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.

Councillor Aldred as Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were given.

Attached for information and discussion.

The Action Log of the previous meeting held 5 March 2018 was confirmed as a correct record.

There will be an update on the issues that the Ward Councillors have been dealing with since the previous Community Meeting.

Attendees were asked to note:

·      The Chair had been in discussions with Adrian Edge from the Parks services; it was expected that some new play equipment would be installed in the park this year.

·      The Community Centre on Ocean Road had been demolished and put back to flat land. Residents had expressed concerns about what would be put there as for example, seating might lead to anti social behaviour. The Chair believed that the land would be maintained by the council, though this might just be grass cutting. Concerns were expressed by attendees that grass was overgrown as it was not being cut regularly. The Chair added that she and residents had tried to keep the community centre open but it had not been possible.

·      The Chair had also been dealing with constituents’ housing issues and general case work.

Officers from Leicestershire Police will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in Thurncourt Ward.

PC 4031 Steve Base introduced himself and PCSO 6092 Danny Burton to the meeting and explained that they were new to Thurncourt.

Attendees were asked to note the Thurncourt Police update a copy of which is attached to the back of this Action Log. Attendees heard that the Police were trying to monitor parking problems at both Thurnby Lodge Academy and Willowbrook Primary.

In response to a question about CCTV, PC Base stated that the cameras had film in them and they were monitored 24 / 7 by the council. The cameras were currently in a default position to cover a wide area, but could be altered to zoom in on a specific location. People were asked to call 101 and give as much detail as possible if they had specific concerns and the camera could be adjusted as appropriate. An attendee commented that concerns and information about speeding traffic on Thurncourt Road had regularly been reported and therefore more action should have been taken by the Police in response.

The meeting will receive an update on the issues that the City Warden has been dealing with in the Thurncourt Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from Nicole Powell, the City Warden for Thurncourt, Humberstone and Hamilton and Evington. An information leaflet was circulated and is attached to the back of this Action Log.

An attendee commented that he never saw the City Warden and Nicole explained that she attended the community meetings but because she covered three wards, instead of generally patrolling, she responded to specific issues and complaints. Residents were asked to report issues or concerns to her. These could be emailed to city.warden@leicester.gov.uk

Housing officers will give an update on housing issues in the Ward.

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

·      Funding had been made available from the environmental budget to provide three parking spaces on Sunbury Green. However additional funding had been secured from Highways and the parking spaces were being increased to ten.

·      Ten parking bays were being provided in Homestone Gardens.

·      Following issues with security around the shops on Thurncourt Road, it had been agreed to install fencing. Funding had been secured but the possibility of a cheaper quote was being investigated.

·      Possibilities of installing dropped kerbs in properties rented by council tenants were being considered. The properties needed to have hard standing and certain criteria needed to be met. Andy welcomed suggestions for appropriate sites. An attendee commented that a parking area on Eddystone Road could be created if a grassy area was paved over.

·      Andy was aware that work was needed to the planters outside the shops and he was trying to establish who was responsible for maintaining the planters.

·      Attendees were reminded that the new system of universal credit applied to people of working age who had a change to their benefits. Universal Credit (which included Housing Benefit) was now administered by the Department of Work and Pensions.

A concern was raised relating to overgrown grass that was covering the footpaths by Ocean Road. There was also a broken manhole cover on one of the footpaths. Action: Andy to report the concern to the relevant Housing Officer.

An attendee reported that the railings at Thurnby Lodge Academy were rusty. Action: Punum Patel, the Community Engagement Officer to report the concern to the relevant department. 

Highways officers will give an update on highways issues in the Ward.

Attendees were asked to note an update from Robert Bateman, Special Projects Manager from Highways.

School Parking: The council was carrying out a number of actions to tackle problem parking at schools including working with Sustrans and Living Streets to encourage people to walk to school. They were active in both Willowbrook and Thurnby Lodge Academy and the work was being well received.  An attendee commented that an email had been sent from one of the local schools to say that safety bollards were being put outside all the schools. Robert responded that the council was looking to put in safety measures in all schools, but bollards were not necessarily appropriate everywhere.

