Agenda and minutes

Councillor Potter was elected a Chair for the meeting.

No apologies for absence were received.

No declarations of interest were given at this time.

The minutes of the previous Humberstone and Hamilton Community Meeting, held on 21^st September 2011, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Humberstone and Hamilton Community Meeting held on 21^st September 2011 be agreed as a correct record.

Minute 16 – Greenfield development – East of Heritage Way

It was reported that a progress report would be given at the next meeting.

Representatives of the Prince’s Trust have been invited to attend the meeting to identify how the Trust could be of benefit to young people in the area.

Matt Jesson and Mark Scott attended the meeting, representing the Princes Trust, and gave a brief presentation.

It was stated that the Prince’s Trust had been founded by Prince Charles and operated across the country and was hosted by several agencies. In Leicestershire the Trust was hosted by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, in Derby it was hosted by a College and in some other parts of the country it was the Police.

Matt outlined the local Prince’s Trust Team Programme that was a free 12 week Personal Development Programme targeted at offenders, young offenders, ex-offenders and young people that had left care. The programme covered a comprehensive range of activities that aimed to increase self-confidence and self-esteem and gave opportunities to develop new skills and gain a variety of qualifications. It was reported that a new 12 week programme was due to start in 2 weeks time.

Matt stated that the local Prince’s Trust were always looking for new project work and the Chair suggested that the Trust advertise on a regular basis in local Neighbourhood Centres and Schools.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

Representatives from the Care and Repair project have been invited to attend the meeting to identify how the project could benefit residents in the area.

Representatives from Care and Repair submitted their apologies prior to the meeting.

An officer has been invited to attend the meeting to give an update on Youth Services in the area.

David Thrussell, Head of Youth Offending Service and Gerry Burke, Area Youth Work Manager attended the meeting to provide an update on youth services in the area and an overview of teenagers out of school.

It was reported that Youth Services across the country were suffering as a direct result of funding cuts. I Leicester it had been recognised that investment in Youth Services was important and funding had been retained.

In Leicester 14 Centres, including the Armadale Centre were operated with a range of activities and the budget available enabled both City Council and a range of partner body activities to be offered.

It was stated that the City recognised the need to engage young people at an early stage, an example being the Youth Council Elections that were to take place shortly. Leicester had a good record of involving young people in the democratic process.

Local Provision

Gerry stated that on a local level a range of activities were offered at the Armadale Centre with weekly youth work sessions offered as well as healthy eating sessions, a new computer suite and a re-furbished gym. It was envisaged that young people could be trained and reduce the levels of ASB around the estate. The detached youth team was currently concentrating on ASB issues in other areas of the City.

A member of the public questioned what activities were available in Hamilton. Gerry stated that this was an area that the Council were looking at  and were looking to potential working with Hope Hamilton School to help tackle the ASB issues in Hamilton.

David stated that there were a number of ‘fixed’ Centres across the City  offering youth activities, some of these were well used, others not. The Council were currently looking at a more flexible approach to the extent that a ‘Local Offer’ was being rolled out that would in effect be a flexible approach to providing young people’s programmes. The full detail of the ‘Local Offer’ would be known in 6-8 weeks and details would be publishe on the City Council website.

A member of the public questioned what provision was planned for Humberstone, as at present there was nothing for young people. Gerry stated that this was an area that was being looked at to assess what provision had existed previously. The Chair stated that Humberstone had excellent schools in place and it was possible that some youth provision could be provided at those locations. Whatever was put in place would be advertised across the area.

A member of the public sought further information on the role of Detached Youth Workers. Gerry responded by stating he managed seven separate Wards and that he needed to react to issues in specific areas. At present there was one full-time Worker managing three Detached Workers in the seven Wards. The Workers were currently working within St.Matthews, Highfields and Evington Wards as these were areas that the public had identified as requiring attention.

