Agenda and minutes

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

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

Councillor Dawood, in the Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

No interests were declared.

None

The Action Log for the last meeting, held on 21 August 2017, is attached for information and discussion

Agreed as correct, subject to amending the seventh bullet point on page 3 to refer to conditions in Frederick Road, (not Vulcan Road).

All to note:

·           The request for Vulcan Road to have one-way traffic has been approved; and

·           The metal plates on Vulcan Road have been repaired.

Highways officers asked to check that traffic signs on Vulcan Road, particularly at the junction with Florence Road, are facing the right way.

Ward Councillors will provide an update on local ward issues

All to note:

·           The Melbourne Street ball court will be tidied up, including cutting back trees, to improve the facility for users and reduce anti-social behaviour; and

·           A patch walk will be arranged, so the Residents’ Association is asked to let the Ward Councillors know which roads are of concern, so that an appropriate route can be organised.  Highways officers and City Warden to be asked to attend.

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Ward

All to note:

·           At present, Mohammed Patel and Darren Evans are the City Wardens working in the Ward;

·           The City Wardens are checking business waste transfer documentation to make sure that businesses are disposing of waste correctly;

·           Other work in the Ward by the City Wardens includes reducing the number of bins left on streets and continuing initiatives to reduce fly tipping (including business fly-tipping); and

·           If problems with people not disposing of bulky items correctly are identified, flyers are delivered to properties in the area to remind residents that the Council will collect bulky items.  Residents are invited to advise the Wardens of any roads in which the flyers can usefully be distributed.

City Wardens to demonstrate the LoveLeicester app at the next Community Meeting.

City Wardens asked to distribute leaflets about bulky waste collection in Maynard Road, Sherrard Road and Vulcan Road.

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

The meeting expressed its disappointment that no Police officers were present.

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 Ward Community Budget will be provided at the meeting

All to note that 6 grant applications, totalling £3,500, have been supported since the last meeting, leaving a balance of £5,342.34 in the Ward Community Grants Fund.

All to note that consideration is being given to an application from the City Wardens for funding to help limit future access to areas cleared of fly-tipped rubbish and producing literature used to discourage fly-tipping.

a)     On-Street Parking

All to note that:

·           As buses have problems travelling along some roads due to on-street parking and there is limited parking available for residents, residents requested that consideration be given to allowing vehicles to park partly on the pavement, but within defined bays, in some roads.  This has already been suggested by the Ward Councillors; and

·           Residents at the meeting welcomed the work being done by traffic wardens in Vulcan Road to reduce on-street parking.

b)     Widening of Entrance to Hartington Road

It was suggested that consideration be given to widening the junction of Hartington Road and Vulcan Road, to enable vehicles to manoeuvre more easily.

c)     Housing Issues in the Ward

All to note:

·           28 parking bays will be created during the 2018/19 financial year on the corner of Kashmir Road and Taylor Road to stop people blocking bin rooms;

·           A lot of fly tipping is taking place on the estate and in bin rooms;

·           The locks on bins rooms will be changed during the 2018/19 financial year to improve access for Biffa (the Council’s contractor);

·           The St Marks Housing office is to be refurbished soon.  While this work is going on, officers will relocate to the St Mathews Centre.  It is expected that the St Marks office will reopen around April 2018;

·           Following their visits to courtyards, housing officers have identified repairs needed.  Consultation on St Matthews about these works is likely to start in April 2018.  The results will inform priorities for budget expenditure in 2019/20;

·           People often do not park correctly on land controlled by the Council’s Housing Services, (for example, in marked bays), so a private company is used to check that people are parking correctly and issue penalty notices where necessary; and

·           Some parking restrictions have been removed from some Housing land in the Ward on a temporary basis, to try to ease the parking situation.  However, problems have recurred in Montreal Road, so some restrictions may have to be lifted there.

d)     Cars Parking in Maidstone Road

Residents encouraged to pass any concerns that cars parking in the Maidstone Road area are associated with prostitution to the Police.

The meeting closed at 6.54 pm