Agenda and minutes

Councillor Adam Clarke was elected as Chair and welcomed everyone to the Aylestone Community Meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Sheila and Ivor Bufton, Patrick Bowe, Barbara Chambers and Terry Mason.

The first main item on the agenda 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 had in the business on the agenda, and / or declare whether Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act applied to them.

Councillor Clarke declared a personal interest in item 7 relating to the Burrows Chimney as he had been involved in dealing with residents’ concerns relating to pollution control at Euro Dyers.  Councillor Clarke further declared a personal interest in item 8, the Aylestone Meadows Task Group as he was involved in the Task Group.

Councillor Porter declared a personal interest in item 7, Burrows Chimney and item 8, the Aylestone Meadows Task Group as he had campaigned to protect Aylestone Meadows and had also campaigned in relation to the issues concerning the Burrows Chimney.

The minutes of the previous Aylestone Community Meeting, held on 13 July 2011, have been circulated and Councillors are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the previous Aylestone Community Meeting held 13 July 2011 be agreed as a correct record.

Members of the public will be given an update on the new Orange Bag Recycling Scheme that has been introduced across the City.

Cristina Calleja, Waste Management was present to give an update on the new Orange Bag Recycling Scheme.  Cristina made the following points:

·         The latest figures showed that the amount of recycling had doubled and that participation in the recycling scheme had increased from approximately 60% to 80%.

·         The orange bags could also be recycled.

·         Currently approximately 100 bags per week were contaminated and therefore the contents could not be recycled.

·         There would be no refuse collection on Tuesday 27 December; any extra refuse would be collected the following week.

The following questions were raised by members of the community:

·         I understand that the recycling bags are taken to Manchester for sorting. Why do you go there as this scheme could provide work for local people?

Cristina explained that the items for recycling had been taken to Manchester in the initial trial, but they were now taken to Birmingham where they had the appropriate technology for sorting.

·         Dog food tins are difficult to clean. I believe that they can still be put into the black bins and be extracted for recycling.

Cristina confirmed that this was correct.

·         There may be a problem with the sheer volume of orange bags that could be placed on pavements for collection. This week I put out 8 bags for recycling.

Cristina commented that there should not be any more refuse generated than normal. She added that the possibility of providing a wheely bin for recycling was being considered, however there was a problem with refuse bins being left out on streets, and additional recycling bins might increase the problem.

Cristina was thanked for her presentation.

There will be a brief update on play space provision in the Aylestone Ward.

Adrian Edge, Play and Youth Development Officer was present to talk to members of the community about play space provision in Aylestone. Adrian made the following points:

·         About two years ago the Council carried out an open space assessment in Aylestone and found that play space and open space provision were deficient in the area.

·         The Council now had a new policy which allowed them to work with developers to obtain more contributions towards open space provision on new developments in Aylestone. 

·         In relation to the new Bloor Homes development in Aylestone, officers had approved in principle, what would be provided by the developers ,and planning officers were now seeking more details.

·         Bloor Homes would also be required to make contributions towards sporting provision.

·         There were also concerns over the condition of the play area in Aylestone playing fields. Adrian had visited the play area during half term and had spoken to people and the general view was that residents would like the play area to be re-located nearer the road, because it was felt that this would be less secluded and safer.

·         Adrian suggested that he did a leaflet drop to seek peoples’ views on what play equipment they would like on Aylestone Playing Fields and where they would like it to be located.

A member of the community commented that it should not be necessary to wait for Bloor Homes to provide more play equipment and people in Aylestone had been waiting for several years for better facilities.

Councillors and members of the community expressed their agreement for Adrian to carry out a leaflet drop and Adrian said that he would discuss this further with the councillors after the meeting.

Evan Davis, Team Manager, Environmental Health and Mike Broster, Head of Regulatory Service, Environmental Health will be present to explain the current situation relating to Euro Dyers on Saffron Lane.

Evan Davies, Team Manager, Environmental Health was present to give an update on the current situation relating to the Burrows Chimney and his presentation is attached at the back of the minutes.

Evan also made the following points:

·         An abatement notice had been served on the company, Euro Dyers Ltd, but that company was no longer in operation, and Euro Print Dyers Ltd were now the operators of the dye works. This meant that the abatement notice was no longer in effect because of the change of company.

·         The Company had taken steps to improve the situation and had submitted a planning application for a cone to be built on top of the chimney.  At present the chimney was wide and not designed for the type of process currently in use.

