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 Clarke, Chair for the meeting, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Councillor Porter declared an interest as part of the proposal for traffic calming measures, as he had supported residents to present a petition to the Council 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 of the Meeting held on 23 January 2018 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 23 January 2018 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

Councillor Porter noted that at the last meeting he queried proximity of bus stops/ public transport to developments in relation to Franklyn Fields and future developments. Councillor Porter strongly asserted that he felt there was a clear policy AM05. Councillor Clarke agreed to contact planning for further information regarding this matter.

Following this meeting information was provided by the Planning Officer in relation to the above and has been attached at the end of this action log.

Item 16 – Franklyn Fields – At the previous meeting (23 January 2018) it was requested for the report which set out details of the application conditions to be circulated with the minutes.

Following this meeting, the information was provided and details of the Planning and Development Control Committee Agenda which included Franklyn Fields report, addendum and minutes can be found at: http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk:8071/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=399&MId=8388&Ver=4

A traffic and highways update will be provided at the meeting including any progress with the rat runs situation.

Councillor Clarke informed the meeting that local residents had recently received a leaflet with details of the consultation currently taking place to look at potential solutions to the rat run problem and residents parking on Marsden Lane/ Sanvey Lane, in addition to the section of bus lane that links Lutterworth Road/ Aylestone Road.

·         Traffic and Highways Officers were present at the meeting with displayed plans. Following introductions, the Chair gave residents the opportunity to take a look at the plans, speak to the Officers, express their views and fill out the consultation questionnaire. It was also noted that the consultation was available online for residents to make comments.

·         During the meeting residents discussed their least and most favoured options, which were noted by Officers and Martin Fletcher responded to any queries. All residents were encouraged to submit their views. The closing date for responses was Sunday 20 May 2018.

·         It was noted that the boards with plans displayed would remain at the Aylestone Baptist Church for residents to view and leave comments on 12 April from 9am-1pm.

An update will be provided regarding Enterprise Rent-A-Car in the Aylestone Ward.

Councillor Clarke led the item on Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

·         It was noted that if residents were interested in keeping a diary of issues with Enterprise Car, they should see Anita Clarke - Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) after the meeting.

·         Councillor Clarke noted that looking into a residents parking scheme could still be an option.

·         It was noted that there were difficulties trying to get the company to enter dialogue on this matter. Some residents suggestions to get the attention of Enterprise Car were to; contact someone in senior management of the organisation and embarrass them, inform the local media, provide them with a bill for any slabs broken (Martin Fletcher noted the difficulties in obtaining legal proof for direct damage being caused).

·         Councillor Porter suggested installing single yellow lines and enforcing them.

·         A resident had safety concerns that Enterprise Rent-A-Car major vehicle carriers were discharging on the bus lane. As the resident had photographic evidence, it was advised to send them to Martin Fletcher.

·         Councillor Porter requested that the outcomes of the consultation be discussed at the next meeting.

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

PCSO Ben Leaning was present at the meeting and provided an update on the matters the Police had been dealing with in the ward. These included;

·         Motorbikes going down to the Gilmorton Estates through Aylestone Meadows, and

·         Aylestone Hall Gardens – some young people smoking drugs and refusing to leave.

·         Any details that residents could provide of motorbike registration plates or young people’s names involved in the above matters were requested.

·         Residents were encouraged to sign up to neighbourhood link – where Police send out updates with information. PCSO Leaning requested residents to see him after the meeting to sign up. He could also provide details of the neighbourhood watch scheme.

·         Councillor Clarke noted that residents had been contacting him regarding theft from vehicles on Belvoir Drive. PCSO Leaning had some information that there were possible connections to the YMCA, with whom he had a meeting with next week. He would provide feedback at the next ward meeting.

·         Some residents of Otters Bank informed the meeting of serious car crimes problems in that area. It was reported that two of the suspects went around on bikes and tried to open doors. PCSO Leaning would speak to his Sergeant regarding particular hotspots and look into setting up an operation and patrols to target specific areas. An update would be provided at the next meeting.

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

Noel Cazley, City Warden for the ward gave an overview of activities and enforcement that had been taking place in the ward. Some of these included the following:

·         It was noted that fly-tipping was an issue in the ward especially offences by commercial premises, some of which were also using residential/ public waste bins to dispose of their commercial waste. To address this Noel had been carrying out Duty Of Care (DOC) inspections on businesses in the ward and was currently focusing on Aylestone Road. This had led to several Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) being issued.

·         It was noted that a county wide project launch would be taking place next year to educate households of their DOC to ensure waste was disposed correctly.

·         Residents were advised to contact the City Warden if they had information regarding offences. Use of the Love Leicester App was encouraged.

·         Councillor Clarke informed the meeting that Leicester had two Public Spaces Protection Orders which gave the Police and City Warden additional powers within a designated area to tackle individuals taking New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) or street-drinking where it was associated with Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).

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.

Anita Clarke, Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) provided the following update on the Ward Community Budget.

·         It was noted that the opening balance was £11,084.50.

·         There were six applications supported, totalling £10,884.00.

·         £200.50 would be carried over to the next financial year.

·         Further information regarding the online application process was provided and residents were advised to contact the Ward Community Engagement Team on 0116 454 1940 if they had further queries.

·         Representatives from a community group called ‘Well Seasoned’ were present at the meeting and gave appreciation for the ward funding they received. It was noted that on Mondays they met for a tea/ coffee session and would be arranging outings with the fund.

·         Councillor Clarke noted that he had recently visited the Aylestone Petanque Club who welcomed people of all ages, abilities to engage in the sport/ game which is also known as boules sport. If anyone was interested in the club Councillor Clarke would provide contact details.

·         A resident queried the number 86 bus potential change of route. It was noted that it would be the Arriva bus companies’ task to inform residents of any changes to routes.

·         Councillor Porter raised a point that he had been given information to believe that there would be an increase in Aylestone Road traffic of c300 vehicles in relation to Putney Rd developments. The relevant officer would be contacted in relation to further details on this point. It was noted that a consultation to seek views on the planned improvement works to the Putney Road West / Aylestone Road junction was currently taking place.

Following the meeting, the City Transport Director provided the below information on the concern above:

“The traffic flows referred to relate to the Aylestone / Saffron / Putney junction and are not representative of the whole Lutterworth Road – Aylestone Road corridor."

·         A resident informed the meeting of ways they could express their views on the proposed developments for Canal Street. It was encouraged for residents to comment via the Council’s website.