Agenda and minutes

Councillor Cooke was elected as Chair of the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Glover (who was unwell), Janet Scott and the Police.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting held on 16 April 2013 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 April 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

Mike Dalzell, Head of Economic Regeneration at Leicester City Council, will provide an update on the redevelopment of Leicester Market.

Mike Dalzell, Head of Economic Regeneration at Leicester City Council, outlined the proposals for the development of Leicester Market, drawing attention to the following points:-

·           A new food hall would be built for use by the indoor food traders.  This would be very lightly connected to the Corn Exchange by a high level glazed roof;

·           A new square would be created where the old market hall currently was standing.  Detailed design work was being done for this and consultation on the proposals would start in mid-July 2013.  Current proposals for the square included:

o    An informal play area for children;

o    A statue of the suffragette Alice Hawkins; and

o    The Roman mosaic would be relocated from the end of the Fish Hall;

·           The new square could become a high quality food and drink location;

·           There would be a new building at the back of the Corn Exchange, which it was hoped would be let to a high quality private enterprise, (for example, a restaurant);

·           The back of the Corn Exchange currently was unsightly, with services and fire escapes being located there;

·           Lifts and stair access to the higher level of the Corn Exchange would be installed, to encourage people to use the upper level.  No final decision had been taken yet on what this level would be used for;

·           Some preliminary works were being done now, but work on the main building would start mid- July 2013 and end mid-December 2013;

·           Traders would move in to the new food hall in mid-January 2014, so that their Christmas trading was not interrupted;

·           Some works would be done to the highway, so that the current road was brought up to the same level as the surrounding area.  This would be completed by the time the new food hall opened;

·           As well as the fresh food traders, the old market hall also housed some dry goods traders, public toilets and significant storage.  As such:

o    The dry goods traders would move in to the old energy office, part of which also would be used for attended public toilets;

o    The market management office and the customer service office would move to next to this; and

o    Lock-up storage would be provided near the public toilets and by Café Bocha;

·           The former Priceless Shoes premises had been acquired.  Approximately two-thirds of the premises would be used for traders’ storage during the redevelopment.  When the development was complete, a recycling facility would be put in the basement and some storage for traders would be retained on the premises;

·           The old market hall would be stripped out during the first six months of 2014;

·           Everards had been invited to produce some ideas for improving Molly O’Grady’s.  These could include re-orientating the pub to face the new square; and

·           It was anticipated that the whole scheme would cost approximately £7 million.

Residents suggested that the open area at Market Corner had not been very successful due to the weather, but Mike Dalzell explained that there were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Julie O’Boyle, Public Health Consultant, will be at the meeting to discuss how awareness of alcohol consumption can be increased.

Julie O’Boyle, Public Health Consultant with Leicester City Council, reminded the meeting that alcohol was a social drug, forming an important part of social celebrations.  The problems that it could cause to people were well known, but there also could be a social impact, such as domestic violence, neglect of children, crime, and noise from parties or people arriving home late at night.

Attention was the drawn to the following points:-

·           Alcohol had a particularly negative impact on children.  There were up to 1,500 11 – 15 year olds who drank every week;

·           Approximately 10 million adults in England drank over the recommended limit;

·           There were approximately 22,000 premature deaths, (ie, before the age of 75), every year through alcohol;

·           In Leicester, it was estimated that alcohol reduced men’s life expectancy by approximately 10 months and women’s by approximately 5 months;

·           In Leicester, 77 men and 28 women died every year from alcohol-related problems;

·           The Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Ward had the second highest number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the city.  (The highest number was in the New Parks ward and the lowest was in the Knighton ward);

·           Alcohol-related crime in Leicester was higher than the national average and the level of alcohol-related violent crime in Leicester was twice the national average;

·           Approximately 1.5% of people with alcohol-related injuries using hospital Accident and Emergency services in Leicester were from the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward;

·           In Leicester 25% of people regarded themselves as teetotal.  This was one of the highest number of people in the country.  In view of the statistics above, this meant that some people in the city were drinking a lot;

·           Approximately 13,000 people in the city drank at harmful levels and approximately 9,000 were alcohol dependent;

·           There was a high level of liver disease in Leicester;

·           An Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy would be launched soon, which would help promote a culture of sensible drinking;

·           A priority of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy was the protection of children and young people from alcohol related harm;

·           A further priority of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy was improving health and wellbeing through prevention and treatment.  Early identification of problems developing could help people gain a better understanding of their drinking problems and lead to better rates of recovery;

·           Themes of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy included promoting the responsible selling of alcohol and reducing alcohol-related crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour;

·           Leaflets were available that showed the impact of alcohol, including the number of units in various drinks; and

·           There were approximately 2,500 people across the city using opiates.  Some of these people mixed this with alcohol.