David informed the meeting that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The following items have been raised by a member of the public: -

i)             Main Street Humberstone – 20mph Campaign

Support is sought to the current campaign to impose a 20mph speed limit on a length of Main Street, Humberstone.

ii)            Heavy Good Vehicles Operators Licences

It is requested that it be made a requirement that local people be notified of all new applications submitted for Heavy Goods Vehicle Operators Licences affecting this area.

iii)           School Waiting Lists

In view of the fact that several local schools are full, and parents are being advised to ‘Home Teach’ until vacancies become available, the City Council be asked what was being planned to do to ease the situation, bearing in mind that further new properties are being built in the Hamilton area.

The following items were raised by the public and the responses are summarised as follows: -

i)          20mph zone – Main Street Humberstone

It was stated that residents had been pleading for four years to make Main Street a 20mph zone. Several other local roads had since been given 20mph speed limits and 120 streets across the City were now 20mph streets. Main Street, Humberstone had blind bends, two chicanes and passed by two schools. It was questioned whether the City Council were waiting for a fatal accident before taking further action.

The Chair stated that herself and fellow Ward Councillors had been fighting for 20mph zones in this area for a long while but this was now part of the wider City Council debate of 20mph zones across the whole City. Unfortunately accident statistics were utilised in determining the priority for implementing such traffic measures.

ii)         Heavy Goods Vehicles – Operator’s Licences

It was stated that, under present legislation, only respective landowners, or people owning properties that might be affected by HGV Operations in question, were able to comment on applications for HGV Operator’s licences. A similar system to that applicable to Planning Applications was required whereby residents living in the vicinity of the application site would be able to comment and make objections.

The Chair stated that this area of work was dealt with by the Vehicle and Operator’s Services Agency (VOSA), a Government Agency. To suggest changes to the processes followed would require contact with the Government and this would be taken up with the local M.P.

The Chair stated that regarding the recent issues around a scaffolding company that started operating from a local car park, action was quickly instigated by local ward Councillors to get the company moved from the car park.

iii)        School Waiting Lists

It was stated that in view of the fact that several local schools were full, and parents were being advised to ‘Home Teach’ until vacancies became available, the City Council were asked what was being planned to ease the situation, bearing in mind that further new properties were planned for the Hamilton area.

The Chair stated that a response had been received from the Cabinet Lead member responsible for schools and this was read out as follows:-

“Thank you for your enquiry regarding the admission of pupils and provision of school places within the Hamilton area.

Officers can confirm that parents are not advised to ‘Home Teach’ children if they do not receive an offer for a school place of their preference.

Parents may make applications for schools that are full, and in these situations the pupils are placed on the waiting list for the school until a place becomes available. A letter is sent to parents and the admissions service work with parents to find a school with a place available as near to their home as possible.

The City Council is aware of proposals for Housing development in Hamilton as part of our Pupil Place  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To receive an update on Local Policing issues in the area.

Sgt. Wayne Nimblette and PC Deborah Thompson attended the meeting and gave an update on local policing in the area.

It was reported that in the previous three months, compared to the same period in 2011 there had been: -

·         2 ½ % increase in reported incidents

·         12% reduction in Anti-Social behaviour incidents

·         25% reduction in Burglaries other than buildings

·         46% reduction in damage to motor vehicles.

Currently the Police locally were trying to promote an increase in Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in the area. The police welcomed as many calls as possible reporting crimes as this gave them a clearer picture of what was happening across the area. The Police were not able to be everywhere at once but would prioritise calls to action.

Locally the Police had identified a number of the main players involved in local ASB issues. In Humberstone village there had been problems with motor bikes riding around, as a result warnings had been issued and , should the problems persist the Police had powers to confiscate the machines.

Parking outside schools was still a problem, with vehicles blocking driveways. The Police were trying a gentle approach at first to alleviate the problem, but should this not be successful then action would be taken to ticket the offenders in conjunction with the City Wardens and Parking Enforcement Officers.

The Community Meeting were informed of the existence of Neighbourhood Link, a Police Community Messaging service that allowed local people to be kept informed of things going on in their area. There was a need to register for this service.

