Agenda and minutes

Councillor Gugnani was elected as Chair for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Andrew Oldershaw, local resident.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Knighton Community Meeting, held on Monday 17 October have been circulated, and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the Knighton Community Meeting, held on 17 October 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

There will be an update with regard to the traffic issues around Overdale Road.

Councillor Moore provided an update on the traffic issues relating to Overdale Road. She reported that it had been aimed to meet the Head Teacher of the Junior School however this had not been possible. The proposal to be discussed had been for parents to park at the Bowls Club and then walk their children to the school and it was hoped this would cut congestion.

Information will be provided on the Choice Advice Service which offers support, advice and information to parents and carers when they are applying for a school place for their child.

Glenn Sutton from the Choice Advice Service was present to provide information about the service. The Community Meeting was informed that there was currently a school catchment area review in progress which would affect Overdale School, St Jonathan North and the Lancaster School in the area. It was reported that the consultation would run until February 2012. Residents were informed that the local authority’s proposals could be seen on the Council’s website.

Information will be provided on the Care and Repair service which offer housing adaptions for elderly and/or disabled homeowners.

Mick Court, Care and Repair was present to provide information on the work of the service. The Community Meeting were informed that the service was a charitable agency which offered support and guidance to its customers. The service also aimed to protect against rogue traders by having an approved list of 50 contractors who carried out work for the service. It was noted that the service was funded by the Council and an organisation entitled ‘Supporting People’. Mick explained that Care and Repair also gave advice to people about the benefits they were entitled to.

A resident raised concern regarding checks being carried out on contractors carrying out work for the service. Mick explained that checks were carried out however if there were examples of any issues then these should be reported. Additionally it was noted that the work completed was always inspected.

Members of the Local Policing Unit will be present to provide a crime update for the area.

PC Jim Mungovin provided a policing update for the ward. The following update was provided:

·         There had been 12 burglaries in the area with 4 of these being since the new year.

·         There had been 8 burglaries in dwellings.

·         There had been 8 incidents of damage to vehicles.

·         There had been no reported incidents of robberies.

·         There had been 4 drug incidents.

·         Residents were informed that an action plan developed in response to anti-social behaviour on Pendlebury Drive would be closing as there was nothing worked on at present.

·         PC Mungovin reported that the largest problem in the last 10 days had been house burglaries with specific problems on Knighton Church Road.

·         A resident raised concern of decapitated animals being left in the area and there was confusion whether the Police or RSPCA should be contacted for this. PC Mungovin stated that either organisation could be contacted. It was also noted that City Cleansing could remove the animals as well.

·         A resident raised concern at the graffiti on Meadvale Road and Woodbank. It was reported that a particular family had been identified through their tags and there would be work done in conjunction with the Council’s Housing Services to rehouse the family.

The City Warden for the Knighton ward will be present to provide an update on environmental issues in the area.

Nik Krneta, City Warden for the Knighton ward provided an update on environmental issues in the area.

The following update was provided:

·         Work was being done to remove bins on streets on Pendlebury Drive and Knighton Church Road.

·         The venue ‘Auditorium’ had been prosecuted for flyposting and had been fined £5,000. They had also been issued with a CRASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order on conviction notice)

·         A resident raised concern at the dog fouling on the junction of Woodcroft Avenue. Nik stated that this would be passed onto City Cleansing.

·         Concern was raised that Knighton was a flood risk area, in particular there was a threat from the surface water from people’s houses.  Residents were encouraged to send through specific information about streets if they had any concerns. It was stated that addresses of particular concern had been sent to the Planning department.  It was explained that the Council had done some work with the environmental agency and a document was available on this.

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.

There will be an update on the Community Meeting Budget.

The following budget application has been received:

Applicant: Domestic Violence Integrated Response Project (DVIRP)

Amount: £250 (from each of three wards, Latimer, Evington, Knighton)

Proposal: Increasing awareness of domestic violence

Summary: The Safer Leicester Partnership has identified three areas of the city with the lowest figures for domestic violence reports to Police. Public questionnaires across the city indicate the 40% of people may never tell anyone about domestic violence, suffering in silence.

DVIRP are leading campaign work in these areas, to increase awareness amongst members of the public and to let people know of the local support services available to assist them. The campaign is in partnership with Crimestoppers, who are making contributions in kind, and many other local agencies including the Police, the City Council, Victim Support and other voluntary sector domestic violence support services.

This proposal is to print a range of promotional material including:

·         1000 ‘Tell Someone About It’ Reporting Leaflets

·         300 A7 Crimestopper stickers

·         1000 A4 posters

There will also be events held in each of the neighbourhoods and DVIRP will be present at events already organised in the neighbourhoods. There will be open forums for members of the public and for frontline practitioners to reinforce raising the awareness of domestic violence and where to go for support and advice.

Each ward event will be evaluated and will include numbers of participants who:

·         Completed the DVIRP public questionnaire on domestic violence.

·         Attended DVIRP events.

Posters and leaflets will be available in local community venues such as libraries, GP surgeries, community centres, children’s centres and schools.

DVIRP recognises the need to reach all members of the communities and will equally deliver sessions in secondary schools on healthy relationships to ensure it reaches young people in the identified communities. This program is a successful model delivered in some city schools, and has demonstrated positive shifts in attitude and awareness of the young people participating.

DVIRP will also monitor police and Crimestopper reports of domestic violence from these areas as an indicator of success.

James Schadla-Hall, Members Support Officer presented the Community Meeting budget.

James informed the Community Meeting that the Council were currently carrying out a budget consultation which was currently in progress. The consultation would allow public views on the budget.

It was reported that an application for cycle smart water had been approved via fast track in response to cycle thefts.

The following applications were submitted for consideration:

·         Domestic Violence Integrated Response Project (DVIRP), Increasing Awareness of Domestic Violence - £250.

It was explained that the application was to print a range of promotional material to promote the awareness of domestic violence. It was stated that people would not pick up leaflets and would normally phone the police. It was also noted that domestic violence affected all levels of society including men and concern was raised that they may be ashamed of picking leaflets up.

In response to a query regarding the Safer Leicester Partnership, it was explained that this was a multi-agency partnership led by the City Council. With regards to DVIRP, it was stated that they were a charity which were given funding however this would be running out in March. It was noted that there role was to monitor domestic violence in the city.

Concern was raised that areas were being targeted in a certain way and because there was a low reply in Knighton, this did not necessarily mean that domestic violence cases were not being reported.

Members agreed to defer the application until the next meeting to obtain more information.

Councillor Moore stated that she was talking to the traders on Allendale Road regarding having a spring market and they were currently waiting to see if this would happen.

Residents were made aware that the English Defence League (EDL) were coming to the city on 4^th February 2012. There was also due to be a planned march by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) on the same day.

The meeting closed at 7:27pm.