Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Gill chaired the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Desai and Suleman.

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.

There were no declarations of interest made at this time.

Members will be asked to confirm the minutes of the Stoneygate Community Meeting held on 13 December 2010 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting of the Stoneygate Community Meeting held on 13^th December 2010, as previously circulated, were approved as a correct record.

Representatives from Medway Primary School will be present to provide a further update on developments that have taken place at the school.

Kath Falconer, Headteacher, Sparkenhoe CP School attended the meeting and stated that whilst Medway CP School was in special measures she was sharing her time with Medway. Her aim was to at least get Medway rated as ‘good’ whilst she was at the school.

Medway CP School had not received much input for many years and the interior and exterior of the school badly needed improving. Plans had been drawn up to improve the school and were outlined as follows, coloured diagrams were also displayed: -

i)                    The first stage of the plan was to install a full size all-weather football pitch/Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) facility that would be available for hire for free. The estimated cost of this work was £60k.

ii)                  The second part of the regeneration plan was to turn the existing derelict garden area into a learning area for parents and children. The estimated cost of this work was £50k

iii)                The third part was to turn part of the existing playground into a new play area that would remain open until 6.00 pm. The estimated cost of this work was £118k.

Kath stated that the school were now in the process of gathering funding and a number of funding sources were being pursued, including the Community Meeting.

A member of the public questioned the actual size and location of the proposed football facilities. Kath stated that the pitch would be the size of a five-a side pitch as the area concerned was large.

A member of the public questioned what improvements were planned inside the school for the benefit of pupils, such as a library and new furniture. Kath stated that plans were already in place for a new library and one classroom already had new furniture in place and this had been funded from an existing Capital Fund. All of the improvements outlined earlier would require external funding.

A member of the public questioned whether the proposed football pitch would be floodlit. Kath stated that floodlighting was planned at a later stage but there would be a need to ensure that light output was restricted due to the proximity of neighbouring residential properties.

A member of the public welcomed the proposed new play area but asked whether it could be opened beyond 6.00 pm to allow Muslim children to visit it after prayer. Kath stated that to achieve this it would be necessary to employ a Play Worker to supervise play after 6.00 pm, this was a requirement. However, Kath stated that she would like to work in partnership with the local community and utilise volunteer support.

In concluding Kath was thanked for her presentation and for her vision around utilising local volunteer support.

Lucy Birch, City Council Home Energy outlined a grant scheme, administered by the Home Energy Team and sponsored by N-Power that was targeted at people who vulnerable to the cold. The grants covered up to 50% of the cost of the repair of faulty boilers, repair of leaking radiators or installation of first time gas central heating systems. The criteria for eligibility covered only those people who owned or rented their homes from private landlords and where heating was faulty or the property cold and draughty.

It was stated that as the scheme outlined above only covered private householders or tenants of private landlords thought needed to be given to the fact that many private landlords were not investing sufficiently in their properties to even bring them up to minimum Decent Homes Standards.

To receive an update on local policing and community safety issues.

Sgt. Danny Graham attended the meeting and gave an update on crime in the area since the last meeting. It was reported that all reported crime was down by 16% on average.

            Robberies                              - 2 per month

            Burglaries                              - 9.7 per month

            Anti-Social Behaviour           - down 12.6%

            Crime Against the Person   - down 10.7%

            Vehicle Crime                       - up 44% (this was to be looked at)

Between September and November 2010 the following crimes had been reported: -

130           - Burglary Domestic

36           - Robberies

77           - Vehicles stolen

90           - Theft from motor vehicles

It was reported that over the past couple of months there had been a number of street robberies in the Evington Footpath area. Extra Police patrols had been implemented and attack alarms had been distributed and a Press Release issued.

An individual who was new to the area was suspected but not enough evidence had been available and the person had been released on bail but with a curfew imposed. A further incident had then taken place outside the curfew and the person had been arrested. It now looked as if the individual would be admitting several crimes he had committed.

It was reported that City Centre policing arrangements were changing and these would be reported when in place. The Rapid Response Team for the whole City had now relocated to Freemans Common where it was felt that better response times could be achieved.

A member of the public questioned whether the Police were able to ban the sale of alcohol at certain times as a local supermarket were selling alcohol late at night, after 9.00 pm. The manager of the store had said that it was up to the City Council as Licensing Authority to change this. Sgt. Graham stated that he was aware of this store as there had been a large number of shoplifting incidents. The way forward would be to gather sufficient information and go to the Licensing Authority for a review to be carried out. In the meantime the relevant Premises Licence would be checked regarding the hours of operation permitted.

