Agenda and minutes

Councillor Fonseca was elected as Chair for the meeting.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Wann.

Members of the public present requested that their dissatisfaction at the continued absence of Councillor Wann at Ward Community Meetings be recorded.

There were no declarations of interest made at this time.

The minutes of the Thurncourt Community Meeting held on 22 October 2012 have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

                        that the Minutes of the Thurncourt Community Meeting held on                  22 October 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

A short statement will be made about the City Mayor’s decision on the future use of the Scout Hut in Nursery Road.

Steve Goddard, Head of Community Services, read a statement on behalf of the City Mayor which provided information about the future of Thurncourt former scout hut.

It was reported that last year the City Council was approached by the Scout Association to help find an organisation to take over the lease of the former scout hut in Thurnby Lodge.

Agreement could not initially be found about who should take on the lease, so in December the council had consulted with local people – sending more than 7,000 questionnaires – on two options for the use of the former scout hut, with the aim of meeting the needs of all community groups.

Option one was for the council to buy the lease of the former scout hut and give responsibility for operating the building to the Forgotten Estates Group.  As-Salaam, a local Muslim group who had already used the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre and had done for some time would move to the Raven Centre.

Under option two, the council would buy the lease of the former scout hut and re-lease it to As-Salaam.

Over 1,400 responses had been received, with 1,046 in favour of option one, 125 in favour of option two, 120 with no preference and 116 returned blank.

The results on the consultation had shown that the vast majority of people who responded were in favour of the Forgotten estates Group taking over the responsibility for the former scout hut and As-Salaam moving from the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre into the Raven Centre.  Under this option a small number of services that operated in the Raven Centre would be supported by the council to move into the local community centre or one of the other facilities in the area.

After considering the matter directly with all the community groups concerned option one had been agreed as the preferred option.

Although there were still some details to be agreed the Forgotten Estates Group had started work on the former scout hut and council officers were discussing the lease arrangements with As-Salaam.

Following reading the prepared statement Steve Goddard confirmed that regretfully he could not disclose the cost or any other details of the lease being negotiated.

Clarification was sought concerning the future of the groups who would be required to move from the Raven Centre to accommodate As-Salaam.  It was reiterated that support would be offered to those groups with a view to them operating from the community centre or alternative community facilities in the ward.

In respect of the consultation exercise it was reported that a large amount of responses had included questions and comments which had not yet been answered.  Steve accepted this point and agreed that his team would provide answers where this was possible.

In conclusion of the item, representatives of the Forgotten Estates Group commented on the considerable work which had been undertaken by volunteers to improve the scout hut facilities. Display materials showing the extent of works had been prepared and discussed as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Housing officers will be at the meeting to discuss housing issues in the Ward.

Chrissie Field, Area Housing Manager, commented on capital improvement works which were due to be undertaken in the ward.

The make-up of the capital programme funding was clarified and it was noted that up to £50,000 had been allocated for works.  The difference in the funding of works from the Housing Revenue Account was explained and it was confirmed that funds could not be allocated to works in privately owned areas.  Examples of environmental improvement schemes were provided, including works to fences, improved parking bays and footpaths.

Community representatives and members of the public present were asked to consider and suggest possible schemes which would benefit from the funds available and to contact Chrissie accordingly.

Nicole Powell and Charlotte Glover circulated details of the City Warden’s work in the ward.

Progress since the previous meeting included work with Thurnby Lodge School, the Police and McDonalds to undertake a litter-pick of the estate.  It was also reported that fixed penalty notices had been issued for both fly-tipping and littering and that a prosecution for fly-tipping at the Thurncourt Road recycling banks was progressing.

Promotional and educational work was ongoing which included liaison with a number of businesses concerning waste contracts and multi-agency work to reduce the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Details of a poster campaign which offered a £500 reward to anyone with information in respect of graffiti ‘tags’ were circulated.

The City Wardens were thanked for their continued excellent work in the ward.

Sergeant Stuart Wood and PC Ben Orton introduced themselves to the meeting.

