Agenda and minutes

Councillor Cooke was elected as Chair for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Glover.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting held on 12 June 2012 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2012 were agreed as a correct record.

The Ward Councillors will provide an update on issues of interest to the Meeting.

The Ward Councillors updated the meeting on the following items:-

a)         Festival of Nature

A Festival of Nature would be held from 1.00 – 4.00 pm on Sunday, 16 September 2012 at Aylestone Meadows.

b)        Braunstone Hall

Braunstone Hall had been neglected for many years, but a preferred developer had now been identified.

A full proposal for its future use had not been developed yet, but included using part of the building as a wedding venue.  It was anticipated that a planning application would be submitted in the autumn.

AGREED:

That the City Mayor be asked to attend the next Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting to discuss the future use of Braunstone Hall.

c)         Riverside Site

Discussions on the future use of the site of the former Riverside College had not progressed, as it appeared that residents’ aspirations to have community access and use of the land were not being recognised in the plans being developed.  It was noted that the main objections to community use of the site had been raised by Sport England.

One problem was engaging properly with the school moving on to the site, but the Ward Councillors would be talking to the Head Teacher to try to explain the community’s aspirations.

It was expected that a planning application for the future use of the site would be submitted soon. However, as the government had changed the deadline for applying for funding under the Building Schools for the Future programme to 1 December 2012, (instead of 31 March 2013), it was anticipated that this would only deal with the football site and the new school site.

d)        Evelyn Drive

An industrial estate was accessible through Evelyn Drive, but this was a very narrow, dangerous route. 

“Alligator teeth” had been installed to restrict access.  These metal teeth allowed lorries to drive over them in one direction, but would puncture the tyres of any vehicle trying to drive over them in the other direction.  However, following a successful claim against the Council, the “alligator teeth” had been removed.

Instead, the Deputy City Mayor had agreed that the end of Evelyn Drive should be closed, so that the road was made in to a proper cul-de-sac.  Access to the industrial estate would still be available through Evesham Close.  It was anticipated that this change would not make any difference to traffic flows.

The City Warden will be present at the meeting to give an update on issues in the Ward.

Noel Cazley, City Warden for Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Ward, gave an update on his work:-

·           He reminded the meeting that he dealt with environmental issues, such as littering, bins on streets or dog fouling;

·           The City Warden patrolled the Ward all day, from about 7.00 am onwards, usually by bicycle.  Since April 2012, 741 patrols had been undertaken;

·           A lot of reports of dog fouling were received in Rowley Fields, due to problems encountered along the Great Central Way and in Aylestone Meadows.  Patrols around areas most affected were undertaken.  If information was supplied about times offenders were there, patrols could be timed to coincide with these;

·           Since April 2012, 64 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued in Rowley Fields.  Of these, 26 related to littering offences;

·           It was now illegal to smoke in public vehicles, but a lot of problems with people continuing to smoke in them were being encountered;

·           There was a lot of fly tipping in the Braunstone Park area of the Ward.  For example, 63 bags of household waste had been tipped recently.  The Police undertook surveillance work to try to identify who was doing this;

·           People were not always aware of the problems being encountered with fly tipping, as the Council usually cleared it away quickly; and

·           City Wardens were unable to deal with matters such as cars parking on pavements.  However, if vehicles were obstructing the pavements, the Police could deal with this.

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

Sergeant Cara Guest, of Leicestershire Constabulary, gave an update on policing in the Ward.  A copy of the information provided is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

During her presentation, Sergeant Guest drew particular attention to the following:-

·           Officers covering this ward were part of the Hinckley Road Policing unit;

·           A lot of the work done by Police officers in the Ward related to developing and managing community safety.  The care of vulnerable people also was very important;

·           The Police took a leading role in identifying problems and developing Problem Solving Plans;

·           Local Police currently had four main objectives.  These were set out in the presentation, (slide 7);

·           Reducing anti-social behaviour had the additional benefit of stopping other offences being committed;

·           Anti-social behaviour issues were not likely to be case-managed unless they were repeat offences.  Since April 2012, there had been 19 case-managed ASB issues;

·           The Police currently were meeting all of their set targets through officers’ work and the involvement of the community.  The community was thanked for their help with this;

·           Police officers had been helping at a lot of events lately, (such as the Olympics), which had put pressure on resources locally;

·           Various operations were running.  In this ward, Operation Dynamo was the use of a burglary car and Operation Barley was the use of a staffed police vehicle to attend anti-social behaviour incidents;

·           All calls received by the Police were graded and managed accordingly;

·           Members of the public were encouraged to use the new 101 telephone number for non-emergency calls.  Calls to this number had a fixed cost of 5p, irrespective of how long the call was.  Despite a successful trial, this number had been discontinued for a time, but now was available nationally; and

·           The twitter account @LPRowleyfields should not be used to report emergencies or incidents.

