Agenda and minutes

Councillor Neil Clayton was chair for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Kitterick.

Councillors were asked to declare any interests that they had in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

Councillor Senior declared an interest in Item 6 on the agenda ‘Policing – presentation from Inspector Chris Cockerill’, that for the avoidance of doubt she was one of three representatives for Leicester City Council on the Police Authority Board.

Councillor Senior declared an interest in Budget Application 2 ‘Queens Road Fair and Craft Market’ as she was employed by Age Concern who had a charity shop on Queens Road.

Councillor Senior declared a personal interest as her partner was an employee in Highways and Transportation at Leicester City Council.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the Castle Community Meeting held on 2 March 2011 were confirmed as a correct record.

1.    David Tebbutt, Early Years’ Service, Planning and Commissioning, outlined details of where information could be found for summer activities, childcare and play schemes in Leicester for children aged 3 years 19 years. Links to information could be found on Leicester City Council’s website, or by contacting the Family Information Service. Contact details were as follows:

Phone:     (0116) 225 4890

                  0800 952 5678 (Freephone)

Internet:   http://families.leicester.gov.uk/welcome/

Email:       family@leicester.gov.uk

2.    Information was also provided on summer activities held at the Highfields Community Centre for young people aged 11 to 16 years. ‘Raise Your Game’ includes arts, sports, cooking and independent living activities. The scheme usually attracted young people from the local catchment area, but often people visiting family and friends in the area attended. Activities cost £1 per session.

Inspector Chris Cockerill from the City Centre Local Policing Unit gave a presentation on the LPU’s activities from January 2011.  A copy of this presentation is attached to the minutes.

It was reported that in February 2011, the Police changed the model of response in Castle Ward. 999 responses were now dealt with by six LPUs, and were covered by shifts of 41 officers over a five-shift cycle. Officers were based at different locations in the community, and the Police were considering an office base at QE College, but that this would depend on receipt if sufficient funding.

Insp. Cockerill outlined crime figures for Castle Ward for the financial year 2010-11.

8,996 crimes were reported within the ward, which spanned a variety of offenses.  It was reported that there was a 5.1 per cent reduction in crime based on figures for the same period the previous year. Furthermore, reported crime had been going down in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland over the past three years. However, there had been an increase in burglaries in the Clarendon Park area at the beginning of the year. It was thought the burglaries were committed by one prolific burglar who was subsequently caught.

Crime figures from April 2011 to the present date were down 3.7 per cent. Other figures from across the BCU were reported as follows:

Burglary                                 down 34%

Theft from vehicles              down 41%     (almost half the amount for the same

time period the previous year)

Theft from shops                  down 25%

Anti-social behaviour          down 25%

Anti-social behaviour, particularly street drinking, was a significant problem for the Joint Action Group (JAG), but figures for street drinking incidents were down by nearly 50 per cent which was visibly. This was due in part to working jointly with the City Council on offender management.

Inspector Cockerill stated the Police wished to hear from people in connection with the main issues they thought there were in the community. Information passed to the Police is then fed back into the JAG, which consisted of councillors, housing, Fire Authority, Chamber of Trade, etc. The information consequently helped to shape projects, for example, the ‘Prevent and Deter’ project, whereby potential offenders were spoken with before they committed crime. Crime was managed through the tasking and co-ordination of the group, targeting offenders and crime ‘hot spots’.

In answer to a question, Inspector Cockerill stated there was some correlation between neighbourhood watch schemes and crime figures, but not always. Information on the local area was published in a six-monthly newsletter, the Police website and through Inspector Cockerill’s blog.

Priorities for the area included aiming to reduce prostitution. Initiatives for controlling prostitution in the area included an Anti-Social Behaviour camera, operated remotely in partnership with the Council. This would enable number plate identification of vehicles.

The Police had also worked with the two Universities following the spate of thefts of property in the city centre, and students were warned to look after their property, particularly mobile phones.

In conclusion, Inspector Cockerill reported falls in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

City Wardens Nik Krneta and Andrew Moyse provided an update on issues dealt with by the City Wardens in Castle Ward.

·         Littering still continued to be a problem, particularly late at night and around fast-food eateries. McDonalds on Eastgates went out at 5.00am on Saturdays and Sundays to clean the area near to the premises. Also, in the past three months, 163 litter fines have been imposed.

·         Businesses had a duty of care to store bins and dispose of waste correctly. 62 businesses were issued with penalty notices for failing to provide information on where business waste was being sent.

