Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Anita Robinson, Parks Officer, the Police, Alcohol Awareness and Adel Al-Salloum from Spark Arts for Children.

Councillor Naylor declared an Other Disclosable Interest in respect of the Community Meeting Budget and the funding application from Angels and Monsters, as he was a committee member of that group.

The minutes of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting held on 19 February 2013 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 19 February 2013 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Ward Councillors will provide an update on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda, including:-

a)    Braunstone Health Strategy

b)    Braunstone Hall

c)    Riverside School

The Chair provided an update of the issues that the Ward Councillors had been dealing with. These included the following:

Health Strategy

A Health Provider’s Group was being formed and would be meeting during week beginning 22 April 2013. Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields had some of the worst health issues in the city; people experienced poorer health and had a lower life expectancy than in other parts of the city. Efforts were being made to find ways and initiatives to help local people. These would include ways to increase the local availability of fresh food and also to utilise agricultural and open space land to benefit local people.

Hockley Farm Medical Centre

There was good news in respect of the Hockley Farm Medical Centre. Historically there had been many problems there, including numerous difficulties experienced by patients when trying to make an appointment to see a doctor. The situation there was very much improved and Hockley Farm was now the bench mark for other medical centres.

Braunstone Hall

In respect of Braunstone Hall, it was hoped that the Bat Survey issues would be resolved in May, after which things could then move forward.

Riverside football pitches

Contractors had been working on the football pitches but too much of the pitch had been removed, leaving behind a muddy surface. There was still therefore a great deal of work to be done.

Officers have been asked to provide an update on housing issues in the Ward.

Ellen Watts, Area Manager, Housing provided an update on local housing issues. Ellen made the following points:

·         Every year there was money in the Environment Budget to spend on projects in the estate.

·         During the previous year, 12 empty 3 bedroom properties had been converted by moving a downstairs bathroom upstairs into one of the bedrooms.  This had resulted in additional 2 bedroom properties, which were very much in demand.  Councillors commented that it had been suggested that this initiative should be extended to other wards.

·         Properties in Hand Avenue and Braunstone Lane had their fencing replaced with brick walls.  Councillors commented that the new brick walls looked much nicer and transformed the area.

·         Radiators had been installed in porches in some properties.

A further £110,000 had been allocated for local environmental projects for the current financial year. From this fund it was hoped:

·          to convert a further 12 empty properties as there was still a shortage of 2 bedroom properties. 

·         Install handrails in Blackmore Drive to help the elderly.

·         Improve lighting and fencing to prevent fly tipping.

·         to help improve an area of land which could be used to grow food to benefit the local community.

Ellen added that officers in Housing had also helped people in council and private housing to get their homes clad as an energy saving initiative.

The meeting heard that staff were making every effort to address issues and concerns relating to the Welfare Reform Act. Ellen asked that people contact staff at the Housing Office if they were worried about the changes, as staff would do their best to help.

A comment was made that the walkway in Hand Avenue needed attention as the surface was breaking up.

Concerns were also raised relating to properties where there was an on-going problem with condensation on the windows. Ellen explained that this was probably due to damaged window seals and these could be replaced.

Officers will be at the meeting to explain ways in which Council Tax and Housing Rents can be paid.  In particular, advice will be given to those people affected by the changes to the Welfare Rights Scheme that came in to effect on 1 April 2013, (including those who will be paying Council Tax for the first time and those who will receive housing benefits payments directly to themselves).

Suzanne Collins, Property Lettings Manager and Mike Watson, Income Collection Manager delivered a presentation which explained the different ways that people could pay their council rent and tax.  A printed copy of the presentation was circulated at the meeting and is also attached to the back of these minutes.

The meeting heard that there were various methods available:

·         Direct debit:  Suzanne explained that this was the easiest and cheapest way to pay, both for the council and for the payee.

·         Online

·         Paypoint

·         Debit or Credit Card

·         Post Office

·         Post

·         Standing Order

The meeting heard that a new initiative had been introduced in the form of a Credit Union Budget Account (CUBA) which was administered through Clockwise. This was a transactional account whereby people agreed to have their benefit or salary paid into the account, and money was separated out for rent and council tax, so the account holder could only access the remainder. As part of the scheme, people could opt for a pre-paid debit card which could be loaded with a set amount of money on a bi-monthly or monthly basis. Money and budgeting advice was available to all members. Membership was free for LCC tenants who were affected by the welfare reforms.

