Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Cooke and Glover.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting, held on 16 August 2011, are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held 16 August 2011 were agreed as a correct record.

There will be information provided on the new orange bag recycling scheme which is being rolled out across the city.

Sophie Glover, Biffa informed residents of the new orange bag recycling scheme.

Sophie explained that there were 50 bags in the first roll which housholds received and everyone should also have received an information pack including leaflets.

Residents were informed that this was the first week of collections and hopefully would be seen as a step forward for the city. The scheme was designed to get more people recycling and a wider range of items could be placed in the bags so people might feel they were getting a better service.

Angie Wright, b-inspired will provide a presentation on a project concerning older people in the ward.

Angie Wright, b-inspired provided a presentation on the Braunstone Older People’s Consultation 2011.

Angie explained that around 18 months ago there had been a consultation carried out on the Braunstone estate by the Braunstone Foundation which had identified the following priorities:

·         Work with younger people.

·         Raising educational attainment.

·         Improving services for older people.

·         Good health.

·         Crime/anti social behaviour.

The current consultation was based specifically on older person’s needs. Residents were informed that there was no previous data detailing what services older people wanted or needed. Discussions had been held with the Ward Councillors which had led to a funding bid being submitted to undertake further consultation directly with older people. Any data collected would be used to directly identify activities to be commissioned through the Neighbourhood Action Plan and help inform the Ward Action Plan and wider city policy.

Details were provided of the consultation. Some of the main points included:

·         The data gathered had been entered onto a bespoke database so that the information gathered could be analysed and needs identified.

·         The consultation had taken place over a four month period (Feb – June)

·         Data was collected by methods such as one to one interviews, at the doorstep, at community venues and doctors surgeries.

·         Following analysis, two main themes had emerged, these were loneliness and isolation, and access to information. Focus groups had been set up to further explore these areas.

Further information was provided on the responses received. It was reported that 200 people had been surveyed which represented 9.2% of the over 60s in the area. Angie provided a breakdown on issues raised such as what type of property the respondents lived in along with a list of most used services as identified from the responses. Other topics covered included most used forms of transport to get around, main issues identified by older people from the consultation and any additional services which older people wanted.

Angie explained the immediate actions that had taken place following the consultation. These included:

·         Reporting of any housing related queries.

·         Referrals made to social services.

·         Information on current activities taking place provided.

·         Referrals made to GPs.

·         Funding application submitted to Comic Relief for volunteer run befriending and information scheme.

·         Contact made with Citizens Advice to bring in services.

Individual examples of what was found when carrying out the consultation were provided including examples of where action was taken to help the individual.

Suggestions were also provided on what could be done to help resolve some of the issues that had been raised. These included:

·         A befriending scheme.

·         An information and referral point relevant to older people.

·         A range of activities: craft groups, lunch clubs, coffee mornings, computer training etc.

Angie also informed residents of a bonfire event taking place this Saturday which also included a fashion event.

There will be an update on the proposals for the Riverside School site.

A written update on the Riverside School site outlining the current situation was circulated to everyone at the meeting. The Chair explained there had been a change to the process following the election. It was hoped a fuller update would be brought to the next meeting.

There will be a chance to discuss the ways in which bus services could be improved and information will be provided on the new Bus Users Panel for which nominations for representatives from the Community will be sought. 

Mark Wills, Head of Transport Strategy provided information on how the Council was aiming to improve bus services and on the Bus Users Panel.

Mark explained that he and other officers provided a link between the City Council and the bus companies. Residents were informed that the City Mayor has identified areas of improvement regarding bus services in his first 100 days pledge.  These included:

·         Pledge 2 – Establishing a Bus Users Panel. It was explained that the purpose of the panel was to support the City Mayor in holding the bus companies to account.

·         Pledge 74 – Establish a smart card system for use on buses. Mark explained that the introduction of the ‘Onecard’ had been announced on 15 August. Residents were also informed that Arriva and First would be introducing a concessionary smart card next week and Centrebus would be introducing this in December. Following the introduction of the concessionary smart card, it was hoped that the use of the card would expand.

·         Pledge 96 – Improve the Humberstone Gate East area. Mark explained that designs for this area had been approved by the Deputy City Mayor and it was expected that the work would take 10 months to complete.

·         Pledge 99 – Hold discussions with the bus companies. Mark explained that a meeting had taken place between the bus companies and the City and Deputy City Mayor and the City Mayor had stated that he wished to work closely with the bus companies. Mark commented that a Quality Bus Partnership was looking to be introduced along with a statutory partnership. It was stated that this would take around 9-12 months and was done from an order enforced by the Traffic Commissioner.

With regards to the Bus Users Panel, it was explained that the Membership would be as follows:

·         Chaired by the Deputy City Mayor.

