Agenda and minutes

Councillor Naylor was elected as Chair and welcomed everyone to the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cooke.

Councillor Naylor declared an ‘other disclosable’ interest as he was treasurer for KT Performing Arts.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2012 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting held on 16 October 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

Ruth Rag of KT Performing Arts will give feedback on how the grant previously approved to them has been used.

Students from the group will give a short dance performance at the meeting.

The Chair introduced some of the dancers from KT Performing Arts who subsequently entertained members of the community with three dances. These were very well received.

Ruth Wragg, the Principal, explained that funding had previously been granted from the Community Meeting to take the girls to London to perform on stage there. Next year the group would be moving back into the Winstanley Centre, where they would also be offering entertainment, such as crafts and bingo for the senior citizens.

The Chair thanked the young people and adults involved in KT Performing Arts for their commitment, hard work and for entertaining members of the community at the meeting.

Representatives of the Probation Service will be present to explain the Community Pay Back Scheme.

Residents are invited to identify where this work could be of benefit to the Ward.

Irek Staszak, from the Probation Service was present at the meeting to talk about the Community Payback Scheme. Irek explained that the Community Pay Back Scheme used to be called Community Service and it was a scheme where offenders worked on projects which would benefit the community.

The scheme had helped out in churches, schools, community groups and locally they were working in Braunstone Park.

The Community Pay Back team worked 7 days and 4 evenings per week and part of the remit of the scheme was to work with people on probation and to teach them useful skills. Their experience in Community Payback might result in someone being referred for unpaid work which might then lead to employment.

The Community Pay Back team took referrals; for example if there was a garden or ‘grotspot’ that needed clearance, but referrals through the Police or City Wardens tended to be actioned quicker than those from individuals.

A member of the community commented that he had heard that there would be a daily charge for the service and Irek responded that in view of the current financial situation, there was a possibility that this would happen. If it did, it was more likely that it would be a contribution payable towards the supervisor costs rather than a charge.

Councillor Glover stated that previously she had asked if the Community Payback Team could provide help in older people’s gardens, as many older people were no longer able to look after their garden themselves, though at the time, she had been advised that this was not possible.  Irek explained that the team tended to ‘blitz’ gardens as a one-off task rather than provide regular maintenance, however this could be considered.

There followed a brief discussion relating to Braunstone Hall. A member of the community explained that she had heard that the hall was being turned into a conference centre, and she was of the view that there were better options, such as using the hall as a community facility. She was also concerned that there were problems on Narborough Road with drug dealing and these needed to be resolved if the hall was going to be turned into a conference centre.  Councillor Glover explained that Braunstone Hall was a Grade 11 listed building and the council did not have the necessary finances to carry out all the work that would be required. However, negotiations were still on going and no decisions had been made.

The Chair thanked Irek for his presentation.

Representatives of Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service have been invited to attend the meeting to talk about home safety.

Peter Cotgreave, Community Safety Educator, from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue gave a presentation on fire prevention in the home. He explained that it was hoped to have had an operational fire crew at the meeting, but unfortunately they had been called to an incident.

Peter made the following points:

·         His role was to try to prevent fire incidents and as part of this he worked with  Year 1 and Year 5 pupils in primary schools. Fire prevention work was also carried out in some secondary schools.

·         The children in Year 1 were taught about smoke alarms and the dangers of playing with matches.

·         The children in Year 5 were given a harder hitting message and taught about the dangers of arson etc.  Peter knew from experience that such sessions were remembered by the children in later years.

·         Home safety checks were also carried out and officers from the team visited people in their homes and gave advice relating to fire safety.

·         Members of the public were urged to fit a proper smoke alarm; the normal place for this to be fitted was in the hall at the bottom of the stairs and also at the top of the stairs. Smoke alarms now lasted for 10 years and needed to be replaced once the battery had expired. Batteries could not be replaced; this was a deliberate measure to prevent them being removed for the wrong reasons (such as for use in another appliance or toy!).

·         A further fire prevention measure was to close doors at night, as this helped to prevent the fire from spreading.

Councillor Glover commented that the design of the house might make it difficult for people to evacuate the building in the event of the fire. She suggested that it would be helpful if the Fire Service had more influence over the design of domestic properties.

The Chair thanked Peter for attending the meeting.

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

PC 1593 Tim Oliver and PCSO 6561, Jonathan Faulkner were present and provided an update on policing issues and also responded to questions and queries raised. 

The following points were made:

·         Over the last month there had been a reduction in crime on the estate, although the levels of crime did vary.

·         Members of the community were asked to bear in mind that Christmas was approaching, and crime could increase during the festive season. People were asked not to leave presents on display as these could provide temptations for would be burglars.  There had been a ‘spike’ in burglaries on the Rowley Fields around Diwali and people were asked to be vigilant and to use preventative measures such as making good use of timer switches for lighting.

·         If there was an emergency, people were asked to dial 999, but for non -emergency calls, people were asked to dial 101.

·         A concern was raised by a resident that the corner of Hand Avenue attracted gangs of youths, but the Police responded that they were aware of the situation there.

·         Councillor Glover expressed concern that security cameras were not always being used effectively and that the direction of cameras needed to be altered at times to focus on particular areas or items. She gave an example where items, which she felt would have been an obvious target for thieves had been stolen, and the culprits would have been caught on camera if someone had changed the camera angle. The Police explained that this would have been difficult to do as the cameras were set in default positions; there were also requirements in the setting of the camera positions and angles in ensure there were no breaches of human rights.