·         Extra monitoring had been carried out by the Pollution Control Team.

·         If there was any actionable evidence against the company, action would be taken but there had been no recent evidence of statutory nuisance.

Mr Dattani, Euro Print Dyers Ltd, then made the following points:

·         A number of steps had been taken to reduce the factory fumes, including the intention to increase the chimney height (subject to planning permission).

·         Odour emission tests would be carried out the following week.

The following comments were made by members of the public:

·         My daughter is being made ill by the fumes and we want to ascertain what else is coming out of the chimney. Mr Dattani said that he would come to my home but he never did. I am now having an analysis report carried out and I am awaiting the results.

Mr Dattani responded that a professional company would be carrying out the odour tests and Evan asked the member of the public to let him see a copy of the analysis report when it was ready.

·         Abatement notices should be served on the building and not the company.

Evan explained that the law did not allow the serving of notices onto buildings. The law stated that the notice must be served on the company or person responsible.

·         I am getting sore throats because of the odour emanating from the chimney.

Evan responded that specialists had stated that there was no evidence of any risk to health and safety.

Strong concerns were expressed from members of the community over the continuing odour emanating from the chimney and the Chair stated that both Mr Dattani from Euro Print Dyers Ltd and Evan Davies from Environmental Health would be invited to the next meeting for further updates on the situation.

Councillor Clarke will provide a brief update on the Aylestone Meadows Task Group.

The Chair announced that he had been asked by the Deputy City Mayor to form a Task Group for the Aylestone Meadows.  The Task Group would be open to people from all different walks of life and the aim would be to consider how best to protect the future of Aylestone Meadows.

A member of the community commented that trees near Middleton Street were being chopped down, and another member of the public responded that they were dead trees and therefore needed to be removed.

A Police Officer from the Local Policing Unit will be present to talk about policing issues in Aylestone.

PC David Robertson gave an update on policing issues in the Aylestone Ward and he stated that a considerable amount of resources were being directed into investigating a number of burglaries.

Councillors and Members of the community raised the following queries:

·         The Police have moved some street drinkers from one area in Aylestone, but they had now congregated in Burgess Road.

PC Robertson noted this concern.

·         There are speeding vehicles on Wigston Lane and Eastwood Road.

PC Robertson explained that the Police had been carrying out checks using the ‘speed gun’ on speeding vehicles in Aylestone.

·         What is the situation regarding bicycles being ridden on pavements?

PC Robertson confirmed that it was against the law to ride bicycles on pavements but most people who were stopped by the Police stated that they were worried about cycling on the roads. He asked members of the community if let him know if they wanted the Police to tackle this issue.  He added that the Police did not generally ask children to cycle on the road, but adults could be asked and occasionally people had been arrested because they had refused to stop cycling on the pavement.

Stenroy Smith, the City Warden for Aylestone will be present to give an update on street scene enforcement issues in the area.

Stenroy Smith, the City Warden for Aylestone addressed the meeting and explained that he had been working on several main issues within the ward. These were as follows:

·         Littering from vehicles – this could incur an £80 fine and so far he had issued 10 fines. Stenroy added that he intended to do some more work to address this problem.

·         Targeted enforcement in Aylestone Meadows – Stenroy had not managed to apprehend any people who had allowed their dog to foul, but he was aware that dog fouling was a problem. Plain clothes enforcement had been carried out and members of the community were asked for any information that would help Stenroy to apprehend the relevant dog owners.

·         Refuse bins on streets – this project had been completed and the situation had improved.

·         S93 Monitoring of waste generated by customers of various businesses. Stenroy was currently monitoring litter in Gilmorton and there had been complaints about discarded lager and beer cans.

·         There were regular patrols, primarily to tackle dog fouling and littering.

·         There was also a need to tackle the problem of vehicles for sale on Saffron Lane. Stenroy was talking to management about enforcement measures.

Members of the community raised the problem of cars parked on pavements. PC Robertson explained that the Police had the powers to deal with obstructions, for example where a vehicle parked on the pavement and prevented a wheelchair or pushchair from passing by.

Stenroy was thanked for attending the meeting.

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.

The following budget application has been received:

Carols in the Park 2011 – Submitted by the Spirit of Aylestone Community Group

Amount Requested: £926.74

Details of the funding application as submitted by the applicant:

Proposal: To hold an event for the whole community to join in carol singing and drama led by a brass band at Aylestone Hall Gardens followed by refreshments.