The meeting expressed concern at the amount of under-age drinking. Julie O’Boyle explained that a cycle of drinking could develop, where people thought that their peers were drinking more than they were.  This also raised concern about where they were getting alcohol from, as they could be buying it illegally, or having other people buy it on their behalf.  However,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Angie Wright, Health Consultant, will present the recently published Health Improvement Strategy for Braunstone.

The Chair advised that the strategy for health improvement in Braunstone had now been launched.  The Rowley Fields and Holy Apostles areas of the ward had very different needs, so separate initiatives would be introduced for them.

A group of approximately 30 organisations that made contributions to health improvement had been established.  This currently was considering how the group could work together, including how the advice services that were needed could be provided.

AGREED:

That an item on the new structure of the NHS in the city and the Council’s new health responsibilities be included on the agenda of the next Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Community Meeting.

Parks Officers will provide an update on recent and future activities and events in the Ward’s Parks.

Andrew Hubbard, Parks Officer with Leicester City Council, advised that:-

·           The spring clean-up had been successful, with volunteers from the community working with the Parks service.  Photographs of this were displayed at the meeting;

·           6 new benches had been installed in Braunstone Park.  It was hoped that a further 4 could be installed;

·           The City Mayor would be opening the walled garden on Sunday 23 June;

·           In July and August approximately 60 volunteers from British Gas would be working in the Azalea Garden and refreshing some of the paintwork round the Park;

·           In September, some clearance work would be undertaken in the spinney;

·           Every Thursday, the Probation service brought a team of workers to the Park; and

·           The second brass band concert of the year would be held in September.

Residents noted that the History Group would be restarting its guided tours during the week beginning 17 June.  A history of the house, park, walled garden and those who lived in the house had been prepared.  On occasions, extra information would be provided on Old Hall Farm, which was where the Winstanley family lived before the hall was built.

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

Noel Cazley, City Warden with Leicester City Council, advised that:-

·           The number of bins on streets had improved, especially on the Imperial Avenue side of Winchester Avenue.  The last time it was monitored, there had only been approximately 9 bins left out across 12 streets;

·           A lot of fires had been set in the area, but in the recent bad weather the number had reduced;

·           Only one complaint had been received from the Rowley Fields Area of the ward since the last meeting;

·           Bins on streets were being decriminalised.  A new programme of work would start when the details of this were known;

·           Work on reducing dog fouling was on-going.  Residents were encouraged to pass on any information on times and places where dog fouling was witnessed;

·           The City Wardens were now monitoring scaffolding and skips.  For example, a lot of businesses did not have the correct licenses and did not display the correct lights on scaffolding or skips; and

·           Reports of over-hanging or dangerous foliage could be made to the City Warden.

In reply to a question, the Chair advised that the Council’s cleansing services had been asked why streets were cleaned the day before rubbish was collected.  He had been advised that it was not possible to synchronise these services, as refuse was collected on a four-day cycle and street cleansing was done on a five-day cycle.  Noel Cazley confirmed that there were no refuse collections on Mondays.

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

An update also will be provided by Leicester City Council Community Safety Officers.

Unfortunately, the Police and the Community Safety Officer were unable to be at the meeting.  However, the following update was provided by Louise Lavelle, Community Safety Officer with Leicester City Council:-

“Pathway from Braunstone Lane/Main St to Cort Crescent:

There is a multi-agency meeting to address concerns from a local resident regarding alleged anti-social behaviour on the path that runs between 191 and 193 Cort Crescent.  Representatives from Housing, Police, Community Safety, Highways and Legal Services, along with a member of Liz Kendall's Office, will be present to discuss the issues with the resident.  

There is a campaign to close the path, but there needs to be sufficient data to evidence that the existence of the path is facilitating on-going criminal offences or anti-social behaviour to do this. We currently do not have enough data to progress a Gating Order to close the path. There is also significant opposition to closing the path, so we are addressing conflicting perspectives on the situation.

Motorbike and Moped Security:

Theft of motorbikes and mopeds continues to be an issue in the area and there are cost price security items available from Hinckley Road Police Station to help assist with securing these valuable items.  

These are U-locks (£13), integrated padlock and chains (£20), disc locks which stop the motorbike being easily wheeled away (£10), and ground anchors (£10) which are secured to the ground or the wall and the bike can be secured to the anchor with a chain and padlock. These all act as visual deterrents and will reduce the chances for the opportunistic criminal who will notice unsecured motorbikes/mopeds on the road/front gardens etc. that are easy targets which can then be simply lifted and put in a van.

The council's Handyperson Team can fit these ground anchors for a small cost (approximately £10) if people do not have the equipment to install them.

These items will also be available to purchase at the Braunstone Carnival.”

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 is attached for information. (Appendix B)

b)        Details of the 2013/14 Community budget will be given at the meeting.

c)        The meeting is asked to note the following grant application, which has been approved under the Council’s fast track procedure:-

Application 1

Project:           Production of New Brochure

Amount requested: 

Applicant:      Friends of Highway Spinney

Summary:

In producing this new brochure, it is hoped to encourage more people to visit the Spinney and become volunteers to help maintain the woodland.

