Agenda and minutes

6.00-6.15pm

Members of Leicester Parkour will give a display of Parkour and Freerunning skills.

Prior to the start of the formal meeting members of Leicester Parkour gave a demonstration of their skills.

6.30pm

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Palmer was appointed as Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Palmer stated that the Eyres Monsell Community Meeting continued to be one of the best attended community meetings in the city, and was the only one that had included innovative items, such as the Freerunning display by Leicester Parkour.

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 interests they may have in the business on the agenda and/or declare if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them. No such declarations were made.

The minutes of the previous Eyres Monsell Community Meeting, held on 9 September 2009, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the Eyres Monsell Community Meeting, held on 9 September 2009 were agreed as a correct record.

6.55-7.10pm

Anna Parr, Youth Worker, and members of Leicester Parkour will give an update on progress with establishing a Parkour Park in Eyres Monsell following a residents’ consultation.

Following the earlier display by members of Leicester Parkour, the meeting discussed the work of the group and its proposals.

The group explained their proposals for a Parkour Park in the ward, for which they had been successful in obtaining £40,000 from the Youth Opportunities Fund. Pictures of example designs were shown to the meeting. The group were currently holding sessions at Samworth Academy, and were properly risk-assessed. Members of the group had gained qualifications in first aid and youth work.

Discussion took place regarding the proposed location of the Park and what consultation was required. Councillor Palmer stated that they had sought advice about the correct procedures and were following then fully. The proposed site was felt suitable due to it being visible, yet away from the younger children’s play area.

The majority of residents stated that they fully supported the proposals and were proud that Eyres Monsell was to have the first site of its kind in the UK. A councillor from South Wigston expressed concern that he had not been consulted on the matter. Councillor Palmer stated that all required consultation was taking place, and there was no obligation to consult with South Wigston residents. However, he would be happy to discuss the matter with him.  In response to concerns about the equipment being damaged by graffiti, Councillor Palmer stated that it would be no different from other play facilities, and that this would not be a reason for not doing it.

The meeting congratulated the team for their success and applauded their efforts and commitment.

6.35-6.55pm

The meeting will be informed about the recent refurbishment of the Magpie Youth Centre and the facilities it now provides. Information will also be given about youth services in Eyres Monsell.

Nav Chauhan, Youth Worker, introduced the newly-refurbished Magpie Youth Centre. He stated that it was one of only three centres in the city to gain funding from the Youth Capital Plus Fund. Young people had been consulted on what they would like the centre to provide and look like. Facilities included an internet café, music suite, craft room, TV area and a revamped kitchen. Various sessions and classes were being introduced. The Centre had been opened ahead of schedule due to the demand in the area. Some more work was to be done before a formal launch in the near future.

The meeting discussed the target age group, and some felt that it should provide facilities for younger children as well, but it was noted that they were to co-ordinate with Eyres Monsell Young People’s Club to cater for different age groups. In response to residents’ questions, Nav stated that there was opportunity for young people to volunteer to help with sessions such as music production. Sessions at the centre included sexual health, a street dance club, counselling and a music project club. Residents asked if the centre could put on showings of DVDs or performances of music they had made. Nav agreed that the centre would be happy to do this.

Nav explained the graffiti art on the building, stating that there was a difference between this and tagging. The young people had worked on it and it was personal to them in what it displayed. It had attracted interest from other areas who wished to replicate the idea.

Councillor Palmer thanked Nav for hosting the Community Meeting and congratulated him on the work that had been done to redevelop the centre.

7.10-7.25pm

Ian Stapleton, Neighbourhood Housing Manager, will give a presentation on the findings of a recent “Place Survey,” carried out by MORI which shows what people think about living in Eyres Monsell.

It was noted that this item replaced the item on the agenda, “Place Survey.”

Ian Stapleton, Area Housing Manager, gave an introduction to the Area Housing Plan. He stated that it was a result of surveys that had been done to find out what was important to the community and incorporated the priorities in the One Leicester vision. The plan would evolve over the next six months

Ian said that one priority was overgrowth of shrubs, such as on Rupert Street. Such issues were dealt with as part of the Big Tidy Up day, which had been a great success, attracting over 100 volunteers from across the community. He also stated that increasing community engagement was important. Residents were regularly invited on estate inspections and their comments had helped identify and deal with issues. He invited everyone to make their views known. Residents agreed that the day had been successful, and it was pointed out that the children who took part were keen to do it again. Ian hoped that another would be scheduled for February.

