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.

Councillor Waddington, in the Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Councillor Cassidy also was present.

No interests in the matters to be considered at the meeting were declared.

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Trevor Hesslewood, of Cornerstone PCC, whose grant application was due to be considered at this meeting.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 19 February 2014 has been circulated.

Feedback received from Fosse Creative Clay (application 2269) on how its grant of £451 had been used.

To consider the views of residents on Tudor Road parking schemes

All to note that:-

·           Support for a possible residents’ parking scheme in Tudor Road needed to be assessed before a formal approach was made to the Council.

·           Mixed responses to the suggestion that a parking scheme be introduced in Tudor Road had been received from residents there.

·           The parking situation in Tudor Road had got worse since the expansion of the residents’ parking scheme in the Westcotes area.

·           The City Mayor indicated that he would be very sympathetic to a request for a residents’ parking scheme in Tudor Road.

The Neighbourhood Development Manager to be asked to ask the Council’s Highways officers to consider whether a residents’ parking scheme and traffic calming measures can be introduced in Tudor Road to overcome current problems with intensive parking and speeding vehicles.

Officers will update the meeting on development on Woodgate

All to note that:-

·           Highways officers had removed a significant number of items from Woodgate in the last few weeks.

·           The Council hoped to work with the owners of derelict sites to improve those sites in the short term.  This could include cutting back vegetation and planting wild flowers.  Some new hoardings were available, which would improve the view along the street.

·           Some sites in Woodgate were subject to planning constraints, so could be left undeveloped for a number of years.

·           Work had started on a long term strategic plan for the area.  This included identifying constraints, such as flood risk.  It was hoped that this plan could be discussed by the Fosse Community Meeting in late August/early September.

·           The planters at the Premier Screw site had been installed by the site owners, but residents in Woodgate had received a grant to put plants in them.

·           The area was susceptible to flooding, which gave the Council an opportunity to work with the Environment Agency to obtain benefits for the area through flood prevention work.

A decision on whether the former Empire pub building should be kept when its site was redeveloped would be taken by the Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee.  The developers currently wanted to demolish the building.

To receive an update on summer activities being run by:

a)            the Square Mile Project; and

b)            the Adventure Playground

All to note that the Square Mile Project was involved in the following:-

·           The Big Lunch held on Sunday 1 June 2014 had been very successful, with approximately 500 people attending.  There had been problems with publicity for the event and work was underway to identify what had gone wrong.

·           The Western Park Festival will be held on Saturday 5 July 2014.

·           A Cosmopolitan Carnival will be held on Saturday 23 August 2014.  This will cover an area from the city centre to Woodgate.

·           Students have been working on cleaning the canal.  It was hoped that more members of the community would get involved in this.  Details of the work would be passed to the Community Engagement Officer.

·           Students and staff went in to schools to help students.  For example, they attended summer schools run by individual schools to help students with impaired reading.

·           A significant level of diabetes had been identified through the Square Mile Project.  Diabetes forums therefore would be hosted in the All Nations Centre from August 2014.

·           The Square Mile Project was trying to provide some support for small and medium enterprises in the Fosse Road area.

·           Approximately 40 – 50 young people attended basketball sessions at the John Sandford Centre on a Friday Night.

·           It was hoped that work could be undertaken with agencies such as the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.  This could include getting law undergraduates to assist in providing information on matters such as problems with private landlords.

·           English classes were still being provided at De Montfort University on a Wednesday, but the centre was no longer able to enter people for exams.

All to note that the Woodgate Adventure Playground Summer Playscheme would run from Monday 14 July to Friday 22 August and would be open 12.00 – 2.30 pm and 3.00 – 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.  There was a £3 registration fee per family per year.  This would be based on the Rally Park.

The City Warden will give an update on how problems with fly tipping in the Ward are being resolved

All to note that, following complaints about increased fly tipping in the Tudor Road / Newfoundpool area, a meeting for residents and complainants would be held on 12 June 12014 to discuss the problems being experienced.

The Neighbourhood Development Manager to invite the Senior City Warden to a future meeting to provide an update on how problems with fly tipping in the ward are being resolved.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Wardnot covered elsewhere on the agenda

All to note the recent work undertaken in the ward by the City Warden, as shown in the attached summary.  In particular:-

·           In Fosse ward the majority of the City Wardens’ work involved getting land cleared up.  This could take some time, as there were legal processes to go through.

·           The City Wardens worked closely with other agencies if they were not able to resolve issues themselves.

·           A new campaign to stop people leaving bins on streets would start on 9 June 2014.

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

No update was available, as the Police unable to be present.

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

a)     An update will be given on the Ward Community budget; and

b)     A list of grant applications submitted for consideration at this meeting is attached at Appendix A

·           Boiler Replacement (1004) – Neighbourhood Development Manager to investigate whether the boilers at Woodgate Resources Centre should be replaced by the City Council, or whether free ones can be provided under current energy schemes.  If the Centre is responsible for their replacement, a grant of £1,500 to Woodgate Residents Association supported.

·           Community Fun Day (5011) – Grant of £1,000 to Cornerstone PCC supported

·           Grant applications numbered 5018 and 5019 to be deferred to the next meeting, as they were received too late to be considered at this meeting.

·           The Council had invested heavily in the city’s museums.  This had shown benefits.  For example, in a few weeks’ time all four beam engines at Abbey Pumping Station would be working together for the first time.  This was due to the investment made.

·           The City Mayor was asked to ask First Bus at the next Bus Users Panel if changes were proposed to its 74 route.

·           All to note that, although there were pedestrian areas in the city centre, vehicles had to be allowed in to them to make deliveries and service shops.  However, they could not enter pedestrian areas after 11.00 am.

·           The City Mayor asked to look in to funding problems being experienced by Fosse Creative Clay, (currently funded as part of the Community Services budget).

·           David Hollis, of the Square Mile Project, asked to give a key to the two new noticeboards in Rally Park to Geoff Forse at the Woodgate Resource Centre to enable local events to be advertised.  Other keys were held by various agencies in the ward.

·           Ward Councillors to investigate whether the Police and distribute “No cold caller” signs for people to put up on their property.

·           The City Warden asked to look in to problems being experienced with people drinking in the street and to advise the Ward Councillors of the outcome.

·           The Police asked to report to the next meeting on problems being experienced with drinkers in Rally Park leaving broken glass on the circular area near Woodgate.

·           Ward Councillors to look in to whether the plaque on Rally bridge had been stolen and, if it has, to investigate whether a replacement can be put up.

The meeting closed at 7.37 pm