Agenda and minutes

Councillor Moore was elected to chair the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Knighton Community Meeting, held on 3 December 2012, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

A member of the public pointed out that all references to Guilford Road were incorrectly spelt and should be revised.

ACTIONS:

That subject to the changes as referenced above, the minutes of the Knighton Community Meeting held on 3 December 2012, be confirmed as a correct record.

Officers will be present to lead discussion on local highways and traffic matters, in particular on the junction of Guildford Road / London Road.

Officers were present to lead discussions on local highways and traffic matters, in particular on the junction of Guilford Road/London Road.

Jay Parmar (Team Leader – Traffic Engineering), talked to those present in relation to developments with the Guilford Road/London Road junction. At the last meeting, officers were asked to obtain further information with regards to the usage of the junction, and look at the possibility of altering the timing of the traffic signals in order to improve the flow of traffic. The meeting was reminded that the cost of a complete junction re-design would amount to £250,000, which could not be met.

Jay explained that highways officers had monitored traffic flows through the junction and described the analysis carried out to those present. In conclusion, it was felt that overall levels of congestion were not significant, though flows were more problematic during evening peak times.   Jay did agree to obtain further information in relation to the cost of installing a yellow box at the junction. 

Jay informed the meeting that he intended to ask the Police to increasingly monitor the speed of vehicles travelling along Knighton Church Road.  On a similar note, Councillor Grant requested that vehicle activated signs (VAS) be periodically installed along stretches of London Road, though it was noted that such measures were only effective for short amounts of time.

Bona Matturi, Transport Strategy and Programmes, Leicester City Council, referred to two matters of concern that had been recently lodged by residents.

The first was in relation to Chapel Lane, and Bona informed the meeting that the cheapest option would be to resurface the highway. This would amount to £40,000 and the Head of Highway Maintenance had been asked to consider the inclusion of this in the capital works programme for 2013/14.

In relation to a request for traffic calming measures to be implemented along Craighill Road and Gainsborough Road, Bona confirmed that there had been few recorded accidents in this area.  Bona explained that there had in the past been a proposal to initiate a traffic calming scheme but that this was not progressed.  However, he did state that there was a possibility to look at installing a t-junction to curtail problems with speeding and would estimate the cost for completing such work. 

There will be a Police update for the area.

Those in attendance on behalf of Leicestershire Constabulary reported the following break-down of police crime statistics in respect of the previous sixty days:

·         8 burglaries (previously 17)

·         2 thefts of motor vehicle (2)

·         0 robberies (1)

·         15 general damages

·         11 vehicle damages

The meeting heard that the local policing team had undergone recent structural changes, resulting in a team comprising of 5 P.Cs and 3 PCSOs.  It was also reported that the police had received positive feedback in light of an increased police presence in Knighton. 

It was also reported that incidents of graffiti had declined during recent months. 

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

Chris Bromley-Browne, City Warden for Knighton Ward, was present to provide an update on his work tackling environmental issues in the ward. 

In connection with problems with the bin collections on Sandown Road, Chris explained that he had contacted Biffa on several occasions, and that such problems previously reported had now largely been mitigated. 

Chris explained that the City Council had spent in excess of £30,000 between August and December 2012 to tackle graffiti.  It was noted that two prolific offenders had significantly contributed to a sharp rise in problems with graffiti predominantly in the south of the City.  Chris announced that a reward of £500 was on offer to anyone who could provide information to the City Council or the Police that leads to a conviction. 

Reports of persistent dog fouling in the Pendlebury Drive area were lodged.  Chris reminded the meeting that the City Wardens Team issued a fixed penalty notice to any dog owner allowing their dog to foul on public pathway.  He explained that it was particularly difficult for offenders to be caught in Knighton due to the size of the ward.

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.

Application 1

Applicant: Laura Newcombe and Rick Hall

Amount: £1879.69

Proposal: Growing Together

Summary: Growing Together is a Community Interest Company supporting vulnerable adults with a personal budget to cultivate, grow and sell crops to the local community in the Knighton Ward.