There was some discussion as to what would happen if people did not pay their rent or council tax. The meeting heard that if someone did not pay their rent and ignored reminders, they could be taken to court and evicted from their home. In such a situation, they may be deemed to be intentionally homeless and the council may therefore have no duty to re-house. Non -payment of council tax could result in an attachment to earnings, bailiff action or even bankruptcy. Concern was expressed as to whether people with learning difficulties would be able to understand and cope with the new system.

A member of the community commented that following the introduction of the ‘bedroom tax’ people were looking to down size but there were insufficient small properties to meet the need. In response to a query, Councillors explained that people were not permitted to covert a council house to a smaller number of bedrooms themselves, but they could apply to be moved to a smaller property, but this may be in a different part of the city. The point was raised that most people wanted to remain within their own community where they may have lived for many years.

A member of the community commented that some houses had very small bedrooms. The Chair acknowledged that this was a concern and explained that the Assistant City Mayor for Housing would be asking the Adults and Housing Scrutiny Commission to look into this issue in more detail.

In response to a question, Mike explained that at the moment, the changes that were being introduced did not affect pensioners.

Suzanne and Mike were thanked for attending the meeting.

Richard Kelly, Assistant Conservation Officer with Leicester City Council, will be at the meeting to promote the BioBlitz event taking place on Aylestone Meadows on 17 and 18 May.

Richard Kelly, Leicester City Council, Assistant Nature Conservation Officer informed members of the community about a BioBlitz event that was scheduled to take place on Aylestone Meadows on 17^th and 18^th May. Richard explained that the BioBlitz would be an excellent and fun event, with a variety of activities including the following:

·         A 24 hour survey to record as many species as possible. There would be prizes for the most species.

·         A family fun day on 18^th May.

·         Bell Boat tours

·         A torchlight bat, amphibian and moth night-wander

·         Trees and woodlands diseases walk and talk

·         Morn chorus guided bird walk

·         Wildlife talks and guided walks

Richard asked that anyone interested in volunteering at the event should talk to him.

Parks Officers have been invited to the meeting to:-

a)    give advance publicity to events to be held in the Ward’s parks over the summer; and

b)    give feedback on events in the Ward’s parks that have been grant-funded by the Community Meeting.

The meeting heard that there would be brass band concerts in Braunstone Park on the following dates:

Sunday 23 June 2013 from 2.00 – 3.00 pm, and

Sunday 8 September from 3.00 – 4.00 pm.

A member of the community advised that a whole range of brass band concerts had been planned in Leicester City Council parks between June and September. The concerts were free to attend and further details could be viewed on the council website at:

http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/parks-green-spaces/whatson/bands-on-parks/

The City Council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team have been invited to the meeting to give a short presentation on alcohol awareness.

The presentation on alcohol awareness did not take place as the officers involved were not able to attend the community meeting.

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

Noel Cazley, the City Warden for Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields delivered an update on street scene enforcement issues in the area. Noel made the following points:

·         A big clean up event had taken place and it was hoped to hold more clean-ups in the ward, but more volunteers would be very much appreciated.

·         Information on the location of ‘grot spots’ in the ward, would be very welcome.

A member of the community commented that there were rats in the spinney at the back of Pilkington Road. Noel pointed out that the spinney was housing land and therefore the query was directed to Ellen Watts, Area Housing Manager.

A further query was raised relating to an overgrown strip of grassland on Hand Avenue, which needed cutting.  Noel responded that he would raise that with the Park’s officers.

·         It was intended to carry out a leaflet drop in Hand Avenue to provide residents with information on recycling and the collection of large items of waste.

·         Bins on streets – staff had been working very hard to address this problem on Narborough Road, Winchester Avenue and Imperial Avenue. Noel reported that the streets were now much improved.

·         Dog fouling – increased patrols of staff in plain clothes, and round the clock patrols were being carried out in attempts to catch the people who allowed their dogs to foul. However, the issue of dog fouling was causing very significant problems for residents.

A resident raised a concern that people were not using orange bags for recycling. She reported a problem that some rolls of orange bags did not have the re-order sticker so people did not know how to request a new roll of orange bags. The meeting heard that in such circumstances, a handwritten note stuck on the orange bag, requesting more recycling bags would suffice.

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

Louise Lavelle from the Leicester City Council, Community Safety Team provided an update on the current situation with the alleyway on Cort Crescent. Following problems with anti-social behaviour there, some residents had asked for the alleyway to be closed off. As the alleyway was on housing land, Ellen Watts, Area Manager, Housing had arranged for a gate to be installed, but other residents had complained as they wanted the alleyway to remain open. Louise explained that officers were working hard to resolve the situation.

