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 was elected as Chair and led introductions.

Councillor Clarke and Councillor Porter declared their interests concerning their involvement in agenda item 4 (Franklyn Fields Update) and item 5 (Sanvey Lane/Marsden Lane update).

Councillor Porter specified that his interests were as follows, he had;

·         campaigned against the development of Franklyn Fields;

·         presented a petition to the Council regarding Franklyn Fields;

·         friends and supporters in relation to the site who were involved in the petition had contributed time and funds towards his campaign; and

·         campaigned with residents to ensure that any improvements at Sanvey Lane/Marsden Lane were appropriate.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Action Log for the meeting held on 29 September 2016 is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log of the previous meeting held on 29 September 2016 was agreed and noted.

Officers will give an update on the development of Franklyn Fields

Grant Butterworth (Head of Planning) gave an update on the Franklyn Fields site.

He referred to the previous action log, which had noted that an application for the site was expected.  It was confirmed that since the previous meeting an application had been received and that this would be determined in due course by the Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee.

The application was currently subject to a period of consultation.  The requirements on the Council to advertise the application were clarified.  It was reported that site notices had been displayed, advertisements had been published and over 60 individual letters had been sent to residents neighbouring the site.  Councillors also reported on their efforts to ensure that residents were aware of the proposals and understood the process of the consultation prior to the Committee’s consideration of the application.

In this regard the active consideration of consultee submissions was discussed and it was noted that comments made at the previous meeting and other representations concerning the use of the land made prior to the application had also been noted.

In response to a question relating to the impact of petitions, it was reported that although petitions were always considered, individual representations that addresses specific objections would have greater effect.

Although the statutory period for receiving representations had closed in January, it was confirmed that the City Council’s policy was to consider all representations received prior to the Committee meeting.  It was expected that due to the significant number of representations already received, and the complexities of those representations, the application would not be at a stage for the Committee’s determination for several months. 

It was reported that this timeframe would be extended further should any significant revised plans be submitted by the applicant, it being noted that applicants often submitted revisions to plans to try to satisfy objections before the Committee’s determination.  In response to a question it was confirmed that if revised plans significantly altered a proposal, a further consultation exercise would be required.

In terms of the Committee meeting, it was reported that the Council allowed public speaking and that objectors were allowed a total of 5 minutes to express their views to members.

Residents raised questions concerning the education provision for the site, the traffic impact of the proposal and access to the site, together with air quality concerns.  It was noted that technical responses would be provided.   It was noted that the highway and education departments were heavily involved in the consultation process and would make detailed responses.

Having regard to the comments specifically concerning the traffic impact, it was clarified that the applicants would produce technical details of the highway impacts and traffic levels expected from any development of the site, such as at peak traffic times. 

This technical detail would be assessed by the Council’s highways officers who would also report their findings to the Committee prior to the application being determined.

In respect of the housing types and style of design, it was reported  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

An update will be provided on the issues regarding Sanvey Lane and Marsden Lane

Robert Bateman (Highways and Traffic Design) provided an update on Sanvey Lane/Marsden Lane.

It was reported that as there had been no objections to the advertised Traffic Regulation Order proposals for parking restrictions, the scheme was to progress and works would commence on or around 5 June 2017.  A plan showing the extent of works was made available for inspection and information.

In terms of other schemes and following reports of rat running in the area, a traffic survey had been undertaken which had confirmed the residents’ perceptions that problems existed.

Initial options to install bollards at various locations were being considered, however this would inevitably result in disruption to some residents, dependant on the location.  Similarly, schemes to introduce short one-way stretches in some locations had been suggested, noting that this could also disrupt some residents.

In conclusion, residents were asked to comment on the possible solutions to ensure that a scheme could be implemented without unnecessary inconvenience.

It was suggested that a separate meeting be held with Councillors and Traffic Development Officers to further consider the situation.

The need to ensure full publicity of the meeting was noted and it was noted that individual letters to houses in the streets involved would be delivered by hand, as was the practice for many Traffic Regulation Order schemes.

