Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Jenny Pickering.

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 June 2010, have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The Chair reported that the City Council was trying to find savings of £7.7m in the current financial year. He stated that money had been allocated to remove graffiti from the Braunstone Lane East Bridge and to clean up the underpass on Hand Avenue.

The Chair informed the Community Meeting that usage statistics on Manor House Neighbourhood Centre had been circulated and were available if anybody wished to see them. A factsheet was also available. Residents were informed that a consultation with regard to community facilities in the area would be taking place. Meetings about this had been arranged for next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Oak Centre however the Chair raised concern as the venue was located in the Braunstone area of the ward.

In response to queries raised at the last meeting, it was reported that there was no bottle bank on Avery Hill and the cost to the Council of sending waste to landfill was £7.2m.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the meeting of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting, held on 16 June 2010 be confirmed as a correct record.

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. Funding for previous applications has been allocated as follows:

·        Manor House Action Group – Funding for Public Meeting - £220.

Appendix A1

The Chair agreed to take the budget item first.

It was reported that no new budget applications had been received. The Chair reported that the following application had been approved under delegated authority:

·        Manor House Action Group – Funding for Public Meeting - £220.

There will be an opportunity to discuss and assist in developing the future Ward Action Plan for the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward.

The Chair stated that it was important priorities and issues in the ward were identified so they could be fed into the Council’s budget process for next year which was due to begin in September. He commented that it was also important due to the local elections next year it was important that all candidates standing for the ward knew what the issues were in the area.

It was stated that the current big issues in the area were:

• The closure of Riverside School – The Chair stated that pupils and staff at the school would continue to be supported until the closure. It was also aimed to secure the continued use of the site for educational purposes. The Chair reported that the Ward Councillors had a meeting with the Cabinet Lead for Children and Schools planned for early September.
• Manor House Neighbourhood Centre and the associated playing fields – The Chair stated that it was proposed to secure the reopening of the centre. It was also proposed to retain the playing fields as open space and explore future community use of the land. A resident stated that if the Centre was reopened then more security and better lighting was needed in the area.
• Bus routes – It was noted that residents had raised concerns that the current bus routes did not serve the community well. Concern was also raised that there was no bus which took people directly to the City Council offices from Rowley Fields. The Chair suggested that an audit of public transport needs for residents in Rowley Fields was needed. This included addressing concerns raised regarding the rerouting of the number 50 bus.
• Evesham Road link – it was noted that there had been a lot of campaigning on this issue however it was stated that the County Council did have a say on the road and it was on their strategic plan.  The Chair stated that it was propsoed to seek the withdrawal from the County Council of the Evesham Road link.
• Tesco’s/Anti Social Behaviour – It was reported that the Coalition Government were seeking a revision of the licensing laws. The Chair stated that it was proposed to continue high level monitoring of anti social behaviour associated with Tesco’s.

The Chair reported on the main issues that had been noted on the patch walks that had been conducted by the Members in the ward. These fell into the Environment and Traffic and Streets categories. The Chair also stated the proposed actions to address the issues that had been raised. These included:

Environment Issues

• Litter – particular hotspots included Narborough Road frontages, River Byam and Great Central way. It was also noted that there may be a shortage of bins. It was proposed that the provision of additional litter bins would be explored.
• Graffiti – mostly to cable boxes, road signs, post boxes and Great Central Way.
• Street Cleaning – issues included detritus to gutters and seasonal weeds. It was proposed that more regular  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

It was announced that the next meeting would take place on Tuesday 19^th October, 5:30pm at Cort Crescent Community Centre.

The meeting closed at 7:13pm.