Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

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

Apologies were received from Martin Buchanan from Cooke E-learning Foundation.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Action Log of the Beaumont Leys community meeting held on 26^th October 2016 is attached and Members will be asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

The action log of the previous meeting held on 26 October 2016 was confirmed as a correct record, there were no matters arising.

To include an update on the current situation relating to the Leys and John Calvert Court.

Councillor Waddington gave feedback in regards to the current situation with the Leys and John Calvert Court. The following was noted:

·         A walk-about had taken place to the Leys and John Calvert Court. Following the visit the two housing associations were contacted, it was reported that;

·         The housing association which owned Leys had sold it on and it was now to become apartments.

·         The housing association which owned John Calvert Court had the intention to demolish the court and build new housing.

·         Councillor Waddington informed attendees that the owners of John Calvert Court would like to attend a future Beaumont Leys Ward meeting; however no further contact had been received from the owners of Leys.

·         It was noted that the patch of grass in between the Leys and John Calvert Court was owned by Leicester City Council.

An update on Transforming Neighbourhood Services will be presented.

Laura Burt - Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) read the Transforming Neighbourhood Services update provided by Lee Warner – Head of Neighbourhood Services. The update is attached at the end of this action log.

A update will be given on the Barleycroft Area and residents will be invited to discuss.

Michael Rose - Senior Economic Regeneration Officer an Abul Tarafder – Team Leader (Bridges) for Planning, Development & Transformation were both present at the meeting and provided an update on the Barleycroft Area.

·         Michael noted that a feasibility study took place at Barley Croft shopping centre and the second phase/ grant scheme would be announced the following day (after the meeting) via media sources in regards to improving the shopping area.

·         Barleycroft was identified as one of the areas for improvement and two visits took place with the City Mayor and Ward Councillors to look at ways the area could be developed.

·         It was planned for an architect to carry out a feasibility study to consider what could be done for the building structure where the shops were located; however this was in private ownership.

·         Plans were in progress for improvements to the Barleycroft outside area including the paving and the walls which were owned by LCC.

·         The area as a whole was being looked at in order to reduce the ASB and improve the conditions for traders.

·         Abul noted that the first phase would be to remove the walls and refurbish/ repair the steps; the second phase would be to improve areas of the wall.

·         Plans to start repairs for the steps were anticipated to take place during the latter part of April/ early May 2017.

Attendees concerns:

·         The Police commented that it may be worth looking into the type of material used for the steps, for instance using an uncomfortable material so that people would not sit on the steps as this was reported to be one of the problems.

·         Councillor Rae Bhatia commented on changes that could be implemented with the large ramp on the left hand side.

·         Abul noted that all the comments would be looked into and could be implemented as long as it was agreed by all necessary parties, however, the steps would definitely remain.

·         A resident noted that part of the ASB issue was that the nearby shops sold cheap alcohol. Councillor Waddington noted that the shops also needed to co-operate with this issue and it was intended that a meeting would be held with the shop owners for a joint interest to improve the area. The Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) in other parts of the City was also mentioned as a possibility which could be looked into for Barleycroft.

·         Councillor Westley would communicate with the Licensing department in regards to the ASB and also advised Police that if the shops were part of the issue Police could object to the renewal of shops alcohol licences.

·         Councillor Westley noted that there were two existing CCTV cameras which required updating, of which was now being looked into.

A housing officer will provide an update on housing works and issues within the ward.

Ramila Dhobi – Neighbourhood Housing Team Leader, gave the following update:

·         It was noted that the housing office had been moved from Home farm to next door to the Beaumont Leys library. The counter service was available Monday to Thursday, 9am-4.30pm and Fridays, 9am-4pm. Repairs and housing benefit was now a telephone service as this was dealt with using different team leaders in the repairs section.

·         It was noted that there were 19 void properties and one eviction since December. ASB cases had currently reduced to 28, mainly being noise, abusive behaviour and neighbour conflicts.

·         Projects in Beaumont Leys included new projects on Kelbrook Close – four blocks of flats being painted as well as some small projects on Scalpay Close, Harris Close and Iona Close.

