Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Bayford was elected as Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence from Councillors.

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.

Members were asked to declare any interests in the business on the agenda and/or declare if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them. No such declarations were made.

The minutes of the previous Knighton Community Meeting, held on 27 September have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

An amendment to Minute 88 in the minutes from the previous meeting was requested on behalf of a resident, to refer to certain traffic calming actions being potentially dangerous to cyclists, such as road narrowing.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Knighton Community Meeting, held on 27 September 2010 be confirmed as a correct record subject to the amendment detailed above.

Officers from the Highways and Transport section will consult further on specific proposals to improve road safety around Overdale Infant School, Overdale Junior School and St Thomas More Catholic Primary School.

There will also be an update on proposals for the Overdale Road/Welford Road junction arising out of the last meeting.

The Knighton Neighbourhood Policing Team are currently running a road safety campaign in local schools, part of which is a poster competition. The Community meeting will be asked to judge the winning posters.

Officers from the Highways and Transport Section were present to consult further on specific proposals to improve road safety around Overdale Infant School, Overdale Junior School and St Thomas More Catholic Primary School.

Robert Bateman was present to discuss the Overdale Schools’ suggested safety measures and residents were shown a plan. He informed the meeting that these had been revised to address parents’ and residents’ concerns and not all of the measures needed to be adopted if residents did not want certain aspects of it. Although some aspects of the proposal would reduce road space, they would also act to alert drivers to dangers. These had been scaled back from the original suggestion to reduce some of the impact on cyclists. He asked for the meeting’s opinion prior to full consultation taking place.

The meeting requested a zebra crossing, but were informed that there was nowhere suitable to place one due to close proximity of houses, and there was very little chance of funding being available for a long time. Following detailed discussion, most residents felt that the proposals, although not ideal, would be better than doing nothing. It was felt that better signage was required, particularly with flashing signs that would be operational at specific times. It was also suggested that work could be done to ease access to the school entrance for vehicles. Other suggestions included installation of bollards similar to those at Avenue Primary School or a lollipop crossing. On a show of hands, the majority of residents supported putting the suggested plans to full consultation.

Dave Poxon gave a presentation regarding St Thomas More School and the potential to use temporary vehicle activated signs or school “wig wag” warning lights. He explained how different types of signs worked. He stated that work could be done to ascertain speeds outside the school and which type of sign would be appropriate and permissible by law. Residents felt that this should be done for this and Overdale Schools. It was noted that there was currently no funding available for such signs from the Highways Division, and it was considered whether the Community Meeting funding could be used to install wig wag signs on either side outside the schools. On a show of hands, the majority of residents supported the installation of wig wag signs. Dave agreed to talk to Street Lighting and the School Governors for a speedy resolution and potential installation of these signs.

Members agreed that, if the wig wag signs cost the suggested £700 each, four of these would be funded from the Community Meeting budget.

Residents asked that more enforcement be carried out by police to stop traffic problems outside schools. It was reported that the police were to make this a priority in Knighton with enforcement action in January. The police would involve the children in this enforcement.

Concern was raised regarding problems caused by buses on Ratcliffe Road in the mornings and it was suggested that, although the Council had no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

The City Warden for the Knighton ward will provide information how environmental issues are being tackled in the area.

Nick Krneta, City Warden for Knighton, gave an update on his work in the ward. He had been dealing with a variety of issues from litter to dog fouling and had issued fixed penalty notices to offenders. He had also been carrying out Duty of Care inspections of businesses’ waste disposal arrangements. He also planned to visit schools and do lessons regarding littering.

In response to residents’ questions, Nick stated that enforcement was taking place regarding bins left on streets and this led to a reduction. The importance of this work in reducing fires was pointed out.

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.

Please find summaries of the applications received below. Full application forms can be accessed by contacting Democratic Support on 0116 2298814 or by visiting the Council’s website at www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk.

·        Holbrook Memorial Hall, Improvements to Disabled Access and Repairs to the External Façade of the Building - £7,329, Revd Richard Bonney (Priest Attached to St Guthlac Church, Knighton)

The application is for improvements to the disabled access and repairs to the external façade of the building to ensure weather proofing and survivability so that the building may be kept open and used by the general public for various activities and community events for the foreseeable future.. The applicant will also be placing a funding bid to Biffaward in the region of £50,000 for internal refurbishment.

