Agenda and minutes

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.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were given.

An apology for absence was received from Nicole, City Warden as she and other City Wardens had been working at the site of the fatal explosion on Hinckley Road.

In response to a question relating to declarations of interest, the Chair said that she was a member of the Thurnby Lodge Community Association, but there were no funding applications from that organisation for consideration at this time.

The Chair asked the meeting to observe a one minute silence in honour of Alderman John Allen, who had recently died.  The Chair stated that Alderman Allen had been a Councillor in the Thurncourt Ward, had been very well respected and carried out excellent work during his time as a Councillor.

Attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log was noted and agreed.

There will be an update on any issues the Ward Councillors have been dealing with since the previous meeting.

Attendees were asked to note an update on the issues that Councillor Aldred had been dealing with. The update included the following:

·      A considerable amount of time had been spent on case work relating to housing issues and issues relating to highways and speeding vehicles (including Bowhill Grove/ Scraptoft Lane) and potholes. 

·      Councillor Aldred had been informed that the Ocean Road Community Centre would be demolished in March 2018. The Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhood Services had said that the land there would revert to flat land and nothing would be built on it. An attendee asked whether the land would be re-classified to prevent it being built up.  Action: Officers to check.

·      In relation to the proposed war memorial, funding would be required for the granite block, as it would not be donated. Councillor Aldred was liaising with Rev Paul Savage; it was necessary to discuss the issue with the wider community, to ascertain whether they would be agreeable for funding to be taken from the community meeting budget.

·      Concerns were expressed as to whether Councillor Aldred was receiving appropriate support in view of the extra work she was undertaking in the absence of Councillor Newcombe. The Chair advised that she was receiving a lot of support from officers in Democratic Support and the situation would become clearer after the end of March.

·      Councillor Aldred had been working closely with people from De Montfort University Square Mile Project; some excellent work was being done in the ward.

An update will be provided on the De Montfort University Square Mile work that has taken place within the Ward,

Attendees were asked to note an update from a representative of the De Montfort University Square Mile project. Points made included the following:

·         The Square Mile in Thurnby Lodge was launched in October 2017 but before that students had been seeking the views of residents; responses received expressed concerns at the lack of provision for children and young people.

·         A range of activities were now being held, including a free art club on Saturday mornings, a youth club on Wednesday evening with the possibility of setting up a second club for younger people.

·         A group of ‘Twirlers’ had been sponsored. They would be going to the Nationals and special outfits had been designed and funded for them.

·         An indoor miniature garden group had been set up for adults, with the aim of helping ease social isolation.

·         Eight students had signed up as volunteers to help people in their homes with specific projects.

·         Residents were asked for further ideas; the Square Mile could help by offering volunteer support and some funding might be available. Action: Residents.

A representative from the Thurnby Rangers thanked the Square Mile for the excellent work they had been doing with the club.

An update will be provided on any highways and transportation issues within the Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from Robert Bateman, Special Projects Manager from Highways, Leicester City Council. During the update and ensuring discussion, a number of points were made which included the following.

·      Complaints received, demonstrated that a major concern related to speeding on Thurncourt Road. Data showed that the speeding occurred mainly at night rather than during the day. Any measures implemented to slow down traffic at night would also impact on day time traffic. Robert questioned how residents might feel if speed humps were installed on Thurncourt Road.

·      In relation to a suggestion for a community speed watch scheme; Robert said there was already a volunteer scheme in Leicester. The volunteers could not issue tickets but could report back to the Police and advisory letters would be sent out.

·      Councillor Aldred stated that she had a petition with over 500 signatures relating to speeding traffic. She had delayed handing it in because the community had wanted an opportunity to negotiate with Highways, but as nothing was happening she was now prepared to hand it in to full council.  Councillor Aldred called for urgent action to be taken. Action:  Concerns to be forwarded to the City Highways Director with a request for him to take urgent action.