The council had a dedicated officer to go into schools to see what ‘hard measures’ such as bollards were feasible. She was working through all the schools in Leicester on a priority basis and it was hoped that she would come into Thurncourt later this year.

An attendee reported that people were double parking on Dudley Avenue and stated that yellow lines were needed.

Community Speed Watch was now available whereby a group of residents monitored speed.  Although fines could not be issued, letters would be sent to motorists caught speeding.

There was some discussion relating to a petition for a crossing by the Scraptoft Lane / Bowhill Road junction where a child was knocked down and badly injured. Before the petition was submitted, attendees at an earlier community meeting had agreed to wait to see if Highways would take appropriate action. The Chair asked for a report or action plan on what was happening with this, to be brought to the next Thurncourt Community Meeting. Action: Robert Bateman

Comments were also made relating to a crossing that people understood was going to be installed further down Scraptoft Lane, near the shops on Cardinal’s Walk. The Chair requested that an update on this be brought to the next community meeting. Action: Robert Bateman

The Chair asked for a lock to be placed on the grit bin by the shops on Thurncourt Road, with two keys being left with the local shops. A lock on the bin would prevent children accessing the grit and scattering it round the area. Action: Punum Patel / Robert Bateman

With the Chair’s agreement, attendees received an update on the De Montfort University Square Mile Project. The meeting was asked to note:

·      The project commenced in October 2017 and the Square Mile had worked with young people on a number of different projects and older people to combat social isolation. As part of this 100 university students had been working on the Thurnby Lodge estate.

·      Two exciting projects were in the pipeline including work with the Phoenix Cinema to bring a cinema screen to Thurnby Lodge.  Square Mile was also entering into a partnership with Arts Council England to create arts provision for children age 0- 3 years (and their parents/ Carers).                             

·      The way the estate had responded had been inspiring; the project now wanted to more forward and ideas from residents were welcome as to how the estate could be improved. Residents were asked to contact either the Square Mile Project or Councillor Aldred.

There was some discussion about publicity and it was suggested that leaflets could be placed in schools and also made available at parents’ evenings and school fetes etc.

An attendee asked the project to help with some football provision for girls. It was suggested that the attendee should speak to Wayne Allen or Pat Derby and also that they should work with Thurnby Rangers as that club was already affiliated with the Football Association. The representative from Square Mile offered to do this on behalf of the resident.

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

The Ward Community Engagement Officer will provide an update on the Thurncourt Community Meeting budget.

Punum Patel, the Community Engagement Officer presented an update on the ward community budget. The meeting heard that three applications had been supported

The Seabrook Group - £300 for a Chair Based Exercise Instructor

The 55^th - £450 for the installation of 3 hand dryers

£2000 towards 2 mobile CCTV cameras for the Leicester East Wards

A balance of £15750 remained in the budget, though some applications were being processed.

Applications needed to be submitted on-line and help with this could be arranged if needed.  Decisions on applications for £500 or less could be considered at any time. Applications exceeding £500 would be considered three times per year in line with the deadline for receipt of funding applications. The next deadline for applications was 30 September 2018.

Comments were made that residents wanted more information on the applications and for details to be brought to the community meeting. Punum explained that the process was set by Executive Member but she would however feedback those comments. She was not in a position to discuss individual applications. Action: Punum Patel to feedback the concerns expressed regarding the budget process, to the Senior Project Manager, Neighbourhood Services.

Progress was requested on an application for the war memorial and concern was expressed that the memorial had not yet been installed. There was support for the idea but the site had not yet been agreed. The Rev Paul Savage added that different options were being explored and this took time. The Chair stated that officers were dealing with application and had spoken to the applicant.

The meeting closed at 8.02pm.