Agenda and minutes

Cllr Byrne was elected as Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.   

The minutes of the previous Abbey Community Meeting, held on 4 October 2011, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 October 2011 were agreed as a correct record.

Mat Jesson from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue will be in attendance to present an overview of his work with the Princes’ Trust and will provide guidance on how local young people can become involved with the trust.

Charlotte Varnham from Leicestershire Fire and rescue was in attendance to present an overview of their work with the Princes’ Trust and provided guidance on how local people could become involved with the trust. 

Charlotte conducted a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation which gave detail of the Princes’ Trust 12-week Team Programme and the accreditation awarded to those who completed the course.

Charlotte explained that those who were primarily targeted for team programme work included the unemployed, offenders or ex-offenders, those in or leaving care and educational under-achievers.  Referrals were made via a number of channels such as the JobCentre, Glen Parva Young Offenders institution, Connexions and through Social Workers.  The teams often undertook projects that provided immediate benefits to local communities and neighbourhoods and it was acknowledged that several of these had recently taken place within the Abbey ward.  In particular, the work undertaken at the care home on Halifax Drive received praise from residents. 

It was pointed out that the Princes Trust had its own delivery partner in each county, and in Leicestershire, the programme was delivered by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue, who received funding to do so from Central Government. 

In response to a question, it was confirmed that direct referrals could be made by the Police.  Charlotte agreed to provide information which showed a correlation between an increase in uptake of the Princes’ Trust programme and a decline in youth offending.

Officers from Regeneration, Transport and Highways, Leicester City Council will be present to discuss transportation issues in Abbey, looking particularly at issues around poor road surfaces and to discuss the possibility of installing bus boxes where required. 

Bona Matturi, Regeneration, Transport and Highways, was in attendance to discuss highways and transport related matters within Abbey ward. 

Bona explained that he worked within the Council division which managed the implementation plan that carried out accident reduction schemes to improve the general health and safety of Leicester’s roads.  He stated that there was a lengthy list of such projects, but in light of the current shortage of resource, only a proportion of these were currently scheduled to be completed. 

Bona informed those present that a programme of road resurfacing took place within the ward that covered roads including Parker Drive, Mortimer Way and Halifax Drive. 

In terms of installing bus boxes at bus stops, Bona stated that these were fairly cheap to provide but as they were 25 metres in length, they were often rejected by public consultation. 

A resident spoke of problems with the structure of the highway on Kinley Road, and was of the view that it posed danger to those who accessed it.  It was further felt that a road crossing was required at the top of Marwood Road and that without one, crossing the road was dangerous due to speeding vehicles, particularly for children who accessed two local schools.

In light of these and further matters raised, it was agreed that highways officers, Housing officers Ward Councillors and interested residents would conduct a site visit of key locations, and that a report of the visit would be brought back to the next Community Meeting. 

RESOLVED:

                        That a site visit of locations relating to key highways matters be undertaken in early 2012 by local Councillors, Highways Officers, Housing Officers and interested members of the public.

Christopher Kilby from Sports Services will be present to provide a brief overview of football facility developments at St Margaret’s Pastures.

Christopher Kilby from Sports Services was in attendance to provide a brief overview of football facility developments at St Margaret’s Pastures. 

Chris explained sum of £400,000 was received to develop the facility at St Margaret’s Pastures, and that there were now four top of the range pitches located at the site.  It was further stated that two new changing rooms had been constructed, and that the bar facility had been refurbished. 

It was stated that the cost of hiring a football pitch was £30 per hour, and that this was significantly cheaper than local private competitors.  It was made clear that the prices were lower for junior hire. 

In response to a suggestion, it was agreed that an article which publicised the refurbished football facilities at St Margaret’s Pastures would be published in a forthcoming edition of the One Neighbourhood magazine.. 

It was acknowledged that there had been cases of theft from vehicles within the vicinity of the car park at St Margaret’s Pastures.  Chris confirmed that a risk assessment process had been initiated with a view to installing CCTV on site.

