Agenda and minutes

The first main item on theagenda 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.

Members were asked to declare any interest they had in the business on the agenda and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applied to them.

Woody Wood declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 9, “Budget”, as he was a member of the Highfields Association of Residents and Tenants, which had submitted an application for funding.  Mr Wood stated that he would not be participating in the discussion on this application.

The minutes of the previous Stoneygate Community Meeting, held on5 October 2010 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 October 2009 be confirmed as a correct record, it being noted that the meeting scheduled for 19 January 2010 had been postponed to 2 February 2010, (minute 59, “Date of Next Meeting”, refers).

Officers from the Regeneration, Highways and Transportation Division, Leicester City Council, will be present to give an update to residents of highways issues in Stoneygate. 

Martin Fletcher, Acting Group Manager of City Highways at Leicester City Council, gave a presentation on Highway Management, a copy of which is attached at the end of these minutes for information. 

During the presentation, the following points were highlighted:-

·              the City Council’s focus in the current Local Transport Plan was principal routes in the City;

·              work was prioritised according to need, using a “worst first” approach;

·              every road and footpath in the City was inspected at least twice a year;

·              although highway maintenance was funded through Council capital and revenue expenditure, other sources of funding were used where possible, including national and European sources; and

·              major work in the Stoneygate Ward included the upgrading of footpaths on Evington Road in 2007.  Current projects included works to Mere Road and the resurfacing of Woodland Road.

Martin Fletcher advised the meeting that the roads discussed at the last meeting had been visited and had been found to be in a poor condition.  Various problems had been identified, including the need to repair potholes in the Ward.  It was estimated that it could cost approximately £3,000 to repair Rawson Street, but there could also be other areas that needed similar repairs and the Council did not have the funding available to do this.

The Ward Members explained that they had asked for a commitment to this funding to be given and for timescales to be given within which the work would be done, but neither of these had been received.  It was stressed that this was not due to officers, but Members felt that it was unfair to local taxpayers.  They undertook to report further on this matter if the situation changed.

Martin Fletcher explained that a survey had been undertaken in 2009 to see if residents in the south Highfields area were interested in a residents’ parking scheme being introduced.  As a result, some very general proposals had been drawn up and had been sent to statutory consultees, (such as the emergency services and bus operators).  Feedback from these would be reported to the Cabinet Lead Member for Regeneration and Transport and the Director of Regeneration, Transport and Highways, to see if the proposals should be taken forward.

If it was decided that they should proceed, a public consultation exercise would be undertaken.  As all views received during this process would be considered, all residents were encouraged to respond to the consultation.  Responses could be sent either to Martin Fletcher or the Ward Councillors.

Woody Wood, Community Partner, reminded the meeting that there had been a very low response rate to a previous survey on residents’ parking, partly because the Council and the residents had not worked together on it.  This time the Highfields Association of Residents and Tenants (HART) had worked closely with the Council, including holding a series of public meetings and leafleting affected roads, and there had been a good response to the survey.  This led to some disappointment when petitions against the scheme were received.

Mr Wood  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

Officers from Children and Young People’s Services, Leicester City Council, will be present to discuss issues around school attendance in Stoneygate.

The meeting noted that concerns had been raised that it appeared that a large number of children in the area were not attending school.  However, the Council was addressing the situation and a further report would be made to a future meeting.

Carla Lane, Sports Services, will be present to promote the Council’s 3x30 Pledge Campaign, which aims to increase the numbers of over 16s taking part in physical activity and sport and encouraging them to undertake 3 x 30 minute activities each week.

Carla Lane, Physical Activity Officer with Leicester City Council, introduced herself to the meeting, explaining that her remit at the Council was to encourage people aged 16 and over in to physical activity.  She then gave a short presentation on the 3X30 campaign, a copy of which is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

A survey by Active England had shown that only approximately 15% of people did three 30 minutes sessions of exercise per week.  A campaign therefore had been started to encourage people to reach this level of activity, through doing any activity that raised their heartbeat.  When people signed up to the initiative, they were given an activity log to complete themselves and received various incentives and discounts.

