Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Porter was elected as Chair for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs Chambers.

The first main item on the programme is Declaration of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything in the programme 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.

Councillor Porter declared a prejudicial interest in budget application C1, as he was a Member of the Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society, who had submitted the bid.  He stated that he would not discuss the bid.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2008 are attached to these agenda papers and Councillors will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

                        That the minutes of the Aylestone Community Meeting held on 17 September 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

Rev Alistair Helm, Vicar of the Church of the Nativity, Cavendish Road, will give a short update on the proposals for the Lansdowne Neighbourhood Centre.

Rev Alistair Helm, Vicar of the Church of the Nativity, Cavendish Road, gave a short update on the proposals for the Lansdowne Neighbourhood Centre.

He explained that a steering group, led by Steve Goddard, Head of Community Services had been set up to deal with the legal aspects of the proposals to upgrade the centre, and that one meeting of the group had taken place to date. 

Rev Alistair Helm made it clear that the steering group was looking at shared use for the building, and that the centre had been identified as a possible one-stop-shop by Children and Young People’s Services. 

Paul Commons, Team Leader, Transport Development Section, Regeneration and Culture Department will be present to lead a discussion on traffic issues in the Aylestone Ward.

Paul Commons, Team Leader, Transport Development Section, Regeneration and Culture Department, was present to lead a discussion on traffic issues in the Aylestone Ward.

Paul reported that a major project was to be undertaken in relation to improving the Lutterworth Road/Aylestone Road corridor.  A public consultation was to begin, with the intention to begin improvement works by May 2010. 

Further consultation was to take place in the late spring around the possibility of introducing resident’s parking schemes, particularly in the area close to the cricket ground.  Paul explained that a questionnaire would be distributed to every household in that area, and that a scheme would only be progressed if it was favoured by the majority of residents. 

Paul reported that there was currently no road safety work ongoing in Aylestone, but that any potholes would be filled if identified.  A Member of the Public referred to three instances of high impact collisions with street furniture on Old Church Street in the last five years.  In response, Paul explained that only incidents where a person was injured would warrant consideration for road safety work, and that an assessment was carried out every three years to determine which schemes would be undertaken.  In response to a question from Councillor Porter around the possibility of increasing the number of traffic-calming schemes carried out annually, Paul stated that the Council completed five schemes per year, and that there was no funding available in the forthcoming financial year to extend this programme. 

A further issue that was identified related to illegal parking, and it was felt by several members of the public that motorists often did not realise that they parked illegally on single yellow lines.

It was recognised that problems were rife with vehicles turning out of Church Street, as many motorists had continued to turn right out of the road despite it being prohibited.  A Member of the Public suggested that a camera be situated at this location to deter this, and to catch offenders.  Paul agreed to feed this back to the traffic impact team though he stated that they were already aware of the issue. 

Several Members of the Public felt that there was insufficient parking provision to serve the shops in Aylestone.  Paul reported that resident parking schemes also allowed limited waiting areas for shop customers.

Members of the public will be given a presentation on the work of the Police Joint Action Group (JAG) and their current action plan for the ward.

Members of the public were given a presentation by PC Kevin Butler on the work of the Police Joint Action Group (JAG) and their current action plan for the ward.

It was explained that the Neighbourhood Policing Team comprised of a team leader alongside police constables and community support officers whilst the Neighbourhood Action Team consisted of a citizen focus team as well as police support volunteers and local police officers.  PC Butler stated that the local priorities were to tackle and reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage on Belvoir Drive and to tackle similar behaviour in the area known as ‘The Square’.  The meeting heard that problems with graffiti had recently calmed.  The latest ‘hotspot’ identified was reported as being the spinney by Montrose Road Park.

Members of the public generally felt that there was a need for more opportunities for allowing younger people could meet, and that this provision could help to alleviate the problems of youths gathering on streets.  PC Butler reported that consultation had taken place with young people in connection with looking at ways to curb the problems associated with anti-social behaviour. 

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Manager, Regeneration and Culture, will give a presentation on the environmental services provision in Aylestone. There will also be an update on the 10,000 Trees project and feedback on the suggestions that have been made for the Aylestone Ward.

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Manager, Regeneration and Culture, gave a presentation on the environmental services provision in Aylestone.

Barbara explained that recent work of the Environmental Services Team included waste management and street cleaning, environmental health and trading standards, licensing and building control and parks and green spaces.

The meeting was informed that 33% of the City’s waste was recycled in 2007/08 with a further 9% recovered for use as a fuel, resulting in 42% being diverted from landfill.

Reference was made to the recently commissioned MORI residents survey.  The survey concluded that 80% of residents were satisfied with their waste collection service, which compared well to other similar councils. 