ü  The event will be held on Sunday 11 December 2011, and will be the fifth year that the event has been organised in association with Leicester City Council and Aylestone Bowling Club.

ü  The event provides opportunity for children to be involved in a small drama performance. In previous years, singers from the two local primary schools have led the carol singing and we will encourage continual involvement from young people.

ü  In 2010 there was an estimated attendance of 400 people. We encourage verbal feedback and have improved the event over time to meet the wider expectations of all the community.

ü  The event has attracted a wide range of people of all ages and backgrounds for 4 consecutive years. The event has brought together different faiths who celebrate Christmas as well as their own cultural feast times. The event also brings people together from different social backgrounds which the Aylestone Ward is made up of. One of the successes of this event is bringing different communities together to achieve freedom from tension and come together at a celebrated season in the year.

ü  The event is held in the late afternoon to provide the greatest opportunity for the whole community to attend, which will especially benefit young families and older people.

ü  The event is advertised via leaflet distribution to the following areas: Old Aylestone, Aylestone Park, Gilmorton Estate, Banks Estate, and Wigston Lane. We have already made in-roads in to meeting with the developers representatives at Otters Bank, Canal Street and aim to include the new community and encourage them to belong as they make their home in the Aylestone community. 

ü  The event is an occasion for all the community to come together in a space provided for the community. Young and older people can actively celebrate together sharing their experiences and meeting afterwards for refreshments and discussion. The diversity of attendance is a measure of its success in building up relationships between young people and adults in the Ward.

ü  Some of the cost will be spent on publicity to inform new and existing residents of the event that also introduces them to the Aylestone Hall Gardens facility, the Aylestone Hall Bowling Club, the Aylestone Churches of differing denominations, and the wider city of Leicester through the City Council. We hope that people will benefit through making links to other organisations in the community to encourage them to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 99.

The Chair explained that there was a balance of £9700 remaining in the Community Meeting budget and one funding bid was to be considered at the meeting as follows:

Carols in the Park 2011

Submitted by the Spirit of Aylestone Community Group

Amount requested £927

The Reverend Tim Fergusson, from Aylestone Baptist Church introduced the funding application and explained that it was a successful event which was increasingly well supported. The amount requested had increased from the previous year and although it would be possible to reduce the expenditure, the Spirit of Aylestone Community Group was working to improve the event even further.

Councillors and members of the public indicated their approval for the funding application to be supported in full.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application be fully supported to the value of £927.

Members of the public are asked to note the dates of future meetings as follows:

Thursday 12 January 2012 at 6.00pm. Gilmorton Community Rooms, Hopyard Close.

Thursday 22  March 2012 at 6.00pm. Venue to be arranged.

People were asked to note the dates of future meetings:

Thursday 12 January 2012 at 6.00pm – Gilmorton Community Rooms, Hopyard Close.

Thursday 22 March 2012 at 6.00pm - Venue to be arranged.

AYLESTONE ROAD MEDICAL CENTRE

Dr Minhas was present from the Aylestone Road Medical Centre and spoke briefly to the meeting about a new medical centre that was being built to service the village. He explained that there was subsidence in the current premises and they were no longer fit for purpose.  He added that the new premises would be a two storey building and would provide more services for their patients.

The operating hours would be 8.30 am to 6.30 pm on 5 days per week and there would be extended hours on one evening per week.

A member of the public expressed concern that there had not been enough participation and patients had not been informed. Dr Minhas explained that the plans had been advertised in the surgery and due process had been followed by the Council.

FORUM FOR OLDER PEOPLE.

The Chair explained that there was a Forum for Older People which met monthly to discuss general items of interest.  The forum was open to anyone over the age of 50 years and interested people were asked to give their names to the Democratic Support Officer at the end of the meeting.

BETHANY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Chair explained that Bethany was a 14 year old who was suffering from leukaemia and the only hope for Bethany and thousands of other people like her was to receive a donation of healthy stem cells. An event was being held on the Tigers Ground on 12 November to appeal for donors who might be able to provide stem cells.

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ON THE RUTLAND ARMS SITE.

Councillor Porter announced that a public meeting was being held at the Aylestone Baptist Church to consider the proposed development on the Rutland Arms site. The meeting would be held on Wednesday 16 November between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm.

The meeting closed at 8.00 pm.