Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Bajaj was elected as Chair and welcomed everyone to the Evington Community Meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from the Prince’s Trust and the Chair explained that there would be no presentation on this item.

The first main item on the agenda is Declarations of Interest where Councillors have to say if there is anything on the agenda they have a personal interest in. For example if a meeting was due to discuss a budget application put forward by a community group and one of the Councillors was a member of that group, they would not be able to take part in the decision on that budget application.

Councillors are asked to declare any interest they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

No declarations were made,

The minutes of the previous Evington Community Meeting, held on 8 December 2011 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 December 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.                                                                                                                                                       

Councillors Deepak Bajaj and Baljit Singh will provide an update on the issues they have been dealing with in the Evington Ward.

Councillors Deepak Bajaj and Baljit Singh presented their Ward Councillors’ report and made the following points:

·         Work had taken place to progress on the location of a neighbourhood centre in Evington, and the model that was developing was for a main service centre to be based at Evington Park House. It was hoped that the Police would also hold surgeries there as well and that the centre would provide a facility for the community. Local community groups would also be able to hold meetings there. It was also hoped to offer a hub at Gamel Road and to provide opportunities for volunteers.

·         There had been a serious traffic incident on Goodwood Road, at a mini roundabout where there had already been several near misses. Members of the public had expressed concerns that the roundabout was dangerous and could not be seen in the dark. The Councillors were working with officers at the Council to make this safer.

A comment was raised from the floor that there were concerns over the whole of Goodwood Road and not just the mini roundabout. In addition a bus terminus appeared to have been created there, as there were sometimes as many as four buses in the layby close to Ambassador Road.  The drivers kept their engine’s running, rather than turning them off whilst the buses were parked up.  

·         A previous petition requesting improvements to the footpath at Woodborough Road had been presented to Council. Funding had been allocated and the work would now be going ahead.

David Poxon, Team Leader for Road Safety will be present to provide an update on the Linden Primary School petition.

David Poxon, Team Leader for Road Safety provided an update on the Linden Road Primary School petition.  David made the following points:

·         The council were looking to improve signing on the approach to the school and re-doing the zig-zag lines. This would involve the present lines being stripped and then re-marked.

·         Before this work could be carried out however, there would need to be a Traffic Regulation Order, which was a legal process requiring a consultation. This would take approximately 4 months.

·         A pedestrian crossing was not considered to be viable, because of the houses there. People did not want a pedestrian crossing outside their house because it would mean that they would not be able to park outside their own home.

Concerns were expressed that the process was taking too long and action should have been taken earlier.

Councillors responded that David Poxon’s team were working on this issue, but there had been budget cuts of approximately £40m and staffing in the Road Safety Team had been reduced gradually from 12 people to just 4.  Comments were also raised that the real culprits were the parents who parked their vehicles dangerously and endangered the lives of the children. The school continually sent out letters asking parents to park responsibly.

David explained that there was a ‘walking bus’ scheme called Star Walkers, which operated successfully in some county and city schools and Councillor Singh added that Linden Primary would also have a walking bus scheme from the Spring 2012.

David was thanked for his update.

Representatives from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue will be in attendance to present an overview of their work with The Prince’s Trust and will provide guidance on how local young people can become involved with the Trust.

There was no presentation on this item as no representative from the Prince’s Trust was able to attend.

Mebs Bachoo, Sports Regeneration Officer, will provide an overview of the local programme of sports activities for young people in Evington.

Mebs Bachoo, Sports Regeneration Officer was present at the meeting and he provided an update on activities for young people in the area, including activities during the Easter holidays. The meeting heard that there was a local basket-ball group which met at the Evington Leisure Centre and free swimming sessions were also available.

Councillor Singh advised that the activities need to be advertised in schools and also at Evington Park. Mebs explained that information was available on the Leicester City Council website at www.leicester.gov.uk/sports

The meeting also heard that Be-Active for Women sessions were offered for girls and women on Thursdays from 11.00 – 12.00 at Evington Park House. Currently there was only one attendee and people were encouraged to come along and give the sessions a try. It was suggested that more people would come if the time changed; perhaps to lunchtime.

A suggestion was made that activities should be advertised in the Evington Echo, but Mebs responded that it was difficult to advertise as activities and the timetable changed depending on what funding was available.

Mrs Pauline O’Brien from the Evington Boys’ Club asked Mebs if an instructor could come along to the club and the Councillors asked Mebs to liaise with Mrs O’Brien about this.

Chrissie Field (Area Manager, Housing Services) and Anne Harris (Estate Management Officer) will be present to give an update on the current year’s Housing Capital Receipts Initiative. They will also explain how this budget, which will be known as the Environmental and Communal Improvement budget will operate in the new financial year.

