Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

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

Apologies for absence were received from Mr John Sloan.

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.

 

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous Evington Community Meeting, held on 6 December 2012 have been circulated and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

that the minutes of the Evington Community Meeting held on 6  December 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair agreed to an additional item of business in relation to the planning applications for a place of worship; education centre and minaret on Gamel Road. Mike Richardson, Head of Planning was present and explained that the applications had been brought to the Planning and Development Control Committee on 21 February 2013, and conditional approval had been granted for the continuation of the temporary place of worship and also for a second application for a place of worship, education centre and minaret to replace the temporary building.

 

Members of the community expressed strong concerns over the granting of conditional approval to the planning applications. A variety of concerns were expressed, including the following:

 

·         Traffic, including buses travelling on Gamel Road.

 

·         Difficulties and dangers posed to children when crossing the road.

 

·         Problems for paramedics accessing properties.

 

·         Parking problems including the blocking of neighbours own driveways, by visitors to the place of worship.

 

·         The development resulting in an accident black spot.

 

·         The impact on elderly residents.

 

·         Visual impact on the amenity and the three storey mosque dominating the area.

 

·         Poor visibility caused by the construction of the proposed wall.

 

·         Intimidation experienced by members of the community.

 

·         There was no need for the mosque as there were sufficient mosques in the city already.

 

·         Notification of the planning application had not been received by a resident in Greystone Avenue.

 

·         A resident had had her vehicle damaged on her street.

 

Other members of the community commented that the mosque would be used by local people, such as her husband and children who would walk to the centre and would not being using cars. They would no longer have to travel some distance to a different place of worship.

 

Mike Richardson responded to the queries raised and made the following points:

 

·         Planning officers consult both national and local planning policies and guidance when making any recommendations in respect of planning applications.  The conditions attached to the planning consent were designed to minimise inconvenience to the residents.

 

·         The building met council guidelines.

 

·         As part of the planning process, officers in the Highways section were consulted.

 

·         As part of the planning conditions, the applicant was required to submit a travel plan which would need to be agreed with the council.

 

·         There had been no complaints from the bus company. Bus companies had contacted the council in the past where they had concerns about obstruction of bus routes.

 

·         The application had been publicised in the Leicester Mercury, notices had been placed on site and letters had been sent to people who lived in the immediate vicinity.

 

Councillors commented that the technical aspects of the application had been considered in considerable detail and while there had been concerns over traffic, there were requirements for a traffic management plan. The meeting heard that the facility was already open for all members of the community to use.

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

Councillors Bajaj and Singh provided an update on the recent issues they have been dealing with as Ward Councillors in Evington. These included the following:

 

·         Submitted a question to full council on impact equality assessments and had spoken to full council on the budget cuts.

 

·         Spoken at Planning and Development Control Committee in relation to the application for the mosque on Gamel Road

 

·         Submitted a petition in relation to traffic calming at Whitehall Primary School.

Darren Moore, Team Manager, Advice Services will be present to talk about the extensive changes that are taking place to welfare benefits.

Karen Wenlock, Revenue and Benefits Manager gave an update on the changes of welfare benefits.  She explained that very significant changes were being made by the Government to the benefit system; however these only affected people of working age. Details of these changes are outlined in the Changes of Welfare Reform booklet, attached to the back of these minutes. A booklet providing information on the advice services is also attached.

 

Karen explained that major changes were being made to the council tax benefit scheme. From April that scheme was to be replaced by a local Council Tax Reduction scheme and many working age people in Leicester would have to pay something towards their Council Tax for the first time. People were being encouraged to contact the council straight away to make arrangements to pay the new bill.

 

Changes were also being made to Housing Benefit entitlement, for working age people, living in social housing (where the landlord was the city council or a housing association). The level of Housing Benefit was to be restricted if they were shown to be under occupying their property (generally referred to as the bedroom tax). The change did not mean that people who had a spare room would pay more but that if their household was not considered to need the number of bedrooms in the property, as children of certain ages were expected to share, then a reduction would be applied. The council did not have sufficient smaller accommodation to house everyone who was due to have their housing benefit reduced because of the under occupation rules. They were however working with Housing Options and other stakeholders to give people relevant advice on what options are available, and a Discretionary Housing Payment could be applied for to assist in the short term while options were considered.