Since the campaign was launched in July 2009, approximately 1,500 people had joined the initiative and it was hoped that people would continue to sign up.

Carla Lane then showed a promotional DVD for the campaign.

In response to a question, Carla Lane explained that, if someone had a medical condition that could benefit from exercise, or wanted to do more exercise as part of a weight loss programme, they could be referred to the Council’s Active Lifestyle scheme by their GP.  This gave participants access to different activities, such as yoga, Pilates or the Heart Smart scheme, for 6 months, for which they paid a small charge.  Participants did not have to attend a group, but could undertake the activity at home.

The meeting also noted that the Sports Regeneration Team ran various sessions.  For example, sessions were held in Spinney Park from 9.00 am to 11.00 am on Tuesdays throughout the year.  Currently these were for ladies, but it was hoped that mixed sessions also would be run.

Those present noted that, unlike other areas, Stoneygate Ward did not have any community facilities funded by the City Council and asked whether something could be provided.  The Ward Members advised that they were in the process of trying to secure the use of the Mayfield Centre, Mayfield Road as a community centre.  Anyone aware of other land or buildings that had potential to be used as a community facility was invited to advise the Ward Councillors of the details.

It also was asked if it would be possible for an outdoor gym to be created somewhere in the Ward, similar to that in Evington Park.  Carla Lane advised that the outdoor gym in Evington Park had been funded from sources outside of the Council, but undertook to discuss with the Parks Team whether such a facility could be considered.

Some concern was raised that the levels of lead pollution in the air contributed to low life expectancy rates in the Ward.  Ivan Browne, Public Health Consultant with Leicester City NHS, advised the meeting that it was considered that there was more benefit in going out and doing activity than there was in staying inside to avoid air pollution, as lead levels were not a high  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Officers from the Spinney Hills Local Policing Unit will be present to provide an update on policing issues in Stoneygate.

Sergeant Kooldip Johal, from Leicestershire Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Policing Team based at Spinney Hill Park Local Policing Unit, introduced himself to the meeting. 

Sergeant Johal advised the meeting that:-

·              the City’s police beats had changed with effect from 4 January 2010, to come in to line with the City Council’s wards.  As a result, the Spinney Hill Park Local Policing Unit now was responsible for the Stoneygate and Thurncourt Wards.  Sergeant Johal, three police constables and three police community support officers were responsible for Stoneygate Ward;

·              crime figures were not available to report at this meeting, as the changes in boundaries meant that figures were not yet available;

·              he would be very happy to attend any meetings that residents felt it was appropriate for him to attend;

·              if anyone wanted to raise any matters with him, people were very welcome to speak to him, or if they preferred he could be e-mailed on kooldip.johal@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk ;

·              if crime figures in the Ward reduced, there would not be an immediate corresponding reduction in officers, as the number was ring-fenced for at least one year.

Officers from Housing Services, Leicester City Council will be in attendance to discuss issues around housing within Stoneygate.

As no-one from the Housing Service was able to attend the meeting, this item was deferred.

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 meeting will consider the following applications for funding that have been received:

B1 - Multi Strand Community Cohesion – Phase 2

Further applications were tabled at the meeting.  These are attached.

a)   Highfields Association of Residents and Tenants – Multi Strand Community Cohesion, Phase 2: £3,300

A representative from the Highfields Association of Residents and Tenants (HART) advised the meeting that HART had asked for assistance with the cost of providing interpreter support, a breakfast club, boxing lessons and a minibus for small outings.  These would all be used to help community integration, but would be available to all residents.

It was noted that the provision made under Phase 1 of the Multi Strand Community Cohesion project mostly had been taken up by young boys, so it was hoped that this could be redressed through Phase 2.

The Ward Councillors suggested that it could be useful for the meeting to have feedback on projects that had been assisted and asked that this be done when Phase 2 of this project had been implemented.

