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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Beaumont Leys Library, Beaumont Way, Leicester LE4 1DS

Contact: Laura Burt. Ward Community and Engagement Officer. Tel 454 1876.Email  laura.burt@leicester.gov.uk  Anita James. Democratic Services. Tel: 0116 4546358 Email:  anita.james2@leicester.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

13.

INTRODUCTIONS

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.

Minutes:

Councillor Rae Bhatia as Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and led introductions.

14.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Ramila Dhobi, Head of Service, Neighbourhood Housing Team. Bethany Wallace from Cooke-E-Learning who had hoped to be present to deliver an evaluation on the project supported by the Community Meeting Budget, also submitted her apologies.

15.

ACTION LOG OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 2 MB

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

Minutes:

The action log of the previous meeting held 21 June 2017 was agreed as an accurate record.

 

Progress on actions:

 

Attendees were asked to note updates as follows:

 

John Calvert Court

 

A representative from Sanctuary, the Housing Association that owned John Calvert Court, was present and apologised for the problems that had been occurring there.  He explained that the NHS had an interest in the building and Sanctuary could not do anything until the NHS had released their charge on the property.  This had now happened and a contractor should be starting work on 16 October to demolish the building. Sanctuary was writing to local providers to see if they wanted the land.

 

Once the building was demolished, the site would be left clean, tidy and fenced off.  Councillors asked that when the demolition was complete, action would be taken to protect residents in the adjacent Milton House, as people were climbing onto the roof (accessing it from John Calvert Court).  The representative from Sanctuary confirmed that they would do that. Councillors also stressed that there was a desperate need for bungalows and they were aware that some members of the community were concerned that a replacement building might be too tall.

 

Barleycroft Shops

 

·      The council had a fund to help improve run down shopping areas and some of this money was being used for the Barley Croft shopping area. Local shopkeepers were involved in the process and councillors understood that they were being co-operative and were motivated in improving their businesses.

 

·      The Barley Croft shops were next to a primary school, and were attracting drinkers; Councillors commented that this was unacceptable particularly where children were close by. It appeared that there were other licensing issues which had been reported to the Licensing Team.  The Chair commended the Police for their action in tackling issues there and he hoped that all the agencies would work together to improve the area.

 

Council Tax Consultation

 

Attendees heard that the council tax consultation had been abandoned; it had become very clear that raising council tax for low income families would result in more hardship.

16.

INFORMATION FAIR ITEM

Minutes:

With the sanction of the Chair, Muhammed Gaffar, a lawyer from Bond Adam Solicitors, who had been present during the Information Fair, addressed the meeting.

 

Muhammed explained that the solicitors were based near to the Railway Station on London Road and they offered free consultations. Anyone who needed legal advice would be offered a free 30 minute consultation and advice could be given by email if someone could not come into the office. Costs could then be discussed should a matter progress further.

17.

WARD COUNCILLORS FEEDBACK

Councillors will provide feedback on ward related matters.

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note the following feedback from the ward councillors:

 

·      The Beaumont Leys shopping centre management were running a scheme called ‘Bright Lights’, which helped young people find employment.  Councillors appreciated the work they were doing.  Steve Goddard, the shopping centre manager explained that the organisation wanted to help everyone back into work. Steve offered to meet up with another attendee who worked for a training organisation commenting that they shared the same aims.

 

·      Councillors expressed concerns at what was happening with the youth provision at Home Farm and hoped that it could be re-invigorated with the help of Cooke E Learning and De Montfort University. The work of Cooke E Learning was commended.

 

·      Councillor Westley had attended a briefing session on Universal Credit; through this new benefit, claimants would receive one monthly payment from which they would have to pay their own rent.  It was hoped that a presentation on Universal Credit would be given at the next Beaumont Leys Community Meeting on 7 March 2018. Action : Community Engagement Officer.

 

·      Patch walks with officers had taken place around the ward. There was currently a problem with fly-tipping and attendees were encouraged to report fly tipping issues to the city warden.

18.

LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION pdf icon PDF 791 KB

A presentation will be given on the Local Plan in relation to the Beaumont Leys ward.

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to consider and comment on a presentation from Rachael Mkanza, Senior Planner, on the Local Plan consultation.  An officer from the Planning Service was also present to record comments from attendees in order that views expressed would be fed into the consultation. A printed copy of the presentation was circulated at the meeting and is attached to the action log.  Points made included the following:

 

·      The Local Plan was a very important document that set out the council’s policies and allocated sites up to 2031. The plan looked at meeting the needs for homes, jobs, shopping and leisure and people were urged to give their views to feed into the consultation. 

 

·      There was limited open space in Leicester for new housing and employment opportunities.  A list of all potential development sites had been drawn up and views were sought from residents as to what sites should be developed and what should be protected.

 

·      Although all possible sites had been included in the draft plan, this did not mean that all those sites would be developed. It was necessary to include as many sites as possible so the council could demonstrate that there was no piece of possible housing land that they had not considered.

 

·      The plan listed 68 potential development sites in the Beaumont Leys ward.