 

The meeting heard that the benefit cap would not be introduced in April 2013 as originally planned the timetable had altered to be phased in before September 2013. Please note that subsequent to this meeting the date has been confirmed by the Department for Work and Pensions to by 15^th July 2013. The new universal credit system was not due to roll out until October 2013.

 

A query was raised as to the situation if a single person was the sole occupier of a council/housing association two bedroom flat. Karen responded that he would have to pay more for this under the new regulations.

 

A concern was raised as to the situation if an elderly person lived on her/his own in a two bedroom accommodation, but occasionally needed a carer to stay. Karen explained that the under occupation rules applied to working age people only. (However it was noted that if a working age person needed a carer there are circumstances where a room allowance could be given if a bedroom was used for this purpose. Details would need to be given to the Revenue and Benefits section so consideration could be made)

 

Karen explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

Robert Bateman, Team Leader from Leicester City Council’s Highway, Design and Maintenance will provide an update on the parking improvements in the Coleman Road area.

Robert Bateman, Team Leader from Leicester City Council’s Highway, Design and Maintenance was present to provide an update on the parking improvements in the Coleman Road area.

 

In relation to the land to the rear of 2 - 4 Woodborough Road, Robert explained that he had spoken to the landowner, and it was agreed that a contractor would cut back the vegetation there and tidy up the footpath. The landowner had also agreed to maintain the area.  A member of the public commented that the footpath was too big and a gate was needed to prevent vehicles entering the footpath. A suggestion was made that a ‘kissing gate’ would be helpful there.

 

Outside 4 - 6 Coleman Road it had been agreed to put down a gravel surface in the spinney area which would enable additional parking for approximately 8 cars. The contractor would commence this work towards the end of March 2013. If extra money was available in the future, further work could be carried out which would provide an extra 7 spaces.  Officers were also looking into the possibility of removing some double yellow lines to make it easier to park.  A request was made for a residents’ parking scheme and the Chair advised that such schemes meant that residents had to pay to park outside their homes. A member of the public commented that in Peterborough, residents who were part of a Residents’ Parking Scheme did not have to pay. Robert explained that decisions of this nature were political decisions and as such were not made by officers.

 

A request was made for the councillors to send a letter to the General Hospital asking them to request staff and out-patients to park in the hospital car park and not in the residential areas. The Chair responded that such letters had been sent before, but another letter would be sent.

 

Concerns were expressed that any additional parking spaces would be used by staff or visitors to the hospital rather than local residents.

 

Concerns were also raised over parking and traffic problems on Greenacre Drive.  Vehicles were parked the length of Greenacre Drive, the road was used as a rat run and cars were being driven along pavements. Residents were concerned that the situation there was dangerous. Further problems were raised relating to parking problems at Angela Drive, just before Goodwood Road.

 

Action	Officer identified	Deadline
For a letter to be sent to the General Hospital asking them to request staff and patients to park in the hospital car park and not in residential areas.	Carine Cardoza, Member Support Officer to liaise with the ward councillors.	As soon as possible

 

Penny Brown, the Leicester co-ordinator for the Royal Horticultural Society’s campaign, “It’s Your Neighbourhood”, will give a presentation on the scheme. It’s Your Neighbourhood is part of the wider RHS Britain in Bloom initiative.

Penny Brown, the Leicester Co-ordinator for the Royal Horticultural Society’s It’s Your Neighbourhood Campaign was present to provide an update on the initiative.

 

Penny explained that as well as Evington in Bloom, there were two ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ groups in Evington. A great deal of hard work by the volunteers had resulted in beautiful flowers and displays in the area.   Evington in Bloom had won a Silver award in 2012, which Penny explained was an outstanding achievement, considering it was the group’s first year of entry into the competition.

