Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Dempster was elected as Chair for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

The first main item on the agenda is Declarations of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything on the agenda they have a personal interest in. For example if a meeting was due to discuss a budget application put forward by a community group and one of the Councillors was a member of that group, they would not be able to take part in the decision on that budget application.

Councillors are asked to declare any interest they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

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 1972 applied to them.

There were no declarations.

The minutes of the previous Beaumont Leys Community Meeting, held on 3 December, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The meeting was asked if there were any comments or clarifications on the minutes of the previous meeting.

With regard to minute 42, Housing Capital Receipts Initiative, Councillor Westley informed the meeting that a programme of local environmental works had been put in place for Council estates across the city for the financial year 2010/11.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2010 were confirmed as a correct record.

Sergeant Richard Jackson will give details of current local policing priorities and action taken addressing local issues following concerns expressed by local residents. Residents will be invited to give their views.

PC Martin Birch – Ward Officer from Beaumont ward introduced this item.

- There had been a change in ‘beat’ boundaries to merge to become the Beaumont ward police team.

- Officers that previously had responsibility for a ‘beat’, would nominally remain to deal with issues in those areas, but when problems were identified the pool of officers who could now assist was much greater.

- There were currently three problem solving profiles or priority issues. (Detailed more below)

- A new priority setting process was now being gone through, surveys were being undertaken with residents and in the next month, priorities would be reset.

Sgt Rich Jackson outlined a number of actions which had been taken in response to the current priorities. These included:-

Resolving issues with youths congregating on Bishopdale Road / Aysgarth Road, Austwick Close and Reeth Close.

- 2 people had been imprisoned for breaching their Antisocial Behaviour Orders.

- Evictions had taken place and warning letters sent in partnership with the Housing Department.

- Drug warrant on Bishopdale Road had been enacted.

- Acceptable behaviour contracts had been imposed on tenants in Bishopdale Road.

- A tenant on Aysgarth Road had been returned to prison due to a drug related incident.

- There had been recent antisocial behaviour operations on Fridays.

- Surveys of residents had taken place to seek further views on problems.

Tackling Drug Use on Butterwick Drive / Strasbourg Drive

- A recent warrant had meant that amphetamines, cannabis and cash had been recovered, a custodial sentence was expected.

- A drug warrant on Bishopdale, had also been enforced.

- Residents complaints about discarded needles had been dealt with.

Anti Social Behaviour in the Beaumont Lodge area in the Evenings,

- There had been patrols in area.

- A ringleader had been arrested for other matters, as a result of that action, calls to the area had been reduced.

- Acceptable behaviour contracts had been utilised.

Sergeant Jackson undertook to keep residents informed of any further actions which take place and advised that necessary measures would be put into place where difficult problems emerged.

PC Birch also informed the meeting about the Community Work that had been undertaken by the Police. This had included students from the Community College visiting the Police Station and involvement with the Beaumont Leys Flying Club.

PC Birch also informed the meeting about other events and initiatives. There was an event at the Astill Lodge Centre on the Saturday following the meeting were the public could raise any issues of concern. He also talked about the ‘voice connect’ system where emails or text messages could be sent to residents to warn them of any problems. This could tackle issues such as distraction burglaries where people trick their way into houses. PC1576 Wilson was the main contact for this initiative.

A resident raised a query about whether scams, could also be reported on the ‘voice connect’ system? An example was given relating to false parcel deliveries where  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

Officers will provide details of the plans to address the problems around illegal motorcycle use.  Residents will be able to comment on the plans and give details of any concerns they may have.

PC Martin Birch introduced this item. It was anticipated that motorbike problems would become more of an issue over the summer.  He outlined plans to introduce a more effective system for tackling the issue.

- Martin would be the central contact, with all calls about motorbike problems brought to his attention, they would then put out to available officers.

- As a central point, Martin would be able to look at all the areas where problems were occuring.

- Resources could then be deployed in these areas and information circulated amongst officers.

A member of the Beaumont Leys Flying Club, commented that when they were out, they often spotted motorbikes being used illegally, he queried whether there was a direct phone number that could be called to report the problem immediately. Martin acknowledged the deficiencies with calling the ‘7 2s’ Police phone number, but also noted that there wouldn’t be a phone number that could be used where it could be ensured that it would always be answered. He did urge people to phone in with details of problems, so that intelligence could be gathered on the type, colour, location etc to build up a picture of the problems.

Barriers and Prevention

Simon White, from the Council’s Transport Strategy Team outlined plans which had been developed following consultation to introduce some barriers leading onto the Black Pad. Due to the lack of resources, it wasn’t possible to do all that had been requested at the current time. It was planned to install a chicane and horse stile barrier to the rear of 99 Ipswich Close and removable bollards and a stile to the rear of 30/43 Osprey Road.

Some residents expressed concern and frustration that this wasn’t what had been requested as part of the consultation process, and that it wouldn’t stop the ‘rat-running’ problems. Simon explained that further measures could be looked at in the new financial year.