Anne Harris, Estate Management Officer and Chrissie Field, Area Manager from Housing gave an update on the Housing Capital Receipts Initiative.

Anne addressed the meeting first and explained the she managed most of the housing stock in Evington. Anne added that money had been spent on:

·         Railings,at knee height, on Cordery Road, to prevent parking on the grass. This had generally been well received although one owner occupier was still parking on the grass. He had been spoken to.

·         Painting at Ethel Road flats – Anne had received an email to say that the painting would be complete before the end of the financial year. The railings, sheds and shed doors would also be painted.

·         The work on the front of the flats would hopefully be carried out during 2012 / 13 budget permitting.

·         Gisborne Court Hand Rails: assurances had been given to Anne that this work would be completed by the end of the financial year.

 A member of the public asked whether the notice boards at the Ethel Road flats were going to be moved as they were currently situated inappropriately. Anne apologised as this issue had slipped her mind, and agreed to look into the matter.

Chrissie then addressed the meeting and explained that the maintenance work had been a new responsibility for the housing division, and the additional duties had proved to be a steep learning curve for officers.

Chrissie added that the housing capital receipts initiative was being replaced by the environmental and communal improvement budget. With the new budget, funding would also be drawn from tenants’ rents as well as the sale of housing stock. New procedures meant that housing officers could talk to Ward Councillors first and then report back at Community Meetings, which should result in a speedier process.

Councillors noted the new procedures and commented that that there should still be consultation as to how the budget should be spent.

Helen Pettman, Friends of Evington Park and Village Green will be present to give a brief update on the Evington in Bloom project.

Local resident, Helen Pettman, the co-ordinator of the Evington in Bloom Group, gave the meeting an update on the project.  She explained that Evington in Bloom had three aims:

·         Horticultural achievement

·         Environmental responsibility, and

·         Community involvement (groups involved included the youth club, the Cedars and schools).

There was a team of gardeners but Helen explained that more volunteers were needed. Members of the public were shown a number of photographs and pictures of work that the Evington in Bloom volunteers had carried out in Evington.

Helen explained that Evington in Bloom was launched successfully on 14 March at Evington Library and had been attended by a number of special guests including the High Baliff  Members of the community heard that the project had particularly benefitted from the Community Meeting and the local Councillors.

Councillor Singh paid tribute to the people of Evington for their commitment and dedication to the community. A local resident commented that many of his local neighbours had previously had nothing to do with gardening, but he had helped them by lending them some gardening tools and showing them what to do. A community spirit had developed from that and now the neighbours were enjoying their gardening and talking to one another more than before.

Helen was thanked for her update.

There will be a brief update of local street scene enforcement issues from a member of the City Warden team.

Nicole Powell provided an update on the work that she had been involved with in the Evington Ward.  Nicole explained that she had dealt with a wide variety of street scene enforcement issues including littering, graffiti, dog fouling patrols, the removal of fly posters and the duty of care inspections at local businesses.

Nicole added that the problem with cars for sale and no road tax, on Goodwood Road and the village lay-bys had been reduced.

There had been an increase in fly tipping on Evington Park by the recycling bins, where people were dumping a variety of items including clothes, car tyres and electric fans. Officers did check to see if they could find any identification on such items, although they could not always trace the person responsible. The City Wardens did try to educate people to be more responsible in their behaviour.

A representative from the Local Policing Unit will provide an overview of policing issues in the Evington Ward.

PCSO Georgina Cook (6513) gave an update on policing issues in the Evington Ward and made the following points:

·         Road safety issues at Linden Road Primary School - the police were working with Leicester City Council and they were also trying to educate parents to encourage more responsible behaviour.

·         Burglaries – all neighbourhoods were being affected and the crimes were taking place at different times rather than at any specific times. A funding application for window alarms had been submitted to the Evington Community Meeting for consideration at this particular meeting.

·         Lead thefts – recently an empty house had been broken into and all the copper piping had been stolen.

·         Residents were asked to talk to Georgina if they were worried about security in their homes, as she could pay a visit to people’s homes and offer advice.

·         Anti-social behaviour appeared to have decreased generally and residents were asked to talk to Georgina if they were aware of any problems. It was reported that there were some problems  of anti-social behaviour on Greenacre Drive and Woodborough and Georgina agreed to look into those concerns.

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 of the community meeting budget. The following funding applications have been received:

Burglary Target Hardening Project (2053)  Insp. Bill Knopp (Spinney Hill LPU) and Nazira Vania (LCC Community Safety Team)

Amount requested: £1200

Details of the proposal, (taken from the application form)

There has been an increase in burglaries in the Spinney Hill Local Policing Unit (LPU) area, which includes the Evington Ward.  Police and partners are already undertaking prevention and enforcement work to tackle the problem. 