Concerns were expressed from residents that Gorse Hill Farm Park, amongst other sites were listed as potentials for development. Rachael explained that Abbey Park was also included, but it did not mean that it would be built on. However, it was important that people responded to the consultation and gave their views.

 

·      People were able to respond to the consultation as individuals or as a group (for example the Heathley Park Resident’s Group).

 

·      The next stage would be to formulate a draft local plan after taking into account the comments and views expressed in the consultation.  A Revised Draft Local Plan would then be drawn up; it was expected to be available during the Winter – Spring 2018.

 

·      There would then be a further period of public consultation. The finalised plan would need to be approved by the Planning Inspectorate and by full council before it was adopted. It was anticipated that this would be by the end of 2018.

 

Councillor Waddington commented that through the consultation there was the potential to make the area better with more facilities, but she was concerned that there was not a clear vision. She questioned how they could ensure that land outside the centre was not used for industrial purposes.  Rachael explained that it was important to submit representations, giving views on suggested use for specific pieces of land.  The meeting heard that if a local authority did not have a Local Plan, the Government could grant planning permission if an application went to appeal, so it was very important that people had their say.

 

The Chair thanked the planning officers for their presentation and said that councillors would be happy to help people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

JOHN CALVERT COURT - UPDATE

Minutes:

There was no further discussion on this item, as an update had been given during the consideration of the action log of the previous meeting.

20.

HOUSING UPDATE

A Housing Officer will provide an update on housing related issues within the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note an update from Alison Morrish, Head of Service, Neighbourhood Housing Team, on local housing issues. Points made included the following:

 

·      A lack of parking was a continuing issue; when community money was received, funding would be put towards improving parking.

 

·      There was a rolling project for work to make improvements in bin areas.

 

·      The Probation Team and Leicester to Work were doing some very good work on ground maintenance. Steve Goddard, the Manager of the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre asked Alison to let him know if he could help with the work being undertaken on grounds maintenance.

 

·      The flats on Oronsay Road had been given back to the Leicester City Council Housing Service; they were in a poor state and required a considerable amount of work before they could be occupied.  Steve Goddard made some suggestions for how this work could be carried out and the Chair asked Alison and Steve to meet to discuss this further. Action: Head of Service, Housing to arrange to meet Steve Goddard; Manager of the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre

 

·      There had been a reduction in the number of anti-social behaviour incidents and one eviction had taken place since the previous meeting in June 2017.

21.

CITY WARDEN UPDATE

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

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note an update on local enforcement issues, from Charlotte Glover, the City Warden.  Points made included the following:

 

·      Notices to tidy up gardens had been served on the owners of property on Campion Walk and Milton Crescent.

 

·      Work had been ongoing with ASRA to tidy up areas on Upper Temple Walk.

 

·      The 0116 454 1001 telephone number would no longer be in use; people were asked to report environmental issues via the internet by logging onto ‘My Account’ on the council’s website.  If people had not already registered, they would need to sign up for a new account. The Love Leicester App was currently under review.  Concerns were expressed that this would deter people from reporting problems. Councillors asked for the officer who had made the decision to be invited to the next Beaumont Leys Community Meeting. Action: Community Engagement Officer.

22.

POLICE UPDATE

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in the Beaumont Leys Ward.

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note an update from Police Sergeant Ian Parker. Points made included the following:

 

·      The Police had participated in a number of local fun days and events around the ward.

 

·       An anti- theft number plate prevention event had taken place in July and another Police event was being planned in relation to ongoing issues at Lady Hay Road. 

 

·      The Police were working with De Montfort University as students there were interested in helping the Police.

 

·      Following further terrorist attacks, the Police were working to give reassurance to local Muslims.

 

·      In relation to the problems already mentioned on Oronsay Road, the Police were working with the local shop keepers and the Licensing Team. There was a dedicated team who would be working around that area for about a week.

 

·      There were ongoing issues relating to the use of motorbikes; the Police were dealing with that and working with complainants to collect evidence.

 

·      The Police were working with schools on the ‘Lives not Knives’ campaign.

 

·      There would now be a Police response hub located in Beaumont Leys (rather than Loughborough) and also one in Mansfield House. There would be an investigation unit which would be dedicated to tackling crime in Beaumont Leys.

 

·      PS Parker added at the moment, this was one of the most challenging and busiest times he had experienced during his 27 years in the Police Force.

 

Councillors commented that a lot of complaints were being received relating to motorbikes; views were expressed that the owners of the Speedway had promised to provide opportunities for those motorcyclists but had failed to accommodate them. The meeting heard that there were now new owners who appeared to be helpful and it was hoped that some progress could be made to alleviate the problem. Steve Goddard commented that the new owners were very positive and they were already in talks together.

23.

COMMUNITY WARD BUDGET

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

 

a)     An update will be given on the Ward Community Meeting budget;

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note an update on the Community Meeting budget:

 

The Community Engagement Officer reported that one application had been received from A Piece of Heaven. They had their own gardening group and had requested £500 for an outdoor electrical socket, water buckets and raised beds. The application was supported in full.

 

A balance of £7087.50 remained in the budget.

24.

CLOSE OF MEETING

Minutes:

The meeting closed at 7.50pm.