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 2013/14 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:           St Peter’s Braunstone Flower Festival

Amount approved:   £500

Applicant:      Revd Chris Burch

Summary:

St Peter’s holds a summer festival each year.  This is a social event and not aimed at finding new members for the church.

The two most successful events have been the Flower Festivals held in 2004 and 2008.  This year the Kingsway Flower Club has offered to mount a flower festival called “Time Out (hobbies and leisure)” on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June 2013.  This will be held at St Peter’s Church Hall, Woodshawe Rise and admission will be free.

Local residents will be encouraged to attend through things such as posters, the Braunstone Alert, events slots in the local media and word of mouth.  A number of community organisations are being encouraged to have a stall at the festival.

Application 2

Project:           International Food Festival

Amount requested: 

Applications for funding for this event have been made to this meeting and the Westcotes Community Meeting.  (Westcotes Community Meeting has agreed a grant of £500.)

Applicant:      Manor House Community Association

Summary:

The International Food Festival will take place on Saturday 6 July 2013, between 12.00 noon and 5.00 pm.  There will be free food tasters from the Polish, Russian, Philippine, Asian Indian and African-Caribbean and British communities. 

The event aims to enable local people learn about some of the diverse communities in the local area through their traditional foods.  It will include music, dance performances and a range of fun activities and entertainment in the building and grounds of the Manor House.

The event will be advertised across local wards and amongst the communities whose food will be featured.

Funding has also been received from Near Neighbours (£1,200), Westcotes Community First (£1,000) and Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community First (£1,000).

Application 3

Project:           Manor House Holiday Club

Amount requested: 

Applications for funding for this event have been made to this meeting and the Westcotes Community Meeting.  (Westcotes Community Meeting has agreed a grant of £500.)

Applicant:      Arthur Manger

Summary:

The aim is to run a holiday club for children aged 8 – 11 years old, where they could take part in  ...  view the full agenda text for item 72.

The Chair presented the community meeting budget. 

The following funding applications had been fast tracked for payment:

Project ref 1677 : St Peter’s Braunstone Flower Festival

Amount approved: £500

Applicant: Rev’d Chris Burch

Project ref 1678 : International Food Festival

Amount approved: £500

Applicant: Manor House Community Association

Project ref: 1679 Manor House Holiday Club

Amount approved: £500

Applicant: Manor House Community Association

Project 1681: Workshops for young parents under 20

Amount approved: £350

Applicant: Angels and Monsters

RESOLVED:

that it be noted that the following items had been fast tracked for payment

The Chair then presented the following funding applications:

Project ref: 1682 Financial Healthcheck Service

Amount requested: £1780

Applicant: Checkpoint Advice and Support

The meeting heard that Checkpoint Advice and Support would be holding weekly sessions and running benefit checks to ensure that people were receiving the benefits they were entitled too.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported to the value of £1780

The following funding applications had been received after the agenda had been finalised:

Project ref 1676: Fitness Classes, Health Screening and Fitness Testing

Amount requested: £500

Applicant: Sanchez Allen-Coltman, the Braunstone Grove

Funding was requested to deliver fitness bases classes in the form of circuit classes for women in Braunstone.  Nutritional advice and fitness tests would be offered to track the participant’s well-being and progress. The funding would enable the applicant to get the necessary equipment to support the programme and to develop and extend it from the focussed women’s sessions to also providing generic fitness screening, offering one to one personal training and small group sessions, to the general public.

Fitness testing/health screening would also be available to the general public by prior arrangement. This would also be free of charge and would include blood pressure and body fat reading/weight and height measurements / BM1 / resting heart rate and a 3 minute step box fitness test to measure aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness levels.

Funding to pay for a variety of equipment including a blood pressure monitoring kit, body fat monitor, first aid box (sports) height measure standing, medicine ball set, barbells kettle bells, air dome and also publicity and materials.

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported in full to the value of £500.

Project ref 1680: Splash Disco

Amount requested: £1800 - joint bid to Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields/ New Parks and Western Park

Applicant: Splash Disco / Steve Smedley

Funding was requested for new inflatables for the Splash Discos that take place at New Parks Leisure Centre and the Braunstone Leisure Centre throughout the school holidays. They have been running for 15 years and the inflatables are starting to become unsafe for the children to use. The events attract parents, toddlers and children of all ages  - a typical Splash Disco day will attract around 100 people.  Of the 100 people who attend the sessions at Braunstone Leisure Centre, approximately 80% will come from Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields.

Funding is requested for a space ship inflatable, speakers, blower and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

The Chair announced that the next meeting would be held on Tuesday 11 June 2013 in a venue to be confirmed.

The meeting closed at 7.29 pm.