AGREED:

that funding of £3,300 from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund be supported.

 b)    Friends of Sparkenhoe (SPARKS) – “Project Playground”: £6,597

Kath Faulkner, Head of Sparkenhoe Community Primary School, explained that, at present, although the school’s playground was at the centre of the community, it was not very interesting.  SPARKS therefore was proposing to install a playground that contained areas for various activities, including play, speaking and listening, gardening and a “jungle gym” that ran all the way round the outside of the playground.  It was estimated that the total cost of the scheme would be approximately £150,000 – 200,000 and that it could take up to two years to become fully equipped.

When pupils at the school were in lessons and the playground was not being used, parents would be able to use it for “stay and play” for pre-school children, with the seating area providing somewhere for the parents to sit and talk.  Private and voluntary providers of nursery education also would be offered use of the facilities.

The playground also could be made available for community use when the school was closed for its summer holiday.  Someone would be paid to be present during the times that it was open, so that all children in the area could use it during that period.  This possibly could be extended in the future.  Some concern was expressed that supervising this facility could be difficult, as encouraging more children to use it increased the potential for problems to arise.

The Chair advised the meting that, as people from Stoneygate, Spinney Hills and Castle Wards would use the playground, the application for funding would be considered by all three Community Meetings with a view to each Ward funding one-third of the amount requested.

In response to questions, Kath Faulkner advised the meeting that discussions had been held with the local Police Community Support Officer and it was felt that there would be a high level of community support in the area.

It was acknowledged that whatever was provided in the playground would need to be maintained.  As such, equipment had been sourced that would not require maintenance for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Steve Letten, Members Support Officer will lead a discussion on the update of the Ward Action Plan.

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

Members will confirm the date of the next Stoneygate Community Meeting.

It was noted that the date of the next meeting had not been agreed yet, but would be advertised as soon as details became available.

a)      Health Issues

Ivan Browne, Public Health Consultant with Leicester City NHS, introduced himself to the meeting.

He advised the meeting that seasonal flu, which occurred every winter, affected approximately 10 – 15% of the population, the majority of whom recovered in about two weeks.  However, in the recent Swine Flu pandemic a lot more people had been affected and the flu experienced was more severe than usual seasonal flu.  More people were hospitalised and a higher mortality rate was experienced during the pandemic.  Those dying as a result of Swine flu had mostly been aged 0 – 44, but largely under 14.  There had been lower hospitalisation and death rates amongst older people.   

Nationally, a pandemic flu telephone line had been established, although initially there had been some criticisms of the way this was run.  The government had prioritised the production of a vaccine, but anti-viral medication also had been produced and anti-viral distribution centres set up.  The public had been encouraged to help reduce the pandemic through adopting good hand and respiratory hygiene practices.

Levels of flu activity in Leicester had been higher than the national average, with Stoneygate Ward being in the epicentre nationally in June 2009.  However, over recent weeks there had been a significant reduction in flu activity internationally and in this Ward.  In view of this, the national flu pandemic telephone line would be stepped down after 11 February 2010.  After that date, anyone who thought they had flu would have to visit their GP.

Ivan Browne also reported that the NHS would be providing a Vascular Risk Assessment for anyone aged between 40 and 74.  This would assess the risk of that person developing conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, or suffering from things such as strokes and encourage people to have a fuller, active lifestyle.  It was anticipated that these checks should be fully established by 2012/13, but some work on them would start immediately.

These had been introduced as there was concern about low life expectancy levels and the contribution made to this by poor diet and lower levels of exercise.  It was estimated that vascular-related illness cost the country approximately £25–28 billion per year.  At present, Leicester was not amongst the areas with the highest rates of death from cardio-vascular disease, but improvements in these rates could be made.

In addition, some people were known to be at higher risk of certain conditions, such as a greater propensity amongst some ethnic minority communities to develop diabetes.  A programme therefore was underway to try to identify those at low, medium and high risk and those who already had developed such conditions. 

Agreement had been reached that GPs would provide the new health checks.  They would ask questions about the patient’s health, test their cholesterol level, take their blood pressure and test for diabetes.  From this, an analysis of that patient’s health would be given to that person and support and treatment would be offered where appropriate.  All participants in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

The meeting closed at 8.42 pm