Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Clair.

Councillor Bhatti welcomed those present to the meeting.

The first main item on the programme is Declaration of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything in the programme they have a personal interest in. For example if a meeting wanted to talk about digging up a road and one of the Councillors lived on that road, he or she would have to say they have a personal interest in that.

Councillors are asked to declare any interest they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

No declarations of interest were made at this time.

Members are asked to agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 15^th July 2008, copy attached.

RESOLVED:

that the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Meeting held on 15^th July 2008, as previously circulated, be confirmed as a correct record.

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer to report on the current poaition regarding the Budget.

1)            Community Meeting Budgets - General

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer presented an update on the funding previously allocated by the Community Meeting from the Community Fund element of the budget as follows: -

            Highfields Rangers                                                         £900

            (Summer soccer initiatives)

            Balance (Community Fund)                         £2,400 approx.

The balances available in the other funds were reported as follows: -

            Balance (Ward Priority Fund)                         £6,700

            Balance (Community Cohesion)               £2,000.

2)            Application for Funding (Community Fund)

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer, reported that an application for funding had recently been received as set out below: -

                                                                                                  £

Santana Football Club                                        1898

                        Hall Hire                                                     960

                        Training Balls x 4                                           40

                        Mesh Bibs – 36                                            90

                        Water Bottles – 36                                        108

                        Meditravel bag/first aid/ice packs              100

                        Corner poles and flags                            30

                        16 x 20 catering                                              320

                        Stationery and consumables                      250

The Community Meeting considered the bid and it was felt that only certain aspects of the bid should be funded and that certain responses should be sought from Santana FC prior to the funding being released.

RESOLVED:

that the following elements of the bid be funded, subject to satisfactory responses being received from Santana FC regarding their target groups, where the club was based and the funding applied for, and received, from other City Council Community Meetings: -

  £

Training Balls40

Mesh bibs90

Water bottles100

First aid equipment100

Corner poles and flags30

Part funding towards cost of40

stationery and consumables

400

Subject to a satisfactory response this would leave a balance of  £1900 in the Community Fund budget.                      

Jerry Connolly to report on the current position regarding the development of the Ward Action Plan.

Jerry Connolly reported that he had drawn together the feedback received from previous meetings but it was unfortunate that the majority of the information was not specific or adequate to be able to follow up. It was therefore suggested that a better approach might be to visit local groups and identify any issues they might have and use these responses to form the basis of the Draft Ward Action Plan. This approach was supported.

Issues Raised

i)            Speeding Traffic on Gleneagles Avenue

It was stated that, despite mini-roundabouts having been installed on Gleneagles Avenue, there was a lot of speeding traffic using Gleneagles Avenue. It was suggested that a way forward might be to identify what options would be acceptable to address speeding traffic on Gleneagles Avenue, these could include flashing ‘Slow Down’ signs and speed cameras. This approach was supported.

ii)            Accident – Lockerbie Avenue

It was stated that there had recently been an accident on Lockerbie Avenue, involving a car and a cyclist, with the cyclist being badly injured. It was suggested that the Police be asked for an outline of the accident and whether further action was required.  It was further stated that large vehicles sometimes used Lockerbie Avenue and caused problems for other traffic. It was suggested that a ‘Not Suitable for Large Vehicles’ sign could be erected at the entrance to this road.

iii)            Restaurant – Glencoe Avenue

It was stated that the restaurant sited on Glencoe Avenue was located on a blind corner. Visitors to the restaurant parked on the road, even though the restaurant had its own car park.

RESOLVED:

                        that the comments be noted.

Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services will give a brief update on the following topics: -

·        Environmental Services

·        10,000 Trees – sites identified and trees to be planted

·        Street Warden Service

Domestic Violence

Stephanie McBurney and Shobhana Patel attended the meeting and outlined their area of work. It was stated that nationally around 50% of women were the victims of Domestic Violence. It was further stated that, on average, women were subjected to 37 Domestic Violence experiences before they reported their experiences to the Police. The Domestic Violence team attempted to encourage people to talk about their experiences and to get the appropriate help. There were currently a number of good resources in the City for Domestic Violence victims.

A Domestic Violence Campaign Week was due to start on 24^th November 2008, highlighting Domestic Violence issues with number of events planned during the week.

Mel Berry, Principal attended the meeting and stated that he would be happy to attend future meetings and outline progress on the works planned as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. It was stated that there was no funding allocated within BSF specifically for Community or Vocational education, although it was planned to utilise facilities at the college during evenings and weekends and the Humanities Block would also be available. The Hall within the Lecture Theatre would have seating for 250 people and could be partitioned off to create smaller areas. The Dining area adjacent to the Main Hall would have seating for up to 150 people. The new facilities to be provided would comprise: -

            New Sports Hall

            Dance/Activities area

Fitness Suite

Multi Use Games Area (MUGA)

Netball Courts.

Mel Berry was thanked for his presentation.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 8.20 pm.