·         Fines were issued to people for unauthorised distribution of printed material for which a licence is required.

·         Street drinkers on Conduit Street were reported to the Police as part of Operation Caldwell.

·         Section 46 notices were issued to flats occupants on Albion Street and Granby Street to move bins and store them properly to discourage fly tipping. Residents stated that if students left properties, then the landlords should be responsible for removing the bins from the street. It was reported that City Wardens were working with Universities to ensure rubbish was collected.

·         Energy (Superfly), at King Street, were instructed to install lockable bins. Residents complained these bins were kept in the street, and that a pile of rubbish was growing, and that the premises should empty the bins. The meeting was informed that City Highways had given permission for the bins to remain in place as there were no other storage facilities at the premises.

·         There were 8 pending court cases for fly-posting, one of which was associated with a large club in the city. Also being prosecuted was a promoter associated with the club.

·         A graffiti cleaning session arranged for July was initially postponed, but had taken place since. It was reported that the whole city would be tackled to clean graffiti but there were limited resources to do so.

Kate Newton, Leicester University Representative was present at the meeting. She asked that photos of ‘tags’ should be taken and sent to her. These could then be passed on to youth workers who may recognise the tags.

Residents asked if a bike park could be created at Leicester University, as there were many students with motorbikes who parked haphazardly in the street and reduced parking for residents.  Councillors asked the City Wardens to raise the issue with the University.

Councillors reported that walkabouts had taken place with a Planning Officer, and that issues had been followed up. It was noted by Councillors that there were lots of infringements in the Conservation area, which would be raised with Jennifer Timothy, Senior Building Conservation Officer at the City Council.

Councillors thanked the City Wardens for attending the meeting.

Francis Connolly, Democratic Services Officer, introduced this item of business. He noted that there was £15,000 in the budget prior to the meeting.

Members considered the following applications:

Decent Exposure Exhibition – request for £855 toward the cost of hiring exhibition space and costs associated with the opening night, such as refreshments.

Councillors identified that the bid was for a project based in the city centre that benefitted other wards in Leicester, and that the benefit would not be felt centrally by Castle Ward residents.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be refused.

Queen’s Road Fair and Craft Market, Sunday 19^th June and 4^th December 2011 – request for £3,000 (£1,500 for each date) towards the operation of these events, including road closures.

The meeting was asked to note that the stalls would be run by local residents and the money would not be used to subsidise businesses.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported and the sum of £3,000 be allocated from the Ward Community budget.

Back to Netball – request for £745 towards the cost of venue hire, netball coaches, the design and printing of promotional material, free child care for attendees during sessions, and equipment for pilot lessons.

Councillors stated that they were proposing to reject it the application in its current form as it was not soley for Castle Ward. However, they were willing to work with the applicant to develop the application for Castle Ward, as they wished to see netball being delivered within the Ward. The provision of netball facilities was supported by residents at the meeting. They stated that the scheme would be useful for young women, and might help reduce anti-social behaviour.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be rejected in its current form.

Welford Road Cemetery – bird and bat boxes – request for £551.30 towards the cost of purchasing a number of bird and bat boxes, which would be installed around the cemetery.

The application was submitted by Friends of Welford Road Cemetery. The application was endorsed by Councillors who stated the designated green space area benefitted the local area.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported and the sum of £551.30 be allocated from the Ward Community budget.

Highfields Festival – request £6,000 (Joint bid with Spinney Hills and Stoneygate Wards) toward the cost of staging/equipment/flooring, staffing (temporary), artists, catering, publicity/marketing/HCAN, security.

It was stated that funding from the other Wards was still awaited. The original intention was to have the festival in Spinney Hill Park, but due to restoration work, the event would have to take place at Highfields Community Centre. The event would also engage with Czeck and Slovak Communities in the area.

Councillors stated that the area in Highfields that Castle Ward covered was relatively small – and hence agreed to pledge a smaller proportion of the requested amount.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be amended to read £500 to be allocated from the Ward Community Budget.

The following items were raised under any other business;

·         A Fair would be held at St Stephen’s Church on Saturday 30^th July.

·         Leicester University and PC Harvey Watson would run a ‘Shush’ campaign to encourage students to be considerate when returning home at night. Sweets would be given out as an encouragement to keep quiet.

·         Blooming students scheme – plants and tools would be given to students to encourage to improve the front and houses and improve the look of an area.

The meeting closed at 8.25pm.