Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Wann took the Chair and welcomed everyone to the meeting. He also introduced Jamie Stubbs as the new City Warden for the Fosse ward.

Apologies were received from Councillor Manish Sood.

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 20 January 2010 have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the Community Meeting, held on 20 January 2010 were unable to be agreed as a correct record as no Members who attended the meeting were present.

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer commented that she was still trying to obtain costings for new notice boards for the Rally.

With regard to determining the cost and viability of providing new litter bins, Anita commented that she had been informed by Christopher Nutting from Cleansing Services that this had been completed. Anita informed residents to let her know where they wanted new bins placed. Residents commented that people with dogs still needed to be told how to use the bins.

Daxa Pancholi, Head of Community Safety and Safer Leicester Partnership will provide a presentation on the Safer Leicester Partnership and Community Safety issues in the city and in the Fosse ward. .

Daxa Pancholi, Head of Community Safety & Safer Leicester Partnership provided a presentation on community safety.

Daxa explained the five areas of activity for the Safer Leicester Partnership. These were:

·        Overall Crime – tackling crimes such as vehicle crime, burglary and robbery.

·        Offender Management – working with repeat offenders.

·        Neighbourhood Working – helping people work together to live in a safe environment.

·        Safeguarding – looking into issues such as domestic violence and hate crime.

·        Alcohol - this had been defined as a big objective for the Partnership.

Daxa explained some of the statistics of crime in the Fosse Ward. The following information was provided.

·        There had been a 15.5% reduction in overall crime compared to the same period last year,

·        There had been a 2.9% increase in burglary and a 30% increase in robbery compared to the same period last year.

·        The average number of vehicle crimes in the area had decreased from 28.3 to 11 compared to the same period last year.

·        The level of violent crime in the area was above average and had not changed compared to the same period last year.

·        The level of anti social behaviour in the area was currently above average however had decreased by 17.2% compared to the same period last year.

Daxa commented that one of the targets was to improve public confidence that the Police and City Council were dealing with crime and anti social behaviour issues.

The Community Meeting was informed of some of the measures being taken to prevent acquisitive crime and anti social behaviour in the area. These included:

·        Installation of Alley Gates to reduce burglary in terraced properties.

·        Using smart water which could help identify the property where items were stolen from.

·        Improving street lighting in robbery locations.

·        Additional covert Police patrols.

·        A programme of vehicle crime awareness campaign planned at high vehicle crime locations through out the year.

·        Vehicle crime leaflets delivered in high car crime areas.

·        Street based teams operating in Fosse since September 2009 engaging with young people.

·        Operation Stay Safe – Police Officers and youth workers patrolling areas where anti social behaviour occured to speak with young people.

A resident raised concern that their house backed onto an alleyway and that Tudor Road backed onto the park which made the property a target for crime.

It was suggested that possible solutions for tackling burglary in the area could be:

·        Having a big gate installed for properties backing onto the park.

·        Mobile cameras installed.

·        Placing anti climbing paint on the properties. The Chair commented that funding for this may be able to be found through the Community Meeting budget.

·        Motion Activated Lights

Members of the Local Policing Unit will be present to provide an update on crime issues in the area.  

PC Andy Goadby and Kim Sherrif from Leicestershire Police, provided an update on policing and crime in the Fosse ward. He commented that the ward was split into four zones for policing with zones including Pool Road, Tudor Road, Buckminster Road and Newfoundpool.

The following updates were given:

·        The Community Meeting was informed that a mediation meeting had been arranged with the parents of youngsters who had felt the police had been a bit ‘heavy handed’ in their approach in tackling anti social behaviour. A similar meeting with the youngsters would also be arranged.

·        In response to the break ins, officers had now been placed outside Woodgate Adventure Playground for monitoring.

·        Anti social behaviour on Dannett Street was currently being tackled. In particular action against one individual was being taken which had helped. Residents were also informed that a couple of families who were causing trouble had also been moved out of the area.

·        PC Goadby commented that the Police were trying to increase patrols and to reach the crime hotspot areas. The Police were also trying to be accessible as possible.

·        Kim also updated residents that neighbourhood watch schemes were progressing well. The Chair commented that neighbourhood watch schemes were a good way of communicating with the Police as they kept residents informed of any crimes in the area.

In response to a query about placing CCTV cameras on junctions, PC Goadby commented that there was currently five cameras in the ward however there was no funding for any more. He added that he had worked previously in an area monitored by CCTV cameras however while they had helped they could also have the effect that criminals would move to different areas where there were no cameras.

