the Officers and residents discussed the options available, suggestions for pavement parking along safe parts of Melbourne Road where the footpath was wide enough were suggested by residents. the Ward Councillors agreed they would like to see a follow up on pavement parking.

Residents also suggested that some parts of Melbourne Road need to be reviewed where double yellow lines have been painted.

Residents shared their concerns on disabled parking bays being abused. The Highways Officer informed the meeting that the regulations were up for review and amendments were pending in the near future. The existing free service would now come with a cost.

It was noted that following the last community meeting, the highways team had prepared a consultation on proposed one-way traffic flow for the Gwendolen Road area. The consultation would comprise of traffic calming measures and a proposed 20mph zone. Residents were informed that the consultation would be sent to everyone in the affected area and any works carried out would depend on the consultation results. Any works that would be carried out would be carried out in the next financial year.

It was noted that residents concern of selling cars on public footpaths was an issue that needed to be raised with the City Wardens Team. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to contact the City Warden.

Resident concerns with parking and noise form The Venue on Gwendolen Road were issues that needed to be raised with the Environmental Noise Team. Residents were assured that the Parking Enforcement Officers regularly attended the area with 125 visits and issued 41 parking tickets. ACTION: The Ward Community Engagement Officer to contact the Environmental Noise Team.

 Councillors were concerned with the road layout and traffic flow on the corner of Earl Howe Street and Kings Newton Street. With cars coming from all directions Councillors suggested that this be reviewed to ensure free flow of traffic.

Resident concerns of trees that needed pruning on Melbourne Road were noted and Councillors suggested Officers contacted the correct department. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to contact Trees and Woodlands Team.

An Officer from the Housing Team will provide an update on housing related matters in the Spinney Hills ward.

Jay Rughani the Neighbourhood Housing Team Leader was in attendance and provided an update.

It was noted that there were scattered Council properties across the Spinney Hills Ward. There was a concentration of Council properties on Gwendolen Road and Wakerley Road, these properties were currently being renovated.

It was noted that there were a number of influences that determined the waiting time on the list for Council Housing. With the Spinney Hills area being a more popular and sought-after location, the waiting time was considerably longer.

It was also noted that the City Council had set up a housing company to buy housing stock and increase the councils stock of properties.  

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

Darren Evans the City Warden for the ward was not in attendance.

The Climate Emergency Project Manager will be in attendance to speak on this item.

The Project Manager for the Climate Emergency was in attendance and delivered a presentation (attached for information).

The consultation had been launched and was in progress until the 9 February 2020. An event, Leicester’s Climate Assembly will be held on 18 January 2020 and The Young Peoples Climate Assembly will be held on 27 January 2020. Groups could also request a conversation pack where they can conduct their own assembly workshops.

The Ward Community Engagement Officer updated the meeting.

It was noted that following the last ward meeting 11 applications had been received, of which 5 had been supported and 5 that were not supported. There was one application that was still being considered.

The closing budget to date was £8,642.00

There being no items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 19:49