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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Eyres Monsell and Gilmorton Children's Centre, Hillsborough Road, Eyres Monsell

Items
No. Item

14.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The first main item on the programme is Declaration of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything in the programme 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.

Minutes:

Councillors were asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda. No declarations were made.

15.

RECORD OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 126 KB

The record of the meeting held on 3 July 2008 are attached and Councillors are asked to agree that they are a correct record.

Minutes:

The record of the meeting held on 3 July 2008 was agreed as correct.

16.

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services to present Ward facts relating to Environmental Services provided in the area. He will also introduce the new Street Warden.

 

Councillor Palmer will also give a brief update on progress with preparing the Ward Action Plan.

Minutes:

Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services, gave a presentation on Environmental Services work in the Eyres Monsell Ward for January to June 2008.  He explained the position in Eyres Monsell compared to the city-wide average in various areas of performance, such as waste collection, recycling, missed bins, graffiti removal (including an arrangement with Virgin to overpaint the equipment boxes), abandoned vehicles, street cleaning, pest control, noisy neighbours and dog fouling. He also mentioned local food and licensed premises.

 

Adrian introduced Jessica Phillips, the new Street Warden for the Ward, who would be working locally to deal with environmental services issues. Jessica was to regularly attend the Community Meetings.

 

Members of the public asked the following questions, and Adrian responded as below:

 

1)     Is there any possibility of introducing a street drinking ban in Eyres Monsell? There are problems on The Exchange, Swinford Avenue, Howden Road and Lawford Road.

The Council could consider this if the police felt there was a need for it.

 

2)     Can someone come and look at the state of the roads immediately after the bins are emptied? They leave a mess, and the refuse collectors are rude when they are told about it.

The collectors are encouraged to not leave a mess. Problems can occur when it is windy. Any incidents of rudeness should be reported to Adrian who will investigate.

 

3)     Is Leicester’s waste still being sent to India?

Leicester’s waste has never been sent to India. The report of a Leicester Mercury being found in an Indian tip did not indicate that the Council were sending waste there – there are many ways it could have got there, including business waste.

 

4)     Why can’t we recycle cardboard and tin cans? Blaby Council do.

Cardboard and cans are recycled at the Biffa site – it is automatically separated and recycled. Card is turned into a fertilizer. It is a common misconception that things aren’t recycled, but Leicester just has a different way of doing it.

 

5)     Can garden waste bins be introduced? The waste collected could be used for the Council’s composting scheme.

We are looking into providing this service. Most of what goes in the wheelie bins is already composted, but some people generate a lot of garden waste and could benefit from a separate bin. Introduction of this scheme may take some time, as Biffa would have to invest in extra collection vehicles and facilities.

 

6)     It costs £60 to have a wasp nest removed. This is a lot of money for people on pensions and limited incomes. Can something be done for these people?

Ideally, the Council would like to provide these services free of charge, but there is a limited budget each year. Councillors make decisions on how the budget is to be spent and have decided that we need to charge for wasp nest removal. Wasps are a nuisance, but they don’t cause any actual damage or disease. We have to focus on pests that carry disease, such as rats,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Stephanie McBurney will give a presentation on issues about domestic violence.

Minutes:

Stephanie Mc Burney and Shobla Patel from the Domestic Violence Team gave a presentation on the work being done to highlight and tackle the issue of domestic violence. A campaign was taking place to raise awareness, dispel misconceptions, reduce tolerance and make people aware of the help available.

 

Members of the public asked the following questions and responses were given as below:

 

1)     Are single people fleeing domestic violence referred to the Night Shelter? This would be an inappropriate place for them. Women’s Aid can take too long to take people in.

This can be discussed at the Steering Group and see how we are doing with this. The police know the refuges that are available and often make referrals. The Council’s Out of Hours officers also place people. The first point of call is Border House.

 

2)     Can posters be put prominently in the windows of Council buildings, such as Housing Offices? People suffering domestic violence can some times not go out very often, and it would be good for details to be easy to see in passing.

There is a good display on domestic violence inside the Eyres Monsell Housing Office, but officers could look at putting something in the window. The problem would be if there is too much information in a window, none of it stands out.

 

The Chair thanked officers for the work they were doing, and for the presentation.

18.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Dave Budd from Leicestershire Police will give a presentation about how antisocial behaviour is being tacked in the ward,

Minutes:

Hardip Dayal from the Neighbourhood Policing Team and Dave Budd, Community Initiative Co-Ordinator, gave a presentation and led a discussion regarding how the Neighbourhood Policing Team was working in Eyres Monsell and Gilmorton.

 

Dave Budd explained that priorities for the area were identified regularly so that the team could focus on what was most important. These priorities were identified through the Community Safety Bureau who produced six-monthly reports; and also, Community Meetings could also help in identifying what people felt the team should be working on.

 

Dave reported that the three current priorities were antisocial behaviour (particularly on Swinford Avenue), vehicle related crime, and drug misuse. The priorities were tacked using a “National Intelligence Model,” which was a problem-solving plan. It involved identifying those causing the problem, catching them and taking enforcement action. Other people working in the area could also contribute to this, such as the City Warden and Housing Officers.

 

Methods used to catch offenders included cameras, patrols and plain clothed police officers. Partnership working was also important, and residents could pass on information anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. There was also a mobile police station that could visit the area.

 

Dave and Hardip stressed that the police could not do all the work on their own, and that they relied on everyone working together to tackle problems.

 

Members of the public asked the following questions and received responses as below:

 

1)     Has the situation of antisocial behaviour around the Exchange improved?

Generally, yes. There are still a few individuals we are trying to tackle. The Joint Action Group (JAG) has now started to look into this, which may lead to increased funding opportunities to tackle it. Community justice is being trialled, and may have an effect.

 

2)     Can a drinking ban be introduced on the estate?

We have applied for this twice before, and will continue to do so. Bans are introduced with the agreement of the Council, and we need to get together some good evidence that it is needed.

 

3)     Problems of antisocial behaviour have moved from the Exchange to Swinford Avenue, particularly at the end of the school day.

We can look into having a more visible presence at that time of day in that area.

 

4)     Do officers do work in schools?

Yes, and we came to the Children’s Centre recently. We have also set up projects for children and young people, including a bulb-planting event in the Lady’s Covert. We hope that, by planting them, they will want to look after tem as well.

 

5)     It is not all children who cause problems – just the odd “bad apple.”

Part of Hardip’s job is to get involved with all the others who may be in danger of getting drawn in with the odd bad influence, and give them other options. Football events and the Eyres Monsell Sports Day have been arranged.

 

Councillor Palmer thanked Dave and Hardip for the discussion and stated that the people of Eyres Monsell could make a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Minutes:

People’s Millions

 

Ian Stapleton, Housing Manager, asked for people’s support for a National Lottery People’s Millions bid. A proposal for a multi use games area in Gilmorton was to compete with another project for £50,000. People were asked to vote by telephone as soon as the number was made public.

 

Number 87 Bus Service

 

The Chair raised the issue of the proposal by First Bus to cancel the No 87 bus service by the end of January, which came to light the day before the Community Meeting. This would leave residents of Sturdee Road particularly disadvantaged. He believed that this had not been properly considered. There was no obligation for the company to consult on the matter, but that he would ensure that it was fought vigorously via petitions and a public meeting at the Council. He encouraged people to sign the petition and write letters to the company in protest.

20.

CLOSE OF MEETING

Minutes:

The meeting closed at 7.52pm.