Agenda and minutes

Councillors will elect a Chair for the meeting.

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and introduced Laura Burt, the Ward and Community Engagement Officer for the Belgrave Ward.

Councillor Chohan declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting, as he lived in the Ward.  In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, this interest was not considered so significant that it was likely to prejudice Councillor Chohan’s judgement of the public interest.  He was not, therefore, required to withdraw from the meeting.

All present stood in silence for one minute as a mark of respect for Mr Sangha Rupai who had died recently.  Mr Rupai had been one of the first Asian businessmen to establish himself in Belgrave and was a much respected member of the community.

None received

The Action Log for the last meeting, held on 13 March 2018, is attached for information and discussion

Agreed as correct.

All to note that the Ward and Community Engagement Officer is looking in to the issues raised under item 22(a), “Tree Maintenance”.

The Ward Councillors will provide an update on local ward issues

All to note:

·           The Councillors are aware of anti-social behaviour happening overnight in Cossington Park and the impact on local residents, (especially those in Rendell Street);

·           Complaints about anti-social behaviour in other parts of the Ward also are being received, including Halkin Street and Cossington Street;

·           Very high levels of fly tipping are being experienced in the Ward, but the City Warden is working hard to reduce these levels;

·           The main issues being raised at Ward Councillor’s surgeries relate to housing and education.  In regard to the latter, although the population of the area is increasing, no additional schools are being built, making it hard to find places at existing schools; and

·           Reports have been received of problems being caused by people parking on the pavement in various roads.

City Warden to investigate reported problems of caused by pavement parking in the Doncaster Road and Beverley Avenue areas of the Ward.

All residents encouraged to report locations at which “laughing gas” canisters are found to the Police, to help the Police combat anti-social behaviour caused by the misuse of this gas.

A presentation will be given on CrowdFund Leicester

All to note:

·           A copy of the presentation given at the meeting is attached at the end of the action log for information;

·           This is part of a national initiative called Space Hive, but ideas for funding are generated by the local community;

·           CrowdFund Leicester has been running for approximately nine months.  To date, it has raised approximately £120,000 for grass-roots projects; and

·           If the project is large enough, an employee can be paid from funds raised.

The Facility Manager at the Cossington Street Centre will give a presentation on the swimming and sports hall facilities

All to note:

·           Following consultation on what created barriers to people using the facilities at Cossington Street Sports Centre, investment has been made in to the facilities there.  These include improvements to the poolside area, replacement of the pool liner and refurbishment of the sauna;

·           The sports hall will close later this year and reopen in Spring 2019 as a fitness suite.  Current users of the sports hall have been sign-posted to other facilities; and

·           Officers are aware of problems with misuse of the area behind the sports hall.  The area is being cleared and is continually monitored.

All enquiries regarding Cossington Street Sports Centre to be made to Joss Johnson, the Centre Manager, tel: 0116 233 3060.

There will be an update on Highways and Transport matters within the Ward

All to note:

·           Traffic Regulation Orders have been created to stop pavement parking and prohibit loading in Doncaster Road;

·           Double yellow lines have been installed at the junction of Cannon Street and Belgrave Road;

·           A lot of potholes have appeared in roads in the Ward due to the bad winter.  Last year 80 potholes were repaired, but 54 already have been repaired so far this year;

·           Various local environmental works have been done, such as installing or removing bollards and installing cycle racks and railings to improve the way people park; and

·           Loughborough Road has been closed by the Environment Agency for emergency works, although traffic management is operating with the agreement of the Council.  As this is an Environment Agency scheme, businesses can claim loss of income where appropriate.  Claims need to be made via the Environment Agency’s website.

