Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Dawood was elected as Chair for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Dr Chowdhury.

The first main item on theagenda 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 may have in the business on the agenda and/or declare if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them. No such declarations were made.

The minutes of the previous Spinney Hills Community Meeting, held on 28 June, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the Spinney Hills Community Meeting, held on 28 June 2010, were agreed as a correct record.

Members asked that Andy Thomas report back to the next meeting on the request for increased parking enforcement patrols on roads surrounding Gwendolen Road.

Representatives from Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Constabulary will be present to talk about ways of reducing anti-social behaviour.  

Fatema Burani, Antisocial Behaviour Investigator, explained the work the Leicester Antisocial Behaviour Unit was doing to tackle the issue. This included dealing with complaints of antisocial behaviour, intervention, use of legal powers and sanctions and working with housing officers and police. She urged people not to suffer in silence and to report problems. She drew residents’ attention to a leaflet that explained the service and how to contact them.

Officers from the Drug and Alcohol Action Team will be present to discuss drug prevention measures. 

Sergeant Chauhan gave an update on drug issues in the ward. He reported that there had been a drop in drug usage on the St Peter’s Estate and a particular problem in Clipstone House had been dealt with. Issues of drug dealing on Hydra Walk had been addressed, but the problem had moved elsewhere, which was being dealt with.

He reported that some offenders previously convicted for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs were soon to be released from prison, and police and partner agencies would work closely to help them to avoid reoffending.

The meeting discussed problems on the ball court on Melbourne Street and Sergeant Chauhan stated that this was being looked into, along with another site. Councillor Dawood asked that he be kept informed of updates.

Sergeant Shane O’Neill reported that overall crime had halved since last year and thanked Councillors, the Housing Office and residents for their work.

Officers from the City Council will be present to provide an update on Highways and Transportation Issues in Spinney Hills.

Councillor Dawood noted that residents’ individual issues had been dealt with privately by Andy Thomas outside the meeting.

A resident reported that he had been given several parking tickets when parking near his home. He felt that he was not causing an obstruction and had no other option. He asked that Councillors look into the issue. Councillor Aqbany stated that double yellow lines restrictions had to be enforced as they were there for safety reasons. There were issues on both sides of the argument, as roads also had to be kept clear. He felt that there was an additional problem of people parking on the estate and walking to town to work and this was a common problem across the city.

An issue previously raised at a meeting regarding parking problems in the vicinity of the hospital was to be considered at a meeting on 3 November for Gewndolen Road residents.

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, Members Support Officer, will give an update on the latest position with the Community Meeting budget.

The following applications for grants have been submitted for consideration:

Application 1          

Applicant:       Highfields Area Forum (HAF)

Amount:          £2,666

Proposal:       Highfields Area Plan

Summary:       With the support of SRB 2 funding, HAF commissioned Waverley Consultants to prepare an Area Plan and this was completed in early 2004. Unfortunately, this coincided with the severe reductions to Leicester City Council funded services in this area and it was decided to shelve the Plan’s launch. 

Six years later and in the absence of any substantial updated information about the area, HAF have prioritised the updating of the 2004 Area Plan. This will involve employing a consultant over a 6 month period to:

1. Review the 2004 Plan

2. Update the information with current information

3. Arrange a series of meetings with major service providers to identify and assess their responses to the Plan

4. Produce a draft Plan for consultation with HAF members

5. Convene a day conference to discuss the Plan with key stakeholders, including local residents, agencies and businesses

6. Prepare a report, identifying priority actions and time scales for implementation

7. Circulate 200 reports to all local agencies and the relevant service providers and other key stakeholders. 

Application 2

Applicant:       Kim Gordon

Amount:          £440

Proposal:       Leicester Inter-Faith Gardening Work Project

Summary:       Each year volunteers undertake practical gardening tasks in thegrounds of different places of worship inLeicester.  The project enables faith communities to work together. 

Application 3

Applicant:       DANSOM

Amount:          £2,700

Proposal:       Youth and Adult basketball

Summary:       We want to run this Project for Basketball group including young people over 16 and adults up to 60 years and most of them are over 50. They will train once a week together in Highfields Centre for two hrs.. This project is partly for community cohesion so the adults and the young people can create good relation to each other and the adults are always there for the young people when they need help and advice. This project plays big role in health improvement and integration of the young and the adults.

The participants come from deprived areas of Spinney Hill Ward. Most of the adults are job seekers or income support.  Most of the youths’ parents are income support.

We will spend most of the money for the rent of the premises and small amount for equipment.

The above-mentioned group will benefit from this project and they will benefit as soon as the project starts and as long as it is going. We will inform you the progress of the project twice; at the mid-term evaluation and the final evaluation.

