PLAY STREET PROJECT
The ward meeting will receive an update on a project carried out on Northcote Road in Knighton Ward, to give residents an understanding of how to set up similar projects in Stoneygate Ward.
Minutes:
Residents from Knighton Ward informed the meeting of a project they carried out on Northcote Road. The road was closed for three hours in the evening to allow children to play out.
Details on the process following for closing the street were outlined. Leicester City Council Transport Department was contacted, and forms for completion were provided, including a form for insurance purposes. Insurance documents cost £50, and a road closure fee cost £150, and a risk assessment needs to be undertaken. Residents have to ensure that a BACs transfer reached the Council in plenty of time, and a survey of the street residents planned to close undertaken. The whole process usually takes around six weeks to complete. If residents did not have funds available they could apply for funding from the Ward Community Fund, and Leicester City Council would look at waiving the application fee if taken up as a city-wide event.
It was informed that you would need to petition each house to gain agreement for the road closure, as 2/3rds residents would have to agree the closure. Once a date of road closure was agreed, the Council supplied notices on lampposts, and provided bollards and signage, and two residents would be expected to stand at the each end of the road in high visibility jackets. Residents were given plenty of notice to take their cars off the road onto driveways, and cars could still access the closed road, as long as they were escorted.
The Play Street Project was considered a successful event, and even people without children joined in, showcasing it was a good way to get the community talking to each other. There was concern that there would be irate drivers, but there were no issues and organisers were pleasantly surprised. There was no damage to any property. The closure of the road was the first event, but it was hoped to do it again in the summertime when the evenings were light.
It was suggested that if an area of 5-6 streets wanted to close a road, then the best road of the five should be picked. Northcote Road was wide and straight, and both ends could be seen.
The Chair said the event was worth trying elsewhere in Stoneygate Ward, and the Police could advise whether a street was suitable or not.