Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Patrick Kitterick was Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence. Councillor Gordon arrived after the start of the meeting.

The first main item on the agenda 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.

Councillors were asked to declare any interests that they may have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Senior declared a personal interest in budget applications B5) Cultural Quarter Business Association – Music and Arts Festival – request for £6,900 to co-ordinate the event; and B6) Cultural Quarter Business Association – Cultural Quarter website and social networking – request for £3,500; as used to live in the area and still owns a property in the area.

Councillor Senior declared a personal interest in budget application B8) 25 years Celebration of a Sheltered Housing Scheme Being Open – request for £250 for catering costs; as she lived in the same square in which the scheme was located.

Councillor Senior declared a personal and prejudicial interest in budget application B12) Up-grading of street lighting in the St. George’s area, as she owned a property in the area which would be affected by the lighting. She undertook to leave the room whilst this item was discussed.

The minutes of the previous Castle Community Meeting, held on 2 February 2010, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record. 

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the Castle Community Meeting held on Tuesday 2 February 2010 were agreed as a correct record.

There will be a brief presentation outlining details of the recent changes to Police boundaries and how this will affect the Ward. Residents will be able to ask questions to clarify details of the changes.

PC Charles Edwards gave the meeting a brief presentation outlining recent changes to Police boundaries and current Policing priorities. He commented as follows:-

- Police staffing arrangements would now be set up to be aligned with the Castle Ward boundary.

- This would enable a better connection with other agencies such as the Council.

- Residents views on priorities for Policing in the ward were actively sought.

- There would be 16 beat officers on shift at any time in the ward – they should be actively visible on the streets.

- There would also be 22 (soon to be 23) Police Community Support Officers.

- There would be even more of a Police presence in the ward on Friday and Saturday evenings.

- Current priorities for the Castle ward were:-

- Reducing street drinking and antisocial behaviour in the London Road / Conduit Street area.

- Working with partner agencies to reduce cycle theft from the Universities.

- Working with partner agencies to reduce littering and other waste issues around the Universities.

- There were monthly consultation meetings which people could attend to give their views on priorities, they could also do this at Community Meetings.

- There had been recent successes with arrests of burglars in the Riverside area and arrests for cycle theft, which had reduced as a result.

The Chair thanked Charles for his presentation.

Following issues raised at the last meeting, Edmund Hockley, Leicester University Community Warden will be in attendance to give details of closer working with the Police and residents.

Edmund Hockley, Community Warden at Leicester University gave the meeting an update on issues raised at the last meeting relating to noise / antisocial behaviour and bins / waste issues. Edmund was joined by his colleague, Craig Howard, Welfare Officer.

- All of the specific issues raised with Edmund had been dealt with mostly, completely successfully, following letters and visits.

- One particular problem led to an arrest and a fine.

- There had been meetings with the local City Warden to discuss issues relating to bins on streets – Edmund was now being contacted where these were student houses.

- Residents were welcomed to contact Edmund if they had any concerns with student houses regarding noise or bins / waste.

- Residents were also encouraged to contact Edmund if they had any suggestions for community projects / campaigns which students could become involved in.

- There was a ‘shush’ campaign with posters and events which would encourage students to think of their neighbours, and there was going to be a campaign to encourage students to keep their gardens tidy.

- Edmund also noted that efforts were still being made to encourage landlords to become accredited and registered with the University.

A resident queried about a student neighbour of hers who didn’t have access to the entry at the side of her house because the landlord hadn’t provided a key. Their bin was therefore kept on the street. Edmund commented that this was exactly the sort of issue he could help with and encouraged the resident to get in touch with him about the issue.

Another resident felt that there should be an opportunity to pass on compliments about students as well as complaints. She said that she had lived next to students for 10 years and never had any problems. She also felt that they enlivened an area and it would be worse off without them. Edmund thanked the resident for her comments and said that he would happily pass any compliments on.

The Chair thanked Edmund for coming along and noted that if people weren’t sure which university any problem students attended, they were in regular contact with each other and could deal with any problem.

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.

Francis Connolly, Member Support Officer will give a brief overview on the current position with regard to the Community Meeting budgets for the current financial year.

The following applications have been received for consideration at this meeting:-

B1)   Karl Brown - Community Basketball Sessions – request for £1,345 for publicity, equipment and coaching fees.

B2)   Children and Parent Alliance (CAPtA) ‘Community Cultural Events –request for £1,375.

B3)   Shama Women’s Centre – ‘Be Safe, Be Secure’ – request for £1,525 for the balance towards a new alarm system.

B4)   Leicester St George's Festival - request for £1,000 for street bunting

B5)   Cultural Quarter Business Association – Music and Arts Festival – request for £6,900 to co-ordinate the event.

B6)   Cultural Quarter Business Association  - Cultural Quarter website and social networking – request for £3,500.