Councillor Naylor reminded the meeting that he ran a virtual surgery in relation to his work as a Councillor and offered to include contact information for the Police on that.

Louise Lavelle, Community Safety Team Development Officer with Leicester City Council, introduced herself to the meeting and drew attention to the following points:-

·           The work of the Community Safety Team included helping to alleviate community tensions.  This could include working with young people;

·           Information on which the team acted came from various sources, not just Police data;

·           Things that were not reported to the Police were very important to the team, as they could show emerging issues.  This information could come from various sources, such as Councillors, the offices of local Members of Parliament, and Council services such as housing and parks.  Information from members of the public was welcome as well;

·           The Community Safety Team helped with work such as the installation and repair of alley gates, lighting and CCTV;

·           Gates orders were sometimes used to close an area at certain times of the day, for example to reduce antisocial behaviour in garage areas.  These had worked well;

·           Problems with excessive noise were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

This item was added to the agenda, to enable the views of members of the community to be sought to help develop the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Health Strategy.

Christina Broad, the Consultant employed for the launch of the Strategy, introduced herself to the meeting.  She explained that nationally the two biggest causes of death were cardio vascular disease and cancer, but the rates of these in Leicester were higher than the national average.  Leicester also had higher rates of teenage pregnancy, levels of obesity and smoking than the national average.  It therefore was hoped that a “visioning day” could be held, at which various agencies could discuss how to address this situation.

Christina Broad therefore asked those present for their views on various issues.  These, and the responses received, were as set out below:-

·           What were the key issues affecting the health of residents?

o      Access to doctors’ surgeries.  (For example, some use an 0844 telephone number and there was a lack of choice of surgery)

o      To get an appointment for that day or the next at the Merrydale surgery you had to go there in person.  It also was not possible to book appointments very far in advance.  (For example, an appointment could not be booked for three weeks’ time)

o      When attending a surgery you often did not see your own doctor and there was no consistency in which doctor you saw

o      Exercise and access to open space were a key issue.  For example, residents could use local allotments or the grounds of the site of the former Riverside College

o      Lack of bus services.  There were long gaps between buses and people often had a long walk to get to a bus stop

o      Poor education of children regarding smoking and eating

·           What strategies were in place to help improve the health of residents?

o      None

o      Two new doctors had been employed at the local surgery

o      The creation of the Merrydale health centre

o      Having no buses after 5.30 pm meant people had to walk more than they used to

·           The Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Health Strategy aimed to identify positive approaches to good health.  What were the barriers to good health in this area?

o      Finding out where information could be obtained from and what facilities were available, (for example, for dance classes).  They often were not advertised

o      Being able to get to the locations used for things such as classes

o      Limited leisure facilities for children and adults

o      Attitude.  Many people just spent their time watching television or using a computer

o      Co-ordination between services and data transference.  For example, GPs sent reminders that things such as blood tests were needed.  When done, hospitals sent the information back to the GPs’ surgery, but the surgery did not appear to record this

o      Doctors could recommend active pursuits to people, (for example, having an allotment provided exercise and could be a food supply)

·           What were the biggest  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

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.

a)         There will be an update on the Community Meeting budget;

b)         Recipients of previous grants will give feedback on how those grants were spent and the benefits received, as follows:-

i)             John Osborne of the Leicester and Leicestershire Photographic Society; and

ii)            Mandy Shepherd of Essentual Rejuvenation; and

c)         Grant applications received before the meeting will be reported.

a)         Budget Update

The Chair advised that the Ward Community Budgets had been increased by £1,000 over the figure reported at the last meeting, (minute 10, “Budget”, 12 June 2012 referred).  This meant that the Budget was £18,000 for the year, of which £15,550 remained.

