Minutes

Westcotes Community Meeting - Wednesday, 4 June 2008 7:00 pm

Items
No.	Item
1.	ELECTION OF CHAIR Minutes: Councillor Connelly was elected as Chair of the Community Meeting.
2.	WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Minutes: Councillor Connelly welcomed those present to the first meeting of the Westcotes Community Meeting.
3.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: No apologies were received.
4.	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: Councillors were asked to declare any interests they might have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act applied to them. No declarations were made at this time.
5.	PRESENTATION ON THE NEW COMMUNITY MEETINGS Minutes: Councillor Russell gave a brief presentation on the new Community Meetings: - £10,000 budget to be available in 2008/09, £15,000 in subsequent years To consult on City Council’s Local Environmental Works Budget Community Meeting to meet every 3 months. Consideration will be given to meeting informally in different locations across the area in between the Community Meetings Will be asking public to list 5 local issues of concern that could be solved, to form basis of a Draft Action Plan Next meeting will receive Draft Action Plan that will then be formulated into the agreed Action Plan Third meeting will prioritise items in the agreed Action Plan Councillor Connelly stated that the City Council had agreed to implement a pilot City Wardens scheme with the first Wardens starting in September 2008. The Westcotes Warden would be attending the Community meeting on a regular basis. The duties of Community Wardens would deal with issues such as: - Abandoned Cars Unsightly premises Fly-tipping Stray Dogs Graffiti removal Noise Pollution Rubbish removal Potholes.
6.	WARD PRIORITIES Minutes: At this point of the meeting the public were invited to split into groups to identify ward priorities for inclusion in the Draft Area Plan. The following main issues were highlighted: - Cleaner pavements Litter problems Car Parking Bins on pavements Reduce Graffiti Noise pollution/restriction on bar hours/licences Police patrols/Security/Drug prevention Upkeep of rental properties More CCTV, especially Narborough Road More trees, especially Bede Park More bins/more recycling sites Recycling bins emptied more frequently Anti-social behaviour reduction in Narborough Road area Upkeep of Fame Fashion warehouse Uneven pavements (between Fosse Road and Narborough Road) Health and Safety/hygiene Community/arts/fun events The following issues were also raised: - Traffic flow on Narborough Road Demolish Bowstring Bridge Leadership Greater presence of parking wardens Energy efficiency Extension of road cycing routes Access to a swimming pool Signage, attractive and more positive Speeding Address road safety on Narborough Road/Upperton Road It was stated that the concerns raised would be incorporated into a draft local Action Plan that, it was anticipated, would be sent out for consultation prior to being presented at the next Community Meeting.
7.	ANY OTHER BUSINESS Minutes: There were no items of Any Other Urgent Business.
8.	FUTURE MEETING Minutes: It was reported that the next two meetings of the Community Meeting would be held on Thursday 4^th September and Thursday 11^th December 2008.
9.	CLOSE OF MEETING Minutes: The Chair declared the meeting closed at 9.03 pm.