Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

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.

Councillor Byrne, Chair for the meeting led introductions and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

There were no declaratrons of interest.

Apologies were received from the City Warden.

The Action Log of the meeting held on 20^th March 2017, is attached and Members will be asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

The action log of 20 March 2017 was agreed as an accurate record.

Councillors will provide an update on ward matters.

Councillors reported that:

·       A public meeting would be taking place on 27 July 2017 6pm at the Fosse Neighbourhood Centre; the meeting had been arranged by MP Liz Kendall to discuss the concerns of residents about Cofresh.

·       Patch walks were taking place across the ward:

4/7/17 Patchwalk on Jersey Rd/Garth Avenue and issues picked up reported to relevant services to address

18/7/17 Patchwalk to be conducted around Canonsleigh Walk

The City Warden will provide a report on issues in the Ward.

A written update was provided to the meeting which included:

·       Flytipping around Slater Street had been dealt with

·       Waste dumped on Anstey Lane had been removed by the council and a £250 fine issued

·       Dog fouling was being addressed and yellow stencils sprayed in key areas.

Residents were encouraged to use the Household Waste Recycling Centres at Freemen’s Common and Gypsum Close – further details available from Leicester.gov.uk/recycling or by calling 0116 4546750

It was reported that there were issues with flytipping along Thurcaston Road.

Action: City Warden to investigate and report on progress at next meeting.

Concerns were also raised about the garage area at the back of Burnham Road shops.

Action: City Warden to report on progress with this issue at next meeting.

It was reported that there was an issue with flytipping along the riverside walk from Space Centre to Abbey Park Road.

Action: City Warden to investigate and report on progress at next meeting.

Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on local policing issues in the Ward.

Sgt Matt Blackburn gave a brief update of local policing matters.

It was noted that:

·       Drummond Road PSP had been closed since issues had significantly reduced however police would continue to monitor the area

·       Stocking Farm Community Centre PSP had been targeting issues with Youths and ASB especially affecting the centre on a Thursday evening. Advice warning letters had been issued to all the youths involved and there had been a reduction in incidents over the last 3 weeks.

·       Abbey Meadows area – increase in reports of robbery/chain snatches so everyone reminded this was a vulnerable area however there would be increased foot patrols and CCTV ops to tackle the issue

·       Off road motor bikes – this was an annual issue that tended to increase over the summer months. Work was in progress to tackle the issue and everyone was encouraged to report incidents and specific details of anyone that could be identified riding bikes off road.

·       A children’s fun day was being organised for 16^th August 2017 at the Mowmacre Hill playground.

A local Housing Officer will provide an update on housing issues in the Ward.

Vanshree Raja gave a brief update on housing related matters which included:

·       All housing services for the ward were now established in Beaumont Leys Library and were seeing more customers coming into the library to use services.

·       The Tudor Centre housing officer service had now ceased.

·       There were 17 voids in the ward with a mixture of properties.

·       Housing officers had attended Patchwalks roughly every 6 weeks in conjunction with councillors to identify issues across the ward.

Projects included:

·       improving environmental areas in residential parts,

·       replacing wooden bin doors in communal flats around Belgrave Boulevard, Pytchley Close area

·       internal painting of 14 blocks of flats in the ward – completion by March 2018

·       grounds maintenance in the areas of Modbury Avenue, Belgrave Boulevard and Pytchley Close to tackle overgrown shrubbery

·       tackling overgrown trees around Wembury Gardens and areas with similar issues where trees were blocking light from street lamps.

Residents were encouraged to report any housing related issues to the service.

Tony Kendall on behalf of Abbey Pumping Station invited residents to attend the Abbey Pumping Station, especially during the summer months when there would be a number of activities taking place including children’s activities each Tuesday.

Information leaflets were circulated.

Roger Shelley will present details of the new developments at the Great Central Railway.

Roger Shelley, Head Curator at Great Central Railway addressed the meeting and gave details of the proposed plans to develop a new railway museum and expand the site at Leicester North to create the largest purpose built railway museum in the country.