The Chair also commented that she thought that it was agreed to install 3 fixed preventive measures rather than 2. Simon explained that it wasn’t possible to put the third proposed measure in because finances wouldn’t allow this at the current time. He further explained that removable bollards were necessary to allow access for street sweeper vans.

Public Awareness and Raising Issues

Councillor Westley spoke of the wide ranging nature of this problem across the city. He also noted that the best way of tackling it was for the public to provide information on when and where the problem was happening. He felt that there had been successful measures undertaken which had taken a number of motorbikes off the street. He asked that an article be put in the Beaumont Leys Journal to raise public awareness on this matter. Neil Canham from Leicester Anti Social Behaviour Unit agreed with these points and also urged members of the public to report any problems, giving details of time, date, location and if people see motorbikes being stored at properties.

Facilities for Legal Use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

This is an opportunity for a discussion on any upcoming issues and consideration will given to ways of tackling them.

Traveller Encampments

It was noted that Traveller Encampments could be an issue of concern to residents over the forthcoming summer months. Officers were present from the Multi Agency Traveller Unit, based at the County Council to explain the current situation.

- There were rules against moving encampments on without providing them with somewhere to go – currently there were no temporary stopping sites available.

- If Travellers on unauthorised encampments followed a set of rules, they could remain on that site.

- The public were encouraged to report unauthorised encampments to the Multi Agency Unit, they would investigate and see what measures could be taken using a co-ordinated approach involving all relevant services such as, the Police, Social Services, Education etc.

- Officers visited all unauthorised encampments to undertake an assessment, most Travellers welcomed this, and they behaved appropriately. Those who didn’t want to follow the rules didn’t welcome this scrutiny and often moved on of their own accord.

- It was felt that this co-ordinated approach had meant that behaviour was better at encampments and there were fewer negative stories in the press

A resident raised a query about whether travellers could be moved on from land where it wasn’t known who the owner was, such as one particular path in the ward. Officers responded saying that they didn’t need to know who owned the land on which there was an encampment, there were laws which applied no matter where the encampment was.

Another resident enquired about whether it was possible to ensure that Travellers stayed within the law when they were on encampments as there was often problems with rubbish and the use of horses. Officers stated that sites could only be policed in the same way as anyone else would be policed. Measures had been undertaken in the past to seize vehicles and to film activities. There had also however been incidents of residents dumping rubbish onto sites.

Leaflets were available giving details of the services provided by the Multi Agency Unit. The Chair encouraged people to find out about the services available and report problems as and when they arose.

Planning for Items at Future Meetings

The Chair encouraged people to contact the Member Support Officer (Steve Letten 0116 229 8821) or Democratic Support Officer (Matthew Reeves 0116 229 8811) if they had any requests or ideas for matters to be discussed at future meetings.

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.

Steve Letten, Member Support Officer, will give a brief update on the current budget position.

The meeting will consider the following budget application:

B1) Heathley Park Annual Gathering – funding for community social event at a cost of £430.

Steve Letten, Member Support Officer gave a brief introduction, outlining the budget. situation.

At this point, Councillors had a short recess of the meeting to discuss the budget applications as a number had been received

Following the recess the following was agreed.

Heathley Park Annual Gathering – a bid for funding a community social event at a cost of £430.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £430 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

Christ the King Church – a bid for funding a multi cultural musical evening at a cost of £250.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £250 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

Access Path – Astill Lodge – a bid for funding an access path from Stone Close to Astill Lodge Park at a cost of £642.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £642 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Leads for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

Domestic Violence Awareness – a bid for funding to improve awareness of Domestic Violence Services at a cost of £798.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £798 be allocated from the Community Cohesion Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods; and Finance, Community Cohesion and Human Resources and the Leader of the Council.

Beaumont Leys Flying Club – a bid for funding for storage for the planes and for four out of school trips at a cost of £2070.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £2070 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

North West Unity Club – a bid for funding towards room hire for the boxing club at a cost of £2000.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £2000 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

Tuesday Friends Group for the GAP Project – a bid for funding towards a day trip to Drayton Manor Park & Zoo for teenage parents at a cost of £500.

Tuesday Friends Project – a bid for funding towards a day trip to Drayton Manor Park & Zoo for Kirton Lodge residents who are fleeing domestic violence. This would cost £500.

Tuesday Friends Project  - a bid for funding towards a day trip to Skegness for people with disabilities and mental health problems at a cost of £500.

RESOLVED:

that the above 3 applications be approved in principle, but deferred, subject to officers undertaking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Meetings will take place on the following dates:

2 June 2010           – 7pm

1 September 2010 – 7pm

1 December 2010  – 3.30pm

2 March 2011         – 3.30pm                 

All meetings to be held on Wednesdays

The following dates were noted for future meetings. Summer meetings would start at a later time.

2 June 2010 – 7pm

1 September 2010 – 7pm

1 December 2010 – 3.30pm

2 March 2011 – 3.30pm

The meeting closed at 5.35pm.