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.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were given.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Action Log is attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log of the previous meeting held 9 December 2015  was confirmed as a correct record.

An officer will be present to provide an update on Transforming Neighbourhood Services.

Lee Warner, Senior Project Manager, Neighbourhood Services provided an update on the Transforming Neighbourhood Services (TNS) programme and the north-west area consultation. The TNS programme set out the council’s approach to reduce running costs and prioritise services by re-organising neighbourhood services across the city. A consultation document, which included a form to enable people to submit their views on the proposals, was circulated to all attendees at the meeting.

Attendees were asked to note:

·         Proposals had been developed but no decisions had been made. The consultation had commenced on 1 March 2016 and would continue until 11 April 2016.

·         A consultation event would be held on Tuesday 15 March at 6.30pm at the Beaumont Leys Library. Everyone was encouraged to attend and to tell others about the event.

·         The consultation document was available at all council buildings in the area.

·         Officers were happy to meet with community members if their group might be affected by the proposals.

·         One of the proposals was to make Home Farm Community Centre available to community groups under the community asset transfer policy. As part of this, the council would arrange for an independent group to guide interested parties through the procedure. This would include helping those interested parties to work out their case and to write up their business plan. If no suitable groups were found to take over the building under the community asset transfer policy, the building could be marketed commercially. Councillor Waddington stated that she had asked officers to consider whether the building might be suitable for small business start-ups. 

Members of the community were urged to participate in the consultation and attend the event on 15 March.

There will be a discussion around local GP Surgeries in the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Sara Prema, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group was introduced to the meeting. Sara explained that the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was responsible for purchasing all health care in the city and that they brought services for 369,000 registered patients in Leicester. Attendees were asked to note:

·         It was currently very difficult to recruit doctors into General Practice; this was an issue nationally. Efforts were being made to bridge the shortage by recruiting skilled health professionals such as advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.

·         If people felt they needed to see a doctor urgently, but the issue was not serious enough for the hospital’s emergency department, it might be possible to see a doctor at one of the four hubs around the city. Appointments were made either through the GP practice or NHS Direct. The hubs were located at Westcotes Health Centre, Fosse Road; The Willows, Coleman Road; 612 Saffron Lane and Brandon Street in Belgrave.  There was also a walk in centre at the Merlyn Vaz Health Centre.  An attendee commented that she had attended one of the hubs and had been very pleased with the service provided.

The Chair thanked Sara but commented that the location of the hubs would present difficulties for older or infirm people who had difficulty in travelling.

An update will given on the progress of the Castle Hill Park’s natural playground.

Laura Burt, the Community Engagement Officer read out an update on the Castle Hill Country Park. She explained that officers in Park Services were working with local residents to create the Blue Gates Pocket Park and a natural play area there. Work on the play area would not commence until April / May 2016,  but would be completed and ready for use before the start of the summer holidays.

Officers had been working with local residents and the Friends of Castle Hill Park, and improvements to the pocket park had already been achieved.

An orchard was being created in the Castle Hill Park, where volunteers had been planning trees. Councillors commented that the park would look very good in the summer when the playground was completed.

Attendees were asked to note that there would be plenty of opportunities for community involvement.

Councillors expressed concerns at incidences of fly tipping in the ditch at Castle Hill Park and asked Matthew Davinson, the City Warden if there could be a more proactive approach in tackling this problem.

City Warden to action

An officer from the Leicester City Council’s Housing Service will be present to talk about any housing concerns and work being carried out within the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from Ramila Dhobi, Team Leader, Housing:

·         £64,000 was planned for improvements to Lime Grove Close during the next financial year (2016/17).

·         There were 56 empty properties but the majority of these had been allocated.

·         There had been two evictions.

·         In response to a query relating to a particular property, the meeting was advised that this was owned by Sanctuary Housing. Councillors had met with the housing association regarding various issues with the property and the building had been secured as a short term measure. Councillors wanted to meet with them again in order to find a long term solution.