A member of the public made reference to the thefts of lead in Humberstone. The Police stated that they were well aware of the thefts and they were currently liaising with local scrap merchants. In the longer term it was to be hoped that the Government would tighten up on how scrap merchants ran their businesses to make the trading of illegal scrap more difficult to dispose of.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

To receive an update from the City Warden.

In the absence of the City Warden there was no update.

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.

The applications received since the last meeting are as follows: -

1.    Hamilton Family Fun Day 2012                                                   £2444.20

Hamilton Residents Association (HRA)

An application for funding to stage a Hamilton Family Fun Day 2012, on similar lines to the event held in 2011. The event will likely be held in June on Hamilton Park Playing Fields.

2.    Various pitch markings                                                                £578

Kestrels’ Field Primary School

An application to provide various pitch markings at the school to extend the facilities for after-school activities and holiday clubs.

3.    The Emerald Centre                                                                      £236

c/okeyham lane Police Station

An application to provide 4 goal posts at the Centre, to replace the previous posts that were loaned out and not returned, a new booking system has since been put in place.

4.    Diamond Jubilee Celebrations                                                   £495

Twilight Group

An application toewards the cost of decorations and afternoon tea as part of Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Netherhall Neighbourhood Centre on 31^st May 2012.

5.    ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ – Litter Picking                              £354

New Shoots Garden Club

An application to fund a monthly litter pick on Hamilton Estate, open to the whole community.

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer presented the Community Meeting Budget and reported that the Community Meeting had spent £6,444 to date, leaving a balance of £11,256 remaining in the Budget.

The following applications were reported as having been received since the last meeting and the decisions are summarised: -

                                                                                                Amount applied for

                                                                                                               £

i)          Hamilton Family Fun Day 2012                                       2444.20

            Hamilton Residents Association

An application for funding to stage a Hamilton Family Fun Day 2012, on similar lines to the event held in 2011. The event would likely be held during June 2012 on Hamilton Park Playing Fields.

Officers reported that further information around the Constitution of the Residents Association had been sought from the applicants at the request of Ward Councillors, but no response had been received. Members were minded to support the application in principle but not until the information requested had been supplied.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported in principle, pending the receipt of information requested.

ii)         Various Pitch markings                                                    578

            Kestrels’ Field Primary School

An application to provide various pitch markings at the school that will enable after-school activities to be extended, and for holiday clubs to be offered.

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported in full - £578

iii)        The Emerald Centre                                                          236

            c/o Keyham Lane Police Station

            An application to provide 4 goalposts at the Emerald Centre, to replace      the previous posts that had been loaned out and not returned, new      booking system was now in place.

            RESOLVED:

                                    that the application be supported in full - £236

iv)        Diamond Jubilee Celebrations                                       495

            Twilight Group

An application towards the cost of decorations and afternoon tea, as part of celebrations, to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, at Netherhall Neighbourhood Centre on 31^st May 2012.

Note -  Councillor Potter disclosed a personal and non-prejudicial interest in this application and did not take part in the discussion on the application.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported in full - £495

v)         ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ – Litter Picking                  354

            New Shoots Garden Club

An application to fund a monthly litter pick on Hamilton Estate, open to the whole community.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported in full - £354

The following applications were received after the Agenda had been published.

vi)        Sound System                                                                    400

            Kickass Fitness

An application to fund the purchase of a Sound System and produce publicity for a new group exercise class.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported in full - £400

vii)       ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ - Jubilee in Bloom            432

            New Shoots Garden Club

An application to fund the provision of plants to improve the Sandhills Avenue Shopping area.

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported in full - £432

viii)      Event (12^th February 2012) for Community                 300

            Celebration of birth of Guru

            Shri Guru Ravidass Temple and Community Centre

            RESOLVED:

that the application be REJECTED on the grounds that the application was retrospective and not in the Ward.

ix)        Raise Awareness and Arrange Group Sessions       1160

            ADHAR Mental Health Project

            An  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.