Agenda item

The minutes of the previous Castle Community Meeting, held on 9^th October 2012 have been circulated, and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The meeting received the minutes of the Castle Community Meeting held on 9 October 2012.

Further to minute 66, “De Montfort University – Community Engagement”, David Carrott, Director of Estates at De Montfort University, introduced himself to the meeting.  As agreed, he had copies of the student charter available at the meeting for residents.

Following the concerns raised under the same minute about the impact of the closure of Mill Lane, the Ward Members reported that a site visit had been made to the Jarrom Street / Havelock Street / Grasmere Street area.  From this, it appeared that many of the problems there were due to the parking situation at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.  One possible solution could be to make traffic flows in part of Jarrom Street one-way (from the Western Boulevard end).

Residents questioned whether the closure of Mill Lane was permanent or experimental, as many believed that the closure had been done under a temporary road closure order.  It was noted that bollards could be put in a road under a temporary road closure order, but Ward Members undertook to let residents know on what basis this closure had been done.

Concern also was raised that, even though Mill Lane was closed to vehicular traffic, students were still riding bikes on the pavement.

David Carrott advised the meeting that a design for landscaping Mill Lane would be drawn up.  Residents would be consulted on this and public meetings would be held to discuss the proposals.  Mr Carrott reminded the meeting that full consultation had been undertaken on the closure of Mill Lane and that some residents had supported the closure, as the landscaping that was part of the scheme would make the area more green.

Residents asked whether Mill Lane could be re-opened, but it was noted that, although a road traffic order could be changed, this was unlikely to happen within the first few weeks of it coming in to force. 

In this case, the emergency services had been consulted and had raised no objections.  However, the City Council’s Transport Development Officer had met the emergency services and was in the process of designing a solution to the problems being caused in the Jarrom Street / Havelock Street / Grasmere Street area.  Details of this were not available yet.

In response to a question, David Carrott advised that, as part of the long term redevelopment of the area, plans were being drawn up for the Fletcher complex.  Most of the low-rise building would be demolished and replaced.  The rest of the complex would be refurbished.  The buildings at the front would be demolished and the area green landscaped.  It was not known at present how high the new buildings would be, but it was possible that those at the back of the site could be 4 – 6 stories.

Residents advised that they would appreciate being advised and / or consulted by De Montfort University at the start of any such schemes.  Jit Pandya of De Montfort University reminded residents that the possibility of having twice yearly events at which residents could meet representatives of the University previously had been discussed with David Hollis, the University’s Operations Manager.  A paper on this had been prepared for the University’s Executive Board and the outcome was awaited.  In the meantime, residents were welcome to raise issues direct with David Hollis or with the Ward Councillors.

Concern was raised that, at a recent open day for De Montfort University, people at the top of Grassmere Street had been directing traffic down that road to the car park.  However, residents had been told that this would not happen and that traffic would be directed along Western Boulevard.  (When residents spoke to the people directing traffic, they stopped directing it down Grassmere Street.)

It was noted that traffic could be redirected as part of an event management plan, but it appeared that a mistake had been made on this occasion.  David Carrott offered to speak to the University’s security officers to find out why this had happened.

AGREED:

1)    That the minute of the Castle Community Meeting held on 9 October 2012 be confirmed as a correct record;

2)    That the Ward Members let residents know:-

a)     whether the road closure in Mill Lane has been made on a temporary or permanent basis; and

b)     details of the proposals for landscaping the area around the road closure in Mill Lane, including the timescales for consultation; and

3)    That the City Council’s Transport Development Officer be asked to attend the next meeting to discuss:-

a)     possible solutions to the traffic problems in the Jarrom Street / Havelock Street / Grasmere Street area, if sufficient progress has been made in developing them; and

b)     traffic management issues arising from the recent open day at De Montfort University.