b)        Feedback on Previous Grants

i)          Leicester and Leicestershire Photographic Society

John Osborne, of the Leicester and Leicestershire Photographic Society, explained that:-

·           The Society had received a grant last year towards the staging of an annual exhibition;

·           The exhibition was open to all groups to enter, so participants came from across a wide area.  Approximately 500 entries were received and the Society was very pleased with the standard of these.  Some of the entries were on display at the meeting;

·           The exhibition had been held at the Brite Centre.  Approximately 100 – 150 people had visited the exhibition on both the Friday and Saturday.  There also had been a good attendance on the Sunday, but the actual figure was not available;

·           A condition of the grant had been that the exhibition should include something for the community.  A category therefore had been established called “Your Space”.  This was divided in to two age groups, (those aged over 16 and those aged under 16).  However, there had been a disappointing number of entries for this category, so it would be reviewed, to see how the number could be improved; and

·           Workshops had been held at the exhibition to provide advice to the public.

In summary, John Osborne thanked the meeting for the grant, as the Society would not have been able to hold the exhibition without it.

ii)         Essentual Rejuvenation

Mandy Shepherd, of Essentual Rejuvenation, explained that:-

·           This dance organisation had started in 2000;

·           The organisation currently had 18 people under the age of 18 volunteering across the City;

·           The grant provided by the Community Meeting had helped with a number of things, including trips to Skegness, Nottingham and Loughborough.  A group of 40 young people also had been taken to the City centre to watch the Olympic closing ceremony on the big screen in Humberstone Gate; and

·           Photographs were available to show the type of activities undertaken and information was available on the group’s Facebook page (ERDANCE).

c)         Grant Applications

The following applications for grants were then considered:-

i)          Angels and Monsters – Items for Crèche Children

AGREED:

That a grant of £429 to Angels and Monsters crèche for the purchase of book bags, t-shirts and caps for the crèche children be supported.

ii)         Ndi Igbo Leicestershire (Nigeria Community Association) – Iri Ji (New Yam) Festival 2012

AGREED:

That a grant of £200 to Ndi Igbo Leicestershire towards the hire of Braunstone Leisure Centre for the Iri Ji festival 2012 be supported.

iii)        Braunstone Foundation

NOTED:

That a grant of £498.93 had been approved under the Council’s fast track procedure for the Braunstone Foundation towards providing three Diamond Jubilee Community Picnics.

a)         Sustainable Transport

Neil Bastock, Road Safety Officer with Leicester City Council, updated the meeting on some of the transport initiatives that the Council was involved in. 

The Council had received £4 million from the government to promote sustainable transport.  It had been decided to focus this funding on cycling, walking and public transport initiatives, including free adult cycle training courses, cycling events such as the forthcoming Sky Ride, and the production of cycling maps and bus maps.

b)        Home Energy

Lucy Birch, Project Officer for Leicester City Council’s Energy Services, explained that loft and cavity wall insulation could be provided free of charge in the City for private and Council-owned residential properties.  Help also could be provided with other home energy issues, including things such as boiler insulation and repairing leaking radiators.

Milo Cereghino explained that the government was introducing “Green Deal” from autumn 2012.  One of the things to be offered would be help with insulating solid walls of properties, (ie, those that were not cavity walls), as many properties nationally were built in this way.

AGREED:

That the Members Support Officer be asked to invite officers from Leicester City Council’s Energy Services to attend the 18 December Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting to discuss fuel poverty.

c)         Electricity Sub-Station on Dumbleton Avenue

Residents reported that, although the sides of the hedge around the electricity sub-station on Dumbleton Avenue had been trimmed recently, the hedge was now approximately 12 feet high and protruded approximately 30” on to the pavement.

Contractors had said that they did not have the right equipment to reach the top of the hedge, so residents expected that the hedge would continue to grow.

The power company previously had said that it would establish a regular maintenance schedule, but this did not appear to have been done.

AGREED:

That the Ward Councillors will look in to this problem and ask officers to take appropriate action.

d)        Next Meeting

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on 16 October 2012 at Cort Crescent Community Centre.

At present, it was hoped that the City Mayor could be present to discuss the future use of Braunstone Hall and the new Connecting Leicester programme, (which would include the planned demolition of the fish and meat market and their replacement with more appropriate facilities, the creation of Jubilee Square, extending New Walk and improving the area around the Curve theatre).

The meeting closed at 7.32 pm