Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Lynn Senior was Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

The first main item on theagenda 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 interest that they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Castle Community Meeting, held on 20 January 2011, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Castle Community Meeting held on 20 January 2011 were confirmed as a correct record.

Representatives of the Probation Service will be present to explain the Community Pay Back Scheme and consider how this could work in the Castle Ward.

Pamela Barber, Senior Probation Officer outlined details of the Community Payback Scheme. The scheme is organised and run by Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Service, working with other services and organisations. The scheme enabled the public to select projects of work suitable for teams of 6-8 supervised offenders ordered by the Courts to undertake unpaid work as part of their reparation. The range of projects included:

·        Street clean-ups

·        Ground clearance

·        Litter picks

·        Gardening

·        Painting and decorating.

Nominated projects are assessed for their suitability and safety, and nominations can be made by individuals, groups or organisations that fit criteria, for example;

·        Non-profit making organisations

·        Elderly or disabled persons

·        Charitable organisations

·        Faith groups

·        Community groups

Workers can be seen wearing orange high visibility jackets with the Community Payback logo on them. The high visibility jackets promoted confidence in the justice system and showed how the Probation Service was assisting individuals to undertake their reparation work. Several of the projects the Community Payback Teams had undertaken were discussed, including the cleaning up of overgrown land on Conduit Street, and painting on St Andrews estate.

In answer to resident’s questions, Pamela informed the meeting that some individuals were scaffold trained and could undertake work at higher levels. A lot of litter picks were carried out. For health and safety reasons, this was usually after City Cleansing Teams had been into the area to remove syringes. Work was not usually carried out in individuals homes, only if the residents had moved out or were about to move in. Work for individuals was usually gardening.

A presentation will be given by the City Warden Manager and Local City Warden on the One Clean Leicester Spring Clean, and how residents can get involved.

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Manager, gave a presentation on the One Clean Leicester Spring Clean, and information on how residents could report environmental problems or ‘grot spots’ throughout the 22 wards in Leicester. Reports can be made via the One Clean Leicester free downloadable App for smart phones, send information by email or text, or upload information on the website.

The One Clean Leicester App allows users of smart phones to take a photo, select the location of the problem through GPS, describe the problem, for example, dog fouling, fly tipping or graffiti, and forward the information to the One Clean Leicester Team. The information can also be sent as a text message or email, with LE1 in the subject field. A picture can be included with a description of the problem. People reporting problems would be contacted for further information if required. Problems can also be reported using the One Clean Leicester website, or by calling Customer Services. Reported problems, once checked for appropriateness are then published on the website, where a list of reported issues can be viewed. Received information is forwarded to the appropriate team to respond to.

Residents asked how they could report issues if they were not a user of any of the above methods. Councillors confirmed they could be called to assist residents.

In answer to resident’s questions, Barbara stated that permission was required from either the landlord or land owner of private premises or land to gain access to these areas to clean them. If permissions was not gained, then the City Council have powers to access premises by default, and any costs incurred would be placed on the building itself, to be recouped when the property was sold at any time. Owners of property could usually be found through Land Registry. Graffiti on private land was treated in much the same way, with permission needed before access to the land could be gained, otherwise this would be seen as trespassing.

The meeting was informed of the ‘Clean Up’ operation on Nelson Mandela Park in Castle Ward on Sunday 13 March, between 10.00am and 12.00pm. Community Payback workers, City Wardens and Parks Services would be there. Residents were invited along and be involved on the day. Equipment would be provided, for example, gloves and bags. Events in other wards would be advertised on the website, and notices placed on lampposts.

Residents complained about the condition and placement of commercial bins on the streets. Commercial bins were often left on the streets overnight after 5.00pm, for collection early morning the next day. It was suggested that pressure was needed on waste companies to collect in the evenings. This idea had the full backing of the Police, the City Centre Manager and City Centre Forum, as bins belonging to bars invariably held bottles, which in turn could be used a missiles or weapons.

Barbara went on to inform the meeting that the Warden Service issues 100s of fines each month, which included littering. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

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.

The following budget applications will be considered:-

Application 1

Applicant:       Centre for Indian Classical Dance

Amount:          £500

Proposal:      The proposal is making a giant “Hanuman” puppet, a very popular character from the Diwali story, Ramayana.

Summary:       The project will involve a professional visual artist working with children and young people in the creation of it as part of the Spark Children's Arts Festival 2011. The project will take place at Curve Theatre during the half-term break in May 2011; a full day for a period of one week.