RESOLVED:

That an article which publicised the refurbished football facilities at St Margaret’s Pastures be published in a forthcoming edition of the One Neighbourhood magazine. 

Norman Rochester, Community Partner for Abbey, will provide an overview of his recent work.

Norman Rochester, Community Partner, provided an overview of his recent work.

Norman explained that he had sought comments on ward priorities from residents by posting comment sheets through letterboxes, but to date, the response rate was relatively poor. 

He explained that several residents had informed him that they were pleased with the extent of recent work undertaken within the ward, particularly to blocks of Council flats.  Norman thanked the Area Housing Manager for facilitating these improvements. 

John Thomson, District Housing Manager for Beaumont Leys and Mowmacre will be in attendance to provide an update and respond to housing related queries within the Abbey Ward. 

John Thomson, District Housing Manager for Beaumont Leys and Mowmacre was be in attendance to provide an update and respond to housing related queries within the Abbey Ward. 

In relation to the deteriorated garage on Rainsford Crescent, John confirmed that a visit had been made to the site in question and it had been concluded that there was not a health and safety risk at the property in question.

John confirmed that the CCTV on Kinley Road was to be installed.  It was stated that only three residents were opposed to this proposal.

The meeting was informed that a tenant if Kinley Road who had caused a number of problems had recently been evicted, following extensive work undertaken by the City Council, LASBU and the Police. 

It was reported that a number properties in the Ward had recently had new windows fitted to replace those which were in particularly poor condition.  In response to a question, John confirmed that the average time for fitting a new window to a property was two weeks. 

Sergeant Michelle Zakoscielny and PC Warren Heath will be in attendance to provide an overview of current policing priorities in the Abbey Ward.

Sergeant Michelle Zakoscielny and PC Warren Heath were in attendance to provide an overview of current policing priorities in the Abbey Ward.

Michelle paid thanks to John Thompson and officers at Mowmacre Housing Office for their work in evicting the troublesome tenant on Kinley Road. 

Michelle also explained that the city wide crime reduction target of 5% had been eclipsed and that there had been a reduction of 22%.   The only crime which had experienced an increase related to theft.  It was further stated that an individual had recently been arrested after admitting 35 burglaries.

Michelle stated that the current policing priority was to curtail incidents of anti-social behaviour at Bewcastle Grove.

Michelle also urged residents to report instances of crime and anti-social behaviour to the police.

An update on the work of the City Wardens in Abbey will be provided.

Jessica Rayns, City Warden, provided an update on the work of the City Wardens in Abbey.  Jess explained that following a number of illegal vehicle sales on Abbey Lane, an offender had been prosecuted.

Jessica confirmed that she covered the Abbey ward on a predominantly reactive basis.  Residents informed Jess that cases of dog fouling had generally increased, and in reply, she explained that wardens had to be deployed to areas of high demand, but urged residents to report such cases to the City Wardens team.  It was further stated that a fine of £500 had been recently imposed open one particular offender.

If anyone is interested in attending meetings of the Forum for Older People, they will be very welcome.

Members of the Forum are aged 50+, or are from organisations representing older people. 

Meetings take place at the Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Leicester LE1 9BG and will be held at 2.00 pm on the following dates:-

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Tuesday, 10 April 2012.

If anyone is interested, please pass your details to any Council officer at the meeting and they will be added to the distribution list. (E-mail is the preferred method of contact.)

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer, raised awareness to those present of the Council’s Forum for Older People. 

He explained that the Forum was aimed at those aged 50+, or who were from organisations representing older people. 

It was stated that meetings took place at the Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Leicester LE1 9BG and were scheduled to be held at 2.00 pm on the following dates:-

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Tuesday, 10 April 2012.

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.

The Members Support Officer will present the latest position of the Abbey Ward Budget.

Jerry Connolly, Members Support Officer, explained that there were no new budget applications for consideration. 

The meeting closed at 7:45pm.