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 of interest in the business of the meeting as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Councillor Porter as Chair led on introductions.

Members were asked to declare any interests they had in the business on the agenda. Councillor Porter declared that he was involved in the campaign to save the Gilmorton Community Rooms, he also declared he was campaigning to stop the link from Conaglen Road onto the upcoming Franklyn Fields estate.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Action Log for the last meeting held on 22 June 2022 is attached for information and discussion.

AGREED:

That the action log of the meeting held 22 June 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

Planning Officers will be present to give an update on the latest draft of the Local Plan and its implications for Aylestone.

Grant Butterworth, Head of Planning, was present to give an update on the current consultation of the Draft Local Plan and its impact on Aylestone. It was noted that:

·         The Local Plan was a 15-year plan for housing growth in Leicester. The Plan had to meet targets and policies set out by the Government.

·         Leicester had already grown to the city boundary so development opportunity in the city itself was limited. Therefore, District Councils had agreed a Statement of Common Ground to help meet Leicester’s targets.

·         There had been 3 previous consultations on the Plan, with the last one being in 2020. The current stage of consultation would close on 27 February. The Plan would formally be submitted to Government in the summer.

·         With regards to Aylestone ward, the proposal for a large development site had been removed in this version of the plan. The only site for development in the ward now was at the Gilmorton Community Rooms. The allocation would allow  redevelopment of the facility into a mixed-use site, indicating 9 dwellings could be developed alongside a community and retail facility.

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

·         The Local Plan process would not determine the timeline for development at the Gilmorton Rooms. So, whilst there could be no guarantee that alternative community and retail provision would be available during the development this would be a matter for consideration and discussion with the tenants by the project promotor as part of the detailed project development plan.

·         Over 3k representations had been received on the previous Local Plan consultation.

·         The proposals were only to add 9 new homes on the site which was not considered significant enough to create highways issues.

·         The current consultation forms had to meet a Government specified design which was why they were more technically and procedurally  focused.

·         Even if the Local Plan was approved it would not mean that all proposals included would go ahead, there would still need to be a funding case to be made, a viable scheme to be developed and relevant Planning applications.

·         There would be a modification process with the Planning Inspector once the Pan was submitted. There would not necessarily need to be an alternative site allocation for the 9 new dwellings if the Gilmorton proposal was not to go ahead.

·         With regard to questions about the loss of shops in Aylestone local centre. the Council did not have over control over change of use for most businesses in the city.

·         Approval of the Local plan was a matter for council, a decision on whether to proceed to delivery of the development was a matter for

the Executive.

Local residents present expressed concerns about the Gilmorton proposal. Concerns were around the lack of community and retail provision in that area and that redevelopment of the site would mean that provision was not available during the construction process. It was noted that the proposal in the current published draft Plan was that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Officers will be present to update on ongoing developments in the ward, including on Franklyn Road and Conalgen Road.

The Chair noted that while an Officer was not present to provide an update on the development on Franklyn Fields, the issues surrounding the development would still be discussed and comments would be passed onto Officers.

It was noted that the development itself was not controversial, the point of controversy was around a public link from the estate onto Conaglen Road and Franklyn Road.  The link would be onto a play area.

There was discussion of this proposal in which residents raised concerns about the proposed link onto Conaglen Road. It was noted that this road was presently a dead-end but this would now be changing. Concerns were that the layout of the link would encourage ASB in the area which would spill over onto the road. Issues with nuisance motorbikes and quadbikes in the area were noted, with the Great Central Way being a hotspot.

It was suggested that main design issue was that the path would offer a loop for criminals to escape with, it was suggested that to address this that access be only to one road instead.

It was agreed that a site visit would be carried out to determine the next course of action.

ACTION:

That a site visit to Conaglen Road be conducted to get local views and determine how to handle the issue of access to the new Franklyn Fields estate.

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

Local Police Officers were present to provide an update on Policing issues in the ward. It was noted that crime overall was going down in the ward. Residents were encouraged to sign up to the Neighbourhood Link app and report issues there.

Concerns over nuisance quadbikes on the Great Central Way were noted. Officers stated that they were aware of the issues, but enforcement powers were limited. Police were looking to get a dedicated beat Officer on the issue.

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 Ward Community Engagement Officer presented the Ward Community Budget. It was noted that of the £18k annual budget there was £801 left, the number of applications currently being considered was over £6k so applications would carry over to the next round.

It was noted that there was a Planning application for an extension at Meadow Court Care Home and residents were encouraged to make representations on the application.

The meeting closed at 8.10pm.