Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Cooke and Glover.

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.

No declarations were made.

The minutes of the previous Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting, held on 16 December 2009, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting, held on 16 December 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.

There will be a live performance from the Kidz 2 Entertain U performing arts group.

There was a live performance from the dance group Kidz 2 Entertain U. Before the performance the group thanked the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward, Community Meeting and the ward Councillors for providing funding for the group which allowed them to perform at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.

The Chair thanked the group for their performance.

There will be a written update provided on the Highways and Transport related queries that have been raised at previous meetings.

A sheet containing responses to the Highways and Transport issues raised at the previous meeting had been provided. The responses were as follows:

Traffic Calming on Winstanley Drive

It was reported that Winstanley Drive and other roads had been traffic calmed in 1994. A report on the effects of traffic calming measures was currently being prepared and would be presented to the Cabinet Lead Member in around April/May 2010.

Verge Hardening

It was reported that the Local Environment Works programme for 2010/11 was currently being put together. A draft list for the programme would include painting works for the Braunstone Lane East Bridge and some funding for the Braunstone Lane verge between numbers 341 to 348. It was noted that the programme was subject to approval from Cabinet.

Grit Bins in the Braunstone Lane Area

It was reported that a number of requests for grit bins had been received by the City Council and as part of the winter services review in May/June 2010 these would be assessed based upon criteria. This would include consultation with local Members and residents.

It was further reported that there were currently 160 grit bins provided around the city. There were costs associated with supplying and maintaining grit bins and it had to be ensured that appropriate balance was achieved between the expenditure on grit bins and road gritting activities.  Problems had also occurred where grit bins had reduced the width of a footpath which had impacted on pedestrians and members of the public had taken the grit for their own personal use. The Community Meeting was informed that a grit bin cost around £200 to install and £70 thereafter to refill.

Flooding in the Car Park at Braunstone Leisure Centre

It was reported that the gullies in the car park were not draining effectually and rain water was ponding in the car park and surcharging onto the highway. The issue had been investigated and it appeared that the car park interceptor/catchpit needed cleaning of silts and oils. It was further reported that the Leisure Centre had been informed of this problem as the problem was the responsibility of the facility management/ property owner.

Road Surfaces on Imperial Avenue and Fosse Road

It was reported that emergency pothole repairs had been undertaken in recent weeks in Fosse Road South however any plans for significant carriageway resurfacing work was subject to funding being available. It was added that that the state of Fosse Road had been flagged up previously and at the time it was estimated that cost to the full area would be £400,000.

In addition, the following concerns were raised:

·        Potholes on Braunstone Lane.  It was agreed that the person rasing the issue would see Mary-Louise Harrison, Members Support Officer at the end of the meeting.

There will a presentation on the rollout of the City Warden Service across the city and how this will benefit the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Ward.

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Manager provided a presentation on the City Warden service.

Barbara stated that the City Warden service had initially been a pilot project however would now be rolled out to all wards in the city and every ward would have a City Warden from April 12 2010. She added that the Wardens would attend meetings such as Community Meetings and Joint Action Groups. 

A DVD explaining further the services provided by the City Wardens was played.

Barbara informed the Community Meeting that from May 2010, the City Council would be launching a new service whereby members of the public would be able to take a picture of any problem they witnessed such as fly tipping and then send this to the City Council and then the team within the Council that was responsible for the issue would deal with the problem.

Barbara explained that previously residents had identified the priorities for the ward and the City Wardens aimed to work on these areas, These included littering, dog fouling, bins on streets and graffiti. The Wardens also attended events to educate people and work with the community, these included schools, fetes, carnivals and festivals.

The Community Meeting was informed that the City Wardens had recently received funding and had purchased litter pick kits. Residents were informed that if they wished to organise a litter pick in their area then they could contact the City Warden service who would help organise the clean up.