Application 4

Applicant:       Essensual Rejuvenation Dance and Fitness (ER Dance)

Amount:          £1,843

Proposal:       Community Pod Village  ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

Steve Letten, Member Support Officer, reported on budget applications that had been received. Applicants who were in attendance were invited to explain their bids and applications were discussed as follows:

Application 1

Highfields Area Forum – Highfields Area Plan - £2,666

Priya Thamotheram stated that it would be a relaunch of the updated Area Plan, as a previous version in 2003 had been abandoned due to severe cuts to services in the area.

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported for the full amount of £2,666 and it be noted that although this is in excess of the preferred general bid amount of £1,500, it would have strategic benefit for the whole area.

Application 2

Leicester Inter-faith Gardening Work Project – Kim Gordon - £440

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be rejected.

Application 3

DANSOM – Youth and adult basketball - £2,700

Mr Abda stated that the project aimed to bring together young and older people once a week in the Highfields Centre. The funding would cover one year’s running costs. Staff had been trained and people in the Spinney Hills Ward would be the beneficiaries.

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported to the sum of £1,500 on the expectation that every attempt be made to open the project up to the broad community.

Application 4

Essensual Rejuvenation Dance and Fitness – Community Pod Village - £1,843

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be rejected.

Application 5

Muslim Burial Council

It was reported that this application sought to expand an educational and awareness programme and would cover Coleman, Stoneygate and Spinney Hills wards initially, but would eventually be rolled out across the city. A multi-faith guide would be produced explaining how to access service wide provision.

RESOLVED:

That the application be supported to the sum of £657, which is a one-third share of the application.

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Team Leader, explained the new campaign that was being run in conjunction with Keep Britain Tidy and all Leicestershire Councils to raise awareness that dog waste could be put in any bin if bagged. The campaign centred around “Stinkabell the dog poo fairy” and wardens and parks officers would be taking details of anyone seen disposing of waste correctly for a chance to enter a prize draw or issuing fixed penalty notices to those who did not.

Barbara also reported on the campaign to get bins taken in and not left on streets. Following extensive work, only five fixed penalty notices had to be issued, out of an initial 2,025 bins left out. Wardens would monitor to ensure the problem did not come back. For those who were not physically able to bring their bins in there was an assisted bin service.

Yagnesh Antunes, Spinney Hills City Warden reported that there were to be clean up days on Spinney Hill Park and the play area on Stoughton Street South, where local groups and volunteers would be able to help out. Work would also be done to educate people about the risk of rodents from leaving food out.

ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE PROTEST 9 OCTOBER

The meeting discussed in detail issues regarding the proposed demonstrations by the English Defence League (EDL) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) to be held on 9 October in the city. It was noted that the Home Secretary had granted a ban on all marches for the Friday to Sunday, but there were no powers to stop peaceful static protest.

Councillor Dawood stated that the protests were not welcome in Leicester, but there was a duty to uphold democratic process. He stated that, upon receipt of a letter from the police, Cabinet had agreed to ask the Home Secretary for a ban.

Chief Inspector Richard Keenan and Sergeant Steve O’Neill reported on the work that the police had been doing and the plans in place. He stated that work on forming an opinion on the march could not take place until the formal letter had been received from EDL. All available evidence had been weighed up in deciding to recommend a ban, as this was not taken lightly. Much consultation of residents and stakeholders had taken place. Lessons had been learned from other areas where such protests had been held and a full policing plan had been established. This included bringing in support from other police authorities. They would manage the event itself, ensure protesters were escorted to the site without marching, provide cover for vulnerable locations and protect residents. Local police would be clearly visible in communities on the day. He stated that it was likely that the protesters would not stay any longer than for the duration of the protest. Detailed liaison had taken place with communities, religious buildings, businesses and schools. Extensive work had been done to try to discourage young people from getting involved such as additional activities. All protesters would be dealt with fairly but firmly if there were problems. External officers had been briefed on the way Leicestershire police expected things to be done.

Adrian Russell, Director of Environmental Services, assured residents that the council was working closely with the police and shared concerns about the impact. Significant work had been done on issues other than just the demonstrations such as practicalities, bus routes and offering advice and support. An element of disruption, however, could not be avoided. People were being discouraged from counter-protest on the day and instead asked to support two events on Friday and Sunday which had been organised in conjunction with Hope Not Hate.

A representative from the Federation of Muslim Organisations started that they recommended that people should stay away from the demonstrations, including those from other authorities who had offered support. They asked for media balance in reporting the day and stated that mosques would be kept open, in particular so young people could attend. He stated that a joint press release with representatives of the Sikh Community had been published to state that the Sikh community were not in support of the EDL protest.

Concern was raised that Humberstone Gate East  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The meeting closed at 8.16pm.