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 - Chair of the meeting, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dr Chowdhury.

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

Part one would be;

·         The formal process of the meeting based on the published agenda.

Part two would be;

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 22 September 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 22 September 2016 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

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.

All to note during the past 3 months;

·         There had been a trend in burglaries affecting commercial premises which the Police were addressing.

·         A small spike in ‘modus operandi’ (a term often used in police work when discussing crime and addressing the methods employed by the perpetrators) outside of the line of shops on St Peters Road and also Cecil Road and Maynard Road. Four people had since been arrested and charged for these offences.

·         Recent robberies which took place across Victoria Park and Evington Road area resulted in 2 suspects being arrested and charged last week.

The Spinney Hill Primary School head teacher noted concerns that their areas for three to four year olds on the premises had been vandalised. However, although CCTV images were available, when contacting the Police it was reported that they stated that there was not a case if there was no criminal damage. Sergeant Webb requested that if a similar issue occurred they should request to be put in touch with Spinney Hills Police station.

The City Warden will give an update on environment and enforcement activities in the Spinney Hills Ward.

Darren Evans – City Warden, provided an update and distributed leaflets on the activities and enforcements taking place in the Ward. The leaflet is attached at the end of this action log which also displays contact details for the City Warden.

Residents’ concerns:

·         Fly tipping issues – Corner of Gwendolen Road and Dorothy Road. It was requested for the resident to provide the City Warden with contact details for further discussion.

·         The Spinney Hill Primary School head teacher requested information on the images of illegal car sales which were sent to the City Warden and the impact that had been made as a result. Darren noted that this case was being worked on and that he may not have been aware of all the information which had been sent, which he would further look into. The City Warden would talk to the head teacher after the meeting or arrange to set up a meeting to discuss further.

An update will be provided on a number of transport and highways issues in the Ward.

Martin Fletcher – Head of Highways and Mark Govan – Transport Strategy Officer were both present at the meeting.

At the start of the meeting, a number of pupils from Spinney Hill Primary School gave a presentation which highlighted their concerns about road safety surrounding their school. These concerns included; drivers parking and manoeuvring incorrectly, speeding and the dangers faced when crossing the road.

Martin noted the following;

·         Current plans with Councillors and the City Mayor were in place to develop a parking strategy, of which a consultation took place last autumn. It was noted that a lot of the parking strategy agenda was concerned with school run parking.

·         There were 117 schools within Leicester City and the Highways/ Transport team would be visiting every school and working with teachers, parents, stakeholders, road safety and other partner agencies to address the issue.

·         When visited, the schools and their surroundings would be analysed to see what physical measures could be put in place.

·         Leicester and Leicestershire had recently secured £3m from the government to encourage walking and cycling to school.

·         The Council were considering stronger enforcement including camera enforcement penalty notices and the recruitment of more civil enforcement officers.

·         Martin emphasized the fact that the school run parking/ traffic concerns were a large and City wide issue and that resolutions would take time.

Residents/ School teacher and governor concerns:

·         It was reported that the Spinney Hill Primary School had raised these parking and road safety concerns with the Council 12 months ago and had not received a response.

·         It was requested that an officer attend the school on a morning to see the situation. Mark Govan confirmed that he had attended the school on the same day and took images/ noted details of the issue.

·         A resident queried the zig zag lines policy. Martin noted that officers were currently going around and examining these lines in the City as most were currently advisory zig zag signs. However, the Council were looking at stronger enforcement for example developing a policy to remove the observational period.

·         It was reported that school teachers and parents had been addressing the parking situation and assisting children to cross the roads outside of Spinney Hill Primary School. However, it was requested that the Council provide more surveillance/ support at some point.

·         The Police noted that they only had limited powers to address parking concerns. Sergeant Webb would feedback to the ward Sergeant to see what could be done.

·         Councillor Malik requested Martin to have a meeting with the Spinney Hill Primary School head teacher in approximately three months to discuss progress.

·         Councillor Malik requested Martin to send something in writing to the head teacher and include Councillors to note which areas would be addressed.

·         Attendees asked for one way road systems to also be included within the analysis.

·         Mark noted that 13 speed surveys were currently taking place around the city in the most high speed areas. One speed survey of which was on East Park Road.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

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 - Spinney Hills Ward Community Engagement Officer (WCEO) directed attendees to the Ward Community Budget update which was attached to the agenda. There were some applicants requesting funding who gave a presentation on their application request. As follows;

·         An applicant who had submitted an application to teach children at Mayflower Primary School about Martin Luther King’s famous speech gave more information on the benefits that project has had on empowering children.

·         Applicant Glenda Terry was present and gave an update on the present situation with the Community Advice & Law sessions which previously took place and hoped to secure funding to continue providing this service.

·         Angela Martin (WCEO) noted that the Ward Community Budget application form was now online and applicants could contact her with details online for further advice or guidance.

The Chair declared part one of the meeting closed at 7:30pm.