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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Uppingham Road Methodist Church, 178 Uppingham Road, Leicester LE5 0QG

Contact: Laura Burt, Ward Community Engagement Officer (tel: 0116 454 1876) (email:  laura.burt@leicester.gov.uk)  Julie Harget, Democratic Support Officer (Tel: 0116 454 6357) (Email:  julie.harget@leicester.gov.uk)

Items
No. Item

1.

INTRODUCTIONS

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

Minutes:

Councillor Khote as Chair announced that the Local Plan item would be taken as the first item on the agenda.

2.

LEICESTER LOCAL PLAN pdf icon PDF 590 KB

The meeting will hear about the new Leicester Local Plan which will set out the council’s future policies.

Minutes:

Rob Foers and Jeevan Dhesi, Senior Planners from Planning, Development and Transportation gave a presentation on the Leicester Local Plan; a copy of which is attached to the back of the action log. Points made included the following

 

·      The consultation on the new local plan had started on 26 July 2017 and would continue to the end of October 2017.

·      The Local Plan set out the Council’s planning framework up to 2031 and sought to meet the needs for homes, jobs, shopping, leisure and open space. It also set out policies to determine planning applications.

·      The next stage would be to formulate a draft local plan after taking into account the comments and views expressed in the consultation.

·      A Revised Draft Local Plan would then be drawn up; it was expected to be available during the Winter – Spring 2018.

·      There would then be a further period of public consultation. The finalised plan would need to be approved by the Planning Inspectorate and by full council before it was adopted. It was anticipated that this would be by the end of 2018.

·      The Local Plan would need to address key issues and challenges such as meeting significant population growth, housing, retail and employment needs and changes to the appropriate infrastructure.

·      There was limited open space in Leicester for new housing and employment opportunities.  A list of all potential development sites had been drawn up and views were sought from residents as to what sites should be developed and what should be protected.

·      As well as seeking views on general issues in the city, feedback was requested on local issues and officers were attending community meetings to seek residents’ views. Officers were therefore keen to hear from residents in the North Evington Ward.

 

A number of comments were received from Councillors and residents, including the following:

 

·      A view was expressed that council policies should restrict gambling, pay day loans and on road vehicle sales – ( there were issues with these on Green Lane Road for example).

·      Green Lane Road was a busy shopping area and attracted commercial tourists but it was looking tired and dirty.

·      There was a resurgence of small textile businesses in the area – could there be support for such businesses?

·      Population growth was an issue that affected North Evington; there were more house extensions and loft conversions being built and it was questioned whether there were appropriate planning policies to control that work. Officers responded that some building work did not need planning permission because it was allowed under permitted development rights.

·      Concerns were raised around parking. The lack of parking provision was already a problem and the situation would deteriorate further with the growth of retail areas and more housing developments. Officers responded that they were looking at parking standards.

 

Attendees were encouraged to respond to this phase of the consultation and reminded that comments needed to be received by end of October.

3.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Shobhna Patel, Community Safety and the Housing Officer.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

5.

ACTION LOG OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 196 KB

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 28 March 2017 is attached at Appendix A and Members are asked to confirm it as an accurate record. Any update on actions taken since the last meeting will be reported at the meeting.

Minutes:

The Action Log from the previous meeting held 28 March was agreed and noted.

6.

WARD COUNCILLORS' FEEDBACK

The North Evington Ward Councillors will provide an update on the issues they have been dealing with in the North Evington Ward.

Minutes:

Councillors stated that they had objected to the planning application for the recycling facility on Bridge Road, but in spite of their objections the application had been approved. The Councillors were very disappointed with the decision and had hoped that the site would have been used to provide an extra facility to complement Spence Street Sports Centre or used for parking.

7.

ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

The meeting will receive an update on issues relating to anti-social behaviour in the North Evington Ward.

Minutes:

Attendees were asked to note an update on anti-social behaviour issues, read out on behalf of the Community Safety Officer. Points made included the following:

 

·      An action plan had been put in place to tackle anti-social behaviour on Sparrow Park.

·      Shrubbery had been removed on Hastings Road to improve visibility; the CCTV camera was now facing the road.

·      Cameras had been installed in the park in Hallaton Street. 

8.

HOUSING UPDATE

Housing officers will be present to give an update on current and upcoming works within the North Evington Ward.

Minutes:

There was no update on Housing issues.

9.

CITY WARDEN UPDATE

The local City Warden will be present to provide an update on any environmental works in the Ward.

Minutes:

Jethro Swift – City Warden provided an update on local environmental issues:

 

·      A patch walk had been held on Larch Street to address issues such as anti-social behaviour and litter. This was attended by Jethro, Councillors and a number of partners including  Asra Housing and the Police. 

·      Cars for sale in Tithe Street – the cars were no longer there. Unfortunately, North Evington was one of the worst wards in the city for this particular problem.

·      Fly tipping - Fernie Road was one of the main roads for fly tipping. CCTV cameras were due to be installed and it was hoped that they would catch an image of the culprits.

·      Many residents in North Evington did not speak English, which made it difficult to educate them on such environmental issues.

 

The following concerns were raised:

 

·      Pan spitting – this was a particular problem on Green Lane Road and Belgrave Road. Culprits when caught could be fined, but it was difficult to catch them in the act of spitting.

·      Fly tipping on St Saviours Road.

·      People feeding pigeons on St Saviours Road - particularly problematic by a bench where people sat.

·      The feeding of pigeons and littering was a problem around the greenery in the middle of the Charnwood Estate. A request was made for CCTV cameras to be installed there. 

10.

LOCAL POLICING UPDATE

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

Minutes:

PC Claire Jackson provided an update on policing issues within the North Evington Ward. Points made included the following:

 

·      The Police with Councillors and agencies had held a Day of Action event on Sparrow Park to tackle anti-social behaviour. The aim of the event was to educate local residents; there was a reluctance by residents to report issues to the Police

·      A second Day of Action would be held in September; this would involve the same agencies. The Chair explained that because she had reduced mobility, she would not be able to attend events such as this.

11.

COMMUNITY WARD BUDGET

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

 

An update on the Community Ward Budget will be provided at the meeting.

Minutes:

Laura Burt, the Community Engagement Officer gave an update on the North Evington Ward Community Budget.  There was an opening balance at the start of the year of £18544, which included £544 carried forward from the previous year.

 

The following budget applications had been approved:

 

·      Memon Youth Association for the Memon Festival 2017– (joint funding application to North Evington, Spinney Hills and Wycliffe Wards). £750 requested from North Evington and £500 agreed.

·      Northfield Bowls Club for a day trip to Scarborough. £500 requested and agreed.

·      Mr Rasik V Patel for Participants in Raas Garba Event 2017 (joint funding application to North Evington, Spinney Hills and Wycliffe Wards): £499 requested from North Evington and agreed.

·      St Barnabas and Hamilton Libraries to subsidise tickets for a dance performance at the libraries (joint funding application to North Evington and Humberstone and Hamilton Wards). £106 requested from North Evington and agreed.

 

Taking into account the above funding applications, a balance remained of £16939.

12.

CLOSE OF MEETING

Minutes:

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 7.55 pm.