This includes the Joint Action Group approving funding (£1000) for timer switches, which help to prevent burglary by making a house look occupied when the residents are not at home.  The JAG's funding will allow for 500 of these switches to be given free to residents.  However, this is across the LPU as a whole, so the impact will be spread quite thinly.  

The proposal:

The proposal is to target more properties in the most affected streets within the Evington ward using 'Target Hardening Packs', which will include the timer switches along with window alarms (these are attached to accessible windows, and the alarm goes off if the window is hit/broken). 

The Packs will be taken to properties in hotspot areas to prevent burglaries, and to properties that have already been burgled to prevent re-victimisation.  We anticipate that the average property will require 4 window alarms and 1 timer switch for each property, equating to £12.00 per property. 

We would like to begin with targeting 100 properties in the ward at an estimated cost of £1,200, expanding to more depending on the success of the scheme.  Target Hardening Packs purchased from the Evington ward's funding will only be used to benefit Evington constituents (we will maintain a list of addresses in receipt of a Pack), and will not be given to residents elsewhere in the LPU. 

Meesha 88 (2054)

Amount requested: £1400

Details of the proposal:

Meesha are a community group that promotes and offers physical activity and exercise through football and multi sports activities for young and older people aged 12 – 75 plus. Most of the young members live in the Evington area. They plan to continue to help youngsters to employ healthier lifestyles and to continue to work in Evington Leisure Centre, Judgemeadow College, Evington Park and Goals Soccer Centre.  Plans for 2012 already include that from March to September a set up format to run a 7 v 7 and 11 v 11 football league, coaching sessions and the annual football tournament held at Judgemeadow. They also plan to organise a day trip to tour a football  ...  view the full agenda text for item 55.

Jane Ushwell, Senior Parks Officer thanked the Community Meeting for the funding previously granted for crocus bulbs, which had been planted on various locations including Goodwood Road and in Evington Park. There was a bee hive in the park and the crocus pollen provided food for the bees as well.  Jane added that the funding had paid for a special planting machine and operator, as there were too many bulbs to be planted by hand. 

Julie Harget, Democratic Support Officer then presented the Community Meeting budget. The following funding applications had been received and had been considered in depth by Francis Connolly (the Member Support Officer to the meeting) and the Ward Councillors. The value of funding bids received had been greater than the balance that remained in the community meeting budget, which meant that some bids could only be partially supported and some could not be supported at all.

Burglary Target Hardening Project (2053)  Insp. Bill Knopp (Spinney Hill LPU) and Nazira Vania (LCC Community Safety Team)

Amount requested: £1200 : £500 already approved leaving a balance of £700 requested.

Funding was requested for timer switches and window alarms as crime prevention measures in ‘hotspot’ areas to prevent burglaries and also to properties which had already been burgled to prevent re-victimisation.

The meeting was advised that £500 had already been supported by Councillors and fast tracked.

RESOLVED:

that the balance of the funding bid from the Spinney Hill LPU and the LCC Community Safety Team for the burglary Target Hardening Project be supported to the value of £700

Pitch Hire and Football Equipment: Meesha 88 (2054)

Amount requested: £1400

Funding was requested for pitch hire, football equipment and additional coaching courses for Meesha’s voluntary members.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from Meesha 88 be supported in full.

Evington in Bloom: Flowers, Planters, Competitions, Events (2055): Friends of Evington Park and Village Green – Helen Pettman

Amount requested: £1500

The proposal was for planters, flowers and competition prizes for the Evington in Bloom project.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application from the Friends of Evington Park and Village Green, for flowers, planters and competition prizes for the Evington in Bloom project be supported in full.

Evington in Bloom and Evington Village Hall Centenary Year Celebrations (2056): Jean Matthews, Secretary at Evington Village Hall.

Amount requested: £500

Funding was requested for an open day at the village hall to celebrate its centenary year and also Evington in Bloom.

RESOLVED:

                        that the funding application be supported in full.

To Involve Evington Youth Club in Evington in Bloom (2058): Evington Youth Club

Amount requested: £2,000

Details of the proposal:

The proposal was to involve members of the youth club in the Evington in Bloom project, to garden, make beds and plant and maintain them.

RESOLVED:

                        that the funding application be supported to the value of £1900.

Coleman Evergreens Summer Outings (2059) : Coleman Evergreens

Amount requested: £491.50 requested from each of the Coleman and Evington Ward budgets.

Funding was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

Tribute was paid to Mr Tony O’Brien, who was present at the meeting. Mr O’Brien had previously served as Ward Councillor for Evington and Councillors and local residents paid tribute to him for his hard work for the community during his time in office.

The meeting closed at 4.50 pm.