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.

Councillor Malik, elected as Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

It was noted that the meeting would be structured in a two part format.

Part one would be;

·         The formal process of the meeting which included presentations from the Police, Prevent Team representative, feedback from the Ward Councillors and an update on the Ward Community Budget.

Part two would be;

·         An opportunity for residents to directly address service representatives / departments at their advice tables with queries, issues and concerns.

·         The services available at this meeting included Leicestershire Police, Prevent (Home Office Terrorism Strategy) and Ward Community Engagement Officers (WCEO). The WCEO’s would have information on the ward budget and would be taking actions/ information on behalf of the City Warden.

·         The action log of matters discussed in part two would be collected at the end of the meeting by the WCEO to action and follow up.

Actions from part two of the meeting are attached at the end of this action log.

There were no declarations of interest.

Apologies were received from Darren Evans – City Warden.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 16 March 2016 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record. Any update on actions taken since the last meeting will be reported at the meeting.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 16 March 2016 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record and the following was highlighted:

·         Item 16 Traffic & Highways update – the WCEO would continue to look into the residents’ concerns.

·         Item 18 City Warden/ Community Safety – the alleyway gate between 29-31 Kings Newton Street still required netting. The WCEO would also follow this up.

The Spinney Hills Ward Councillors will provide an update on the issues they have been dealing with in the Spinney Hills Ward.

Councillor Dr Chowdhury:

·         Bradbourne Road residents requested it to be a one way road. A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) consultation was currently taking place.

·         Residents were informed about the impact of the cuts that Leicester City Council (LCC) was facing.

Councillor Malik:

·         Surgeries were held weekly and information could be found on the LCC website and in several community centres in the ward. Councillors could also be contacted at the following local ward community organisations; Councillor Malik - Pakistani Youth & Community Association (PYCA) and Councillor Dr Chowdhury - Bangladeshi Youth & Cultural Shomiti.

·         Some constituent’s concerns being dealt with were; housing, school issues and a few young cyclists on footpaths causing accidents to elderly persons.

·         Twycross Street was reported as being infested with vermin. The issue had been raised with the relevant officers and residents had received a letter.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Spinney Hills Ward.

In part two of the meeting, actions from residents would be collated by the WCEO on behalf of the City Warden.

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on Police issues in the Spinney Hills Ward.

The new Spinney Hills Sergeant, Adrian Webb gave an update on issues the Police had been dealing with in the ward.

·         It was noted that crime investigations were now carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

·         Police managed/ resolved issues through ‘Sentinels’ whereby the Police and partners could jointly share and manage cases in relation to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) or regular reported incidents.

·         Several break-in’s to religious establishments which targeted charity boxes had been reported in the past seven days. There had been none reported in the past three days as the Police currently had an operation in place.

·         A spike in thefts of catalytic converters was noted. A Police operation was in place to attempt to resolve these issues.

·         Several roads including Vulcan Road, Maynard Road, Kent Street and more were noted as ASB hot points in the ward. A problem solving plan called operation nighthawk had been implemented whereby Police patrolled the hot spots in the ward.

(This item was in addition to the published agenda and agreed by the Chair prior to the start of the meeting).

William Baldet - Prevent Co-ordinator based at St Philips Centre, Evington Road gave a presentation about ‘Prevent’.

·         It was noted that Prevent aimed to empower local communities with the support and knowledge required to develop resilience against extremism and to have the strength to challenge all forms of extremism if it did arise.

·         Prevent worked in partnership with agencies and groups to collectively address the problem and prevent people being exploited.

·         Any ideas and thoughts were welcomed from residents.

·         It was requested that parents be watchful of children’s activity online and their internet interactions.

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

An update on the Ward Community Budget will be provided at the meeting.

Angela Martin, Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) gave an update on the Ward Community Budget.

·         It was noted that there were currently 8 applications to be considered, however, no grant decisions had been made. A discussion took place regarding the criteria for an applicant to be considered for funding.

·         It was noted that applicants who were awarded funding must provide written feedback or attend a meeting to give verbal feedback.

·         The next application submission deadlines were noted as: 30th September 2016 and 31st January 2017.

Councillor Malik explained the process for the 2^nd half of the meeting. Attendees would have the opportunity to speak directly with Officers present to discuss issues, concerns and queries.

The Chair declared part one of the meeting closed at 6.53pm.