The situation concerning the Franklyn Fields site was raised and it was considered essential to have this in mind when discussing any improvements to Marsden Lane and adjacent streets.  It was noted that a significant volume of extra traffic from any approval of development at Franklyn Fields would have an effect on vehicles exiting Marsden Lane.  Residents felt that the introduction of the 24hr bus lane had also caused an impact on the situation.

It was therefore suggested and agreed that the meeting to discuss traffic issues in the Marsden Lane area be convened following the determination of the planning application at Franklyn Fields.

Residents also discussed the poor levels of Park and Ride use, use of bus services, congestion charging, the workplace parking levy, an increase in commercial traffic, and a lack of enforcement of TRO’s already in place.

Robert was thanked for his attendance and update.

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

PO Rykki Townsend (Leicestershire Police) was introduced to the meeting.  He provided an update on the following matters:

·         Speeding problems at Aylestone Drive / Milligan Road had been reported and enforcement action had been undertaken, the problem existed particularly at times when children were walking to schools.

·         Other ‘speed gun’ enforcement activities were noted and it was noted that some cars were also taken off the road as it was evident that the drivers had no insurance.  It was reported that this was a labour and resource intensive activity. 

·         The use of unlicensed motorbikes, and quad / mini bikes in Aylestone Meadows and on the Great Central Way was also continuing to case problems.  It was noted that the due to the nature of the activity, the problem was extremely difficult for the police to enforce.  The use of CCTV on the Great Central Way and its renewal or replacement was being discussed at the Police Safety partnership meetings, together with many other enforcement issues.

Rykki was thanked for his report and update.

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

Noel Cazley (City Warden) provided an update on environmental and enforcement activities in the Ward.

He reported on the following key issues:

·         Dog fouling had continued to cause problems and stencilling to attract people to the situation and to prevent repeat instances were being used.

·         The use of the LoveLeicester app was promoted as an effective mechanism should residents need to report any issues.  It was reported that a phone or other mobile device that had GPS would immediately locate any issue reported, which in turn assisted Cleansing Services or other departments to deal with problems.

·         Fly-tipping was being dealt with at a number of areas and warrants had been issued to local businesses following reports from residents.

·         Community Protection Notices (CPNs) could be issued to swiftly enforce environmental matters; an example was given where a rental firm had inconsiderately parked a number of vehicles.

·         Commercial waste disposal had become an issue with a number of businesses attempting to dispose of waste in public waste bins.  Work to ensure the removal of commercial bins from streets to storage areas was also increasing.

·         The LoveLeicester app was promoted as

Noel was thanked for his report and 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 Community Engagement Officer reported that 9 applications had been received and considered by Councillors.

7 had been supported, 1 not supported and 1 withdrawn.

At year end, a remaining balance of £1800 could be carried forward to the 2017-18 financial year.  It was confirmed that the first round of applications for the new financial year would open on 10 April 2017 and close on 31 May 2017 and applications were welcomed.

Cricket Floodlights

It was reported that permission had been granted to extend the occasional use of floodlights.  It was noted that due to the cost implications, it was not expected that there would be a significant amount of use.

Vacant Properties

The Council’s ‘Empty Homes Strategy’ was discussed as many vacant properties were in an untidy condition or falling into disrepair.

It was reported that as Council Tax was being received for many vacant properties the houses were not categorised within the strategy and the Council did not have powers to intervene.  The City Warden was able to serve notice where there was a statutory nuisance or where public safety was compromised.

Parks Services – volunteering .

Kim Hawksworth and Neil Harris (Volunteer Leaders, Neighbourhoods and Environment) presented details of their work and encouraged residents to volunteer for projects in the Ward.

The links to the excellent work undertaken by the Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society were recognised and options for increasing publicity were noted.

Forms for residents to complete and register as volunteers were made available.

Post Office

Residents asked that their thanks and appreciation be recorded in view of contribution made by the former owners/operators of the Post Office (Baz and Mina).

Packhorse bridge

It was noted that following previous works to remove weeds at the bridge, the problems had returned.  It was reported that weeds had caused damage and that they could not be sprayed with herbicide due to the proximity of the watercourse.

The position was noted and Parks Services officers present agreed to refer the matter to the appropriate department.

The meeting closed at 8.40 pm.