Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Bhatti chaired the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Clair, and it was reported that Councillor Willmott was attending a meeting elsewhere in the County and was hoping to arrive later during 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 was due to discuss a budget application put forward by a community group and one of the Councillors was a member of that group, they would not be able to take part in the decision on that budget application.

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.

There were no declarations of interest made at this time.

The minutes of the previous Rushey Mead Community Meeting, held 9^th July 2009, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

It was reported that because the meeting was not quorate at the present time the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th April 2009 could not be formally approved. It was stated that should Councillor Willmott not attend the meeting then the minutes would be brought to the next meeting for formal approval.

To discuss in detail the progress made on the proposals outlined in ‘A Community Vision for Rushey Park’ presented at the Community Meeting held on 7^th April 2009. Since this meeting officers of the City Council have had an opportunity to look more closely at the scope of the vision document and to discuss the proposals with elected members Information will be reported back to this meeting.

Paul Edwards, Head of Sport Services attended the meeting and outlined sports services offered in the area.

Paul stated that sports activities in the Rushey Mead area were centred around the Cossington Street Sports Centre. This Centre offered a 33m swimming pool and sports centre. Free swimming was available to the 16’s and under and this had proved to be a great success.

Soar Valley Netball Centre had now been completed with the assistance of a New Opportunities Fund Grant. The City Council were trying to develop a range of specialist sports facilities across the City and the Netball Centre was part of this strategy.

Shaun Miles, Sports Development Officer outlined work that was being undertaken on the Football Investment Project at Rushey Fields, whereby 6-block changing facilities and offices were to be erected at Rushey Fields. The building would comprise a Club Room, 5 pitches were to be provided – (2 mini soccer, 2 adult and 1 junior).

At Cossington Street Ball Court the mini ATP had been refurbished with a new surface and new fencing and would also include structured coaching. The Local Management Group would be identifying local issues, particularly around misuse, and would then address these issues.

A member of the public stated that there was only one such local facility and the officers stated that there were only four across the whole of the City as there was only sufficient funding for four.

Paul stated that, as part of the Building Schools for the Future Programme, a number of 4 court Sports Halls were planned across the City. What was required however was the development of specialist facilities so that people wanting to develop their particular sporting skills could do so. Examples of such facilities locally were the Netball Centre at Soar Valley College and the Basketball Centre at Rushey Mead School, that were available not just for term time use and the school, but also were available for use by the public.

A member of the public stated that cricket facilities were required for those who had left school. Paul responded by stating that the City Council were looking to develop a specialist centre for cricket at Crown Hills, although there was a need to get a structure together and obtain adequate funding.

A member of the public stated that children were unable to use facilities at Rushey Fields after school hours and were playing on the street,. And also questione what consultations had taken place. Paul stated that as soon as Development Workers and Development Plans could be put in place then the facilities available could be fully utilised.

Jerry Connolly read the following note prepared by Ian Johnson, Soar Valley College: -

“SVC has always had a great reputation for interacting with the local community in respect of the hiring out of facilities for sport, community learning, social and religious events and for working with various groups to maximise the quality and value of these experiences. The ‘old’ building was extremely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To discuss the developments proposed at Mellor Primary School.

Jim Bowditch and Jo Robertson, Children and Young Peoples Services attended the meeting and outlined proposed Building Schools for the Future works to be carried out at Mellor Primary School.

It was stated that the school needed to expand and various options were looked at. Plans, available for inspection at the meeting, had now been drawn up to expand the capacity at the school and, following Cabinet approval, consultation was underway with various stakeholders and would run for the rest of the year. Work on the school was planned to start in late 2010 and be completed in 2011.

Population predictions for the future were being studied and, should future expansion be required this would be put in place.

A Community Room was planned for the new school, together with an ICT room, music rooms and a Studio Room that would also be available for community use. Feedback from potential evening users was being sought to ascertain what their needs were.

A member of the public stated that the school had been running down its operations recently and questioned whether extra funding would be made available. Jim stated that extra funding would be available to the school during the period of expansion.

RESOLVED:

                        That the information be noted.

To receive an update on the proposals to plant 10,000 trees across the City.

Brian Stafford, Project Officer attended the meeting and stated that he was currently managing this project.

Plans were underway to plant large trees for an ‘avenue’ effect on Troon way. Work with Wyvern, Rushey Mead Primary and Herrick schools to plant trees had now been completed.

A member of the public questioned the timetable for completion of work in Rushey Mead. Brian stated that the aim was to complete the project by the end of 2011. Planting of trees would be concentrated during November-March 2009/10 and November-March 2010/11. Any further suggestions for potential sites were welcomed.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

To receive an update on local policing priorities for the area.

Pc. Rob Poutney attended the meeting and outlined local policing issues.

Parking problems were prevalent outside Rushey Mead Primary School and these were being addressed. Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) issues (Drinking and Robberies) had caused problems at the back of Nagle Grove during the summer months, together with ASB and robberies on Rushey Fields and Appleton Park, these incidents had been on the increase lately.

A spate of burglaries from domestic dwellings had taken place during the Diwali celebrations whilst people were away at parties etc.

Rushey Park was observed to be very quiet on Saturday afternoons, whilst Appleton Park was rarely used at all. It was felt that parents/young people had the perception that these parks were not safe.

A member of the public questioned whether there were local structured youth clubs that offered facilities for young people. Rob stated that there were and that information could be obtained from the local Police Community Co-ordinator. Gwenda Brown stated that her department had just produced a Child Directory that identified all facilities for young people (0-19 years) across the City and these were awaited from the printers.

A member of the public stated that there were a number of myths around that were disturbing local parents and children, preventing full use of the facilities available. It was suggested that thought be given, from the agencies represented, to looking at measures to get people back to using the local facilities.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer to give an update on the Community meeting Budget 2009/10.

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer stated that there were no funding applications currently being processed for this Community Meeting. Jerry stated that he was looking to encourage bids, particularly from projects that were looking to enable others to help themselves and also partnership working. Any funding not allocated from the 2009/10 Budget would likely be lost, and not carried forward to 2010/11.

The next meeting of the Community Meeting will be held at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 12^th January 2010. The venue is yet to be confirmed.

It was reported that the next meeting would be held at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 12^th January 2010 at Mellor Primary School.

Community Facilities – Rushey Fields

Jerry Comnnolly stated that the City Council were of the opinion that the way it had invested in education and sports facilities in the area was the way forward, rather that provide one large facility (£20m) to be handed over to the local community.

It was stated that when the initial request was outlined no mention of £20m had been made but rather it had been proposed that planning permission be sought to enable the proposals to be provided.

The Chair stated that it had not been entirely clear at the presentation what was required. The City Council were now to spend £5.2m at Rushey Park on new facilities. Officers had estimated that the total cost of the facilities requested at the presentation would likely total some £20m. Planning permission would need to be applied for through the Local Planning process.

It was stated that the local people involved with presenting the Rushey Fields Community proposals would now be advised of the correct procedures to follow to enable planning permission to be sought and to progress the scheme proposed. A meeting would be arranged with Shaun Miles, Sports Project Manager, Leicester City Council and representatives of the project to discuss details of the plans of the works proposed by the City Council at Rushey Fields.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

The meeting closed at 8.00 pm.