Agenda and minutes

Councillor Ross Willmott, as Chair welcomed everyone to the Rushey Mead Community Meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

The first main item on the agenda is Declarations of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything on the agenda 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.

The minutes of the previous Rushey Mead Community Meeting held on 14 March 2013 have been circulated and Councillors are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the previous Rushey Mead Community Meeting held 14 March 2013 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members of the community will receive a presentation on the new Sainsbury’s development on Melton Road, Rushey Mead. Bob Keys who is part of the project team responsible for delivering the new development will be present along with other representatives also involved in the development.  Members of the community will have an opportunity to look at the site plan and find out about the forthcoming building programme. There will also be a question and answer session at the end of the presentation.

Bob will also invite interested members of the community to be part of a small liaison group to meet with the builders whilst the programme is in progress.

Members of the community received a presentation on the new Sainsbury’s Development on Melton Road, Rushey Mead. A copy of this presentation is attached to the back of these minutes.

Representatives from Sainsbury’s included Alex Shearer (Sainsbury’s Project Manager), Darryl Stace (Project Manager from the construction company), Tom Issitt (Community Liaison Representative) and Bob Keys (Public Affairs Liaison).  The timeline for the development was outlined and together they made the following points:

·         The site would include an area for commercial and industrial units.

·         There would be landscaping around the site and Sainsbury’s were looking for a local company to carry out this work.

·         Although the store was not open 24 hours, the site would be secure as people would be working on the site behind the scenes, even when the store was closed to members of the public.

·         The store on Melton Road would be Sainsbury’s first carbon zero project.

·         The store would advertise job vacancies online and all recruitment would be carried out on line. Sainsbury’s would work with the job centre and it was aimed to provide job opportunities for local people.

·         It was aimed to commence the recruitment process during July or August, but this would depend on the progress of the new build programme.

The following concerns and comments were raised by members of the community:

·         The road works by the new Sainsbury’s site on Melton Road, in particular the lane closure had resulted in long queues of traffic from as early as 7.00am. A request was made for the lane to be kept open until 9.00am when the rush hour and school traffic had eased, at least until the start of the school holidays.  Members of the community requested that there should be clear communications between Sainsbury’s and local people, particularly in relation to highways issues.

Bob Keys acknowledged that it was important to ensure that local people were kept informed on such issues and offered to put information on the website that had been created for the new store.

·         Local residents had been informed of the times during which the building work would be carried out, but work had been done outside the appointment time which had created a noise nuisance.

Darryl Stace apologised for this and explained that this issue had already been raised. It was acknowledged that a mistake had been made and residents were advised that this should not  happen again.

·         A nuisance had been caused by dust created by the building work on site.

Darryl Stace explained that the measures that were being put into place should alleviate this problem.  Members of the community were asked to contact Sainsbury’s if there were any further problems over dust or noise.

·         A local resident who lived very close to the site explained that from his house, he was now looking onto a pile of rubbish and dust.

Darryl Stace responded that he would be on the site the following day and would investigate this issue.

·         It would be sad to see trees  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There will be an update on the Rushey Mead Community Meeting budget. The following funding applications have been received.

Project: 2875  Mamta Ladies Group

Submitted by Mrs Hansa Gandhi

Amount requested: £3290

Mamta Ladies Group has 58 members, most are over 60 years old. Some have physical disabilities.  All 58 members will participate and benefit from the events held. The funding requested will cover expenditure for 12 months from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.

The group received £1050 from the Rushey Mead Community Meeting in 2012/2013

Project 2876: Sandfield School PTA Summer Fun Day – Saturday 22 June 2013

Submitted by: Sandfield PTA

Amount requested: £574

The Sandfield School PTA is requesting support towards costs for holding their annual Summer Fun Day.

The PTA have organised a summer fete for the last four years, which has been a growing event bringing together the local community, parents, local agencies, organisations and the school.

The event aims to widen community participation through the provision of a range of activities for families, greater interaction between communities and a wider awareness of what is being offered by groups, community and voluntary organisations and the school.
The theme for 2013 is “foods of the world”. An opportunity to experience cuisine from Asia & East Africa.

The grant will support the following, which will consist of a range of activities including entertainment area (performances from local dance and music groups), games designed and made by school children, fairground rides, information and activity stalls, food and drink stalls and sports activities facilitated by local sports organisations.

The grant will enable them to develop the activities on offer further by supporting the entertainment element of the fete through hire of a DJ & sound system, development of a dance show of local performers, hire of equipment such as gazebos, tables & chairs.

The group received £381 from the Rushey Mead Community Meeting in June 2012.

Project 2877: Social and welfare and get together

Submitted by: Satya Community Group

Amount requested: £1080

The proposal is to run activity days on Sundays at the Rushey Mead Recreation Centre.

These activities are open to Members and non-members and will take place one Sunday a month for twelve months. Eventually this will be every Sunday.

The activities will include health talks, issues relating to social and welfare, as a meeting place to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 88.

