Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

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.

Cllr Porter was in the chair for the meeting and welcomed everyone present.

Cllr Porter disclosed an Other Disclosable Interest in the item “Update on Franklyn Fields” as he had campaigned against that development during his election campaign.

Cllr Porter also disclosed an Other Disclosable Interest in the item “Traffic Issues in Aylestone” as that had also been part of his election campaign.

None

Officers will give an update on the proposed housing development at Franklyn Fields

Grant Butterworth, Head of Planning gave an update on the development and explained the planning process in line with national policies. The Government has set a series of housing targets and the council’s city wide local plan showed how it aimed to meet that. The council had to make a provision for 1200 houses every year for the next 15 years.

Franklyn Fields is one of the allocated sites and the principle development had been accepted in the Local Plan.

The council had sought expressions of interest from developers to develop the site and it would be up to the developer to bring forward suitable development plans to the planning department for approval. Under the process a preferred developer had been chosen and the council had been in discussions with them and were now awaiting their development proposals.

Once the plans were submitted, the planning process would enable residents to have their say during the 3 week consultation process before matters were decided by the Planning Committee.

It was expected that the developer would have a public exhibition shortly.

Residents were given the opportunity to discuss their concerns which included the following points:

·       Details of the estate agents particulars could be re-circulated to those who wanted them.

·       The local plan also considered the demand for employment/business development and the need for leisure spaces as well as protecting green areas. Every site put forward had to be viable, there was a presumption of sustainable development unless a serious reason to say no.

·       Re: The site on Lutterworth Road, plan was to convert and redevelop to a 60 bed nursing home.

·       150 houses would bring a lot of children into the area and schools were already oversubscribed – the provision of s106 contributions gave money to deal with economic impacts, there was a formula in terms of housing development and education and that would be applied.

·       Whilst the government provided the education budget the developers could be asked to contribute towards that too.

·       The roads and access to the development would need to be assessed, the principle of the development had been established and highways issues would be part of the planning process.

·       It was Government policy that detrimental effect on house prices was not a material factor in deciding planning applications.

Both Councillors for the ward indicated they would ensure that all residents were made aware of the planning application and the public consultation period as well as any meeting about the development.

Officers will be at the meeting to answer questions on highways issues in the ward

Mark Wills, Head of Transport Strategy gave a report and presentation concerning traffic issues in Aylestone. (Presentation slides attached).

Mark Wills addressed a number of concerns raised by residents which included the following:

·       The process to look at access to new developments came into the planning process, highways would consider from the information provided by the development consultant against local policy and design standards. Transport surveys would be included in the assessment and the highways authority also used computer models to simulate adverse impact, the highways team also carried out visits to study sites and took into account a number of factors and made evidence based decision.

·       Sanvey Lane was included on the list of highways issues to look into,

·       Match day parking issues – schemes were being introduced, people were encouraged to use park and ride and extra buses were being put on routes. Highways had met with the main clubs to look at ways to address.

·       It was suggested that the zebra crossing on Middleton Street be made into a pedestrian crossing – nationally there were the same rate of accidents between zebra and pedestrian crossings, however highways were looking to address issues and there were plans to widen the crossing as well as introducing other traffic calming measures e.g. humps

Both councillors felt that a pedestrian crossing would be better at this location and agreed to take that issue up.

·       Re: Parking issues around Earl Russell Street, Co-op area and Belvoir Drive, access to Marsden Lane - the council had some powers to enforce if vehicles were causing an obstruction and enforcement officers would be targeted to areas where complaints were reported.

Residents were invited to raise their concerns direct with Mark who could be contacted by email: Mark.Wills@leicester.gov.uk

Post meeting note:

Parking enforcement had visited the Aylestone Ward and the following information was provided:

Earl Russell Street – visited 17 times and 3 enforcement notices issued.

Church Road – visited 7 times and 1 enforcement notice issued.

Council officers will be at the meeting to discuss flood management issues in the ward

Martin Halse, Resilience Manager gave a brief outline of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy:

·       The team were raising awareness of risk in the area and leaflets had been circulated to local residents which contained a lot of information for properties at risk

·       Each year a surface flood risk management survey was carried out and the council had adopted the strategy and an action plan

·       Aylestone was a high risk area for fluvial and pluvial flooding

·       New developments would be encouraged to have sustainable drainage

·       A number of volunteers had become flood wardens and had undergone training and would provide a vital link to emergency services.

·       A public meeting to raise awareness and for those wanting to become more involved had been arranged for 12^th October at County Hall.

Further information could be obtained by email:

 Martin.Halse@leicester.gov.uk

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the ward

Caroline Walsh, City Warden gave a brief update on issues in the Aylestone Ward and distributed information leaflets to those present (as attached)

·       Love Leicester Application – the council had launched the new Love Leicester App which made it easier for residents to report issues to the council and allowed people to track the progress of the issue.

·       Graffiti had been targeted in the area

·       Road Sweepers – the city warden agreed to pass on residents’ concerns that leaves were being left on the streets.

Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in the ward

PC Kevin Butler gave an update on local policing issues and reported crime statistics for the last month were noted:

·       Aylestone Meadows – issues with bike riders, police had seized 3 motorbikes and seen a decrease in incidents since,

·       Great Central Way – issues between dog walkers and cyclists over right of way. The council were looking into installing restrictive gating

·       Burglaries – 7 in and around Aylestone Drive and Knighton Lane

·       Theft from Vehicles -10 incidents, 7 of those from insecure vehicles. Residents were reminded to ensure vehicles were locked and items of value not left on display.

·       Junction Old Church Street and Middleton Street – police were aware of issues with drivers carrying out illegal right turn and there would be a series of traffic ops to address this.

·       Issues with Enterprise were known and under review, police had powers to take action if they were causing an obstruction

·       Issues relating to Lounge Bar would be reported back to the Licensing Officer to check if contravened licence

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

A summary of grant applications approved since the start of the current Council year is attached for information.

Any further grant applications received will be reported to the meeting.

Councillors were reminded that under the Councils Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in the budget applications.

The budget allocation for the ward 2015/16 was £18,000 and there was no carry forward from 2014/15 due to the election.

Applications considered:

·       1405 Aylestone Baptist Church, to fund a holiday at home for the elderly - £1,150 SUPPORTED

·       1303 Gilmorton Development Group, Gilmorton Food Share project - £600 SUPPORTED

·       1408 Friends of Aylestone Hall Gardens, to hold a Golden Oldies Day and Stargazing event - £450 SUPPORTED

·       1407 Eyres Monsell Allotment Society, an allotment project - £495 SUPPORTED

·       1406 Eyres Monsell Allotment Society, to help with easy access for disabled and elderly - £1,500 SUPPORTED

·       1410 Leicester Banks Sports Club, to set up community petangue - £1,932 SUPPORTED

·       1409 Friends of Aylestone Hall Gardens, Aylestone Hall Garden Party - £623 SUPPORTED

·       5092 Saffron Community Management Board, Pantomime - £500 SUPPORTED

·       5103 Musical Youth, to set up “Be a buddy not a cyber bully” project - £600 SUPPORTED

·       5108 Aylestone Park Residents Group, for a time capsule project -  £125 SUPPORTED

·       1526 Messy Church, Spirit of Aylestone Carols in the Park - £1100 SUPPORTED

·       1525 Messy Church, Spirit of Aylestone Project - £600 SUPPORTED

It was noted that the remaining community budget for the ward was £8325

The meeting closed at 9.10pm.