·         The meeting heard that the cameras were viewed by operators in the Blackbird Incident Room. There were a large number of cameras with about 4 operators. A resident suggested that volunteers might be recruited to monitor the cameras. Ward Councillors requested that the telephone number for the Blackbird Incident Room be included in the minutes. This telephone number is: 0116 252 8241.

·         The Chair suggested that in future it would be useful to have a presentation on the setting up of Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and PCSO Faulkner responded that the Police were currently looking towards the setting up of more Neighbourhood Watch groups.

·         Councillor Glover also requested that more details of the location and the numbers of cameras should be brought to the next community meeting.

Louise Lavelle, Community Safety Team then addressed the meeting and explained that in the new year there would be a campaign to tackle motor cycle and moped thefts. Security aids would be available at discounted prices and people were asked to contact Louise at Hinckley Road Police Station if they were interested.

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)        An update on the 2012/13 Community Meeting budget will be provided

b)        The meeting is asked to note the following grant applications, which have been approved under the Council’s fast track procedure:-

Application 1

Project:            Braunstone Exhibition

Amount approved:   £200

Applicant:      Anita Robinson in conjunction with the Braunstone Residents Network Committee (part of b-inspired)

Summary:

This grant was approved towards the cost of the Parks Services and b-inspired, in partnership with the Braunstone History Club & Braunstone Art Club, putting on an exhibition of Braunstone.  This was held on Wednesday October 24th 2012 in the art room & museum area of the stable block at Braunstone Hall.

Application 2

Project:            ‘Make a Difference’ Day

Amount approved:   £200

Applicant:      Braunstone Clean Up Group – Anita Robinson - in conjunction with the Braunstone Residents Network Committee (part of b-inspired)

Summary:

On Tuesday 6th November, under the National ‘Make a Difference’ banner, the Braunstone Clean Up helped to improve the appearance of Braunstone Park to reduce anti-social behaviour activities inside the spinney areas along the brook on Cort Crescent.

Braunstone Clean Up Group included Parks Services, the local police, arson team, City Cleansing, City Wardens, the City Council’s Environmental Team, b-inspired, the residents network association and local residents.  

This work would be continued by Parks Services, along with the help of the probation team.

Application 3

Project:           Braunstone Alert

Amount approved:   £360

Applicant:      Anne Short

Summary:

Advertising of Ward meetings and surgeries in the Braunstone Alert.

Application 4

An application from Ndi Igbo for a grant of £250 towards a Christmas Gala Night / Get Together was not supported.

c)        The following grant application is submitted for consideration:-

Application 5:

Proposal:       Winton Walk Gates

Applicant:      Louise Lavelle, Community Safety Team, Leicester City Council

Amount Requested:   

Summary:

As a result of long term concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour, local residents asked the Community Safety Team to install gates on the public footpath linking Gaddesby Avenue with Winton Avenue.  A successful Gating Order was completed in 2009 in the near vicinity for the pathway that links Winton Avenue to Harlaxton Road. This has significantly reduced ASB and vastly improved the quality of life for residents. The gates are opened and closed by a local resident at 7am and 7pm.

In order to assist with the decision of whether to formally proceed with a Gating Order, the decision was taken to consult the local community to assess whether an order was necessary.  Community  ...  view the full agenda text for item 44.

The Chair advised that the following budget applications had been fast tracked and approved for payment:

Project: Braunstone Exhibition

Applicant: Anita Robinson in conjunction with the Braunstone Residents’ Network Committee (part of b-inspired).

Amount approved:  £200

Project: ‘Make a Difference’ Day

Applicant: Braunstone Clean Up Group – Anita Robinson – in conjunction with the Braunstone Residents’ Network Committee (part of b-inspired).

Amount approved: £200

Project: Braunstone Alert

Applicant: Anne Short

Amount Approved: £360

Project: Ndi Igbo

Application: Christmas Gala Night / Get Together

Amount Requested: £250 from Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields (funding request also submitted to other wards).

This application was not supported.

The following funding applications were considered during the meeting.

Project: Winton Walk Gates

Applicant: Louise Lavelle, Community Safety Team, Leicester City Council

Amount requested: £750 (match funding for that provided by the Hinckley Road JAG, in addition to funding provided by the Community Safety Team)

Louise explained that there had been long term concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour and local residents had asked the Community Safety Team to install gates on the public footpath linking Gaddesby Avenue with Winton Avenue. A 28 day consultation had been carried out and no objections had been received.  Local residents would be responsible for locking the gates in the evening and opening the gates in the morning.

RESOLVED:

                        that the funding application be supported.

Project: Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields – Improving Health Initiative

Applicant: Braunstone Foundation (T/A b-inspired)

Amount requested: £5000

The Councillors explained that the project was to kick start a strategic approach to organising better health services in the ward and they believed that this was important for the community.

RESOLVED:

                        that the funding application be supported to the value of £5000

Project: Sport 4 All

Applicant: Young People’s Sports Network

Amount requested: £1,500

The Chair explained that there were other funding sources that could also be used in respect of this project and a decision had been made to partially support the project to the value of £500. The applicant had been advised of where else they may be able to seek financial support.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application be partially supported to the value of £500

A member of the public commented that there had been a news item on the radio earlier that day relating to travellers’ sites and that Braunstone Lane had been mentioned. The Ward Councillors responded that they knew nothing about this but they would look into the issue.

The meeting closed at 7.35 pm.