Ian explained that the use and supply of drugs was being tackled in conjunction with the police and community. A problem on Hillsborough Close had been successfully dealt with because residents stood up to it and showed the strength in community. A resident agreed that this had taken a long time to solve, but had been successful. He encouraged anyone who saw such things happen elsewhere to talk to councillors or the police. He also thanked PCSOs for the support they had given him through the ordeal.

Residents stated that it was important to ask young people what they wanted on the estate. Ian stated that he had been out with the police on a Friday night to discuss this with young people. Councillor Palmer agreed that it was important to let young people discuss their vision.

As part of this item, Councillor Palmer agreed to report on the budget application for tools for community clean-up days. It was noted that this was to be part-funded by the JAG. He stated that he would like to see more such days, and for them to be publicised well. Councillors had agreed to support this application in between meetings and asked the meeting to note their decision.

7.25-7.35pm

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will give an update on policing issues and priorities in Eyres Monsell.

PC Mark Brennan introduced colleagues and gave a presentation on the work of the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Eyres Monsell. He stated that they were working in partnership with other agencies to tackle issues.

He stated that there had been a 9.2% decrease in crime as compared with the same three months lat year, and a 37.3% decrease in burglary.  The main neighbourhood priority was antisocial behaviour in certain areas of the ward. Residents were encouraged to let the police know of their issues, so that this information could feed into the next set of priorities.

PC Brennan also stated that the police boundaries were soon to be changed to match the ward boundaries, in order to work more efficiently with the Council. He invited residents to attend their coffee mornings, or the regular consultations at the Exchange or Somerfield.

A resident stated that the majority of problems occurred due to the derelict Invincible site. PC Brennan said that he was aware of these issues and hoped that they would be dealt with in the longer-term plans for the Exchange.

Councillor Palmer thanked the Neighbourhood Policing Team for the work they were doing in the area.

7.35-7.45

The City Warden will give an update on work done in Eyres Monsell recently, and issues they are currently dealing with.

Barbara Whitcombe, City Wardens Manager gave an update on work done in Eyres Monsell. She reported that the one year pilot had completed and the scheme had been such a success, it was to be rolled out to all wards.

Barbara stated that work had been done to raise the Wardens’ profile, such as producing a postcard and trying to get people to know the uniforms. Work had been done on education to prevent environmental crimes. Barbara asked for assistance from anyone who was able to get them into schools, youth groups and other groups in the ward. She also gave some information regarding graffiti and asked that any instances be reported to the police.

Scott Clarke, City Warden for Eyres Monsell and Freemen, explained the work he had been doing. This included Duty of Care Inspections of businesses with food and waste teams, dog fouling patrols, dealing with bins left on the street and production of a six-month rolling plan on what was to be tackled.

The meeting discussed the need for more dog waste bins. Waste that was left beside a full bin was still classed as littering. It could be double-bagged and put in normal bins. A resident raised concerns about the effect of foxes in the area, stating that they may often be to blame. Councillor Palmer recommended that the next meeting consider the provision of more dog waste bins from the Community Meeting budget.

The meeting also discussed problems with bin emptying, and Barbara asked for problems to be reported. Residents expressed confusion regarding what should be included in the green bins, as it seemed that not much was being recycled. It was reported that a lot of the waste from the main bins was automatically recycled at the Biffa Ball Mill.

Councillor Paler thanked Barbara and Scott for their work.

7.45-7.55pm

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.

Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer, will give an update on the current position with Community Meeting budgets and will introduce applications that have been received.

The following applications have been received and will be discussed at the meeting:

Christmas Community Celebration event 2009 (£2,500)

Purchase of garden tools for volunteer community action days (£250.00)

Expansion costs for the Horticultural & Crafts Show (£500)

Councillor Palmer led discussion on the budget applications that had been received. It was noted that the application for £250 towards the purchase of garden tools for community action days had been dealt with earlier in the meeting.

The other applications were discussed as follows:

Christmas Community Celebration event 2009 (£2,500)

 Councillor Palmer stated that this would be a positive event for the community and would allow people to get involved.

AGREED: that the meeting supports the provision of £2,500 from the Community Fund.

Expansion costs for the Horticultural & Crafts Show (£500)

It was noted that this was a successful event and developed each year. Members had agreed this application under delegated powers between meetings. The meeting was asked to note this application.

AGREED: that the meeting notes the provision of £500 from the Community Fund.

Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer gave details of the balances of each of the Community Meeting funds and Councillor Palmer encouraged people to put in applications. He hoped to bring proposals for funding to the next meeting that would address some of the suggestions made by young people during his nights out with the police.

The meeting closed at 8.22pm.