 

Penny added that It’s Your Neighbourhood was really about groups of local residents getting together to improve their community, and for community groups with roots in gardening. She asked people to contact her if they were interested in finding out more about the initiative.

Members of the community will receive an update on local policing issues.

Police Sergeant David Cleaver provided an update on local policing issues in the area. These included the following:

 

·         There had been 23 burglaries over the previous 90 days. The Police were working to reduce this figure.

 

·         There had been 13 thefts from motor vehicles; some of which involved the removal of registration number plates. The Police were seeking funding for special screws to be made available for residents, which would make it much more difficult to remove the plates.

 

·         Thanks were given for the intelligence and information that members of the public gave to the Police. People were urged to report anything suspicious.

 

·         Members of the public were invited to come along to the local Beat Surgeries. A funding bid had been submitted for a proper gazebo which could be used as a mobile surgery.

 

·         The Police would try to look into the parking issues that had been raised during the meeting.

 

The meeting was advised that the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood Group’ had a wide remit and would look at issues such as anti-social behaviour and traffic issues.

The City Warden for Evington will provide an update on local street scene enforcement issues.

There was no verbal update from the Nicole Powell, the City Warden as she was unwell. However an information sheet giving details of the work she had been involved with were distributed during the early part of the meeting.

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.

 

The meeting will receive an update on the Evington Community Meeting budget.

 

The following funding applications have been received:

 

Ref: 2086 Proposal: Make do and Mend

 

Applicant: Kaine Management Ltd

Amount requested: £825

 

Details of the application as submitted by the applicant:

This grant is to run the ‘Make Do & and Mend’ Programme in early 2013.  A programme that seeks to engage with elderly people in residential homes who will partake in arts & craft skills like rug making, knitting and crocheting The project will run in Arbour House Residential Home in Evington Village, where the residents are isolated with varying degrees of mental health issues. They will have 2 hour classes/week in crafts over 12 weeks.  Kaine Management will use young tutors and young volunteers to support the delivery of the programme. These will be sourced from local colleges and community groups and some of the young people who are already engaged with the organisation in youth groups.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The project will culminate with a photo exhibition and display of works that the residents have completed as well as allow them to share their experiences of the project and what they have learned. 

The grant will cover the cost of materials, tutors and co-ordinator to run the project, overheads, travel and recording and archiving of the project. 

The applicant states that a recent pilot project that they ran at Danbury Gardens and Wolsey Extra Care Nursing Homes was very successful and the positive feedback from all involved has inspired them to seek further funding to support more of this work in additional residential homes. The implementation of this project is needed because it: -

·         Reduces isolation felt by residents

·         Brings them into contact with new people (especially young people)

·         Reduces the speed of deterioration of their lives

·         Teaches them new skills

·         Allows them to feel a valued part of society

Kaine Management have discussed this with the unit hall manager who is very keen for her residents to be involved.

Funding is requested to pay for a project co-ordinator, tutor, craft supplies, volunteer travel, documentation and archiving.

 

 

Ref: 2087 Proposal: Skill and Teamwork development via 5-a-side football

 

Applicant: Nindy Uppelle of Olympia Sport Academy UK

Amount Requested: £500

 

Details of the application

 

In a further attempt to advance the skills and communication between FC Olympia players, Olympia Sport Academy would like to encourage the 14 players to participate in 5-a-side football at Goals, Leicester.

 

The events will be organised and administered by the staff of Goals, hence the cost that includes the facility use.

 

The project will prove successful in the short term via winning 11-a-side football games. In the long term it will build team spirit and understanding, and maybe provide career paths for those interested.

 

Funding is requested for pay for games at Goals, travel costs to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 113.

The Chair presented the Evington Community Meeting budget. The following funding applications had been considered by the councillors and their decisions on the funding bids were as follows:

 

Ref 2086 Proposal: Make do and Mend

 

Applicant: Kaine Management Ltd

Amount requested: £825

 

RESOLVED:

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

 

Ref 2087 Proposal: Skill and Teamwork development via 5-a-side football.