This project is for anyone with a personal budget, mainly for people with a learning disability, but not exclusively. They will be able to learn skills with regard to growing produce, but also engage in a working business and develop a broader range of transferable skills, (planning / organisation, research, marketing, sales, customer interaction etc).

A plot of land has been allocated to the project at Queens Road allotments. The funding will be used for phase 1 of the project, the clearance of the plot. Following the clearance, a series of raised beds will be constructed in which to grow the crops.

Application 2

Applicant: Art House (Sue Ryan)

Amount: £250 (same has been requested from Stoneygate and Castle wards)

Proposal: Transport between Art House venues

Summary: An event is planned for June 8/9^th 2013 which involves over 40 local artists in 8/10 venues across the three wards. 600 visitors are expected and the funding is requested to cover the cost of ‘Hoppe’ buses to transport people between the venues.

It is also intended that the funding will cover the cost of 15,000 promotional flyers for the event.

Application 3

Applicant:Knighton Parochial Church Council

Amount: £10,592

Proposal: Upgrade to Knighton Parish Centre

Summary: This item was deferred at the last meeting for further consideration.

The proposal is to continue the upgrading of the parish centre which not only provides a meeting place for the church, but more importantly provides a meeting space for the wider community in the Ward. It is the only meeting place of its kind within the ward of Knighton. Over the last year we have spent £2,000 on internal redecoration and £12,000 on a new heating system.  

It is the plan to continue with upgrade of the hall by re-surfacing the car park, which is becoming a health and safety issue, to replace all internal lighting within the main hall which is also becoming a health and safety issue, to complete refurbishment of the kitchen, fitting new cupboards and work surfaces and lastly to hang new curtains in the main hall to replace those that haven’t been hanging there for the last 25+ years. The curtains are a necessity for those groups that use the hall for keep fit classes to ensure privacy.

The Knighton Councillors were asked to consider the following two budget applications:

1.            Application for £1,879.69 received from Laura Newcombe and Rick Hall–‘Growing Together’

The applicants explained that the project was aimed towards people with learning disabilities, though this was not exclusive.   Participants would be able to learn skills with regards to growing produce, and would also engage in a working business and develop a range of transferrable skills.  It was stated that the project would operate from the Queens Road allotments site.

In response to a question, it was confirmed that the project was predominantly aimed towards working with adults, but depending on the number of unused pots, would consider also working with groups of young people.  It was also intended to target participants locally in the first instance.

As part of a condition to approving the application, the Councillors requested that the applicant provide feedback on the project, particularly in relation to engagement with local vulnerable adults.  It was agreed that the appropriate time for doing this would be in 9 months, following the growing season.

            RESOLVED:

(1)  That the application be supported in full, and a sum of £1,879.69 be granted from the Ward Budget; and

(2)  That as part of a condition to approving the application, the applicant be asked to provide feedback on the project, particularly in relation to engagement with local vulnerable adults. 

2.            Application for £10,592 received from the Knighton Parochial Church Council for an upgrade to Knighton Parish Centre.

            It was noted that the predominant element of this application was the re-surfacing of the church's car park.  It was also proposed to replace all internal lighting within the main hall, to complete refurbishment of the kitchen, to fit new cupboards and work surfaces, and to hang new curtains in the main hall to replace curtains over 25 years in age. 

The Councillors were supportive of this application, stating that the refurbishments would allow the church hall to be more frequently used as a facility for the wider community. 

            RESOLVED:

That the application be supported in full, and a sum of £10,592 be granted from the Ward Budget.

A member of the public asked whether there was any available resource to assist in undertaking maintenance and clearing works to the bridge situated close to St Mary’s Church.  Councillor Grant explained that requests such as this could be referred to the Community Payback team; an initiative led by the probation service who carried out small projects to benefit local communities. 

The meeting closed at 7:45pm.