This will be delivered in partnership with the Spark Children’s Arts Festival, Curve Theatre, Action Deafness and local artistic organisations. They also deliver workshops in schools and communities in the Castle Ward Area such as Hazel Primary School, Jain Community Centre and Swaminarayan Centre. The Spark Children's Arts Festival will be helping in publicising this event so that it reaches everyone in the Ward.

The £500 would go towards transportation and some expenses to volunteers who would be working with the visual artist, children and young people for making of Hanuman puppet at Curve Theatre.

This would be used as part of the Diwali Festival, and would also be toured to other festivals, such as, Castle Park, Riverside, Caribbean Carnival and Christmas in the Town Centre.

A register would be kept of young people participating in the project.

Application 2

Applicant:       Leicester Pride Festival

Amount:          £1,000

Proposal:      Support to cover the cost of sound monitoring and clearing up following the event.

Summary:       The overall aim of this project is to bring together Lesbian. Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people along with their friends and supporters to create a supportive and cohesive community.  The LGBT community is very diverse and is made up of many different equality strands from the black and ethnic minority communities to disabled and members from a variety of faith groups.  The project will have specific aims to ensure that the whole community is supported, especially the hard-to-reach.

                        The organisers of the event wish to pose minimal detriment on neighbouring residents, and this proposal is requesting funding particular towards the cost of sound monitoring of the event, and for tidying up afterwards. 

Application 3

Applicant:       Residents in Clarendon Park, via Leicestershire Police.

Amount:          £975

Proposal:       Install two alleygates on St Leonards Road in Clarendon Park.

Summary:       This project is for the installation of two lockable metal alley gates to replace existing dilapidated wooden gates at the rear of 43 St Leonards Road.  This location has been identified by crime pattern analysis as a burglary hot spot.  The alley provides access to the rear of approximately 16 houses on St Leonards Road and Hartopp Road.  It is also possible to garden hop to other premises on either of these roads in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 38.

Francis Connolly, Members Support Officer, introduced this item of business. He noted that there was £4,002 left in the budget prior to the meeting.

Members considered the following applications:

Centre for Indian Classical Dance – request for £500 to make a giant ‘Hanuman’ puppet as part of the Spark Children’s Arts Festival 2011

Councillors were keen to support a proportion on this project on the condition that the Festival’s organisers worked with Hazel Primary School to deliver the work.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and a sum of £300 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Lead, Community Cohesion and Human Resources and the Leader of the Council.

Leicester Pride Festival – request for £1000 to cover the cost of sound monitoring, the provision of bins and clearing up following the event.

Councillors spoke of their support towards the festival, and proposed to fund the sound monitoring and clearing-up elements of the application.

RESOLVED:

that the application be partly supported and a sum of £625 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund and £75 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Lead, Community Cohesion and Human Resources and the Leader of the Council.

Installation of a double alley-gate on St Leonards Road/Howard in Clarendon Park- request for £975 from residents in Clarendon Park via Leicestershire Police 

It was made clear that this location had been identified as a burglary hot-spot, and that the installation of secure gates would lead to a reduction to crime and provide reassurance to local residents. 

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported and a sum of £975 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund  budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and the Leader of the Council.

Installation of two further alley-gates on Montague Road - request for £1,000 from residents in Clarendon Park via Leicestershire Police. 

This application was targeted towards two further for location for alley-gates that had been identified by both residents and the Police as hot-spot areas. 

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported and a sum of £975 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund  budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and the Leader of the Council.

Replacement Concrete Bin, Howard Road – request for £400 for a replacement of the small plastic bin with a larger and sturdier bin from local residents in conjunction with Environmental Services.

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported and a sum of £400 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund  budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and the Leader of the Council.

The Centre Project – request for £2,106 for a contribution towards the proviso of fresh ingredients for the project’s lunch club and towards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

A resident asked if crime figures for Castle ward could be provided by the Police. It was suggested that the new Inspector Chris Cockerill, be invited to attend the Community Meeting in May, and he or one of his colleagues be asked to give a presentation on crime in the ward.

It was noted that there were some problems with residents parking schemes. Residents were informed that free visitor permits for people over 60 living in parking scheme areas. This would be brought in by the Council towards the end of March / early April and would allow up to three visitors to park.

The meeting closed at 8.03pm.