Barbara explained further some of the issues covered by the City Wardens. These included the following:

·        Littering – The City Wardens had attended assemblies in schools across the city to educate children about littering. It was also noted that a juvenile policy would be brought in which would allow fines to be given to young people who dropped litter.

·        Dog Fouling – There had been increased signage informing people of how to dispose of dog waste.

·        Bins on Streets – The procedures to get a resident to remove a bin from the street were explained. If a resident left their bin on the street, a leaflet would be placed through their letterbox. If on the following week the bin had still not been removed then a card would be sent to the resident informing them of services if they had difficulties removing the bins themselves. If the bin had still not been removed the following week then a visit was arranged and if there was still no cooperation after this then a legal notice was served which would result in a fine. The Community Meeting was informed that it cost the Fire Brigade £2,000 to put out a bin fire.

·        Fly posting – It was explained that last year 17,500 fly posters had been removed in the city. Clubs and individuals had also been prosecuted. A licence outlined how much leaflets each venue was allowed to distribute and if these conditions were breached then they would face a fine and their material would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

There will be feedback provided from the recent patch walks that have been conducted in the area.

Councillor Naylor provided feedback on the patch walks that had been conducted in the North Braunstone area during January and February 2010.

Patchwalk 1 22/01/2010

Some of the issues that had been highlighted included:

·        Car parking on the pavement on Gallards Hil.

·        The former Braunstone Recreation Centre site overgrown and used for waste tipping. Graffiti also on the cable box in the area.

·        Water holding on the street on Hockley Farm Road.

·        Litter on Hand Avenue

·        The play area/football pitch overgrown with a lot of dead plants.

Patchwalk 2 23/01/2010

Some of the issues that had been highlighted included:

·        Gallards Hill road surface in a deteriorating state.

·        Large area of land on Gunthorpe Road used for fly tipping.

·        Vehicles parking on the pavement of Heyford Road.

·        Vehicles parking on the pavement, street litter and cable boxes in need of repair on Gunthorpe Road.

·        Three recycling facilities in a mess and grass verges driven on, on Avery Hill.

Patchwalk 3 30/01/2010

Some of the issues that had been highlighted included:

·        Road repairs looking untidy outside the Braunstone Open Learning Centre.

·        Signs of vehicles driving on grassed area of Cantrell Road/Braunstone Lane

·        Depressions in grass area in need of repair and signs of damage due to cars.

·        Litter strewn in the hedgerow and on the grass on Braunstone Lane to Hand Avenue.

·        Litter around the entrance to Bendbow School.

·        Cars parked on pavement on Bendbow Rise.

·        Car parked on the pavement, cable box in need of repair and hedging overgrown and overhanging onto the pavement on Wilmore Crescent.

Patchwalk 4 22/01/2010

Some of the issues that had been highlighted included:

·        Litter in the verges on Meadwell Road.

·        Overgrown grass and weeds through the metal fencing abutting the path on the Highway Spinney.

·        Cars parked on the grassed area with evidence on tyre markings and damage along with litter on Wyatt Close/Braunstone Avenue.

·        Graffiti on the CCTV camera tower on the corner of Meadwell Road and Cantrell Road.

·        Evidence of vehicle damage on Gallards Hill.

Councillor Naylor stated that the issues identified from the patch walks had been passed onto Council officers.

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.

Mary-Louise Harrison, Members Support Officer will give an update on the Community Meeting Budget. The following application has been received:

·        Community Fund Basketball Sessions, Karl Brown - £1,350

Appendix B1

·        Braunstone Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Club, Helen McNulty - £1, 719                                                                                         Appendix B2

·        Braunstone Street Sports Graffiti Project, Brian Stafford - £3, 000

Appendix B3

·        Telling Tales, Lighthouse Learning – £2, 550

Appendix B4

·        Braunstone Community Association (b-inspired), Braunstone Clean-Up Campaign, 2010 - £1,500                                    Appendix B5

The Chair presented the budget for the Community Meeting.

