Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements. The Chair and other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Councillor Pickering, Chair for the meeting, introduced those present.

There were no declarations of interest made.

Apologies were received from Sarah Measures, Katy Edge and Alison Tipping.

The Action Log of the meeting held on 2 September 2019 is attached, and Members will be asked to confirm them as an accurate record.

The Action Log of the previous meeting held on 2 September 2019 was agreed as correct.

Ward Councillors were invited to feedback on ward issues and activities:

·         Eyres Monsell Volunteer Awards night – 80 people were present and was a good night for voluneers. It was hoped the event would be repeated in future years.

·         December 7^th Christmas Fair, Eyres Monsell Club, 3-7pm. The event would include a Santa’s grotto, stalls, cakes, Christmas café to be run by young people in Eyres Monsell.

·         Christmas Party on 20^th December at the Community Centre, to include a film on the big screen courtesy of Phoenix Arts. A free event with limited places. Anyone wishing to attend should forward their name to ward councillors.

·         The Pantomime date was December 28^th 2019.

·          Eyres Monsell Primary School council visited the Town Hall to meet with the Lord Mayor in the Council Chamber. They also had an opportunity to visit the court room and old cells.

·         30^th December – Sing 4 Fun concert at Wigston school – free event.

·         Hillsborough Park parkour area – a retiring police officer would involve young people in the area to spruce up the park with artwork. The police asked to be kept involved with regards to ensure taggers were not given free rein in the area and to prevent tagging around the estate.

·         An invitation would be extended to the organiser of a project ‘Stress Free Me’. A seven-week project provided advice, including on finances to organising home events.

Dee Dixon and Anne Youmans were present from Goldhill Adventure Playground, and provided the following information:

·         1,500 young people were registered at the playground, which was open 5 nights a week, 3-6pm.

·         From 9am-6pm, other events took place including a food bank, which had been in operation for 18 months and saw 63 families on a regular basis from all over the city. Referrals for the food bank could come from schools, advisory agencies. Self-referrals were taken, as some people in work were also struggling. The food bank was advertised on Goldhill Facebook page, and people were asked for a donation, but was free if a child went to Goldhill.

·         The food bank had the use of five fridges and seven freezers. Food came from Fare Share on a Wednesday and included frozen items. The Co-Op also delivered on a Wednesday and included bread, vegetables and fruit.

·         On Tuesday evenings, a free hot meal was prepared for families, including grandparents looking after children. Some families also took a meal away for an elderly person.

·         The playground shop sold items at cost price not for profit and was cheaper than normal shops. Items such as shampoos, soap powder and deodorant were free to ensure parents got items that they needed but unable to afford.

·         The playground worked with young people with additional needs from moderate to severe, two nights a week, and offered respite for parents, and also helped to develop a child’s social skills.

·         The Gold Club was run during the day on two days and provided older disabled users the opportunity to use the centre to learn life skills such as shopping, baking.

·         The playground worked with children with behavioural problems excluded from school. Paid for by the school, it prevented children from being on the street. The playground also worked with primary school age children and had been very successful in keeping children in school.

ACTION: Information to be brought to the attention of the Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for Education (Cllr Cutkelvin) on the supporting work of primary school children.

·         Although the playground offered alternative provision, it was first and foremost an adventure playground.

·         With regards to funding received, £138k was grant applications, £116k from core funding, and £120k to run the playground. £1,000 funding had been received to put up an arm barrier to keep travellers off the site.

·         A grant of £200 had been received towards a Christmas party on 18^th December 4-6.30pm. There would be free giveaways, Santa and presents, toys on the table. A collection from Aldi on Christmas Eve of free food parcels would also be made.

·         A Christmas Dinner on December 6^th 11.30am-2.45pm was ‘Buy One, Get One Free’, and was a three-course meal with a Caribbean and English menu. A raffle would also be held on the day.

·         Break Bingo was held on the first Monday of the month, from 10.00 to 12.00 and cost £3.

·         On Wednesdays, Golden Stars soft play took place for 0-5 years  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Tracey Inchley, Service Delivery Manager, provided the following information on available activities in the Ward:

·         At Pork Pie, there was an artist in residence.

·         Tuesday had toddler time in the morning and music group in the afternoon.

·         On Thursday, a Friendship Group was held, and people were taken on trips and holidays.

·         On Monday / Wednesday / Thursday a lunch club was held with Bingo after the Wednesday session. A Christmas meal with raffle prizes would be held on 19^th December.

·         Irish dance, dance group, and singer sessions were held every night.

·         At Eyres Monsell Community Centre, a bowls club was held twice a week.

·         A lunch club on Mondays and Fridays with three-course meal cost £3.50.