A Community Partner stated that there were several issues around drug dealing in the area and stated that a Mobile CCTV camera had been promised for this area but not yet provided. A progress report was requested.

A member of the public stated that there were issues around the temporary loss of changing rooms at Spinney Hill Park, due to the restoration works, and NIRVANA, one of the users of the park were concerned that their members could no longer change at the Park. Steve Letten suggested that Bob Mullins, Parks and Open Spaces, could be invited to the next meeting to provide an update on the Spinney Hills Park restoration.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

Details will be provided on proposals to change the executive arrangements for the Council to an elected Mayor.

Details of the background leading up to the City Council decision on future governance arrangements was circulated at the meeting. It was stated that, in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 the City Council had resolved to move to a directly elected Mayor and Executive model, compared to the ‘old style’ Leader and Cabinet form operated at present.

As part of the procedure to be followed the Council was required to consult residents and interested parties before the proposals were drawn up, the consultation period ran between 20^th November and 6^th December 2010. A detailed report was considered by the Council on 9^th December and responses received after 9^th December were submitted to Council on 22 December 2010.

A Community Partner questioned why the decision process had been so short and it was stated that the consultation process chosen was felt to be sufficient and this led to the decision being taken in December.

It was reported that the elections for the Elected Mayor would take place on Thursday 15^th May 2011, the same day as the City Council Elections.

RESOLVED:

                        that the information be noted.

The local City warden attended the meeting and stated that he had been carrying out a lot of patrols in the area. Fines were being issued for people being caught dropping cigarette ends, chewing gum old tissues etc, no warnings were being given and a fine of £80 applied. The level of fine was set by the Government.

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.

Steve Letten to provide an update on the Community Meeting Budget and report on applications for funding received since the last meeting.

Steve Letten, members Support Officer, introduced the funding applications received since the last meeting and members gave them consideration as follows.

It was reported that as the meeting was not quorate, i.e. only one Ward Councillor out of three being present, any decisions taken regarding the budget would require the other two Ward Councillors to be contacted for their views before the applications could be processed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              £

a)         Medway Community Primary School                                    15,000

Application to part fund the provision of a new ball Park and All-Weather pitch at the school as part of a wider regeneation programme.

It was reported that insufficient funds remained in the 2010/2011 Community Meeting budget to cover the amount requested.

RESOLVED:

that the application for £15,000 be deferred to the next meeting to enable officers to assess the availability of funding from the Spinney Hills Community Meeting Budget.

b)        Highfields Association of Residents and                                 4,750

Tenants (HART) Lead bid for

Stoneygate Ward Community Groups

Application that sought to engage young people and reduce anti-social behaviour, especially in the Evington Road area.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported, subject to the necessary approvals being given by the other two Ward Councillors.

c)         Karl Brown/KB In The Community/Warriors                              1,100

Application to fund Community basketball Leaders Fun Taster Sessions and thereby engage young people from all religions and cultures from the Stoneygate area who will learn numerous skills throughout the sessions.

RESOLVED:

That the application be deferred to the next meeting to enable officers gather more information about the bid.

d)        SJ2 Youth Club                                                                                   410

Application to part fund a weekend away at the Frontier Centre Adventure Park, Northamptonshire, for a group of youths from the SJ2 Youth Club based at St James Church.

RESOLVED:

That the application be agreed in principle subject to the officers questioning the applicant regarding the possible use of the Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre as an alternative to the venue in Northamptonshire.

i)          Greener Highfields Group

It was reported that this was group of volunteers who aimed to make the Highfields area greener.

One of the ideas being pursued was the planting of flower bulbs in the soil filled squares on pavements, where trees were formerly planted. The planting scheme so far covered the Upper Tichborne Street area and was about 50% complete. However a minor setback had occurred recently when it had been realised that the Group’s liability insurance needed upgrading.

ii)         Community Notice Boards

It was reported that the two Community Notice Boards, to be funded by the Community Meeting were now on order. One location was to be on the wall of the Co-operative supermarket, the shop’s owners having given agreement. The location for the second Notice Board had yet to be decided.

It was noted that the next meeting would be held at 6.00 pm on Monday 14^th March 2011, at a venue to be confirmed.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 8.15 pm.