·         Support by the City Council’s Transport Strategy team.

·         Other elected Councillors.

·         3 representatives from the Forum for Older People and the 50+ Network.

·         A representative from the Young People’s Council.

·         A disability representative.

·         A representative from each ward Community Meeting.

Mark stated that he wished to hear views regarding bus services especially those which had stopped running past 9pm.

A resident requested that a young person’s pass should be brought out as his daughter had to pay full fare as she looked older despite being a child. Mark agreed to look into this as it was thought the current smart card system would be able to register younger people.

The Chair encouraged residents to put themselves forward to be on the Panel.

The Chair agreed to accept this item.

PC Cara Guest and PC Darren Cramp were present to provide a policing update for the area.

It was reported that there had been a rise in car crime due to a number of people were leaving their doors open. Residents were informed that a leaflet had been delivered requesting people lock their doors. Residents were informed to report if they witnessed anyone acting suspiciously. They were able to dial 0116 2222222 or 999 if it was an emergency.

Residents were encouraged to be more vigilant with Bonfire night and Halloween coming up and were told to report any issues related to fireworks if they witnessed any.

Residents will be informed on how issues raised in the ward action plan are being tackled.

The Chair reported that the Councillors were dividing the work in the action plan amongst themselves. The tasks in the plan would be broken down and there would be an overview provided on who was doing what at the next meeting.

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.

There will be an update on the Community Meeting budget.

The following budget applications have been received.

Applicant: Val Kindred (Leicestershire County Netball)

Amount: £745

Proposal: Back to Netball

Summary:

Working with the NGB Officer for Netball, Physical Activity Officer for Leicester City Council, and the Community Development Worker at Surestart, a 10 week course will be piloted to encourage women aged 16+ to get back in to netball at a local venue near to them.  Mothers at the Surestart will be targeted, but sessions also will be open to the local community to attend.

This project will link to the 3X30 campaign, which encourages people to make a commitment to do three 30-minute exercise sessions per week.  The Back to Netball session could be counted as one of these and all participants would be encouraged to sign up for the 3x30 campaign, (which is free to participate in).

The grant requested would go towards funding a weekly Back to Netball session in the Ward over a 10-week period.  The money would go towards a venue and a netball coach to deliver the sessions.  The Children’s Centre will offer free child care to session participants.

As an introductory offer, the sessions will cost £1 per person, which will go up to £2 if the sessions are successful, to enable them to continue.  This will go towards funding and sustaining the sessions on a long-term basis and contribute to a tournament event that it is hoped will be held at the Soar Valley Netball Centre. 

The tournament event will be held between the three groups established from the three courses that it is hoped to fund across the City.  It will celebrate the 10 week course and enable people to use the skills they have learned to play a few matches.

The success of the project will be monitored through the 3X30 pledge campaign, as users can be tracked at each completed stage over a 36 week period.

No other funding has been sought for this project.

The following application has been approved through the fast track process by Members as it is under £500.

Applicant: Mr David Kayemba

Amount: £360

Proposal: Leicester Zim Warriors FC

Summary:

Leicester Zim Warriors FC is a current football team that plays at Victoria Park. It comprises of 48 Members who come from mixed cultural backgrounds. The group consists of mainly unemployed young  ...  view the full agenda text for item 27.

The Chair presented the Community Meeting budget and informed the meeting that Councillors Cooke and Glover had also given agreement for the below applications.

The following applications were submitted for consideration.

·         Back to Netball, Val Kindred (Leicestershire County Netball) - £745

It was explained that the application was to pilot a 10 week course for women (16+) to get back into Netball at a local venue near to them.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £745 be allocated subject to final approval from the relevant Cabinet Lead.

·         Braunstone Community Bonfire and Fireworks Display - 2011, b-inspired- £2,000

It was explained that the application was for the contribution towards the costs of staging the Braunstone Community Bonfire and Firework Display on Friday 4 November 2011 on Braunstone Park.

RESOLVED:

that the application be supported and £1,000 be allocated subject to final approval from the relevant Cabinet Lead.

It was reported that the following application had been approved through the fast track process by the ward Councillors as it was under £500:

·         Leicester Zim Warriors FC, Mr David Kayemba - £360

It was explained that the application was to support the Leicester Zim Warriors football team with running costs which currently played at Victoria Park and comprised of some people from the ward.

Noel Cazley, City Warden for the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward encouraged residents to let him know of any grot spot areas. He also informed residents that he was looking for volunteers to help with further clean-ups.

Residents were notified that there was a Community Clean up taking place on Tuesday 25 October 2011. Residents were informed to meet at Braunstone Park lodge if they were interested.

It was reported that the next Community Meeting was taking place on Wednesday 14 December 2011.

The meeting closed at 6:37pm.