·         Tai Chi was held on Wednesdays.

·         There was a vacancy for Tuesday mornings but it was hoped it would be filled with toddler time, something for the younger age-group.

·         Other groups included dance, madrasa, book borrowers, Nutty Knitters (Friday), sewing group (Thursday). Suggestions were invited for an Easter Yarn Bomb.

·         The centre was looking to expand the garden area to become a memorial garden.

Serena Hayne, Leicester City Football Club was present. The following information was noted:

·         Kick sessions were held in the ball court next to the Magpie centre on Mondays, 5-7pm, followed by a youth club.

·         LCFC were due to take over the Magpie Centre in the near future, and would be one of eight hubs around the city.

·         LCFC had met with Ward Councillors and were keen to involve the community. School Heads from the area would be invited to meet with the club also.

·         The club was looking at what could be done with the ball court and centre. Activities would focus on health and wellbeing, mental health and obesity. The café on the front would be run by the community in partnership with the young people’s club.

Councillors noted the suggestion that dog training was important for the community, and dog visits to older persons homes was very therapeutic. It was noted that Eyres Monsell Community Centre hall was free in Wednesday evenings and could possibly be used for dog training. Further discussions would be held following the meeting to move the idea forward.

This agenda item was covered elsewhere during the meeting.

Councillors noted that they had received a lot of phone calls in relation to anti-social behaviour, and had raised the issue with the Assistant City Mayor with responsibility for Neighbourhood Services. A meeting had been arranged for 19^th December to find out what could be done about the low level anti-social behaviour, following which a meeting would be held with the Police to discuss joined up working.

PC Wood, PC Lee and PCSO Salmon were present and updated the meeting with the following:

·         The Police were trying also to develop a relationship between the Council and the Police database Sentinel to share information.

·         There were difficulties with developing a relationship with residents in the ward. It had been suggested that boxes be placed around the community for people to put in issues rather than being seen talking to the police.

·         Neighbourhood Link was a group run by volunteers who went door-to-door to engage with people.  knocks to get people to engage. Members of the public could also link in the with police via email. Data was collected and patterns of issues around the ward looked at.

ACTION: The Police to be invited to Christmas events around the ward meet with residents.

This agenda item was not taken.

Noel Cazley, City Warden, provided the following information to those present:

·         Work on Swinford Avenue on an issue with blocked alleyways. All residents had been contacted and notices left regarding the rubbish, including mattresses and fridge freezers. The Council did not have powers to go onto private land and remove waste. All neighbours were legally responsible to clear waste, and deeds for the properties would state it was residents responsibility to clear the alleyway.

·         Dog fouling could be reported using the smartphone app Love Leicester. Residents were asked to ensure photos were sent to allow GPS coordinates to fix, with a description of the dog owner, dog type and time of walking if possible. A message would be sent to the Cleansing Team to action.

·         Penalty notices were now issued for littering from vehicles which was a criminal offence. A Penalty Charge Notice would be sent to the registered keeper of £150, reduced to £100 for early payment. If not paid, the charge would go up 100% to £300. If the City Warden had not seen the offence, a witness statement would be taken from the person reporting the littering and dashcam footage used where available.

·         Poor gardens in Council housing were the responsibility of the tenants firstly and were a housing responsibility.

The Project Manager for the Climate Emergency Conversation consultation was in attendance and provided information to the meeting. A presentation and briefing note are attached for information.

The consultation had been launched and was in progress until the 9^th February 2020. A event, Leicester’s Climate Assembly would be held on 18^th January 2020. Officers were looking for a cross section of the population of Leicester to be at the event. The Young People’s Climate Assembly would be held on 27^th January 2020. Groups could also request a conversation pack where they could conduct their own assembly workshops. 

Councillors noted that Park and Ride serviced the County and not the City, and ought to stop for people on the route. The Project Manager would feed the suggestion back.

It was reported that there would be more electric buses around the city eventually. It was noted also that buildings could be designed and built to zero carbon standard, but the challenge would be how to retrospectively fit existing housing. The consultation would be for people to comment with ideas to influence planning. Consultation on the Local Plan would also be held in the New Year.

People could contact the team on sustainability@leicester.gov.uk.

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.

An update will be given on the Ward Community Budget together with a summary of grant applications submitted for consideration since the last meeting.

A summary of the ward community budget for 2019/20 was provided.

The total number of applications received to date was 17.

Two applications had not been supported.

Fourteen applications were supported.

One application was awaiting a decision.

Overall spend to date was £12,830.

Remaining balance was £5,170.

There being no other items of urgent business, the meeting closed at 12.43pm.