In terms of cleansing services, the following figures were provided by Barbara, specifically in relation to the Aylestone Ward, between July and December 2008:

Fly-posters removed                     257

Fly-tipping removed                                 50

Abandoned Vehicles Reported            8

Discarded Needles                                  1

Cable Boxes over-painted              91

In terms of customer satisfaction, 67% of people were satisfied with the street cleansing service in Leicester. 

It was reported that there was new legislation around the distribution of free printed matter, such as flyers, in the city.  Distributors were now required to apply for a license, and limitations around times and location had been imposed.       

In terms of taxi licensing, it was reported that there were 1,271 licensed taxis in Leicester which comprised of 329 hackney carriages and 942 private hire vehicles.  The granting of all licenses was subject to regular safety checks.

In respect of environmental health, the following figures around complaints and service requests between July and December 2008 were reported for the Aylestone ward:

Rubbish on Private Land              12

Dog Complaints                            38

Pest Control Complaints                55

Domestic Noise Complaints            47

Non-domestic noise and                   31

Pollution Complaints               

Private Sector Housing                      14

Complaints

It was noted that the number of dog complains was higher in Aylestone than other wards. One Member of the Public felt that the dog control officer should target Aylestone as a hotspot area.  It was further stated that there was a need for dog bins in the area. 

Barbara explained that the first edition of an environmental newsletter for the Aylestone Ward would be released in February, and ensured that copies be brought to the next community meeting.

Ian Stapleton, Eyres Monsell Neighbourhood Housing Manager, will give a short presentation on the upgrading of the BMX track and a new multi use games area.

Ian Stapleton, Eyres Monsell Neighbourhood Housing Manager, gave a short presentation on the upgrading of the BMX track and a new multi use games area.

Ian explained that further consultation with local young people was to take place to help to decide the use of the multi games area at the Gilmorton Recreation Space.  It was reported that funding from the Big Lottery People’s Millions had been secured, with the condition that work must start on site by the end of April and that it be finished by the end of September.

Ian explained that the Princes Trust had worked exceptionally hard to redefine the BMX track, and that he was in the process of organising a party of volunteers to clear the land at the site of the track. 

It was reported that the park on Gilmorton Avenue was in a poor condition.  It was hoped that a ramp would be installed as an access point to the park.  It was also possible that an orchard would be planted within the vicinity. 

Steve Letten, Member Support Officer will give a brief update on the current budget position.

The meeting will consider the following budget applications:

Members are reminded that they will need to declare any interests 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.

C1) Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society – proposal for funding for meeting room hire. £60 requested from the Ward Community Fund.

C2) Gilmorton Development Group, supported by Ian Stapleton, Eyres Monsell Neighbourhood Housing Manager – proposal for funding for the purchase of Wayfarer Breedon Gravel to re-surface the BMX track off the Great Central Way. £2,000 requested from the Ward Community Fund.

C3) Ian Stapleton and the Gilmorton Development Group – proposal for funding for accessibility links to the proposed multi use games area. The attached papers give no details of the cost but the application is submitted to seek indication of support.

Steve Letten, Members Support Officer, presented the budget and explained that six budget applications had been received.

As the meeting was inquorote, Councillor Porter stated that he was to defer consideration of all applications so that he could discuss each of them with Cllr Mrs Chambers, before any recommendations were made to Cabinet.  It was made clear that a decision could be taken prior to the next community meeting. 

Therefore, it was agreed that the following applications would be considered by both ward councillors:

C1 –            Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society

            Proposal for funding for meeting room hire

            £60 requested from the Ward Community Fund

C2 –             Gilmorton Community Group

            Proposal for funding for the purpose of Wayferer Breedon Gravel to re-            surface the BMX track off the Great Central Way.

            £2,000 requested from the Ward Community Fund

C3 -             Gilmorton Development Group

Proposal for funding for accessibility links to the proposed multi- use games area. No specific amount requested as application submitted to seek indication of support.

The following applications did not appear on the agenda, and were             received at the meeting.  It was also agreed that these be considered             by both ward councillors.

C4 -             Saffron Fete Committee

            Proposal for funding to provide advertising, equipment and van             hire, first aid cover, hire and cleaning of toilets and administration. 

            £1,400 requested from the Ward Community Fund

C5 –             Saffron Fete Committee

            Proposal for funding to provide stewarding and fairground ride     hire.

            £1,700 requested from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund

It was agreed that the following application concerned the Freemen Ward, and consequently would not be considered by the ward councillors.

C6 –             Aylestone Park Residents Group – St Mary’s Sub Committee

            Proposal for funding for updated ecological and biodiversity and                  printing of leaflets.

            £350 requested from the Ward Community Fund

A member of the public explained that he had not received a copy of Leicester LINK magazine for a number of months.  The Chair urged anyone who had not been receiving a copy to write their address on a yellow evaluation form and asked the Democratic Support Officer to pass the details on to those responsible for distributing the magazine. 

The meeting closed at 8:20pm