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 Bajaj, elected as Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Apologies were received from Nigel Eggleton (Managing Director of First Midlands), Nicole Powell (City Warden), Andy East (Neighbourhood Housing Team Leader), Nick Griffiths (District Manager, Housing).

There were no declarations of interest.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 21 July 2016 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record. Any update on actions taken since the last meeting will be reported at the meeting.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 21 July 2016 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

The Evington Ward Councillors will provide an update on the issues they have been dealing with in the Evington Ward.

All three Evington Ward Councillors noted the success of the patch walk which took place in several parts of the ward on 17 November 2016. Councillors also noted the following activities which they had been dealing with in the ward:

Councillor Hunter

·         Informed attendees of the current Council Committees that she was a member of, and also gave an update on Councillor’s surgeries information.

·         Safer parking was being looked into around Rowlatts Hill estate, Coleman Road, Waterfield Close, Barnes Heath Road, Greenacre Drive and several other roads.

·         After school activities would be taking place at Coleman Neighbourhood Centre from April 2017.

·         Councillor Hunter had met the new area Manager for Housing – Nick Griffiths to discuss constituents housing issues.

·         The exercise equipment in Humberstone Park had now been installed.

·         Street lighting had now been installed on Rockingham Close.

·         Bushes in the ward which were obstructing traffic had been pruned.

·         Support had been provided for two schools on Spencefield Lane; Krishna Avanti Primary School and St Paul’s Catholic School to recruit a crossing guide.

·         Councillor Hunter had visited other wards that had undergone the Transforming Neighbourhood Services (TNS) process in order to get an idea of the process, as the consultation would soon be taking place for TNS in the Evington Ward.

Councillor Bajaj

·         A meeting had been set up to discuss preventing accidents and obstructions surrounding schools.

·         A 20mph speed limit consultation for several roads in the ward was currently taking place.

·         In regards to the crossing at Angela Drive, the implementation of knee high railing was in process.

·         A resident had concerns regarding speeding down Davenport Road. Councillor Bajaj noted that this had been reported and speed cushions could possibly be installed with the 2017/18 Highways funds.

Councillor Govind

·         Noted his presence on the Council’s Planning Committee.

·         Had been engaging in regular works with the Police.

·         Addressed concerns with current changes to the bus service and how to move forward.

Councillor Adam Clarke - Assistant City Mayor and Nigel Eggleton - Managing Director of First Midlands will attend the meeting and give an update on the First bus routes in the Evington Ward.

It was noted by Councillor Govind that a meeting had taken place on 10 February 2017 to consider re-instating the bus service on Davenport Road and Gamel Road.

Councillor Adam Clarke Assistant City Mayor was present at the meeting to give the following update on the First Bus route concerned with in the Ward.

·         It was noted that the First Bus route 54 had faced issues such as; the service was losing time/ struggling at certain points on the route and therefore Gamel Road was cut from the route in order to improve the situation.

·         It was noted that options such as; implementing additional parking restrictions was looked at and the First Bus Director requested additional yellow lines. A provisional cost of the scheme was noted as £750.

·         It was noted that if lines were to be implemented, this would take place approximately May 2017. However, there was some debate that lines would not improve the situation, therefore other resolutions were being discussed.

·         A consultation on the issue took place with emergency services. Following this Councillor Clarke noted that a report was due to be signed off and the next stage was for the report to go to the local press for a wider 3 week consultation with residents/ the public etc.

Residents’ queries/ concerns regarding Gamel Road/ Davenport Road:

·         Could the road be widened at the corner?

·         How would the lines be enforced? How and would wardens monitor this?

·         Could anything be done about the mud which had been churned up?

·         Residents also noted the possibility of a one way system.

·         Gamel Road mosque and its current developments? Councillor Govind noted that there were delays in building the new block and therefore some parking inconveniences would take place during this process.

Councillor Clarke advised residents to put forward their concerns and opinions when the consultation was active.

An update will be provided on the Patch Walk which took place in the Evington Ward on 17 November 2016.

