Agenda and minutes

Councillor Westley was elected as Chair for the meeting.

He welcomed all present to the meeting, thanking them for their continued support, and explained that an important focus for the Council would be community working.  Consequently, the Ward Councillors would be working hard to get resources for the residents of Beaumont Leys during this time of financial constraint.

Councillors were asked to declare any interest they had in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

No such interests were declared.

The minutes of the Beaumont Leys Community Meeting held on 2 March 2011 were approved as a correct record.

Sergeant Rich Jackson gave an update on policing issues, highlighting the following points:-

·           The Police used Problem Solving Profiles to address issues in neighbourhoods.  One of those being used in Beaumont Leys was to address anti-social behaviour.  Since the last Community Meeting a lot of work had been done on this, in conjunction with other agencies, which had led to a reduction in the number of reports of anti-social behaviour being made over the last few months;

·           Resources had been diverted to address criminal damage being done at English Martyrs Catholic School and Gorse Hill City Farm;

·           On 1 June 2011 a Police satellite office had opened at Glenfield Hospital.  Work done there included searching for patients that went missing, vehicle crime, or dealing with reports of stolen bicycles.  The office had been very successful to date.  PC Martin Birch was based there, with two Police Community Support Officers; and

·           A recurring problem at this time of year was the misuse of minimoto motorcycles.  These could be difficult to pursue, so police on bikes used a head video camera to record evidence.  This could then be replayed in slow time to help identify offenders.

PC Martin Birch advised the meeting that a “core” crime was defined as one that had a high level of impact on, and importance for, the victim.  In the last 90 days, the number of these had reduced quite significantly.  This was part of a reduction of approximately 12% in these crimes across the county.

He then advised that:-

·           Crimes committed in Beaumont Leys in the Ward during the last three months included 15 burglaries, 4 robberies and 25 thefts from motor vehicles;

·           Burglaries were a particular problem at this time of year, as people left windows open.  Night patrols often left cards at properties doing this, reminding people how easy it was to get in through a window;

·           The number of crimes specific to the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre during the last three months included 74 cases of shoplifting, the theft of 20 pedal cycles and 52 assaults.  Many of these were “non-core” crimes;

·           The Beaumont Leys area had high levels of domestic violence, with 120 incidents being reported in the previous 90 days.  It was not known if this was due to a high number of offences being committed, or good reporting and/or recording of the incidents; and

·           34 vulnerable people had been recorded by the Police in the last 90 days as needing extra care and support.

PC Birch encouraged anyone who was a victim of domestic violence, or knew someone who was, to contact the Police.  Officers from Kirton Lodge hostel endorsed this and explained that the hostel also could provide support and help, including directing people to other agencies. 

The Chair advised that the City Council had set up a working party, chaired by Councillor Meghani, to look in to domestic violence.  An update on this work could be made at the next meeting.

The following points were made in discussion:-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Will Hough introduced himself to the meeting, explaining that he was a Children’s Council mentor, helping young people aged 7 – 13 deliver projects.  He explained that:-

·           The Wot Box held a laptop computer and equipment such as video cameras, which was used to help young people become reporters;

·           The Leicester Wave newspaper helped train young people using the Wot Box, encouraging the young people to write for Leicester Wave, as well as other magazines;

·           Possible links with the One Neighbourhood magazine were being investigated for the future;

·           The project had been based in the library, but was not well attended, so had moved to the Barleycroft Healthy Living and Youth Centre.  Sessions also would be held at the Home Farm Neighbourhood Centre, Babington Community College and Beaumont Leys Youth Club on every fourth Sunday on a rota basis; and

·           Some promotional work for this project was planned.

The meeting congratulated all concerned on this project and suggested that young reporters also could attend events held at Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre.

Jerry Connolly, Members Services Officer, advised the meeting that:-

·           Details of activities and events being provided over the summer through Sure Start had been included in the most recent edition of the One Neighbourhood magazine;

·           Over the weekend of 23/24 July, taster sessions for various sports would be available City-wide as part of the countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games.  Wheelchair basketball would be available at Beaumont Leys Leisure Centre on 23 July from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm and badminton would be available there on the evening of 24 July; and

·           An A – Z of activities on offer had been tabled at the meeting.

The meeting also was reminded that free swimming would be available during the summer holidays to young people aged 16 and under.

As no-one was able to be present for this item, it was not considered.

Jerry Connolly, (Members Support Officer), advised that £15,000 was available in the Ward Community Fund for 2011/12.  He explained that, when applications were received at Community Meetings, the views of those present were taken in to account by the Ward members, who then made a recommendation on whether the application should be approved, (either as submitted or in part).  After the meeting, all recommendations were passed to the relevant Assistant City Mayor for formal approval.

