Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Fosse Community Meeting and introductions were given.

An apology for absence was received from Charlotte Glover, the City Warden.

Councillor Cassidy declared an interest in respect of item 4, Primary School proposal, Fosse Road North, in that he was Chair of the Planning and Development Control Committee. He said that he could not get involved in planning issues as he needed to retain an open mind and not have a predetermined view if / when the application came to committee. He would remain in the meeting whilst the proposal was being explained and would withdraw from the meeting if any planning issues were discussed.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 23 March 2017 is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log from the previous meeting held 23 March 2017 was agreed and noted.

There will be an update concerning the Waterside Regeneration Project.

There was no officer available to provide an update on the Waterside Regeneration Project.

There will be a discussion concerning proposals for a new primary school on at Fosse Road North.

Rob Thomas, Head of Education Sufficiency and Admissions at Leicester City Council presented an update on the proposal for a new primary school on Fosse Road North. The meeting was asked to note:

·     The regeneration in the area would result in additional houses, more families and children. Fosse Primary and Slater Street Primary Schools were already full with a combined capacity for about 600 children.

·     An advanced planning application had been submitted for a new school with 900 places; this would replace both Slater Street and Fosse Primary Schools.

·     A large site was needed for the new school. Officers had looked at and assessed a number of sites; this particular site was the preferred option.

·     The advanced planning application had been submitted early because there were badgers on site and a licence would be needed in order to move them. Badgers could only be moved in the Autumn.

·     Subject to the advanced planning application being approved, a consultation would be carried out in the Autumn Term.

·     No decisions had been made yet.

·     The plan was for the new school to be opened in September 2019.

·     The proposed new school would have five forms of entry in each year group which would create an additional 45 places in each year group.

·     Additional places were being created in other primary schools as well.

·     Any child in either of the two existing schools would be guaranteed a place in the new school.

·     For every 100 new houses, the approved formula based on census information, was that there would be 28 primary school children.

·     There were proposals to retain the existing Fosse school to make it into a provision for early years and the new 30 hours child care for working families. There would also be an improved sports hall which would be open to the public.

·     Slater Street, as a listed building would be removed from the Education Portfolio.

·     If the planning application was approved, the new school with 900 places would be the largest primary school in Leicester, but not nationally.

·     Schools were generally funded per pupil and smaller schools like Slater Street Primary, with just 23 children per year group were not able to afford some of the enhancements (such as peripatetic teachers) that larger schools had.

Members of the community raised a number of comments and queries including the following:

·     With 900 places, the school would be too big

·     There would still be insufficient places to meet demand.

·     Concerns expressed about the loss of green space; the new school should be built in a nearby brown field site.

·     Concerns expressed about traffic and access and egress to the site.

·     A member of the community commented that the City Mayor had said that he wanted to make the Riverside a thriving community, but the area already had a thriving neighbourhood with the Woodgate Residents Association, Woodgate Resource Centre, Woodgate Adventure Playground, Groby Road Allotments, Epworth Church and All Nations Church both of which did very good community work.

Councillor Cassidy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in the Ward.

The Chair agreed to bring forward this item, as the Police Officer needed to leave the meeting. He explained that he was not a regular on this particular beat and was not aware of any issues. He arranged to meet people on an individual basis outside of the meeting if they had any particular issues to raise.

Highways officers will give an update on highways issues in the Ward.

John Dowson, Team Leader, Sustainable Transport provided an update on local highway issues. Points made included the following:

·     He was not in a position to comment on the proposals for the new school because the application had not yet been brought to the Highways Department. Officers would respond appropriately on any scheme they considered to be unsafe.

·     The North West Transport Project had received £20m funding from the Government.

·     Highways officers considered the growth that would occur over the next 20 years; taking into account any plans for regeneration.

·     Traffic problems around the Five Ways junction were acknowledged; it had the worst accident rate for a city junction and officers were looking at options for improvement. 

·     There was a considerable amount of traffic going though Woodgate on route to other areas and it was hoped that by creating a more attractive alternative route, traffic could be encouraged to use the A6 to Anstey Lane. .

Comments received from members of the community included the following:

·     Concerns were expressed about potential accidents on Groby Road, with two lanes of traffic each way and vehicles turning right (for example into Medina Road).  There were also concerns about the impact on Brading Road.  

·     There were existing traffic issues on Anstey Lane, particularly at the start and end of the school day and concerns were expressed that the situation would deteriorate further.

·     With the ongoing regeneration, there would be even more traffic in the general area.

·     Concerns were expressed about HGVs servicing Tesco.  John explained that officers studied supermarket data to show the levels of traffic that might be expected and that methodology had been used for the Waterside regeneration.

·     A pedestrian crossing was needed on the A6 to help people cross the road to Abbey Park; it was currently extremely difficult for pedestrians, especially for those with children for example.

·     Concerns were expressed about parking at the Groby Road Health Centre.

·     A different layout for parking had been requested at the Buckminster Road shops. John responded that there would not be a slip road under the current proposals , but there would be a delivery space.  The Chair stated that she had asked for parking outside the shops to be time limited, to prevent people parking there all day. She asked Highways Officers to visit the site to observe the situation for themselves.

·     A request was made for a residents’ parking scheme, as the parking situation would become even more problematical with the new houses and flats being built. Additional comments were made that people parked in Woodgate when visiting the Highcross and the city centre.  John explained that there were residents’ parking schemes in the city; a consultation exercise would be necessary before any new scheme could be agreed. He was aware that the possibility of a residents’ parking scheme had been raised before. Councillor Cassidy suggested that residents may wish to submit a petition asking the Council to carry out a survey.

Councillor Cassidy asked that the request for a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Ward.

In the absence of the City Warden, a written update was circulated to attendees. This is attached to the back of this action log.

There will be a presentation concerning revised procedures on future applications for Ward funding.

Due to time constraints there was no discussion on this item.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applciations.

Anita Clark, the Community Engagement Officer presented an update on the community meeting budget. At the start of the new financial year the opening balance in the budget was £19510.  Nine applications had been submitted and funding to a total of £2580 had been approved, which left a balance of £16930.

People who were running a community group or activity were invited to apply for ward funding; these applications needed to be submitted by 31 March 2018.  For further information, people should contact Anita Clarke on 0116 454 6576

The meeting closed at 8.20 pm