B7)          SPARKS – Friends of Sparkenhoe – ‘Project Playground’ – request for £2,199 for play equipment.

B8)   25yrs Celebration of a Sheltered Housing Scheme Being Open – request for £250 for catering costs.

B9)   Friends of Queens Road Allotments - request for £815 for further allotment improvements.

B10) Saroj Seth and Prem Kholsa – Lunch Club for Elderly – costs to be confirmed.

B11)         Leicester Secular Society – ‘Castle Together’ – request for £700 to enable to expand community use of the hall.

B12) Up-grading of street lighting in the St George's Area - request for £3,450

B13) St Andrew's Play Association - request for £1,000 for installation of fire alarm system.

Francis Connolly, Member Support Officer gave the meeting a brief update on the current position with regard to the budget. He noted that before the meeting there was approximately £10,000 left in the budget.

Councillors noted that even if applications were not successful at this meeting, further applications for next year’s budget could be made within two weeks in the new financial year.

A resident queried whether there had been any bids picked up from the Holy Trinity area with regard to Alleygates. The Chair commented that bids had not been received at this meeting but this was the sort of thing that the budget could fund. He also commented that a bid for play equipment could also be considered. Councillors noted that they would be attending a residents’ meeting on the 12 April where this could be discussed further.

The following applications were considered and decided upon at the meeting:-

B1) Community Basketball Sessions – Publicity, equipment and coaching fees. The bid was for £1,345.

Councillors proposed that as the sessions would be taking place in the summer, this application would be considered in the new financial year after April. This was supported.

RESOLVED:

that the application be deferred until the new financial year.

B2) Children and Parent Alliance -Community Cultural Events. This was a bid for £1065.

Councillors proposed to part fund this application at £1000.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1000 be allocated from the Community Cohesion Fund subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

B3) Shama Women’s Centre - for the balance towards a new burglar alarm system. This was a bid for £1,525.

Sudha Vemuri from the Centre spoke in support of the bid, noting that the organisation had been previously been burgled, therefore they needed to improve their burglar alarm system.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,525 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

B4) Leicester St George’s Festival – Street Bunting. This was a bid for £1000.

Residents expressed their support for this application.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and a sum £1,000 with £428 of this allocated from the Ward Community Fund and £572 from the Ward Action Plan Fund subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

B5) Cultural Quarter Business Association – Music and Arts Events. This was a bid for £6,900.

B6) Cultural Quarter Business Association – Cultural Quarter Website and Social Networking. This was a bid for £3,500.

Councillors explained that they didn’t feel that they could support these bids. Partly this was because they were too big and partly because it wasn’t clear how this would support the ward as a whole. Councillors wished to give greater support to the St.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

A number of issues were discussed as other business.

Disabled Persons Day Centre

A resident enquired about facilities for disabled people now that the Fosse Day Centre no longer existed next to the Tigers’ ground. The Chair was unaware of the details of current disabled adult day provision and recommended that the resident leave her details with officers and a response would be provided.

Unauthorised Car Park - Former Leicester City Football Club Site

A resident expressed concern about the unauthorised car park which had opened on the site of the former Leicester City Football Club. This was causing a range of problems for residents, particularly with traffic on match days.

The Chair explained that the car park was set up illegally, but Planning Officers were not taking action immediately because the proprietor had indicated that they would be submitting a retrospective planning application to legitimise the car park. The Chair recognised residents’ concerns and undertook to follow the matter up if a planning application was not submitted and ensure that officers enforced a stop notice on the proprietor. Further if a planning application was submitted, all the Councillors undertook to oppose it on behalf of residents.

Residents raised further concern about flyposters advertising the car park in the local area. The Chair commented that this would be raised with the local City Warden to look into the problem.

Skatepark in Victoria Park

A resident enquired whether work had commenced on the skatepark planned for Victoria Park, as it was thought that work was due to commence in March. Francis Connolly had sought an update on this and was told that it would start in the spring. The Chair asked that the resident be provided with a detailed update.

Eastern Boulevard

A resident noted that there was demolition of a factory building taking place on Eastern Boulevard. It was queried what would be built in its place. The Chair reported that a planning application had been submitted for student accommodation.

Residents expressed a number of concerns that the area was becoming too heavily focussed on students and that this led to a poorer quality of life for long-term residents. The Chair commented that the Council had been overruled by the planning inspector where it had previously turned down student accommodation planning applications. There were rules set down by the government which allowed these applications to go ahead. DeMontfort University had also objected to a number of the developments by private developers near to their buildings.

The Chair asked that there be an item at the next meeting on Use Class Orders, which is legislation that was being brought in. This put further requirements on landlords to seek approval for rented houses of more than three people who were unrelated.

Allotment land between Aylestone Road / Saffron Lane

A resident expressed disappointment that a previous allotment site which was located between Aylestone Road and Saffron Lane had remained derelict for a number of years. It was thought that this land was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The meeting closed at 8.00pm.