Agenda and minutes

Councillor Potter welcomed everyone to the first Humberstone & Hamilton Community meeting and introductions were given.

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Potter was elected as Chair for the meeting.

No Apologies were received.

The first main item on the programme is Declarations of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything in the programme they have a personal interest in.

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

Councillors were asked to declare any interests they might have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act applied to them.

Councillor Shah declared that she was a resident of Bellflower Road, in relation to Columbine Road.

There will be a brief introduction to the new Community Meetings and what this will mean for residents in the Humberstone and Hamilton Ward.

Councillor Potter gave a presentation on the new Community Meetings and explained how the new system would work. The key features of the new Community Meetings were as follows:

• The meetings provided an opportunity for local people to get more involved in what was happening in their local area.
• Community partners and key agencies such as the Primary Care Trust and the Police would be invited to participate.  It might be that members of the public felt that there were health or community safety issues in the Wards, which were all part and parcel of what the community meetings were about.  The meetings were not just about Council services.
• There was a possibility that some meetings could be held in the day- time. These might take the form of a patch walk around the Ward.
• There would be a minimum of four meetings per year; possibly more if residents wished.
• The first part of the meeting would consist of information stalls, which would be varied over time. Community groups were welcome to hold an information stall at the meetings and were invited to contact Councillors or the Officers who worked on the meetings.
• The meeting’s initial task was to identify and prioritise residents’ issues or concerns within their ward.
• The aim was to use these ideas to develop and design a Draft Action Plan that will then be formulated into the Ward Action Plan.  

Adrian Russell, Service Director Environmental Services, reported that the process was to involve the residents in decision-making.  For example the Council intended to plant another 10,000 trees in the City and would like the residents to suggest the kind of trees they would like and where they would like to see them located.  In addition the meeting could be used to identify the enforcement priorities for the new City Wardens.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to discuss what priorities they would like to see in a Ward Action Plan.

At this point of the meeting the public were invited to split into groups to identify ward priorities for inclusion in the Draft Area Plan.  Attendees completed the priority cards which were to be analysed and reported back at the next meeting.

Members of the public expressed concern that there was not an item on the formal part of the meeting for the proposed Columbine Road closure.  Officers explained that the aim of the first meeting was to identify priorities for the area and not to be dominated by specific issues.  The Chair stated that the issue would be better discussed at the following meeting and that it was not on the formal agenda.  Apologies were given for any confusion and it was explained that the decision for the closure of Columbine Road could not be made by the Community Meeting as this was a decision of the Cabinet. 

Councillor Mugglestone expressed disappointment that this was not being discussed at the meetings.  He explained that at the last Planning and Development Control Committee it had been recommended that the Community Meeting discuss this matter and report back to the Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Transport.

Members of the public were concerned that the issue of whether Columbine Road remained open had been going on for an unreasonably long time.  Some members of the public felt that the road had been opened illegally and wished for the matter to be resolved as soon as possible.  There were mixed opinions on if it should be kept open or closed, although everyone agreed that the outcome of the ballot sent to households should be used to determine the outcome.

Councillor Mugglestone expressed concern at the progress of the meeting and moved a motion of no confidence in the Chair and that she be removed.

It was suggested that Councillor Kitterick, Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Transport be invited to the following meeting to discuss this matter.  Members suggested that the outcome of the ballot be included at the next meeting and that information be provided on the Council website in the meantime.

RESOLVED:

1.     That it be suggested that the issue of Columbine Road be brought to the next meeting.

2.     That it be suggested that the Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Transport be invited to the next meeting.

Members of the public will be informed of any future meetings that have been arranged.

A member of the public suggested that an item be brought to a future meeting regarding the provision of a secondary school in Hamilton.  In addition it was suggested that the principal of the new Gateway College be invited to explain what was happening there.

The meeting closed at 8.50pm