There had been five applications submitted for funding.

1)     Community Fund Basketball Sessions, Karl Brown - £1,350.

The application was for the running of 20 community fun basketball fun sessions at the Braunstone Leisure Centre. The Chair stated that there was concern raised around equipment however this issue had now been resolved.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,350 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund subject to approval from Councillors Cooke and Glover and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

2)     Braunstone Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing Club, Helen McNulty - £1,719.

The application was for supporting club members with new equipment and tracksuits for the events they participated in.

The Chair stated that the applicant had agreed to meet some of the costs relating to the tracksuits and the t-shirts

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,419 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillors Cooke and Glover and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

3)     Braunstone Street Sports Graffiti Project, Brian Stafford, Leicester City Council - £3,000

The application was to carry out consultation, design and production of large signage and graffiti events at Braunstone Street Sports.

The Chair stated that the £1,500 per sign was an estimated cost based on the printing, production and installation of the signs.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £3,000 be allocated from the Ward Community Action Plan Fund subject to approval from Councillors Cooke and Glover and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

4)     Telling Tales, Lighthouse Learning, £2,550

The application was to deliver extra curricular sessions at Caldecote Primary School.

The Chair stated that a suggestion had been made that the management costs should be met by the school however the group had not responded. It was agreed that funding be provided for the application however not for the management costs.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,725 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund subject to approval from Councillors Cooke and Glover and final approval from the Cabinet Lead for Front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

5)     Braunstone Clean-Up Campaign 2010, Braunstone Commuity Association (b-inspired), £1,500

The application was for the Braunstone Clean-Up Group which was a Task Group of the Braunstone Neighbourhood Management Board. The Chair stated that the clean up campaign was a community clean up with work being done around the area of the new skate park. Others areas included Hockley Farm Road and Rancliffe Gardens.

The Chair stated that he was minded to support this application. 

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,500 be allocated from the Ward Community Action Plan Fund subject to approval from Councillors Cooke and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

Manor House Neighbourhood Centre

Residents raised concern at the closure of Manor House Neighbourhood Centre. Particular concern was raised that residents were not told of the closure and there had been no consultation. Residents felt that the Rowley Fields community were not included into the City Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy. They requested that residents be kept informed of all decisions relating to Manor House in the future. Further concern was raised that Manor House was the only community facility in the ward.

The Chair stated that he had met residents about the closure of Manor House and that an incident had occurred at the venue which had raised health and safety issues. It had been decided that the building should remain closed whilst an investigation was concluded. He commented that there was an issue about community centres across the city and it was currently being looked at if they were providing value for money. He suggested that Steve Goddard, Head of Community Services be invited to the next meeting as he would be able to provide correct information with regard to Manor House.

A resident queried why the Manor House playing fields could not be used. The Chair stated that the fields belonged to Ellesmere College however had been closed due to dog fouling. He encouraged residents to let the ward Councillors know if there was any land where playing fields could be located.

Riverside School

Residents also raised concern at the closure of Riverside School. A resident stated that the Rowley Fields area was the hardest hit by the community facilities closing and commented that this issue needed addressing urgently by the Council. Residents stated that people who attended previous clubs held at Manor House or Riverside now had to travel a further distance to go to other clubs and that there was a demand for community facilities in Rowley Fields. A resident commented it had been stated that Manor House was not fit for purpose however he did not believe this and requested details of why the building has been classified as not fit for purpose. The Chair stated that he was not sure if there was a report on the building however there had been a letter sent to residents.

The Chair stated that Riverside School had shown a declining number of pupils intake for a number of years. He commented that he disagreed with the way it was taken forward and the way the consultation was done. However when presented with the figures he understood why it was done and this had to be balanced with the Council’s budget.

A resident raised concern that Riverside with a 37% pass rate had been closed compared with 20% of Fulhurst Community College. The Chair stated that a lot more input per child had been put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

The meeting closed at 7:23pm.