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.

Councillor Khote, elected as Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

There were no apologies for absence.

No declarations of interest were declared.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 30 September 2015 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record.

The Action Log from the meeting held on 30 September 2015 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

The North Evington Ward Councillors will provide feedback on the issues they have been dealing with as Councillors for the North Evington Ward.

North Evington Ward Councillors reported the following. It was noted:

·         Councillor Fonseca informed the meeting that the Sparrow Park play area developments had now commenced. Further works should continue from January 2016.

·         A bus shelter was requested on East Park Road outside the Railway Men’s Club.

·         Councillor Osman reported that Preston Lodge Elderly Persons Home would be closing. It was noted that an alternative service would be offered at the home, in addition to personalised care packages for those persons affected.

·         Councillor Khote reported that Keith Vaz had presented a petition (on behalf of ward constituents) to parliament regarding the closure of the Woodhill Barclays Bank. Councillor Khote reported that the response from parliament was they were unable to do anything regarding this matter. The current arrangements were to make agreements with the post office who would take over once the bank had closed.

An update on Green Lane Road general issues and highways matters will be given at the meeting.

Martin Fletcher, Highways Officer was present at the meeting to give an update and respond to queries.

All to note:

·         A joint operation with Highways, the parking enforcement team, the Police and City Wardens was taking place to look at what physical aspects could be implemented to improve the parking issues on Green Lane Road.

·         Pavement parking pilots in the city would be carried out this year. The outcomes would determine the approach taken.

·         There was huge success in feedback from North Evington residents regarding grit bin locations for the ward.

·         Martin reported that a list of requested actions were being looked into and would be reported at the next meeting.

Residents’ concerns:

·         Parking issues on St Barnabas Road, Duxbury Road and Bridge Road. It was reported that this was due to visitors/ employees from a few centres and several units in the area taking up parking spaces.

·         A resident expressed a concern regarding dropped curbs outside his property. Councillor Khote requested that the resident provide contact details to the CEO following the meeting.

·         Councillor Khote requested a list/ feedback from Highways in relation to works taking place in the North Evington ward within the 7yr programme.

·         Councillor Osman reported that the planning conditions for the centres on St Barnabas Road and Duxbury Road would be looked into as well as a resident’s concern regarding Council staff from Sulgrave Road parking on Duxbury Road.

The City Warden will provide an update on environmental and enforcement activities in the North Evington Ward.

Jethro Swift, City Warden for the ward reported the following update:

·         The Forest Road site had been cleared to an extent and the interior was now being finalised. Letters had been sent to residents regarding payment for land clearance. The City Warden was currently in the process of organising a meeting with Ward Councillors and the landowner regarding the land clearance.

·         Tipping was still a concern at Willowbrook storm drain.

·         There had been no response from JCDecaux in regards to regular clearance of the Mornington Street site; however, no further tipping had been reported.

·         Pidgeon feeding leaflets would be available in a variety of languages.

·         A lot of work was taking place to clear private land at 248 Humberstone Road.

·         Works to install the alley gate on Halstead Street would not be going ahead, until further notice.

·         The installation of alley gates on Baggrave Street were reported to still be going ahead.

Councillors/ residents’ concerns:

·         Councillor Osman requested Jethro to look into the alley gates for French Street and Smith Dorrien Road. It was also queried regarding the price residents were asked to pay on Forest Road. Jethro responded that the land owner had quoted £1200 in total which would determine that each resident would pay £100. The CEO suggested an appointment take place with the residents whereby some of the costing could be proposed to the Ward Councillors via the community budget.

·         Councillor Osman reported that as a result of street drinking outside the off licence near Sparrow Park, a lot of the cans were being disposed incorrectly, often over the park barrier. More enforcement was requested in this area. It was noted that the City Warden would request a bin outside of the park by the bus stop.

·         Councillor Khote informed the CEO about a resident from the Neighbourhood Watch on Bridge Road who had issues with her bulk collection request not being collected. The CEO would take the resident’s details and forward them to the waste management team.

·         A resident informed Jethro of some abandoned bins on Farnham Street and Dunlin Road. Jethro would look into this issue.

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on Police issues in the Ward.

PC Martin Rawlings from the Local Policing Unit attended the meeting and gave the following update:

·         The update report from PC Dave McCartney on issues/ actions from the last meeting was read out.

·         It was noted that the Police would look into the ASB issue in and around Sparrow Park.

·         There were no further reports on the female beggar issues near Green Lane Road.

·         The moveable camera (known as a pod-cam) previously requested for French Street/ St Barnabas was reported by Police as currently not working; therefore Police would still feedback on this matter.

·         The Police were working closely with Housing in relation to dispersed houses on the Northfields estate.

·         Crime figures were available online at police.uk.

·         The recent murder of a 16 year old on Freeman Road North was reported to not be gang related. There were no further comments at this point.

Housing Officers will give an update on housing matters in the Ward.

Tracy McAllistair, Team Leader for Housing gave an update on housing works taking place. It was noted that there were currently seven empty Council properties in the ward. In regards to improvements to the ward, the following was planned for this financial year:

Works for next year:

·         The Hastings Road new gym equipment would not be installed until April 2016. Therefore, the number of gym equipment would now be increased with this year’s fund.

·         The Charnwood Estate bulbing and further bulbing works to other locations in the ward.

·         Further courtyard work and cleaning of blocks.

·         Parking works at Kingfisher Avenue flats.

A resident from Dunlin Road with diabetes and walking difficulties reported concerns of ongoing difficulties of being able to enter her flat located on the 2nd floor. Tracy would talk to the resident following the meeting.

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 at the meeting on the Ward Community Meeting Budget.

Angela Martin, the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) presented an update on the Community Meeting Budget.

The following items were considered at the meeting:

5112 – Mr Eric Hudson/ Leicester Jamaica Community Service Group – requested £950 to hold a Christmas dinner event at Moat CC for Elderly African users who attend the Senior Citizens Project Day-care Centre – grant of £500 approved.

1589 – Humberstone Angling Association requested £1,000 to improve support a lake improvement project in Hamilton Park – grant of £500 approved.

5126 – Leicester City FC Community Trust – requested £1,500 to support an extension and expansion of the Premier League (PL) Kicks project which supports social behaviour issues in three wards – application was deferred.

5119 – Leicester Caribbean Cricket Club – requested £500 to facilitate ongoing junior cricket development – application deferred.

1556 – Desmond Belle Community FM Radio Charity – requested £500 to provide online music workshops for Northfield Youth Club – grant of £500 approved in full.

The date of the next North Evington Ward Community Meeting will be held on Thursday 28 January 2016.

The date of the next North Evington Ward Community meeting would be held on Thursday 28 January 2016 – venue to be confirmed.