Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

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

Cllr Bhavsar – Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Apologies – Cllr Byrne.

No Interests were declared.

The Action Log of the previous Abbey Community Meeting, held on 4^th June 2014, is attached and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record. Any update on actions taken since the last meeting will be reported at the meeting.

4^th June 2014 Circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

No matters arising.

The City Warden will give an update on environmental and enforcement activities in the Ward.

Matt Davinson, City Warden gave an update on matters affecting the Abbey ward.

·       Dog Fouling – only 1 complaint received but Danbury Drive area was a problem and it was planned to put up signage. The warden service was still waiting to receive stencils so that the worst areas could be targeted with stencilling.

·       Bins on Streets – Beaumanor Rd had seen good results since the City warden had been putting “stickers” on bins to raise awareness.

·       Fly Tipping – still a big concern in the area and tackled as soon as possible.

·       Kinley Road Flats – the area around the flats continued to be monitored but was cleaner overall.

Residents were encouraged to raise concerns with the Warden Service or their Councillor at the Councillor surgeries held in the ward.

The Police will provide an update on issues in the Abbey Ward.

An update was given on local policing issues and reported crime statistics since the last meeting were noted.

·        There were 19 recorded burglaries, 2 of those were domestic properties. Police had arrested and charged 2 men in connection with some of the burglaries and they were currently on remand.

·       Residents were reminded to ensure vehicles were locked and items of value not left on display.

·       There had a number of drug warrants executed and police investigations were ongoing.

·       There were 26 recorded incidents of anti-social behaviour – all of those were low risk and the majority had been resolved through local resolution initiatives.

·       There had been issues in the Bewcastle Grove area involving racially aggravated damage, 5 people had been apprehended in connection with that and 4 would be dealt with. Police were conducting pro-active patrols in the area and were confident that all those involved in the incidents had been identified and there had been a decrease in the number of people “hanging” around.

·       In relation to robberies there had been a spate of chain snatches in the city and there were at least 2 gangs targeting people for Asian gold jewellery. There had been some arrests and investigations were ongoing.

Residents raised concerns about a “Dial4Booze” leaflet that had been distributed in the area – police would look into that further.

Residents were asked to ensure properties were kept secure and not to leave their valuables on display and to remain vigilant.

An officer from the Highways team will provide an update on matters concerning the Abbey Ward.

Martin Fletcher, Head of Highways gave an update on issues in the area which included points as follows:

·       Over the last 3 years more than £800,000 had been spent on major roads in the area to try and address key issues.

·       Resurfacing and structural repairs at the junction of Beaumont Leys Lane and Holderness Road had recently been completed.

·       Halifax Dr and Hipwell Crescent both had poor carriageways and it was planned to address that.

·       Parker Dr was also in mind for future resolution.

·       Soar Lane towards the City Centre would be tackled soon.

·       Local environmental works were looking to increase layby facilities and get proper parking areas – some areas under consideration were Bewcastle Grove area, Parker Drive, Hadrian Road and Hipwell Crescent.

·       There were plans to make a traffic regulation order to introduce double yellow lines in some areas of the ward too.

·       Requests for pedestrian crossings had been noted and were moving up in priority e.g. Beaumont Leys Lane and Halifax Dr.

·       20 mph zones – to be introduced around St Peters Church School, Somerset Avenue and Avebury Avenue this financial year.

• New LED light upgrades were being installed in the area as part of a 3 year programme across the city.

·       Flood risk management strategy was under consultation which was important for the Abbey ward as major works would be starting at River Soar to improve conveyance of flood water. Residents were asked to express their views on the website.

An officer will give an update on Housing issues in the Abbey ward.

No-one from the Housing team was present at the meeting.

An update on Neighbourhood Housing issues to be provided to the next meeting.

An update on issues relating to the Biffa plant will be provided.

Councillor Riyait informed the meeting that an action plan had been produced with a number of works on which would be monitored closely. The action plan was backed by the Environment Agency who were able to take action if Biffa failed to comply with the plan.

A further public meeting on the issue would be arranged to take place in October or November 2014.

The Community Wellness Team will give information about their work in the Ward.

Milo and Kerry from the NHS Community Wellness team gave a brief outline of the work they were doing in the area. The Cash4Graft initiative which helped new groups with funding and setting up was explained. There were now 19 projects in the area, which included:

·       a community garden,

·       a Youth Forum,

·       a legal graffiti area for young people to express themselves,

·       a week of fundraising activities planned for October,

·       Saturday morning – dancing and football groups.

Residents were invited to become involved in the community garden which needed volunteers and other projects. All residents were welcome to attend or visit the team for support with new ideas at the Healthy Living Centre, Stocking Farm; Mon – Fri 9am to 5pm.

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update will be given on the Ward Community Budget. A summary of grant applications submitted for consideration is attached.

Grants “Fast Tracked” since the last meeting:

·       Alan Brown, Parks Officer (5028 Joint Bid), Abbey Park Trails – Grant of £500

·       Quadrants Residents (1115), Stratford Day Trip – Grant of £500

·       Woodgate Residents Assoc. (5036 Joint Bid), Music Development Programme – Grant of £500

·       Rachel Barford (1334), Little Treasures Play Equipment – Grant of £470

·       John Goddard (0018 Joint Bid), Belgrave Rugby Club – Grant of £500

Applications Consider since the last meeting:

·       Evariste Mabi Tshindio (5027 Joint Bid), Music Project – Application for £1000 – Not Supported.

·       Joe Shrigley (5044 Joint Bid), All Nations Church – Application for £2250 – Not Supported.

Applications Considered at the meeting:

·       Triple Skillz (5033 Joint Bid) – Proposal to deliver coaching sessions in 3 sports: boxing, football and basketball to young people aged 14-19 years old. Application for £830 – Grant of £250 Supported initially and applicant invited to next meeting to give progress update and for further support to be considered.

AOB1 – Community Arena

Kevin Routledge, the Leicester Riders’ Director outlined proposals for a community arena in the city. He explained it was a £4.2 million project to provide a 2,000 seat capacity sports arena on Charter Street. The arena would be home to the Leicester Riders basketball teams (men and women) and the Leicester Cobras wheelchair basketball club who would train and play at the arena. The arena would also provide facilities for multi sports – netball, badminton, handball etc. and a fitness suite, classrooms, bar and café. As a community arena 80% of its time would be available to local city people to use and during term time facilities would be available to Leicester College students. Community use would also be offered to local schools and other groups.

The arena would be part of wider council plans to regenerate the waterside area and the project would include the costs of decontaminating the site which was a former gas works.

AOB2 – Footpath Bewcastle Grove/Belgrave Boulevard

A resident raised concerns about damage caused to a footpath by delivery lorries. Details would be passed to the Highways team.

To note that the next Ward Community meeting will be held on:

Tuesday 25^th November 2014 at 6pm at a venue to be confirmed in due course.

The next Abbey Ward community meeting to take place on: Tuesday 25^th November 2014 at 6pm at a venue to be confirmed in due course.

The meeting closed at 7.35pm.