PC Goadby informed residents to let the Police know of any ideas they had or if anything could be done differently by the Police.

There will a presentation on the rollout of the City Warden Service across the

city and how this will benefit the Fosse Ward.

Barbara Whitcombe, Team Manager, City Wardens was present to let residents know of the rollout of the City Warden scheme across the city.

Barbara commented that the City Wardens had initially commenced as a pilot scheme in some wards however now it would be rolled out to all wards across the city. A six month action plan was circulated which displayed the priorities for the City Warden in the Fosse ward. These included:

Vehicles for sale on the highway

Barbara commented that the Parking team at the Council were responsible for parking issues and the Police were responsible for obstruction problems. Residents stated that this problem occurred mainly in the following areas:

• Tudor Road
• Mantle Road
• Empire Road
• Battenberg Road

Barbara stated that she would pass these on Vinci who were responsible for enforcing parking in the city. Residents reported that vehicles that were not taxed were also a problem. PC Andy Groadby suggested that the City Council and Police should do a joint sweep of the area looking for vehicles that were currently not taxed.

Residents also raised concern that Fosse Neighbourhood Centre had currently blocked their Car Park due to scaffolding and users of the Centre were now parking their cars on Mantle Road. The Chair agreed to find out what was the latest situation with regard to this by the next meeting.

Residents suggested that a residents parking scheme should be implemented. The Chair stated that a previous consultation process had taken place and residents had voted against implementing a scheme. Concern was also raised about the parking problems which the Fiveways House flats application would cause.

Residents also stated that vehicles were being put on sale by the same owner on the highway. It was agreed that the Police and City Wardens along with Vinci would do a joint co-ordinated sweep of the area highlighting such vehicles.

Bins on Streets

Barbara commented that the Fosse ward was the worst in the city for bins remaining on streets. She informed residents that the City Warden would be working as part of a Task Force to combat the problem. There was a currently a target to remove 5,000 bins in one year and 10,000 bins in two years across the city. Barbara commented that currently 450 had been removed in the past four weeks. Barbara explained how enforcement action was taken against Residents who persistently left their bin on the street. This consisted off sending them an information pack at first, then if the bin remained on the street a letter would then be sent, following this if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer will give an update on the Ward Priorities and the Ward Action Plan.

It was agreed that discussion on this item was not needed as topics had been covered previously in the meeting. Anita Patel, Members Support Officer confirmed that the Ward Action Plan would come to future meetings.

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, Members Support Officer will give an update on the Community Meeting Budget.

The following applications have been received:

·        Upgrade Meeting Room and Offices, Woodgate Residents Association

Appendix A1

·        Epworth Development – Multi Access, Epworth Methodist Church

Appendix A2

·        Refurbish Toilets, Woodgate Adventure Playground  Appendix A3

Anita Patel, Members Support Officer presented the Community Meeting budget. She reported that there would be just over £17,500 to spend up until March 2011.

The following bids had been submitted for consideration:

1)     Upgrade Meeting Room and Offices, Woodgate Residents Association - £4,070.

Geoff Forse, Woodgate Residents Association explained the application. The application was for a new ceiling and lighting for the offices and for painting and a new carpet for the meeting room. The Chair commented that it would be difficult to fund all the requested amount as this would be a significant amount of the total budget therefore it was agreed that £2,000 should be funded.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £2,000 be allocated from

the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillor

Manish Sood and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front

Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader

of the Council.

2)     Epworth Development – Multi Access, Epworth Methodist Church –

£10,500

John Ogleby, Epworth Methodist Church explained the application. The application was for works to improve accessibility to the building. This included a new access ramp, provision of a vehicle drop-off point, multi access toilet and improvements to internal corridors and doorways. It was agreed that £3,000 would be funded for the application.

RESOLVED:

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

the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillor

Manish Sood and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front

Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader

of the Council.

3)     Refurbish Toilets, Woodgate Adventure Playground - £5,850

It was stated that the application was for the refurbishment of the children’s toilets. It was agreed that £2,500 should be funded and that it be looked into whether Children and Young People’s Services at the City Council were able to supply some funding.

4)     Woodgate Fun Day, Fosse Neighbourhood Policing Team - £500

Kim Sherriff, Leicestershire Police explained the application. The application was for a fun day event which would be taking place on 13 July between 11am and 7pm. The event would be used to engage and consult with families in the area. Kim stated that £500 was also being requested from the Joint Action Group (JAG).

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £500 be allocated from

the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillor

Manish Sood and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front

Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader

of the Council.

There were no items of urgent business.

The meeting closed at 8:16pm.