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.

A minute’s silence was observed for the late former ward Councillor, Jean Khote.

Co Councillors passed their condolences and noted that Councillor Khote would be dearly missed for the service she provided to the ward.

Councillor Joshi as chair led on introductions.

The representative from Spark Arts who had an item on the agenda shared there apologies for absence as they were engaged with a different ward meeting, it was noted they would be in attendance at the next convenient meeting.

The Action Log of the North Evington Community Meeting held on 7 November 2019 is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log for the last meeting was noted.

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

Councillors informed the residents that both Councillors had attended the funeral and met with the family of the late former ward Councillor Jean Khote.

Residents were informed that ward surgeries were still going on as scheduled.

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

The local police were not present at the meerting.

Highways officers will be present to give an update on highways issues in the ward.

One Way Street scheme in Asfordby Street had been in place for over 6 months. Observations show that it appeared to be working well and was generally adhered to. There were accidents reported mid 2019 at the Harewood Street/Humberstone Road but no current proposals were planned.

Harewood Street one-way entrance junction had been made permanent with tactile paving and bollards. The buildout outside the Piccadilly Cinema opposite Prospect Road on Green Lane Road was programmed to be removed before the end of the month. This would improve traffic flow and ease congestion in the area, together with the removal of the roundabout at the Harewood Street junction.

There were lots of issues on roads around the Gurdwara on East Park Road, Nottingham Road, Rosebery Street, Lancaster Street and Leicester Street. Currently the parking arrangements were under review to try and improve parking for residents. Possible measures could include double yellow lines, single yellow lines, residents parking etc. Safety measures at junctions would include installing bollards and try looking at balancing the requirements of local residents, businesses and temple users.

Bollards would possibly be in place prior to the Vaisakhi celebration, which is the Sikh New Year, celebrated on Monday April 13. An Officer met with the Gurdwara Management Team on 12/03/20 to discuss traffic management arrangements for the Vaisahki celebrations.

Cllrs wanted to meet with the Highways Team to progress the parking improvements on roads around the Gurdwara.

Officers were reviewing existing parking restrictions on Green Lane Road to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, following the review, proposals would be developed with local ward councillors aiming to balance the requirements of local residents, businesses and shoppers.

It was also noted that the Front Walls improvement scheme on Green Lane Road was being progressed. This was similar to the scheme completed on Evington Road in 2019. The Green Lane Road scheme covered 25 properties generally between 146 and 188 Green Lane Road, 129, 141 and 153 Green Lane Road up to the East Park Road junction.

Following the removal of the mini round-about on Forest Road and Frisby Road in summer 2016, the number of accidents had decreased. The request for a pedestrian refuge scheme in this location would result in a loss of on-street parking. It was noted that a possible one-way route in to Frisby Road could take some of the potential conflicts away, but this had not been allocated to an officer or put in the works programme.

Site visits were currently being undertaken to assess the viability to install a pedestrian refuge on Hastings Road, which could be similar to existing refuges near to Overton Road and Merrydale Infant School.

A resident reported a parked van(s) on Bramling Road which had not moved for a number of months and was causing problems with visibility and inconvenience to emergency services.

ACTION: The Highways Officer to report to the Parking Enforcement Team. The resident had also spoken to the Parking Enforcement team, who said that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Housing officers will be present to provide an update on housing issues in the ward.

An Officer from the Housing Team provided an update on recent and upcoming works on the housing estates on the ward and introduced the new Head of Service.

It was noted that Beatie Avenue had recently had the old garages removed to provide additional parking spaces. It was suggested that the old garages were much smaller than the size of modern cars and were not fit for purpose. The Assistant City Mayor noted that this was a proposal for a city-wide scheme and the Council were encouraging residents to use alternative means of transport.

The winter prune had been conducted in February as the team were catching up on works as a result of bad weather. There had been a hard cutback on shrubbery and a new type of plant was planned to be installed. This would help in the maintenance work help reduce in the anti-social behaviour.

It was noted that gates had been installed in the Redwood Walk area to help reduce the anti-social behaviour concerns raised by residents and residents were informed that posters would be put up in the cubical area’s to encourage local residents to close the front gates behind them to stop non-residents from entering and loitering in the communal spaces. Car parking spaces had been installed outside of 1-17 Oak Street flats and further funding had also been secured to install additional parking spaces on Farnham Road.

The local City Warden will be present to provide an update on any environmental issues in the ward.

It was noted that a new City Warden had been allocated to the North Evington Ward and enforcement work was underway.

Work was being carried out with local businesses to encourage commercial bins were stored correctly and not on street outside the business. It was suggested that this encouraged others to leave rubbish by the bins.

It was noted that their had been a reduction in fly tipping across the city which had made a huge difference and the team were dedicated to continue this pattern and bring the numbers down further.

Residents were encouraged to use MyAccount or the LoveLeicester app to report any fly-tipping they witness to ensure they are resolved swiftly. These applications would also allow residents to share pictures.

Information will be given on the Personalised Travel Plan Project.

A representative running the project was in attendance to promote the Personalised Travel Plan Project which was currently engaging with local communities.

It was noted that the introduction of walking groups had major positive health factors for the service users as it promoted the individuals well being and social factors and gave people the opportunity to meet new people.

The introduction of Dr Bike Sessions which was being planned, would allow people to bring their bikes for a service and encourage safer cycling as an alternative means of transport.

The project was looking into different ways of reaching wide into the different communities across the city.

Information will be given about the Spark Arts Small Wonders project.

It was noted that a representative from the Spark Arts Small Wonders Project would be in attendance at a future meeting to introduce the project.

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

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

The Ward Community Engagement Officer presented the ward budget. It was noted that the closing date was approaching and informed residents that all applications needed submitting as a matter of urgency to be considered. Only 10% of the budget i.e £1,800.00 could be carried forward to next years budget.

Balance remaining: £5579.20.

Climate Action Leicester/Leicestershire were launching their event at St Mathews Centre on 4 April 2020 between 12:30-3:30pm.