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 Dr Moore as Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and all present introduced themselves.

No declarations of interest were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Gugnani, the City Warden, the representative from Knighton Green, PC Duncan Tebbit of Leicestershire Police and Flood Risk Manager Phil Thompson

The Action Log of the previous meeting held 27 November 2018 is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log of the meeting held 27 November 2018 was confirmed as a correct record.

Processes around tree preservation will be discussed.

Trees and Woodlands Officer Tony Mason gave a presentation on issues surrounding tree preservation in the ward.  Points included:

·         The Trees and Woodlands department managed over 15000 trees on Council land, including trees on parks, housing areas and highways.

·         Trees are planted between October and March and watered throughout the summer.  This year 500 trees have been planted.

·         The average tree cost £460 for purchasing and planting.  If a tree failed in the first 3 years, then another tree would be planted at no further cost.

·         Council policy was to replace any trees that were removed within the first planting season.  However, the ability to do this was sometimes hampered when budgets were constrained by unforeseen circumstances such as storms, whereby a large amount of money would go on removing damaged trees leaving less for replanting.

Councillor Dr Moore reported that more money was to be given to the ward for trees from the Ward Community Budget. Councillor Grant added that there would be a meeting to discuss tree issues in the ward. 

Tony Mason directed people to the Planning Department for more information about Tree Preservation Orders. 

Councillor Dr Moore encouraged those present to continue reporting trees for preservation and gave assurance that Ward Councillors would ensure trees were planted in areas that they were contacted about.

Action: Community Engagement Officer to make available copies of the tree strategy.

An update on the proposal for a new Aldi store in the area will be given.

Transport project manager John Dowson referred to the proposed new Aldi store in the area, noting concerns had been raised including:

·         The Green Wedge where the development was planned had a policy that prohibited retail.

·         Access to the proposed site would be very close to a roundabout that might cause traffic congestion.  Therefore, a transport assessment would be necessary.

A highways officer will give an update on traffic and highways issues in the ward.

John Dowson provided an update on highways which included the following:

·         Those present were invited to make suggestions of where to plant new trees.

·         A bid had been made to the Productivity Investment Fund for the Putney Road development and had been supported by the Department for Transport.

·         The Putney Road development was intended to link Aylestone Road and Welford Road to relieve congestion and improve access to sports grounds.

·         It was expected that the development would cause a slight reduction in traffic on Welford Road and prevent the effects of the Freemen’s Common development being concentrated on Welford Road and Victoria Park Road.

·         Whilst there was currently no pollution monitoring in the area, John Dowson suggested monitoring pollution on Welford Road, Herrick Road, Great Arler Road and around schools, adding that it was the council policy on pollution to encourage people to use public transport, cycle or walk.  Action: John Dowson to consider options.

·         There would be a planning meeting with the City Mayor in the week commencing 4March 2019 to discuss traffic calming issues, including Shanklin Drive.

John Dowson explained that although there was concern increased access to sports grounds would impact the area, on match days people often parked outside the area and walked in.

A map showing the locations of road traffic accidents was circulated showing greater concentrations of accidents around junctions and more accidents on Shanklin Drive than would usually be on that type of road.  Councillor Dr Moore reported that accidents had diminished since pedestrian islands had been installed. Action: Councillor Dr Moore to explore getting more speed cameras in the ward.

Objections were made to the proposed development on the Mary Gee site on Ratcliffe Road.  Councillor Dr Moore explained that people would have a chance to object and offered to represent objectors if it went to committee.

Concern was raised about people parking across driveways on Ratcliffe Road and white lines were requested to be painted outside driveways to prevent this.  Councillor Dr Moore advised that if the council was emailed on the issue then they could look into getting lines painted.  Action: Community Engagement Officer to follow up request.

PCSO Geoff Smith advised that white lines outside driveways were unenforceable and to call 101 if you were blocked in.

An update and feedback will be given.

Apologies for absence were revived from Flood Risk Manager Philip Thompson.

A representative of the forum will deliver an update.

A written update was circulated (as attached).

Councillor Dr Moore thanked the forum for the work they were doing to help the environment.

An update on Knighton Fun Day will be given.

The Chair of Knighton Park Joy Marshall gave an update on Knighton Fun Day. Points included:

·         The events manager has stepped down due to family commitments. New candidates were in the process of being interviewed.

·         Children from Overdale School were looking to work on a wild flower meadow.

·         The area behind the outdoor gym was being developed.

·         An appeal was made for people to volunteer with the group.

·         The next Knighton Show (formerly Knighton Fun Day) would be on 1 September 2019.

Councillor Dr Moore reminded those present that any funding applications from the group would have to be received and processed quickly as there would be no carry-over of the current budget.

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

Apologies for absence were received from the City Warden.

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

PCSO Geoff Smith gave an update on local policing issues across the ward.  Points included:

·         Duncan Tebbit was the new beat officer for the area having moved from Eyers Monsell.

·         There had been a spike in burglaries around the Ratcliffe Road area around December.  High visibility police patrols had been carried out during this time and arrests had been made Burglaries had since diminished considerably

·         Residents were advised to leave lights on when leaving the house, make use of timer-switches intruder alarms and to let their neighbours know when they would be away.

·         Attendees were advised not to leave items on display in vehicles, and not to leave car keys near the front door of their houses.  Attendees were also warned that keyless cars were vulnerable to technology made to gain entry.

·         PCSO Smith advised cyclists to lock their bikes in a secure place using a strong D-lock.

·         Graffiti had increased around Stoneygate Road, Avenue Road and in the alleyways around Shanklin Drive.  Graffiti was also reported on vehicles in this area.  Attendees were encouraged to report Graffiti and those doing it if they see it.

·         Residents were asked to be wary of youths on bicycles at night as they were often trying to get into cars. Residents were asked to call 999 if they saw anything suspicious.

Concern was raised about people dealing drugs from cars near the nursery on Shanklin Drive. Action: PCSO Smith to investigate.

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.

From an opening balance of £19800 remaining at the last quarter, two bids had been supported in principle:

·         Knighton Lunch Club

·         Knighton Park Show.

The remainder of the budget, £3935, was to be allocated to Trees and Woodlands for replacement trees in the Ward.

Councillor Grant stated that a bid from Knighton Neighbourhood Forum for air quality monitoring would be reviewed after the election.

There being no other business the meeting closed at 8:10PM