·        Safer Schools Programme - £2,000, Knighton Neighbourhood Police Team

The application is for 1,000 high visibility safety vests for children. The application wishes to raise awareness with the children of road safety issues and to promote personal road safety.

·        Welford Road Local Policing Unit, Neighbourhood Action Team Plain Vehicle - £750, Leicester Constabulary

The application is for funding the provision of a plain vehicle (rental) for use by the Neighbourhood Action Team in performing its duties and functions.

·        Provision of Cycle Stands at St Mary’s Church, Knighton - £414, St Mary Magdalen with St Guthlac Parish Council

The application is for the provision of two coated cycle hoops outside St Mary’s Church to allow members of the Parish and congregation to securely store their bicycles whilst visiting the Church.

·        New Carpet for the Meeting Room - £410, Stoneygate Baptist Church

The application is for a new carpet in the meeting room. The current carpet has been down for 30 years and now needs replacing. The applicant feels carpet tiles would be best as this type of carpet can be moved around or replaced.

Steve Letten, Member Support Officer, introduced applications for funding that had been received. These were considered as follows:

Holbrook Memorial Hall, improvements to disabled access and repairs to the external façade of the building, £7,329.

Rev Bonney explained the considerable community importance of the hall and that the funding was sought on a match funding basis. In response to a question regarding legal issues, it was reported that following perceived uncertainty about the future of the hall it had been confirmed that it would remain in use for the community.

AGREED:

            That the Community Meeting supports the funding of £7,239.

Safer Schools Programme - £2,000, Knighton Neighbourhood Police Team

The application was for high visibility vests for children and to raise awareness of road safety. The meeting was informed of the poster competition that Councillors had judged, with one winner’s design from each of the three schools in the ward being chosen to be turned into a poster. The winners were:

Phoebe, Class 6E, Overdale Junior Scholl

Grace, Violet Class, Overdale Infant School

Solomon, Mrs Whitehead’s Class, St Thomas More School

AGREED:

            That the Community Meeting supports the funding of £2,000.

Welford Road Local Policing Unit, Neighbourhood Action Team Plain Vehicle

This application was withdrawn as funding had been mainstreamed.

Provision of cycle stands at St Mary’s Church, £414, St Mary Magdalen with St Guthlac Parish Council

Rev Chris Allen stated that this would encourage people to cycle to church and planning permission had bee obtained. It was felt that, as the stands would be used by the wider community, such funding was permissible.

AGREED:

            That the Community Meeting supports the funding of £414.

New carpet for meeting room, £710, Stoneygate Baptist Church

It was considered that, as the room was used extensively by community groups, such funding would be permissible. It was noted that the amount requested was £710, rather than £410 stated on the agenda.

AGREED:

            That the Community Meeting supports the funding of £710.

Special Olympics Multi Sports Club -  £450

This item was submitted at the meeting. It was a joint bid to Knighton, Aylestone and Eyres Monsell wards. And would cover room rental and facility use at Southfields Recreation Centre to train Special Olympians. Members expressed concern that more wards had not been approached and felt that assurance was required that sufficient Knighton residents would benefit.

AGREED:

That the application be supported in principle, subject to clarification regarding the number of Knighton residents that would benefit and subject to support of Aylestone and Eyres Monsell wards.

Cycle racks outside shops

Residents asked for an update on progress with the suggestion to install cycle racks outside shops. Steve stated that work was progressing and that quotes had to be obtained. This would be reported on at the next meeting.

Street Vibe

Brian Quinn from Street Vibe gave an update on the project which had been previously supported by the meeting. As a result of youth sessions being delivered at the request of Pendlebury Drive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

The subject of a directly elected mayor was raised by residents under AOUB and the chair permitted a discussion on the subject. There was a general sense that the consultation was not well known amongst the public in Leicester, and that information provided by the Council was poor. The short length of consultation was seen by the majority as a significant flaw in the process. Asked to indicate their preference for either an Elected Mayor or Strong Leader model the majority supported the Strong Leader by a ratio of about 8 to 1.

The meeting closed at 8.44pm.