The following budget applications were considered and representatives, where present, were invited to present their funding bids:

Project: 2875 Mamta Ladies Group

Submitted by Hansa Gandhi

Amount requested: £3290

The Chair commented that the group were requesting a large sum of money. The church, where the group sessions were held, had been approached to see if they would reduce their charge, as the booking would be a regular booking over the year, but the church had declined. Councillors agreed to support the funding application to the value of £2000 and asked that the church be approached again to see if they might be able to reconsider. The Mamta Ladies Group were advised that if at the end of the year, there was any money left in the community meeting budget, they could approach the community meeting again.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from Mamta Ladies Group be supported to the value of £2000.

Project: 2876 Sandfield School Parents’ Teachers’ Association (PTA), Summer Fun Day – Saturday 22 June 2013

Submitted by: Sandfield PTA

Amount requested: £574

It was noted that within the total amount applied for, £267 was requested for the printing of flyers, publicity and promotion. Councillors asked whether the PTA could carry out some of the publicity themselves and it was explained that they would be publicising the event in the vicinity around the school, but funding was requested to extend the publicity to a wider area. 

Councillors agreed to support the funding application to the value of £500

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from Sandfield PTA be supported to the value of £500.

Project: 2877 Social and Welfare Get Together

Submitted by Satya Community Group

Amount requested: £1080

Councillors agreed to support the funding application in full.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from Satya Community Group be supported in full to the value of £1080.

Project:  2878 Drumkit Teaching Club for Music Students

Submitted by David Rowe, DrumSchool

Amount requested: £260.40

Councillors agreed to support the funding application in full.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application for the Drumkit Teaching Club for music students be supported in full to the value of £260.40.

Project:  2879 New Wycliffe Home Community Day

Submitted by Vista

Amount requested: £1200

Councillors commented that they were in favour of the event as it would help the local community find out more about New Wycliffe Home. They agreed to support the funding application in full.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from VISTA be supported in full to the value of £1200.

The following funding applications were submitted too late for inclusion on the agenda.

Project: 2880 Diversifying South Asian Festivals in Leicester

Submitted by: Inspirate

Amount requested: £500

Information submitted by the applicant in support of their application:

What is the proposal?

An Indian Summer (AIS) is a recently established festival that takes place within the East Midlands. Pioneering as one of the most recent culture and arts events in Leicester, AIS uses some of the best venues within the city centre, including Cultural  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

The Chair invited the Police to give a brief update on local policing issues.

The meeting was advised that there had been a series of distraction burglaries, but the good news was that a criminal gang responsible for the crimes had been identified.

There had also been an increase in chain snatch thefts, predominantly on the Golden Mile. The Police explained that with the better weather, people tended to walk around with their gold jewellery on show which made them vulnerable. People were asked to be aware of this issue and take extra care.

The following queries and comments were made:

Speed Humps close to Soar Valley College

Concern was expressed over some speed humps on Gleneagles Avenue near Soar Valley College. Pedestrians appeared to believe that it was a pelican crossing and that they had the right of way to walk across, when this was not the case. It was suggested that some signage was needed to make people aware that this was not a pelican crossing.

Request for bus shelter on Gleneagles Avenue

A request was made for a bus shelter on Glenagles Avenue, as the bus stop in question was well used by older people as they waited for a bus to take them towards the town centre.

Alderton Close

Residents raised strong concerns relating to parking problems in Alderton Close. The meeting heard the Alderton Close was a cul-de-sac and residents there had had their quality of life adversely affected because visitors to Watermead Park, and more recently the local Temple, parked their vehicles in the cul-de-sac; sometimes even parking on grass verges and people’s driveways. People also used the Alderton Close to turn their vehicles round and on certain days when the park or the Temple were busy, the road could be in gridlock. Residents also expressed their concerns about anti-social behaviour there.

The Police advised that if a crime was reported, they would investigate. They could also act if people were parking in a dangerous manner or were causing an obstruction. They also suggested that parking wardens needed to patrol the area at those times when the Temple or Watermead Park were busy.

The Chair concluded the discussion and said that it was clear that there was a need to try to find a solution to the problem and to try to discourage people from parking in Alderton Close. He suggested that the best way forward would be to arrange a meeting between the councillors, residents, leaders from the Temple and representatives from the City Council and County Council Parks’ Department to discuss the situation together.

Grass cutting on Glencoe Avenue

A local resident informed the meeting that the grass needed cutting on Glencoe Avenue.

Parking issues by the shops on Barkby Road.

A member of the community raised concerns over parking problems by the post office and shops on Barkby Road, as people were parking on the pavement there. It was reported that occasionally drivers had sounded their horns at pedestrians to warn them to get out of the way. The Police advised that there were dropped kerbs there, to make it easier for cars to drive on and off the pavement. Comments were also made that the traders at the Barky Road shops relied on their customers being able to park close to their businesses.

The meeting closed at 8. 55 pm.