Pictures of the artist impressions for the development were circulated and people were invited to engage with Great Central Railway to say what they would like to see at the site.

Ticket pricing for the new museum was not yet confirmed but there would be a range of ticket options and it was hoped there would be subsidised tickets for residents of the city.

Great Central Railway was also seeking volunteers to be involved in existing and ongoing projects including research of the Great Central Way’s story.

To provide feedback or find out more contact museum@grailway.co.uk or telephone 01509 633853

An officer from Highways and Traffic will be present to give an update on Highways issues in the ward.

Robert Bateman gave a brief update on Highways issues in the ward:

·       Blackbird Road Playing Fields – planning application has been approved for a development of housing, this would also see a number of changes to the road infrastructure once works began

·       Rolling programme of 20mph zones continued across the city

·       Speed limit review from 40mph to 30mph to be conducted for the stretch of road from Redhill Way to Abbey Road – people invited to let council know their views by contacting highways team

·       Parking issues along Anstey Lane, a ticketing exercise had been conducted. Residents reported this had not been effective and there were still issues.

Action: Highways to reinvestigate situation

·       Thurcaston Road Bridge – a new enforcement camera had been installed, in its first month it had picked up 2023 contraventions; those people received a warning notice. The 2^nd camera reading showed 301 contraventions and those had received notices to pay fixed penalties of £30. This penalty increased the longer it remained outstanding.

Residents reported that Halifax Drive leading down to Beaumont Leys Lane continued to have issues with cars speeding, uneven road surface causing noise and the road surface generally being in poor condition.

Action: Highways to provide an update to next meeting on progress with this issue in particular when/if traffic calming measures would be introduced.

It was reported that the speed detector at the Beaumont Leys Lane end of Parker Drive was not working.

Action: Highways to investigate and repair.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update will be given on the Ward Community Budget.

Recipients of ward funding will be invited to give feedback on their projects.

The Community Engagement Officer informed the meeting that Councillors had considered 9 applications for funding from the community budget since the beginning of the financial year and had supported 7 of those applications as follows:

·       Beaumont Leys Police Team – towards a community and public services day on 8^th August 2017 - £500 supported.

·       Beaumont Leys Muslims – towards a community fun day - £450 supported.

·       Abbey Neighbourhood Watch – to promote neighbourhood watch in the area - £400 supported.

·       Abbey Ward Branch – spring event £500 supported

·       Abbey Ward Branch – children’s event Tudor Centre £500 supported

·       Abbey Ward Branch – joint Christmas Party for older persons and children £1000 supported

·       Friends of Abbey Park – towards renewing sensory garden £64.60 supported.

Potential applicants were reminded that all applications must now be made online and the community engagement officer could be contacted for assistance with completing forms.

The balance for the next cycle of bids was £14585 and the closing date for bids to this round was 30/9/17.

AOB 1

A resident asked whether there was any progress with a roadside collection being arranged for collection of batteries.

Action: Councillor Byrne to liaise with Assistant City Mayor Clarke.

AOB 2

Concerns were raise about the new bus stop flags being of very poor design, in particular that the design had very small white writing on a black background which when the sign became dirty meant the writing was unreadable.

Concerns were also raised that the replacement timetables at bus stops were of exceptionally small print that people could not see.

Action: Councillor Byrne to feedback concerns to Assistant City Mayor Clarke.

To note future meetings will take place on:

Monday 30^th October 2017 at 6pm at St Patricks Church Centre, 100 Beaumont Leys Lane, Leicester.

Monday 5^th February 2017 at 6pm at the Tudor Centre, Bewcastle Grove, Mowmacre Hill, Leicester.

Future meeting dates were noted:

Monday 30^th October 2017 at 6pm at St Patricks Church Hall, Beaumont Leys Lane, Leicester.

Monday 5^th February 2018 at 6pm at the Tudor Centre, Bewcastle Grove, Leicester.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.05pm