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.

Cllr Dawood – Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

Apologies were received from the Fire & Rescue Service, Housing – John Thomson, City Wardens and the St Matthew Big Local representative.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Action Log of the Meeting held on 24 August 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 24 August 2015 was circulated and confirmed as a correct record.

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

Wycliffe Ward Councillors gave an update on issues in the ward. The following was discussed:

·         Councillors expressed concern regarding the situation at Uplands Primary School whereby it was reported that 10 staff had recently handed in their resignation. In addition, it was noted regarding the recent changes the school had gone through including special measures being implemented by the Government.

·         Councillor Aqbany reported that there was an issue with the future of the city’s fire service which was currently unresolved and ongoing.

Leicester Fire & Rescue Service representative will be at the meeting to give a presentation.

The Leicester Fire & Rescue service representative was unable to attend the meeting but would possibly present an update at the next meeting if Councillors requested.

Housing Officers and a member of the Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) will give an update on issues in the Wycliffe Ward.

Ebrahim Jasat, from St Peters Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) gave the following update:

·         It was noted that St Peters (TARA) office at Framland House, Neptune Close had been temporarily closed/ boarded up as a result of Anti-social behaviour (ASB) targeting the office. This was a health and safety issue which determined that members of the public were not permitted to use the building. The individual concerned with the ASB had been charged and hopefully a court case would soon take place.

·         Councillor Aqbany reported that his surgery which was previously held at St Peters TARA office was now taking place at the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) located at 99 Melbourne Road.

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

Sergeant Matt Painter gave an update on issues and activities the Police had been involved in, in the Wycliffe ward. The following was noted in regards to the few groups reported at the previous meeting who were causing trouble in the Highfields area:

·         A Police investigation was set up and resulted in; 32 arrests, 24 warrants by court, £67,000.00 cash, 4 gold bars and £20,000 worth of drugs and stolen property being recovered. There were 13 charges of violent disorder, 3 charges of assaulting Police Officers and 1 charge of GBH.

·         In total 26 charges would be served with various bail conditions including curfews, bans from being in certain areas for certain people and the charges had Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) attached to them. One property was being repossessed and a second property being looked at for repossession.

Residents’ concerns:

·         A resident raised concerns of drugs being publicly bought, sold and consumed in the Highfields area. Sergeant Painter requested the resident to discuss this further with him following the meeting.

·         A petition was presented to Councillors by a few residents at the meeting in relation to metal railing, fencing and alleyway gates on Grove Road.

·         The Police advised attendees to report any suspicious activity to the Police and if regular to keep a diary sheet of information.

The City Warden and Community Safety representative will provide an update on environmental and community safety issues in the Wycliffe Ward.

Councillor Dawood was awaiting a response from legal services regarding leaving out dustbins on highways. It was requested for the CEO to follow this up.

It was reported that Jamie Stubbs, City Warden for the Wycliffe Ward had been seconded to a new post and arrangements for Jethro Swift to be allocated to this ward were being made.

The City Warden handout was distributed at 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 budget and applications received.

Any applicants that have received ward funding are requested to attend a ward community meeting.

Angela Martin, Community Engagement Officer for the Wycliffe Ward gave an update on the Ward Community Budget and any applications received.

The following applications were considered at the meeting:

5104: Community Advice & Law Service requested £800 for an advice in schools project – application not supported.

1479: Quba Islamic Centre, Jama Egal requested £1,500 towards an Eid-ul-Adha get together – grant of £200 approved.

1492: East Midlands Somali Elders Community requested £500 towards Eid-ul-Adha celebrations – application not supported.

5117: Leicester Mamas CIC requested £820 towards ‘Mammas baby massage’ support – application not supported.

5119: Leicester Caribbean Cricket Club – requested £500 to support junior cricket development within the local community – application deferred.

1564: St Peters & Stoughton Street Tenants & Residents Association requested £1,000 for the provision of multi sports activities at Apollo Close ball court – grant of £1,000 approved in full.

1604: HELP Multi-cultural organisation requested £500 for support towards their tournament event – grant of £500 approved in full.

1613: Desmond Belle requested £500 for Community Radio FM to provide Y.P online music workshops – grant of £500 approved in full.

1609: HELP Multi-cultural organisation applied for £1,000 assistance towards martial arts equipment to encourage a healthy lifestyle – grant of £1,000 approved in full.

Feedback from Ward Budget applicants:

Members of HELP Multi-cultural organisation application were present at the meeting and gave feedback on their recent success. It was noted that a premises had been leased on Oxendon Street in Highfields which was now refurbished and ready for use. Within the organisation children were trained in martial arts with maths and Arabic classes also taking place. Members of the group had recently gone to Portugal for the world championships and won 6 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 2 bronze medals.

HELP Multi-cultural organisation/ school of martial arts planned to hold a full day martial arts free style tournament on 13 December 2015 at Madani School to raise awareness. The CEO discussed the possibilities of applying for the Ward Community Budget for this type of event and would liaise with the applicants.

Councillors requested the CEO to write a letter from Ward Councillors to congratulate the children on their success.

Ebrahim Jasat on behalf of St Peters Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) gave feedback on the situation with the Apollo Close ball court for youth. It was noted that there had been difficulties in providing a continuous service due to limited funding sources.

The CEO advised Mr Jasat on other funding streams which could be available to this service. Councillor Dawood suggested Mr Jasat meet with the CEO to develop a plan.

The meeting closed at 7.07pm.