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.

Cllr Gugnani, Chair for the meeting, welcomed everyone and led the introductions. 

Apologies were received from Martin Halse (Emergency Management & Planning, LCC), Graham Seaton (Transport Development Officer, LCC), Chris Bramley-Brown (City Warden), PC Emma Jayne (Police), Andrew Oldershaw, Peter Carr and John Jones.

Attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 22^nd November 2016 was received and noted.

Councillors will provide information on events / news for Knighton Ward.

All to note:

·         Parks Services and Friends of Knighton Park (FoKP) are looking for a suitable company to take over the organisation of the Knighton Park Community Fun Day.

·         FoKP are seeking a treasurer to look after the funding for the event. Parks Services / Events and Festivals Team can provide guidance, health and safety advice, etc.

·         Councillors agreed to make the usual contribution towards the event from Community Ward Funding.

An update will be provided by the Forum.

All to note:

·         Leicester City Council have confirmed official designation of Knighton Neighbourhood Forum as the official forum to prepare the Neighbourhood Plan for Knighton, and mandated the Forum on 29 November 2016 to form a Community Interest Company to enable the forum to acquire funding from bigger companies.

·          Two working groups have been set up:

o   Transport Working Group – to discuss local transport issues (to include Clarendon Park residents.

o   Open Spaces, Sports and Leisure – protection of green spaces

·         Further working groups would be set up to cover local economy and economic development, neighbourhood facilities, planning housing growth, heritage and conservation, climate change and flooding.

·         It is proposed with planning consultants to establish a comprehensive dataset for Knighton to inform the Neighbourhood Plan, and to assist with community engagement and an application for ward funding.

·         The Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 28^th February, at 7.45pm, Knighton Parish Centre, for the re-election of the Steering Group and approval of an outline action plan. There remained a vacancy for a treasurer.

·         A talk from Justin Webber, LCC Conservation Team will be present to talk about conserving Knighton’s heritage.

·         Debs Tull, FoKP, to be added to the list of invitees.

·         The Forum had around 120 members, but welcomed more contacts from minority communities.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in Knighton Ward.

All to note:

·         Complaints regarding a car mechanic/trader on Knighton Road were investigated and confirmed a nuisance exists. A Community Protection Warning notice was served on the offender giving them a limited period of time to resolve the nuisance – to be monitored over the coming weeks and escalated if necessary.

·         A complaint regarding builders working on a property on Knighton Drive was received. The builders were advised on correct practice in the disposal of asbestos, and no further complaints were received.

·         Dog fouling reports on Francis Street – the area would continue to be monitored.

·         Fly tipping reports on both Stoughton Road and Stoughton Avenue were currently under investigation.

·         Bins on Street on  London Road, Goldhill Road area and Shackerdale Road – the four-stage enforcement process had commenced at offending properties and would take up to two months to complete.

If you have any other complaints that have not been covered that you would like City Wardens to look into then please do report them through Customer Services on 0116 4541001, email Customer.Services@Leicester.gov.uk, on the website at www.Leicester.gov.uk, or via the Love Leicester app which is available on all major app stores.

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

PC Jim Mungovin and PCSO Lynette Steadman were present. Statistics were provided for the previous 60-day period.

All to note:

·         Burglary of dwellings – 19 (down on previous period);

·         Vehicle crime – 24 cars attacked, 2 fuel thefts;

·         Vans were being targeted. PCSOs and volunteers had been door knocking to inform people to lock their vehicles. CCTV had shown opportunists trying car/van doors;

·         Assaults – no particular trends or problems. Most school related and fairly minor, with no complaints to follow;

·         The police continued to spend time outside schools regarding parking. There were some incidences though things had improved slightly. The Council had published a plan to take action;

·         Pavilion on Knighton Park – no reports of any problems bought to the attention of Police, and the building was secure;

·         The Neighbourhood Team visited schools – at senior schools knife crime talks were held;

·         A student house on Craighill Road  was brought to the attention of police, though it was an environmental health problem (noise);

·         New cold calling signs were installed on Kingsmead Road following a couple of incidences of older people being targeted;

·         An ongoing parking issue on Knighton Road near to College Court had been resolved, and the area had seen an improvement;

·         The number of reported crimes included Oadby, Wigston, Saffron, South Wigston. Out of 35 calls – 1 for Knighton. The bulk of issues were not happening in Knighton area;

·         It was suggested that notice boards be used with police information to raise awareness of ongoing issues in an area, for example, residents be reminded to lock windows in the summer;

·         Councillors were requesting bollards be installed outside schools. The Council was looking at making Zig-Zag markings legally enforceable for the whole of the city.

The following link will allow Knighton residents to explore the crime map for Knighton and compare statistics with other areas in the City, and similar regions in England and Wales.

https://www.police.uk/leicestershire/NS49/

Update from the last meeting on actions undertaken.

Councillor Moore gave feedback on the Hol Brook Flooding Community Response meeting on 2^nd February 2017, and the notes from the meeting are attached for information.

All to note:

·         The Council did not own the land where some of the issues that required action occurred.

·         Councillors would push for a meeting between Severn Trent, City Council, County Council and Council insurance companies.

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

An update will be given on the Ward Community budget.

All to note:

·         Applications for funding can be submitted on or after 14^th April 2017, to be determined on 31^st May 2017.

·         A year end summary of funding applications and spend for 2016/17 is attached for information.

The meeting closed at 7.18pm.