The City Warden will be present to give an update on any environmental issues in the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Charlotte Williams Glover – City Warden for the Beaumont Leys Ward was present at the meeting and gave an update/ distributed leaflets on the activities and enforcement she had been involved in within the ward. Further information on the City Warden update and contact details can be found attached at the end of this action log.

Residents’ concerns:

·         It was noted that a taxi vehicle on Calver Hey Road regularly cleaned his cab and threw the rubbish on the ground. Charlotte noted this and would keep a look out at the location.

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on local policing matters within the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Sergeant (Sgt) Yakub Ismail was present at the meeting and provided the following update:

It was noted that there were currently two Problem Solving Profile’s (PSP);

1)    Heathley Park which had seen an increase in theft from motor vehicles. The Police were working with the hotel and customers were being reminded not to leave valuables visible etc.

2)    Beaumont Leys had seen an increase in knife crime. The Police had attended local schools to educate young people and had also identified potential suspects. The Community Champions project working with Leicester City Football Club (LCFC) was noted as a good initiative for young people.

·         The Police requested intelligence regarding the ASB issues on Oronsay Road.

·         It was noted that the Crime Police Commissioner and Chief Constable would be holding a meet and greet in Beaumont Leys shopping centre on 22 March, 3-5pm.

Residents’ concerns:

·         Heatherbrook Road – three large white Mercedes vans were regularly parked and causing obstruction on the left hand side of the road. It was reported that two of them had flat tyres. Sgt Ismail would take the residents details and look into this.

·         Lighting on Homefarm Road was noted as an issue as the light was reported to often go off and on, which was especially a concern in the evenings. The WCEO would forward this issue onto the Highways team. The Police would also request a PCSO to be present occasionally when the children exited the kids club in the evenings.

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

An update will be given on the community ward budget.

Previous applicants will be invited to feedback on funding they have received.

At the meeting Laura Burt (WCEO) gave an update on the Ward Community Budget.

·         Following the meeting, the Ward Community Budget sheet was updated to reflect all applications received and considered in the 2016/17 budget. This information is attached at the end of this action log.

·         Councillor Westley encouraged applicants to apply and reminded that the application should reflect the number of people who were being supported in the Ward.

·         Councillor Waddington requested attendees to inform potential organisations and groups who fit the criteria that could benefit from the Ward Community Budget.

·         A resident queried whether Councillors would reconsider an application based on new information which could be provided. It was advised for the resident to contact Laura Burt – WCEO.

·         The Police noted that previous funding had been given to them in support of purchasing safety equipment such as home safety and crime prevention devices, of which items still remained. The Ward Councillors requested that the Police bring the items to be handed out at a future Ward meeting. It was also encouraged for the Police to submit another application to maintain a supply of safety equipment and also to liaise with the NHW group to identify required items.

·         A representative from Heathley Park Residents Association (HPRA) was present at the meeting and gave feedback on the success of the 12^th HPRA annual event. It was noted that the event had 100-150 people in attendance with entertainment, food/ drinks, baked cakes from residents, prizes, games and many more. The event was reported as a positive achievement and Ward Councillors were thanked for the support.

·         Susan Marlow representative from Beaumont Leys Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) attended the meeting and gave an update on progress of the NHW.

·         Councillor Westley thanked the Police for their involvement in the NHW and also requested more residents to be part of it.

·         It was noted that from the next Ward Meeting, a new item would be included on the agenda - ‘question to Councillors’, this item would give residents an opportunity to pose to Councillors in regards to the engagements, activities, meetings they had been involved in.

·         Councillor Rae Bhatia noted that he had received several requests from constituents regarding the lack of high speed broadband in the Ward. A response had now been received from British Telecom (BT) which stated that the whole Ward would have access to fibre optic broadband from between now and July.

·         A community champion for Tesco’s Beaumont Leys was present at the meeting and gave an update. It was noted that there were two new community champions of which they were now welcoming arts & craft ideas. A community champion’s budget which the community could apply for was also available.

·         Councillor Westley requested the community champion to communicate with the kickboxing group at the shopping centre.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 7:26pm.