Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Manish Sood was Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

The first main item on theagenda 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.

The Member was asked to declare any interests that they may have had in the business to be discussed and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

No declarations of interest were received.

The minutes of the previous Fosse Community Meeting, held on 1 July 2009, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Fosse Community Meeting, held on 1 July 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.

An Officer from the Sports Services section will be present to provide feedback on the Summer Soccer Academy funding application that was approved at the last Community Meeting.

At the request of the Chair it was agreed to move this item up the agenda.

Robert Snart, Sports Regeneration Officer was present to provide feedback on the summer soccer academy which had previously received funding from the Community Meeting. He was accompanied by one of the coaches who took part in the academy.

The Coach informed the Community Meeting about the academy.

• It had run from Monday 3 August to Friday 7 August at Beaumont Leys School however the advertising had been targeted towards the Fosse ward.

• There were three qualified coaches present and former Leicester City Football Club players Muzzy Izzet and Steve Walsh had attended the sessions as well.

• There had been a high standard of coaching delivered with drills focusing on skills, fitness and match situations. A break down of the gender and ethnicity of the attendees on the academy was also provided.

An Officer from the Highways department will be present to discuss any  highways and transport related issues in the local area.

Andy Thomas, Head of City Development, Paul Commons, Team Leader, Traffic Regulation Order Review Team and Michael Jeeves, Team Leader, Travel Planning & Development Control were present to discuss any highways and transport related issues in the area.

Andy informed the Community Meeting that there were two main issues in the Fosse Ward. These were the resurfacing of roads in the area and the highways and transport issues relating to the development of flats on Tudor Road.

Andy stated that as the planning authority, the City Council had rejected the planning application for the development of the flats however this had been subsequently overturned by the Planning Inspectorate. He commented that this was not a satisfactory decision for the Council or the public.

With regard to measures that could be taken to improve parking around the area of the development, Andy stated that road schemes could be designed and double yellow lines could be marked on the road. Enforcement of illegal parking could also be increased however it was difficult to have an officer present all the time.

Concern was raised by residents that the location of the development and the problems the development would cause had not been properly assessed. Some residents stated that they were in favour of a residents parking scheme. Paul Commons, Team Leader, Traffic Regulation Order Review Team informed the Community Meeting that there had been a consultation on a residents parking scheme in 2006 and residents had rejected the proposal. Andy stated that the Council did not impose residents parking in areas and they had to be sure that residents were in favour before they implemented any scheme. He offered to re-consult on the matter if residents wished to do so.

A resident queried whether it was possible to make the developer pay for a residents parking scheme. Andy commented that it was possible to talk to the planners however if residents did not want it then it could not be enforced.

Residents also raised the following highways and transport queries

• Problems with the Star Trak system - Andy stated he had set up a major project to review the Star Trak system as there had been problems experienced with the system.

• 14/14A buses running at the same time – Andy commented that the Council did not run buses in the city however did have regular meetings with bus companies as part of the Quality Bus Partnership.

• Parking on the pavements on Woodgate, Bonchurch Street and Fosse Road – Andy agreed to send more Parking Enforcement Officers to patrol the areas.

• A number of cars on sale on Poole Road and Empire Road – Andy agreed to take this issue back to the Environmental Services Team.

Steve Goddard, Head of Community Services will be present discuss Community Services provision in the Fosse Ward.

Steve Goddard, Head of Community Services was present to provide a presentation on Community Service provision in the Fosse Ward.

Steve provided an overview of the City Council’s Community Services section. One of the aims of the section was to provide support and facilitate the development of local community groups.

The Community Meeting was informed of the role the Community Services section. These included functions such as managing over 30 buildings across Leicester and providing a range of services to local residents and communities. The section was also responsible for Neighbourhood Management.

Steve explained some of the activities that were available at the Fosse Centre and the different groups that used the facility. There were a number of services provided at the centre including recruitment and quality training, community and older persons services and a library.  Steve also explained some of the activities that were available at the nearby Newfoundpool Centre. This included a day centre for Asian elders, sports and dance groups and social bingo.

A resident who ran a community group queried if he could obtain more funding for his group. Steve offered to meet the resident and look at how funding could be obtained from different resources.

A resident raised concern that people who attended Fosse Centre were parking their cars on Mantle Road instead of the centre car park. Steve agreed to look into the issue.

At the agreement of the Chair it was agreed to take this additional item at the meeting.

Anna Barradell, Play Co-ordinator informed the Community Meeting that a team of four play rangers who were experienced play workers would be delivering activities at the Fosse Recreation Ground between 3:00-4:30pm every Thursday. 

The Police will provide an update on crime issues in the area.

As the Police were not present at the meeting, this item was not discussed.

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer will be providing an update on the ward

priorities for the Fosse ward.

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer updated the Community Meeting on the ward action plan. She encouraged residents to submit suggestions where litter bins could be located. A resident recommended that there should some in the area around the Woodgate Adventure Playground.

A resident stated that there should be more activities for young people aged between 13 and 19 as they were too old to participate in activities at the Woodgate Adventure Playground. Another resident stated that he currently ran a group for young people and had recently taken 20 young people on a residential trip. He commented that he was looking to obtain a City Council building in the area that was currently empty for the group. He added that he hoped to do a presentation and bring some proposals at the next Community Meeting.

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.

Anita Patel, Member Support Officer will give an update on the Fosse

Community Meeting Budget.

The following budget applications have been received:

• Epworth Methodist Church, Kitchen Refurbishment

– £10, 000                                                                             Appendix B1

• Paul Saville, Extended Services Co-ordinator, February Half Term Activities – £2,622                                                                      Appendix B2

• Ahmed Faraji, Parks Officer, Tudor Gardens Refurbishment – £2,580.80                                                                                Appendix B3

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer presented the Community Meeting budget. She reported that there had been three budget applications received.

Anita went through the applications and gave details of the bids. The following bids were submitted:

1)     Epworth Methodist Church – Kitchen Refurbishment,

£10,000

A representative from Epworth Methodist Church explained the application. He stated that he was looking to make the church more of a community venue. He informed the Community Meeting of the opening hours of the venue and that the venue would also benefit young people. He added that currently £73,000 had been raised for the refurbishment.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £3,000 be allocated from

the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillor

Wann and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line

Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of

the Council.

2)     Paul Saville, Extended Services Co-ordinator – February Half Term

Activities, £2,622

Paul Saville, Extended Services Co-ordinator explained the application. He informed the Community Meeting that he was aiming to get local schools to stage extra activities during half term for three days. Residents felt that more activities needed to be provided for teenagers rather than for younger children. They felt that there were already sufficient activities available for younger children.

The Chair stated that the item should be deferred until the next meeting to allow more information to be obtained on the application.

RESOLVED:

that the application be deferred until the next meeting to allow more information to be obtained.

3)     Ahmed Faraji, Parks Officer – Tudor Gardens Refurbishment, £3,580.80

Ahmed Faraji, Parks Officer explained the application. He stated that during the last three to four years, areas in the park that needed improvements had been highlighted. There had been problems in park resulting from vandalism, and anti social behaviour. The funding was designed to help revamp the ‘island’ area in the park and help plant lavender on the site.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,000 be allocated from

the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillor

Wann and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line

Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of

the Council.

There was no other business.

The meeting closed at 7:57pm.