The local City Warden will provide information on environmental works within the Ward

All to note:

·           Fly tipping is still a big problem in the Ward, but more information is being provided and better outcomes are being obtained;

·           There has been a large increase in the number of complaints received about bird feeding.  Information packs are being prepared advising people not to feed them and plain clothes monitoring will be undertaken;

·           Some small businesses selling cars have been parking the cars on the street.  Evidence has been compiled in one case and a Fixed Penalty Notice issued.  Monitoring of others continues;

·           Some enforcement action is undertaken with the Police, (for example, visiting locations about which complaints have been received).  Some of this is done by out of uniform officers and has been very successful; and

·           Duty of Care checks will restart, but following a new procedure.  This will include advising businesses of their responsibilities in relation to disposing of commercial waste and providing information on how to do this.

All invited to contact the City Warden regarding any environmental issues in the Ward.

The local Police team will provide information on policing matters within the Ward

a)     Update by the Police

All to note:

·           Leicestershire Police is investing heavily in neighbourhood policing and is one of the few forces in the country to be doing so;

·           There currently are 19 staff based at the Police office at Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, which is an increase on this time last year;

·           The landlords of Bombay Nights, the Comfort Inn and the Jubilee Public House are working with the Police to resolve licensing issues.  Two other locations are being investigated;

·           A Public Space Protection Order is in place for the whole city, which is being used to stop people sitting in public areas drinking, (especially in the early morning);

·           An operation is still underway in relation to the murder of Mr Jogia, a jeweller in Belgrave who was murdered earlier this year;

·           As part of the Cover Up campaign to reduce jewellery snatches, PCSOs are going in to schools and places of worship, and are distributing leaflets and posters at events.  This is proving successful, with the number of snatches having reduced from two or three a day at this time last year to three in total for the whole year to date;

·           Festivals such as Navaratri and Diwali are approaching and evenings soon will be getting darker, so a campaign soon will be starting to remind people to leave lights on when a property is empty;

·           Approximately 60% of issues dealt with have mental health as a contributing factor.  All services are short of resources, so problems have to be prioritised in relation to the likelihood of harm being caused, but the Police still need to know about the issues; and

·           All reports of incidents are followed up, although there may not be an instant response, depending on the nature of the incident.

Police asked to vary the times of patrols where possible, to avoid people using the timings to avoid detection when committing crime.

All reminded of the need to report problems to the Police for resolution as early as possible, to enable the Police to deal with the problems swiftly.  This includes licensing issues.  Various ways of doing this are available:

o   ring 101;

o   e-mail;

o   face to face (there is a lift to the Police offices at Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre);

o   social media (for example, Facebook and Twitter);

o   beat surgeries; and

o   stopping officers on patrol.

b)     Comments from Residents

All to note that incidences of anti-social behaviour in the Ward reported to the Police include:

o    People climbing over the fence at Catherine Junior School and playing football in the grounds;

o    Groups in the Allington Street area drinking, littering and intimidating residents;

o    Littering and leaving dog waste in Cossington Park;

o    Climbing on to the roof of             Belgrave library;

o    Large groups of people congregating in Cossington Park who are drinking and making a lot of noise.

Police asked to undertake regular patrols, particularly in the Cossington Park area, in view of the above incidents.

Police asked to make a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update will be given on the Belgrave Ward Community Budget

All to note:

·           Grants to the value of £5,042 have been approved from this year’s budget, leaving £13,882 available for the rest of the financial year;

·           All applications for grants are now made on-line, but help is available to do this if required;

·           Grants can only be approved for one-off projects and not for core funding for organisations.  They all must show benefit to the community;

·           All applicants are required to complete an evaluation form for grant-funded projects; and

·           Any unused grant has to be repaid to the Council.

a)     Cossington Park Ball Court

All to note that the Cossington Park ball court will be closed from today until the end of August, in order that a hole dug in the court’s surface can be repaired.

b)     Display of Union Jack Flags for Events

Ward and Community Engagement Officer to find out the Council’s policy on the display of Union Jack flags in the city for events, in view of disappointment that it appears that none were displayed for the recent royal wedding.

c)     Site of Former Sainsbury’s Store

All to note that Sainsbury’s has resubmitted a planning application for developing the site of its former store on Belgrave Road.

The meeting closed at 8.33 pm