Sergeant Wood updated the meeting concerning the review of staffing of the service and commented that PC Andy Houghton would be joining his team together with a new Police Community Support Officer in March 2013.

In respect of operations it was reported that although the total figures of recorded incidents had reduced, continued crime and anti-social behaviour existed in some parts of the ward and that officers had regularly visited one location in particular.  The police methods for dealing with the problem and to lessen the effects of anti-social behaviour were described to the meeting.

The fireworks operation which had been undertaken in November had reduced the numbers of complaints and it was reported that only one unlawful bonfire had been reported to the police.

In respect of the crime figures generally, Sergeant Wood advised that reported burglaries had reduced and that crime prevention measures which had been promoted, including alarms and door chains, had led to this reduction.

In conclusion Sergeant Wood informed the meeting that the twitter account name had been changed to attract more followers from @LPThurncourt to @Thurncourtcops.

The police were thanked for their update and their operational successes in the ward.

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.

a)     The Members Support Officer will provide an update on the Ward Community budget for 2012/13; and

b)     The following grant applications are submitted for consideration:-

Application 1

Project:           40^th Anniversary Celebrations

Applicant:      East Leicester Dance Group

Amount Requested: 

Summary:

In March 2013 the Group will be celebrating 40 years of providing tuition and performing arts in dance experience to children and young people across the north east of Leicester.

As well as putting on a show for parents in April, the Group would like to hold a celebration event for dancers past and present.  This event will be free, in appreciation of the support received from dancers and parents over the years.

The Group is not seeking funding from any other source, but will be holding fundraising events, such as raffles, table top events and breakfast events.

A request also has been made to Humberstone and Hamilton Community Meeting for a grant of £500 towards this event.

Application 2

Project:           LE5 Boxercise – Fitness for All Proposal

Applicant:      The Forgotten Estates Community Association

Amount Requested: 

Summary:

The Forgotten Estates group want to establish a Boxercise/Fitness centre in the LE5 postcode area.

Boxercise is an exercise class based on the training concepts boxers use to keep fit.  Classes can take a variety of formats, for example shadow boxing, skipping, hitting pads, kicking punch bags, press-ups, shuttle runs and sit-ups.

Most Boxercise classes are aimed at men and women of all ages and fitness standards, as no class involves the physical hitting of an opponent.  It is a fun, challenging and safe workout for everyone, no matter what their size, shape or sex.

As this will involve starting from scratch, various pieces of specialist equipment are needed.  For example, mats, boxing gloves, skipping ropes, boxing ring, sit-up benches, buckets, head guards, hand raps (tapes), boxing pads, running machine dumbells, medicine balls, exercise bike, punch bags and shadow boxing mirrors will be needed.  the projected cost of this equipment is £12,000.

The project will be available to anyone within the LE5 postcode catchment area.  It is particularly hoped to work closely with recognised youth providers in the area and to encourage young people not in employment, education or training to become involved.

The project will be delivered by qualified instructors, all of whom will be fully CRB checked.

Sessions will be run between 5.00 pm and 9.30 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  ...  view the full agenda text for item 31.

Surinder Singh, Member Support Officer, presented the latest position with regard to the Ward Community Budget.

Applications for funding had been received for consideration and funding was approved as follows:

·         40^th Anniversary Celebrations – East Leicester Dance Group

Amount          £500

This application was approved.

·         LE5 Boxercise – Forgotten Estates Community Association

Amount          £3,500 (joint bid with one other ward)

This application was approved in the sum of £1,750

·         Scout Hut Refurbishment Project – Thurnby Lodge Community Forum

Amount          £2,600

This application was approved.

Surinder advised that, following the above approvals; £6,555 remained in the Ward Community Budget.

Councillor Fonseca encouraged community groups and representatives to submit bids for funding before the end of the financial year.

Noted as 25 March 2013

POST MEETING NOTE: This meeting has been moved to 26 March 2013

Councillor Fonseca thanked everyone for their attendance.

The meeting was closed at 7.20 pm.