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

Application 2

Project:           Braunstone Community Carnival 2013 (incorporating the Sports Fest)

Amount requested: 

A grant of £1,000 has been requested.

Proposed expenditure and income for the Carnival are as set out below:

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

Summary:

The Braunstone Community Carnival is an annual event and will celebrate its 13^th Anniversary this year.  The event has been supported by the Braunstone Foundation (formally BCA) for the last 12 years and has been made possible by the voluntary support of local groups and residents.

In June 2012 the event moved to Fullhurst Community College from Braunstone Park, in order to reduce costs significantly and refocus the event to become more family-friendly.  The event attracted a couple of thousand people, mainly families and older residents, and operated under an “Alcohol Free Zone”. 

Feedback from visitors was very positive and Fullhurst Community College was very happy with hosting the event at their site.

This year’s Braunstone Community Carnival will take place on Saturday 29 June from 12.00 noon to 4.30 pm at Fullhurst Community College.  It will incorporate the Sports Fest, which offers over 30 different sports activities in one area for the cost of a small fee wristband for children.  The Carnival will also include a performance stage for local acts, information and community stalls, craft stalls, children’s free play area and a range of food stalls.  It also is hoped to have a Youth Village on site, hosted by StreetVibe Young Peoples Services, and a family Fun Fair. 

The event will be used to consult with local residents on their priorities for the neighbourhood over the coming few years, through the Neighbourhood Action Plan.

Application 3

Project:           Food in the Community –  ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

i)          Feedback

Mike Keen, from Braunstone Park Adventure Playground, reminded the meeting that there had been a problem with vandalism and people using the trees at the back of the Adventure Playground as ladders to get over the wall.  A grant of £500 had been received, along with a grant of £500 from the Joint Action Group, which had been used to thin out the trees and get graffiti murals painted.

Graffiti murals were cheaper to do than artist-inspired murals and some previous, unauthorised, graffiti had been incorporated as far as possible in the new design.  Local residents had been very positive about the new murals.

Mike Keen also advised that Leicester Play Fair, which had received a grant for Lame Duck holidays, would be using the Adventure Playground as an important part of the holiday it was running during the third weekend in July.

Reverend Chris Birch reminded the meeting that a grant of £500 had previously been awarded towards the Flower Festival being held at St Peter’s Church, Woodshawe Rise, during the weekend of 15 – 17 June.  There would be 27 different arrangements on the theme of “Time Out – Hobbies and Leisure”.  The Festival would include a choral evensong with “Octave”, Leicestershire’s Singing Priests.

Helen Catterwell showed the brochure that had been printed to promote the Friends of Highway Spinney.  A grant of £200 had been awarded for this.  The brochure explained what the group did, (such as maintenance, litter picking, tree planting, talks and guided walks).  New members of the group were always welcome.

ii)         2012/13 Community Meeting Budget

An update on the 2012/13 Community Meeting budget is attached at the end of these minutes for information.

iii)        Application Approved Under the Fast Track Procedure

The meeting noted that a grant of £200 to the Friends of Highway Spinney had been approved under the Council’s fast track procedure.  This grant was used for the production of a new brochure about the group.

iv)        Applications for Consideration

The following applications for grants were considered:-

·           Braunstone Community Carnival 2013 (incorporating the Sports Fest)

AGREED:

That a grant of £1,000 to Braunstone Community Carnival 2013, towards the costs of the Carnival and Sports Fest, be supported.

·           Food in the Community – Pilot Project

AGREED:

That consideration of this application be deferred to enable further discussions to be held with the applicant.

·           Friends of Woodville Unit

NOTED:

That a grant of £300 had been approved under the Council’s fast track procedure to the Friends of Woodville unit for entertainment for the residents.

v)         Other Applications

The meeting noted that a grant application had been received from Ndi Igbo for grant funding for the Iri ji (New Yam) Festival 2013.  As there had not been time to consider this application before the meeting, it would be considered at the next meeting.

The Ward Councillors will provide an update on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda, including progress with Braunstone Hall.

Braunstone Hall

The Chair advised that a developer had now entered in to a 125 year lease for Braunstone Hall.  The area of land involved was defined as the hall, annex and an area of land around it.  This did not include the stable block.

The planning application for use of the hall as a conference centre / hotel was expected in the next few weeks.  The main entrance would be off Gooding Avenue, which would be the access for brides and grooms having their reception at the hall.  The annex would be redeveloped as a hotel and a community facility would be included in the work being done.  Car parking would be unobtrusive, under the trees.

It was proposed that the redevelopment would be finished by May 2015.

Details of the proposals would be available at the Braunstone Carnival and it was hoped that the developer would visit the community meeting to discuss the redevelopment when the proposals were finalised.

The meeting closed at 7.31 pm