Councillor Hunter and Councillor Govind noted the following regarding the Patch Walk which took place on 17 November 2016:

Residents had the following concerns at the meeting:

·         Illegal parking on Spencefield Lane. Councillor Govind noted that the next patch walk would include that area of the Ward.

·         Downing Drive – 20mph zone. Councillor Bajaj noted that the consultation was currently taking place.

It was noted that a meeting would take place on 17 March with Evington Ward Councillors, Assistant City Mayor and head teachers from a few schools in the Ward. The meeting would be looking at ways to address parking problems near schools, it was noted that residents would also be included at a later point.

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in Evington Ward.

Sergeant (Sgt) Nigel Baraclough, the new Sgt for the Evington Ward was present at the meeting and gave an update.

All to note:

·         Residents were advised that crime in the Ward and Local Policing Team information could be obtained by visiting the Police.uk website and following the necessary links.

·         Current issues the Police were dealing with included burglaries.

·         Since 1st January 2017 there had been 11 burglaries (dwellings) and 15 burglaries (other than dwellings).

·         It was noted that 9 burglars had been sent to prison over the past 2 months and Police had regular patrols on case.

·         Other crime included 14 open Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) courts and speeding/ parking issues on Spencefield Lane where children were reported to have been hurt – Police operations were in place on Spencefield Lane and Downing Drive which had seen drivers penalised for several offences.

PC Dave McCartney was also present at the meeting and discussed the following:

·         A few ASB issues on the Rowlatts Hill estate had rekindled.

·         It was noted that a small number of homeless people outside Tesco Metro on Ethel Road had been begging people and were sometimes reported to be aggressive in their approach. A variety of methods were being looked into on how this could be addressed including communication with the ASB unit. Several thefts from Rowlatts Hill Co-operative supermarket had taken place, whereby the perpetrator had stolen £3-4,000 worth of meat.

·         Complaints were reported regarding noise and parties on Balderstone Close. Every night two PC’s/ PCSO’s patrolled hotspots where complaints had been received.

·         Young people had gained access to Gumbrill House and were causing issues. The Police used operation Night Hawk to deal with this and had since seen a reduction.

·         Parking operations had been held at City of Leicester College (COLC) and Linden Primary School speaking to and educating parents.

·         An issue was noted that involved young people disturbing the madrassa classes at Coleman Neighbourhood Centre. Police were working closely with Councillor Govind and Premier League Kicks looking into useful diversions for young people.

Residents’ concerns:

·         Nitrous oxide canisters were noted as being littered in the Evington Park car park. The Police explained the current legislation on the canisters and noted that further information was available on the Police website.

·         A resident requested contact information for the traffic enforcement team. Councillor Hunter responded that Punum Patel – Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) would take the residents contact details after the meeting and pass them onto the traffic enforcement team.

·         It was queried regarding schools admissions in the Ward in regards to a reported overflow from other areas (not in the Ward) which the resident believed could take place. Councillor Bajaj would speak with the Assistant City Mayor for Schools and feedback any information to the resident. The resident was to provide contact details following the meeting.

·         The consultation for Evington Library was queried. Councillor Hunter who had been exploring other TNS buildings felt that the Evington Library was secure. It was reported that the consultation was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

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

Leaflets provided by the City Warden were distributed at the meeting.

The result of a parking survey which was reported to have taken place 18 months ago with the City Warden was queried by a resident. It was requested that the WCEO check the status of this survey with Nicole Powell.

A written update will be provided on housing matters in the ward.

In the absence of a Housing Officer, Councillor Hunter noted that Nick Griffiths who was the new District Manager for Housing.

Councillor Bajaj requested that the WCEO ask for a Housing representative to be present at the next meeting.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update on the Ward Community Budget will be provided at the meeting.

Punum Patel - WCEO gave an update on the Ward Community Budget. It was noted that 18 applications had been received and 12 applications had been supported. The full budget summary for applications received up until 2 March 2017 has been attached at the end of this action log.

·         The online application link was as follows: www.leicester.gov.uk/communitymeetings.

·         Punum Patel could be contacted on 0116 454 6575 if assistance was required.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 7:38pm.