 

Applicant: Nindy Uppelle of Olympia Sport Academy UK

Amount requested: £500

 

RESOLVED:

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

 

Ref 2088 Proposal: Friends of Evington’s wildflower meadows for “Evington in Bloom”.

 

Applicant: Helen Pettman

Amount requested: £490

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported to the value of £300

 

Ref 2089 Proposal: Christmas Tree for Evington village for the next 2 years.

 

Applicant: Evington Youth Club

Amount requested: £1200

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the funding application be supported to the value of £1150

 

Ref 2090 Proposal: Screening to provide privacy to neighours of school

 

Applicant: Laura O’Brien, Chair of Governors at St Paul’s Secondary, Leicester

 

Amount requested: £2500

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be unsupported

 

 

Ref 2091 Proposal: Evington Friendship Club

 

Applicant: Mrs Valerie Ridsdale

Amount requested: £500

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported to the value of £315

 

Ref 2092 Proposal: Noticeboards for Ethel Road flats

 

Applicant: Mrs Gwen Clifford – committee member of Friends of Evington

Amount requested: £150

 

The Chair informed the meeting that this funding application had been withdrawn.

 

RESOLVED:

that it be noted that the funding application for noticeboards for Ethel Road flats be withdrawn.

 

Ref 2093 Proposal: CFA Open Day and Presentation (joint bid to Evington and Spinney Hill Wards).

 

Applicant: Ahmed Maravia (Community Football Academy)

Amount requested: £350 - £450

 

RESOLVED:

                        that he application be supported to the value of £200

 

Ref 2094 Proposal: Hosting a health awareness day for women in aid of International Women’s Day (joint bit between Evington, Coleman, Charnwood, Spinney Hill and Stoneygate).

 

Applicant: Sahara Centre

Amount requested: £307.50 from the Evington Ward,

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported to the value of £307

 

 

Ref 2095 Proposal: Global Hands Youth – CommUNITY Day (Joint bid to Evington, Coleman and Spinney Hill Wards)

 

Applicant: Global Hands Leicester

Amount requested: £700 from the Evington Ward.

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be supported to the value of £500

 

 

The following funding application was submitted too late for inclusion on the agenda:

 

REF 2097 Proposal: Coleman Evergreen’s Summer Outings

 

Applicant: Coleman Evergreen’s

Amount requested £200 from the Evington Ward.

 

RESOLVED:

                        that the application be unsupported.

 

The Chair explained that once the above funding bids that the councillors had supported were approved, the Evington community meeting budget for 2012/13 would be fully committed.

 

Action to be taken	Officer identified	Deadline
That the funding applications that the councillors had agreed to support be submitted to Councillor Sood, Assistant City Mayor for Community Involvement, Partnerships and Equalities for approval.	Carine Cardoza, Partnership and Strategy Officer	As soon as possible.

 

The following community announcements were made

 

Bicycling Club

 

Helen Pettman announced that a bicycling club was being set up in Evington, and it was aimed that the club would offer a variety of different rides ranging from 6 miles to 30 miles. There would also be ‘learn to ride’ sessions and magical mystery rides. Young people under the age of 18 needed to be accompanied by an adult. Details of the bicycling club had been placed in the Evington Echol.

 

Evington Library

 

Val Smith, librarian at the Evington Library explained that there were plans for the Friends of Evington and the library to work closer together, with the library becoming a local hub for the community. People were invited to come along to the library to talk to the staff there or to the Friends of Evington, about what they would like to see in Evington. It was aimed to have an information board in the library giving notice of community issues.  It was also hoped to have coffee mornings in the library on Saturdays.  Val added that the library were also happy to support the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ initiative.

 

The 36 Bus

 

A member of the community referred to the number 36 Bus and explained that there was an article in the Evington Echo seeking support to maintain the bus service. She added that the residents depended on this bus service and they had written to the City Mayor seeking support to keep the bus service going.

 

Walking Sports

 

Pauline O’Brien announced that walking basketball sessions for all adults aged 50 plus were now being held at the Youth club on Thursdays between 10am – 11am.

The meeting closed t 8.03 pm.