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 Riyait in the Chair. 

The Chair introduced himself and welcomed all present.  At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Kaur Saini introduced herself.

No interests were declared.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Byrne, who was absent due to her duties as Lord Mayor.

The Action Log of the meeting held on 15 July 2019 is attached and Members will be asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

Received and noted

Abbey Ward Councillors will provide an update on the issues they have been dealing with in the Abbey Ward.

All invited to contact any of the Ward Councillors about issues of concern.  Contact details are available on the Council’s website or from the City Council offices.

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

All to note:

·           Knife crime is a force priority and a national issue;

·           The Police are working with partners to tackle county lines drug distribution, which has relevance to knife crime issues locally;

·           Test purchases of knives have been undertaken, to check that shops are not selling them to underage people.  A long-term strategy is to address the sale of knives on-line;

·           Work to address modern slavery includes visiting sites such as local car washes to make sure that people working there are not being taken advantage of.  It is also checked that “gardeners” at cannabis factories have not been forced to do that work;

·           The number of burglary offences is increasing, with a “hot spot” near Abbey Rise.  This is being highlighted on social media and house-to-house visits are made to properties near to any that are burgled;

·            Leicestershire Police has a new website, through which crime statistics can be viewed and concerns raised.  The Police also can be contacted via their Facebook account or on Twitter (@LPAbbey);

·           The Police and Crime Commissioner (Lord Willy Bach) will be doing a patch walk in the Ward from 11.00 am on 22 November.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Ward.

All to note:

·           The update from the City Warden, attached at the end of this Action Log;

·           Under new legislation, any litter dropped out of a vehicle is the responsibility of the driver of that vehicle, even if it is dropped by a passenger; and

·           In the winter it is not possible to put stencils on the ground to discourage dog fouling, due to the weather.  Putting notices about it on lamp posts (or other similar places) constitutes fly posting.

All encouraged to pass information about incidences of dog fouling or other environmental concerns to the City Warden via the LoveLeicester app or using the contact details on the update attached.

City Warden to liaise with the Community Engagement Officer if funding from the Ward Community Budget could help with specific initiatives in the Ward.

A Highways update will be delivered on highways and transport works taking place in the ward.

All to note:

·           Parking restrictions were introduced on Heacham Drive (near Somerset Avenue) on 26 July;

·           Proposals for parking controls on Exploration Drive and residents’ parkingon the Discovery Road housing development are out to consultation, which ends on 3 December;

·           Civil Enforcement Officers have made 88 visits to Byford Road since 1 June 2019, but have not needed to issue any penalty notices.  13 visits have been made to Egerton Road and 1 penalty notice has been issued.  Civil Enforcement Officers report that there appears to be less of a parking problem since some bollards were put up;

·           Consultation on the installation of double yellow lines at junctions near to Alderman Richard Hallam Primary School is underway as part of the Schools Safety Programme.  The consultation period ends on 2 December;

·           “Pencil” and “child” bollards have been installed at St Peter’s School, Belgrave to highlight the presence of school children to motorists;

·           Bollards have been fitted to prevent parking near to the traffic light crossing on Abbey Lane at Wade Street;

·           Bollards were fitted at Jean Drive / Butcombe Road in October;

·           Railings were fitted at 65-71 Beaumont Leys Lane in October;

·           Red Hill Way has been surfaced dressed;

·           If funding is available, repairs will be carried out to concrete parking bays on Cashmore View, Wheatley Road and Hadrian Road;

·           Following local concerns about speeding vehicles on Heacham Drive, which is in both Abbey and Beaumont Leys Wards, two speed surveys were commissioned in September.  These ran 7 days, 24 hours a day.  One at 34 Heacham Drive showed average speeds of 27.5mph and the other at 97 Heacham Drive showed average speed of 25.7mph.  It is recognised though that a small number of vehicles travel above the 30mph speed limit;

·           The Somerset Avenue Area 20mph scheme with traffic calming is planned for March 2020.  This includes Cheltenham Drive, which connects to Heacham Drive.  Work programmes for this financial year are set, but Heacham Drive could be considered for inclusion in a future programme, alongside other priorities and requests;

·           Speed limit enforcement can only be done by the Police, but the City Council operates the Community Speedwatch programme.  Each scheme within the programme has to be volunteer-led, but the data collected will be passed to, and used by, the Police;

·           Concerns about speed enforcement should be passed to the Police, as it may be possible to have a road designated as a Site of Community Concern and therefore appropriate for Safety Camera Van Enforcement.  These sites are time limited and are in addition to the regular Safety Camera mobile site list;

·           Some small central islands will be placed in Halifax Drive, to reduce vehicle speeds on the downhill section to Beaumont Leys Lane, but this work is not scheduled yet;

·           It is hoped that work can be done to reduce accidents at Redhill Circle, where Loughborough Road merges, but a scheme has not been drawn up yet;

·           The major road scheme in Ravensbridge Drive is almost complete;

·           Work on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

There will be an update on housing matters within the Abbey Ward.

All to note:

·           Across Beaumont Leys and Mowmacre it took an average of 91 days to get a new tenant in to a property.  This included doing any remedial works needed to the property;

·           Anti-social behaviour in Mowmacre remained low.  From April to early November there had been 69 reports of anti-social behaviour.  Most tended to be neighbour disputes, so action only needed to be taken on 27 of the reports;

·           The majority of the 2019/20 environment projects were complete, the replacement of external wooden slats being the only one outstanding;

·           Community Payback workers would be undertaking projects in the Stocking Farm area during December 2019 and January 2020;

·           Proposals for environment projects for 2020/21 were being compiled.  Current ones included external painting at Jersey Road flats and replacing wooden slatted partitions in Marwell Close; and

·           Tenancy Management officers will be moving to the St Mark’s office, but will continue to use Beaumont Leys Library for mobile working.

All invited to submit proposals for environment projects for Council accommodation for 2020/21.

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.

All to note that the following applications have been supported since the last meeting:

·           North West Unity Boxing Club - £1,000 supported towards improving surfacing

·           African Network Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland - £500 supported towards Black History Month October 2019

·           Simply Theatrical - £450 supported towards a summer musical theatre production

·           Highfield Rangers - £460 supported towards a 50 Year Anniversary launch event

·           Abbey Mead Primary Academy - £500 supported towards Abbey Mead Snack Shack

·           Shree Sanatan Mandir & Community Centre - £1,250 supported towards a Holi Bonfire

All to note that applications for grant funding can be made online at www.leicester.gov.uk/communitymeetings .  Advice and/or assistance can be obtained from Ward and Community Engagement Officers, tel: 0116 454 1940.  All applications must be for projects that benefit people from the Ward.

a)     Recycling

Ward and Community Engagement Officer to ask Waste Collection Services officers to be at the next meeting to provide information on:

i)       the pilot scheme for the collection of batteries and small electrical items and whether this will be rolled out across the city; and

ii)      whether there are any plans to provide a food waste collection service and recycling scheme.

b)     Abbey Pumping Station Christmas Steam Day

All invited to attend on Sunday 8 December 2019

c)     Date of Next Meeting 

6.00 pm on Monday 23 March 2020

The meeting closed at 6.42 pm