The Ward Members reminded the meeting that, when considering applications for funding, they considered whether the priorities identified in the Beaumont Leys Ward Action Plan were addressed.  The main priority in the current Plan was to engage young people, but others included improving health outcomes for people in the City and helping those living in poverty.  In addition, all applications were looked at in terms of how they related to the Ward’s boundaries.

In response to questions, it was suggested that a profile of the Ward could be made available.

The following applications for grants were then considered.

Application 1 –   Leicester City Ladies / Leicester City Colts Football Club

An application had been received for £1,250 to provide more coaches and training equipment, through which to extend ladies’ football to more young people.  An application for this amount also had been made to Abbey Community Meeting, which had been supported in full.

Representatives from the Club were present at the meeting and explained that it also was hoped to improve standards of coaching for women going in to refereeing.  These were the only programmes of this nature in the City.

RECOMMENDED:

that a grant of £1,250 be approved to Leicester City Ladies / Leicester City Colts Football Club for the provision of ladies football coaching and training equipment.

Application 2 –   Cornerstone PCC (Church of England) with Churches Together in North West Leicester

An application had been received for £500 to hold a community picnic in the grounds of Alderman Richard Hallam School.  The meeting noted that Fosse Community Meeting had approved a grant of £500 towards this picnic and Abbey Community Meeting had approved a grant of £250.

A representative of the applicants was present at the meeting and explained that the last few picnics had failed to attract young people.  It therefore was hoped that this could be reversed by having suitable attractions.  A giant Wii had been booked and it was hoped that funding could be approved by this meeting that would enable laser clay shooting to be booked.  Other groups and agencies also would be approached for support for this event.

RECOMMENDED:

that a grant of £250 be approved to Cornerstone PCC (Church of England) with Churches Together in North West Leicester towards the cost of holding a community picnic in the grounds of Alderman Richard Hallam School, Avebury Avenue.

Application 3 – Soft Touch Arts

An application had been received for £830 for the design and painting of a mural in the Home Farm / Strasbourg Drive underpass by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

An additional item has been added to the agenda, as follows:-

CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN COUNCIL HOUSING

An officer will be at the meeting to discuss the programme of works proposed under the Capital Receipts Initiative

a)     One Neighbourhood Magazine

It was noted that, due to the Council elections in May, there had been a gap in the production of the One Neighbourhood magazine.  Production and distribution arrangements also had been reviewed and the new arrangements appeared to be working well.

b)    Recycling

In reply to a question, Barbara Whitcombe, City Wardens Team Manager, advised that Tesco was changing its recycling sites, so that people could receive one “green” Tesco Club Card point for every two cans taken to one of these sites.

The Chair also advised that changes to the City Council’s recycling scheme were planned.  Orange bags would be distributed to every household in place of the current system and more items would be recycled than at present.  Leaflets would be circulated explaining what could be included in the bags.  All dry recycling materials could be put in to the same bag and green bins would still be used for compostable materials.  A report could be made to a future meeting on the new system.

c)    Capital Investment in Council Housing

John Thomson, Area Manager for Beaumont Leys, attended the meeting to talk about the proposed Capital Investment in Council Housing for 2011/12.  He made the following points:-

·           Approximately £900,000 was available across the City for capital expenditure on the Council’s housing stock.  £141,000 of this was allocated to the Abbey and Beaumont Leys Wards and was likely to be divided equally between them;

·           Information on projects under consideration for the Beaumont Leys Ward was tabled at the meeting and is attached at the end of these minute for information.  It was noted that the projects were not in presented in priority order;

·           Problems were being experienced by residents at the Blue Gates properties, with non-residents who used the site as a short cut looking in the windows and leaving rubbish.  The proposed fencing would restrict people walking through to using a limited path area;

·           It was proposed that the wooden slats above the windows of properties in Butterwick Drive should be removed, as they were unsightly and hard to maintain.  They would be replaced with UPVC;

·           The proposed works to Oronsay Road would block access, as requested by local people and the Ward Councillors.  The route that would be used after this was not much longer than the current route;

·           The work proposed in Lomond Crescent was to an area adjacent to a bus stop.  The land there was lower than the rest of the street, so became swampy when wet.  Using tarmac on the area therefore would create a better hard standing for those using the bus stop and help stop mud sliding in to neighbouring gardens.

As there was insufficient funding to do all of these projects, it was suggested that the first three projects should be given the highest priority.  The meeting agreed with this and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 8.33 pm.