·         In response to a query relating to The Lees; councillors explained that this was owned by Asra Housing Association. The building was empty and councillors were trying to convince them to re-let to tenants. They would continue to push on this issue.

A Police update with be provided on any issues relating to the Beaumont Leys Ward.

The meeting was asked to note the policing update from Police Constable Jayne Dolby. Pc Dolby reported that every officer in Leicestershire Police now had a ‘body cam’ which was not just a safety tool but also would gather evidence for use in court.

·         In order to combat vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles, Officers had been advising members of the public not to leave engines running and vehicles unattended whilst they were de-icing their vehicles.

·         Progress had been made on Oronsay Road in relation to graffiti on the shop fronts as every shop owner had now agreed to either paint over the graffiti or have it removed.

·         In a bid to improve anti-social behaviour, a clean-up had been carried out earlier in the day with the City Warden. A skip full of rubbish and bricks had been removed.

·         Within the Beaumont Leys policing team, there was now a police link officer for the deaf community. Pc Craig Smith used sign language and attended sessions once a month with the deaf community at Frog Island.

A City Warden update will be provided on any environmental issues relating to the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Matthew Davinson provided an update on the issues he had been dealing with as City Warden.

An attendee reported a problem with dog fouling around the Heathley Park Road area and the footpath there. It was noted that some of the land was un-adopted which would create problems for the council in accessing and emptying dog bins.  Matthew responded that he would add the issue to his action plan and carry out some information leafletting. He would also raise the issue with Sam Mullet, the new local area manager 

Action: City Warden.

Previous applicants who have received funding through the Community Ward Budget will be present to provide feedback on their projects.

Attendees were asked to note the feedback from previous recipients of ward community meeting funding as follows:

·         Beaumont Lodge Neighbourhood CIC. £500 had been received for a Christmas get together for young people and adults.

·         Christ the King Church. £800 had been received for the lunch club and food bank.

·         Community Advice and Law Service – Advice sessions at Barley Croft Community Centre. £1500 had been received.

·         Barley Croft Youth Centre – Ur Choice Young People’s Project. £500 had been received to host a Christmas event.

All recipients reported on the success of their project and thanked the meeting for the funding received.

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

Information on the Community Ward Budget will be provided.

Laura Burt presented the Beaumont Leys Community Meeting budget. The following applications were presented after which Councillors withdrew from the meeting to consider further before announcing their decision:

Video Relay Access Project – submitted by the Signing Network CIC. £500 requested. 

Councillors stated that funding of £500 had already been agreed through the fast track system. It was noted that the full cost of the project was £17,000 and Councillors asked the Signing Network to come back to them in the new financial year, if further funding was needed.

Setting up Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Beaumont Leys Ward – submitted by Susan Marlow. £500 requested.

Agreed to support the funding bid in full to the value of £500.

For continued development of Girls Football in the local community and to hold a tournament in the summer – submitted by A.F.C. Leicester Girls and Ladies F.C. £1000 requested.

Agreed to support the funding bid to the value of £823, which resulted in the community meeting budget being spent in full.

Community News Letter

Laura explained that they had been working with a marketing officer on a Community News Letter, which would help keep everyone in Beaumont Leys informed of what was happening. Funding for this had already been agreed at the meeting in September 2015.

Councillors stated that the following applications would be deferred to the next financial year as the community meeting budget was fully committed.

African Catholic Chaplaincy Leicestershire (ACCL) Cultural and Educational Trips – submitted by Fr C. Nwalozie (Chaplain to ACCL.  £800 requested.

Running to Win – Forward in Faith Ministry, Cort Crescent Community Centre. £2,000 requested to put towards a mini bus to enable young people from different wards to participate in activities.

Councillors stated that in future meetings, written details of funding applications would be made available to all attendees.

Action: Community Engagement Officer / Democratic Services Officer.

The meeting closed at 8.10 pm.