·      Robert said that he had been informed that a petition would be coming in requesting safety measures at the junction of Bowhill Grove and Scraptoft Lane.

·      A suggestion was made for priority refuges of chicanes to be installed in the area.

·      The Chair said that she had received a quote of approximately £3,000 for nine pencil bollards at Willowbrook School, but the school had concerns that this was not the answer and had asked for a meeting to look at what could be done. Action: Cllr Aldred and Robert Bateman.

·      Concerns were expressed that a large number of people drove their children to school even though they lived a very short distance away, this exacerbating parking problems.

·      Concerns were expressed about three vans that were regularly parked on the grass verge at Lambert Court, as they were creating a hazard. The area had been cordoned off but the tape had been cut and cones removed. Robert commented that he would have a look but railings might be a solution to the problem: Action:  Robert Bateman

·      It was noted that there had been a request for railings at Thurnby Lodge school as children were being put at risk. Robert was asked to check whether any progress had been made. Action: Robert Bateman.

·      At attendee also reported a problem with vans parked on pavements on Milnroy Road.

·      There was some discussion relating to the effectiveness of knee high railings with opposing views expressed relating to their safety and effectiveness. Councillor Aldred commented that she received many requests for knee high railings to combat irresponsible parking and she supported their installation wherever Highways could install them.

·      Attendees were asked to note that Police could only deal with parking issues on pavements where  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

There will be an update on Housing works within the Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from Andy East, Neighbourhood Housing Team Leader. Points made included the following:

·      Knee rail fencing had been installed on a variety of roads in the Ward. Bulk head lighting was also being installed on Homestone Gardens and Longstone Green.

·      There were plans to provide parking spaces for three vehicles on Sunbury Green; residents would be consulted once the designs were complete.

·      There had been some anti-social behaviour issues at the Willowbrook View maisonettes. Housing officers had worked with the Police and sought funding from the community meeting budget to erect security fencing and the situation had improved.

·      In response to a suggestion, Andy explained that the council did not have the money in the budget to help people turn their gardens into hard standing, but in the past they had contributed towards the installation of dropped kerbs.

·      A decision had been taken to close the Rowlatts Hill and the Humberstone Neighbourhood Housing Offices. A new reception desk would be provided at St Barnabas Library. Some concerns were expressed as to how people would get to St Barnabas. Andy explained that this was part of a council-wide decision, taken after consultation whereby the council would still provide a service but would operate from fewer buildings.  Members of the public were encouraged to access the service on-line.

A City Warden update will be provided on any environmental works within the Ward,

Members of the community were invited to raise questions relating to environmental enforcement issues. These would then be forwarded to the City Warden for a response. No questions were asked but Councillor Aldred expressed some concerns relating to dog fouling, particularly around the local schools. Action. Community Engagement Officer to report concerns to the City Warden.

The local Police team will be present to talk about Local Policing matters within the Thurncourt Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from PC Ben Orton and PS Rob Merrall. A briefing note was circulated to all present and is attached at the back of the Action Log.  

·      The Police had been working with schools to get more hard furniture and railings to tackle parking problems. Councillor Aldred stressed the need for Police presence at schools. An attendee asked whether there could be signs restricting waiting at certain times of the day. PS Orton explained that the Police could not be at the schools all the time, but asked people to notify them if there were specific problems.

·      It was noted that PC Orton would shortly be leaving the Thurncourt Ward to move to a different ward and would be replaced by PC Steve Base. Councillor Aldred and attendees thanked PC Orton for his work in the Thurncourt Ward over the previous ten years.

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

An update will be given on the Community Ward Budget.

Attendees were asked to note an update on the Ward Community Budget. Laura Burt the Community Engagement Officer reported that the balance in April 2017 was £18524, which included an amount carried forward from the previous financial year. £17023 had been spent during the year, which left a balance of £1501.

There would be a new allocation in the budget from 1 April 2018.

The meeting closed at 8.18 pm.